Getting in to reloading

I bought one of the Lee single stage reloading kits about a year ago. It has worked great for me. Then added a tumbler and media, digital scale, caliber specific manuals and dies. And of course powder, primers and bullets. Assuming you are picking up and reusing brass. Later on got more dies, ammo boxes and a few more tools. Not sure I stayed under $200 but can reload 3 calibers for fairly inexpensive investment.

WhitetailKiller said:

Ive bought so many new guns each in different calibers so a nice and fun range day is getting incredibly expensive like well over 150$ if I sit there and go at it for a few hourse. The calibers that I regularly shoot are 45ACP, 44Mag, 270Win, 9mm, 30-06, 308, 223, 30-30, 38spl, 300 win mag, and a few more.

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Sounds like you would deffenately benefit from reloading. My suggestion for a press would be either a Lee Classic Cast Turret or a Dillon 550. Both will provide the volume you most likely will run into with the handgun loads and some of the bottleneck rounds. The Lee caliber change parts will be less expensive than the Dillon. Either way at some point you might want to add a single stage press for those large bottlenecks.

OP, the nice thing about reloading is that you can also load stuff that cannot readily be bought. Want a low recoil whatever? Easy. Want to turn your 30-06 into a varmint gun? Easy. You also insulate yourself from the inevitable shortages that will come along.

One last thing...

You hear guys say that you will never save money by reloading, and others that'll say you'll save a ton. Both camps are right; it depends on your individual situation.

In my case, if I assume that I would've bought and paid for the same amount of ammo as what I actually loaded myself over the last 40 years, I've saved enough money to not just pay for all of my reloading equipment, but several very nice guns, too. How do I know? 'Cause those guns are sitting in my gun safe.

If you know someone that can tutor you, your learning curve will be a lot faster. It's nice having a mentor to show you the ropes and help you trouble shoot when problems arise. When I started handloading 45+ yrs ago I only had access to books. It would have been nice having someone to go to for problems. I had to figure every thing out on my own. With the internet finding solutions is just a key tap away.

Like all ready said you want save any money but you will shoot more for the same budget.

PapaG said:

I'm not being a smart@ss.
A. Ultimately, you won't save money.
B. There is always something else you'll need
C. It won't stop with one caliber.
D. It will give you great satisfaction
That said, a solid single stage press, a set of good dies, a scale, a powder measure, a trimmer, a deburring tool, a loading block, a good loading manual, a clean, solid bench, and the desire to be careful, methodical and not a hotrodder would be a good start.
Nothing against LEE, but scales, measures, and manuals aren't their best stuff. Can't go wrong with RCBS, Lyman, Hornady, Pacific to name a few. A Rockchucker press can be upgraded to progressive if you want later.
Casting is another thing altogether.
I've been doing both since 1955 and can load for about thirty different cartridges, cast for even more, and have taught many how to do it. Somewhere in my archives, we moved a couple years ago, is a booklet I wrote about the subject.
I'd start with the latest Lyman reloading manual and a Rockchuck starter set and go from there. My suggestions are way over your budget but if you start with the best you won't have to cry later.

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I've been loading 35+ yrs, I have every thing you can have, just bought 3 more things this week! It's addictive or a disease!

Paul Toms said:

Far be it from me to recommend Amazon, but, $220 all in except dies

https://www.amazon.com/LEE-PRECISION-Classic-Turret-Press/dp/B07QMY9G5B

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Throw out the scale, get a digital, and the rest will work. I think I have two if those scales and am going to give them away.

I started with the Lee Amazon single stage starter pack. Plus I had some Lyman dies that a got cheap from when Gander Mt was going out of business.

I also got the Hornady manual. I recommend it.

Do not throw out the Lee scale that comes in the pack, but do buy a digital scale as well. The Lee Scale is surprisingly accurate and the Lyman digital scale that I have (I do not recommend that digital scale) has somewhat of a wandering zero. If you don't have calibrating weights (which are quite expensive), it's always better to have two sources to weigh charges, and compare for safety.

I would recommend a hand priming tool as you can prime wherever you want, and not be stuck as the table.

I would also highly recommend getting the 4 die Lee carbide die set. It'll come with the shell holder and you won't need to lube your cases. Also definitely get a case gauge for any caliber you're reloading for.

The best thing about reloading is that you are in control of everything. So you can be as anal or loose with it as you want. For instance, when I'm loading 308, I weigh every individual charge, measure each individual bullet seat depth (all using cases with the same head stamp, that have all been individually inspected, cleaned, sized, and trimmed), this yields me sub .5 moa groups with my rifle. My hand loaded ammo is essentially better than match ammo, and it's waaay cheaper to load match quality ammo. Does it take time? Yeah, it does. But for maximum accuracy it's worth it both in the time invested, and money saved.

Now, when I load 9mm, I don't care how accurate it is (I mean, I do, but you know what I mean), I'm just punching holes in paper 7 yards away, I just want to it be functional so I can get my practice in. So with 9mm, after case prep, I only weigh every tenth or so charges once I've got my target charge dialed in, and I only measure the seat depth in about one in ten rounds. I pick middle of the road load data so if my powder thrower throws even like 2grs +/- (which it never would) I'd still be safe. I also seat my 9mm bullets just short of max seat depth, that way even if one gets stayed deeper, I'll still be safe. I've never had a problem.

The key to reloading is diligence, and consistency. Ask a lot of questions, read a lot, watch Johnny's repaint bench on YouTube, and try to find other people that reload. And never trust someone else's load data, always start low and work your way up!

Good luck! Now you'll forever be in the prowl for primers, brass, bullets, and powder!

started reloading in 73. started bullet casting in 82. when i am asked the question about should i start reloading i state yes you should but,,,,, find someone to show you the how before you buy anything,,, if you are shooting only 9 mm and 5.56 it is cheaper to buy in bulk,,, read everything you can find, books, mags, and internet,,, and it will take sometime before you will see any saving on your ammo cost.

http://marvinstuart.com/firearm/Manuals/Reloading/Reloading Manuals/

Posted by others and pasted here in case you wish to review some older manuals for free

American_Fusilier said:

I pick middle of the road load data so if my powder thrower throws even like 2grs +/- (which it never would) I'd still be safe.

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I assume this was meant to read 0.2grains.

Having 2 scales is good advice - I believe you always need to be able to verify weights. If you only have one, and it is off, how will you know?

Lots of good info in all of these posts. 44 Mag is one of the better (IMO) rounds to start reloading with. With 44 Mag you can make ammo that is pretty light on the hands to ammo that will make you sit up and take note.
Learn about the different powders that you will be using - load data sources will give you these that are tested with the bullets you will use. Do you have a LGS to procure the powder and primers? This is usually the most cost effective way to get these items when starting out. Often the LGS will sell primers by the 100 whereas online you will likely have to buy at least 1,000. Powder and primers bought online usually mean an additional hazmat charge (over and above shipping), so buying online is usually more cost-effective for larger quantities.

Good luck and read,read,read.

Cheesemaker said:

I assume this was meant to read 0.2grains

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I actually did mean 2 whole grains. While my powder measure would never make that big of an error, even if it did, I'd still be safe. But I should I said 1 whole grain, not 2

I only apply this to handgun rounds. For instance, I found that my 9mm Ruger SR9 would NOT cycle with only 4.1grs of CFE Pistol, but it would cycle at 4.2grs. The data on my Hornady book says for a 124gr bullet (what I was using) with CFE Pistol. The starting load was 4.2gr and the max load was 5.3, I'll always try to keep my loads near the middle of that spectrum. Around 4.6gr or 4.7gr, that way I have basically a half grain of wiggle room. on either end. I like to load more conservatively with paper punching cartridges, just so I use less powder and can load more. Although, to be honest, I've got 4 different pistol powders in one pound containers, and I probably won't need any more pistol powder for a few years... But it's just how I like to do mass lots of loading.

I only do this when I'm not measuring every single charge, so handgun, and .223. When I'm loading hunting ammo or precision ammo, I'll weigh every individual charge for maximum consistency and safety.

American_Fusilier said:

I actually did mean 2 whole grains. While my powder measure would never make that big of an error, even if it did, I'd still be safe. But I should I said 1 whole grain, not 2

I only apply this to handgun rounds. For instance, I found that my 9mm Ruger SR9 would NOT cycle with only 4.1grs of CFE Pistol, but it would cycle at 4.2grs. The data on my Hornady book says for a 124gr bullet (what I was using) with CFE Pistol. The starting load was 4.2gr and the max load was 5.3, I'll always try to keep my loads near the middle of that spectrum. Around 4.6gr or 4.7gr, that way I have basically a half grain of wiggle room. on either end. I like to load more conservatively with paper punching cartridges, just so I use less powder and can load more. Although, to be honest, I've got 4 different pistol powders in one pound containers, and I probably won't need any more pistol powder for a few years... But it's just how I like to do mass lots of loading.

I only do this when I'm not measuring every single charge, so handgun, and .223. When I'm loading hunting ammo or precision ammo, I'll weigh every individual charge for maximum consistency and safety.

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You describe 0.2 gr - not 2 grains
"The starting load was 4.2gr and the max load was 5.3," so the max, with a 2.0 grain variance could be as much as 7.3grains

or as little as 2.2 (4.2 - 2.0) - min

Cheesemaker said:

You describe 0.2 gr - not 2 grains
"The starting load was 4.2gr and the max load was 5.3," so the max, with a 2.0 grain variance could be as much as 7.3grains

or as little as 2.2 (4.2 - 2.0) - min

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Yeah. You're right. I'm not sure why that made sense to me...