Minimum el-cheapo handloading?

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OtG

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I'd like to start loading .38 Special (I need to get a .38 revolver now! The horror! :eek: ).
My excuse is that I have a box of empty .38 brass from a recent rental.

I have plenty of time and sufficient money (for now. gotta save.) to get myself a basic reloading setup. HOWEVER I have no space. Small room, living with 4 people, nowhere to put a loading bench.

I was thinking of using a Lee hand press, and loading mainly .38 wadcutters. (Next step: casting!) I'll probably order bullets from some reputable bullet casting place until I get myself set up to make them.

So I figure the basic setup would include:

Reloading manuals
Lee hand press
.38 special dies (How are the lee speed dies?)
scale
deprimer
powder measure
powder
case lube?

later:
mold(s)
9mm dies
melting pot, etc.

What am I missing?


Is this a workable setup? I'm mainly looking to save a bit of money, and learn more about all this shooting stuff. I don't really shoot enough to make a bigger setup feasible.
 
are you going to skip on a case tumbler and just do it by hand?

I would recommend getting the Lee carbide dies...thats what I use and they are very good for the money...

I would also go ahead and get the universal decapper die...Lee and RCBS sell 'em...worth it.

Lastly, get either the Lee or RCBS hand priming tool...RCBS uses regular shell holders where the Lee uses a proprietary shell holder...PITA when you have an odd-ball like a 7.62x54 or some such...

Powder measure...get the Lyman #55...has a built in c-clamp that can go up to a bit over one inch thick tables...and throws a good accurate charge....

and as far as the case cleaning goes...heck, if your going to do small amounts...get a rock-tumbler and use regular cleaning media...they are good for mebbe 70 or so pieces of 38 Special brass I reckon...and they are cheap.... :)

Darrell
 
I'm thinking you'll need a caliper to measure overall length. That's more critical for rifles rounds, though. I think maybe you can eyeball .38spcl to the same length as factory rounds?? Anybody disagree?

Likewise, when you get ready to reload centerfire rifle rounds you may want a case trimming tool, but you can probably do without in the short term, for revolver use.

If you don't want to use the hand press, you can use "C" clamps to temporarily mount your press to a sturdy table. That's what I do.
 
I'm in the process of setting up the way you are contemplating. Currently, I have the Hand Press, Universal decapper, primer pocket cleaning tool, deburr/camfer tool, case length trim tool. The Hand Press works perfectly fine. My first impression of it was so-so, but as soon as I started using it, I liked it.

I guess my only suggestion is to get the carbide dies ands skip the case lubricant. Also, forget about casting. I looked into it, and couldn't convince myself that lead vapor poisoning wasn't a concern (given adequate precautions).

The VERY first thing you should buy is the ABCs of Reloading. Read it thoroughly and THEN start buying your equipment.
 
i went with the ann. kit, but if your space is limited have you considered those classic loaders from lee for 20 bucks? everything you need minus a rubber hammer :) get that and a lee safety scale and you could be reloading for 47 bucks from midway. . . i have the speer 13 and the lee reloading books and i recomend both very highly, and both are only 10-13 bucks from midway.

edited for correctness
 
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I started with a Lee Loader. $15.00 on ebay. All you need after that is powder, primers and bullets. get the powder recipes (powder mfgrs. manual) from the bullet store where you buy the powder. They're free.

.38 spl is easy to load. Maybe a dial caliper would help, but straight case? not real necessary. Maybe a beam scale would help, but Lee gives you a dipper which will probably work. Maybe a set of Lee dippers.

All in all, Everything I mentioned above will fit in a shoe box. Take it out on the deck.

My wife made me go with her for 2 weeks to Hawaii for our 25th anniversary. I took all this along and reloaded the heck out of the time there. (We went to visit a daughter and she already had the pistol there for me to shoot.) I had to buy the powder and primers there.

edited to add.......This is an addictive activity. You can start off cheap, but believe me, you will end up with all the goodies. You will find the space and the money and the time. Stand warned.

Oh, you gotta get one of those little nylon/plastic hammers. It will fit in the shoe box too.
 
Here's what I'd do...

Lee turret press, mounted on a board with a rubber or felt sheet under it that is sized so that you can clamp it to your table/coffee table/black & decker Workmate. Set your dies up once, and forget 'em. The "speed dies" aren't.

Lee dies - they're perfectly good. Carbide for pistol.

Lee autodisk powder measure with their adjustable charge bar.

Lee's scale - works fine.

Lee hand held autoprime priming tool.

Use steel wool and a few seconds each case to clean.

Check ebay.
 
I'd skip the tumbler- They are nice, but you don't really need it, IMO. You can just wash them in the sink.

Don't forget you'll need small pistol primers too! :)


-James
 
The Lee Load-All is a $35.00 shotshell loader, and not what you asked for.
The Lee Classic Loader sells for $12.89 at Midway. It includes all the tools you need to get started. You must then supply the brass, primers, powder and bullets, as well as a stick or hammer to do the pounding. A plastic faced hammer is ideal, but a billet of wood like a hammer handle (a stick of firewood) has served me well enough in a pinch.
You can get a rock tumbler if you wish to annoy your roommates, but for generations we just wiped the cases with an oily rag to clean them.
Look at the instructions before you buy your powder, as the Lee scoop requires one of several that are suitable for your particular application.
Lead bullets are about $5.00 per hundred, $45.00 per thousand. Primers are no more than $20.00 per thousand, and a pound of Bullseye will get you about 2,592 shots.
Buy the powder and primers locally to avoid the HAZMAT fee.
You'll probably wear out the cases before you need to trim them, but the Lee trimmer is as good as it gets for trimming and costs under $10.00 for one size, and another $4.50 for another caliber. You will not even need one of those new Harbor Fright digital calipers for $16.00, but you might want to get one anyway. It makes you feel scientific.
Cheers from Darkest California,
Ross
 
Where do i find this $10 case trimmer? I am starting to gear up for 7.62x54R...and am not really interested in spending $60 for a trimmer....
 
Reloading manuals
Lee hand press
.38 special dies (How are the lee speed dies?)
scale
deprimer
powder measure
powder
case lube?
Click to expand...

Lee sells the hand press alone, as a kit, or as a kit bundled with a die set.

I'd say, get the Lee Hand Press kit with .38/.357 dieset. Expect to pay on the order of 50FRNs, plus S&H.

That will get you the press, die set (which includes a powder dipper and load data sheet), case lube (not needed as the pistol die set includes a carbide sizing die), Lee's priming die (I prefer Lyman's), and a powder funnel.

Then buy a pair of loading blocks, to keep things organized.

That, plus consumables, will get you going. Everything will fit in a shoebox.
 
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your best bet is midway for the case trimmer thats where i got mine. you need the shell holder and length gauge (sold together) under 5 bucks, and the cutter and back plate also under 5 bucks also with this you'll want the deburring tool. another 2 dollars from midway. 2 more dollars gets you a primer pocket cleaner as well.(not as necessary, i use a dental pic)
 
Bogie's got the best advice. It's how I started and how I got my dad started (except the press was mounted to his workbench). No need for case trimming if you're only loading low pressure 38s. No need for calipers, just eyeball against a factory 38. I wouldn't even get the adjustable charge bar. Mine never threw consistant charges and the various disks Lee provides work well enough until you start getting into critical loadings. I'd drop the hand autoprime tool, the turret press primes well enough.

You could probably get everything you need plus components for right around $100 if you shop around.

Chris
 
What's the advantage of the Hand Press over the Classic Loader? That it can use standard dies?
I may end up getting both, since the Classic Loader is so cheap ($13 at Cabelas).

What sort of case prep do I need to do?
Do the kits come with all the tools for case prep?
A couple people mentioned cleaning by hand... Do I need to clean the inside of the case?

And powder measuring. Those scoops that come with the kits are enough?

Guess I should get that reloading book, huh? :eek:
 
as far as books go, i have the lee book and the speer #13. to be honest i liked the speer better, just a consideration when your ordering a reloading book, as their prices are comparable. i felt the information needed by new reloaders (the first few chapters ) covering the loading process was better explained in the speer book. YMMV :)
 
The Lee Loader stuff is slow. VERY slow. That sucks when you're doing more than 20 or so rounds.

Single stage presses aren't really all that suited to handguns either. I generally use single stage, but I'll use several at once.

Scoops suck. The powder measure costs about 1.5 to 2 cases of decent beer.

You aren't likely going to need to trim pistol brass. If you shoot rifle, buy a Wilson case trimmer from www.sinclairintl.com - Yeah, you've never heard of it. Yeah, it isn't as expensive as a lot of 'em. So? It's the most accurate. Precise. What-bleepin'-ever.

The inside of the case cleans itself.

Harbor Freight hammers are good. Their calipers and micrometers suck. Look on ebay for starrett or mitutoyou measuring tools.

Speed dies suck.

For loading blocks, use the plastic inserts from cartridge boxes.

Buy the dang Lee autoprime, and the right shellholders. Trust me. Saves mucho headaches, fingers trying to pick up small thingies, etc...

Buy two reloading books from different folks. And call/e-mail friends if you're playing with something strange. Start at the LOWEST published (not the "lowest published in Book A" but the _lowest_ published) load you locate, and then work up.
 
The Lee Hand Press is very compact. And the Lee powder scoops are quite inexpensive off ebay. If you get the Lee reloading manual, you won't need a scale to start.
 
I guess I have an opinion: like everyone else.
The important thing is that you understand handloading and what you are doing. I starting off with a Lee Loader. I didn't know what I was doing and didn't know anyone to ask. I was given a couple regular presses: one single stage and one turret press but didn't use them because I didn't know what I was doing and didn't know how they worked.
Ok, the Lee Loader has everything you need to load .38 Specials minus the actual components: primers, powder, and bullets.
As time moves on, you can buy other items to make your loading easier, faster, versitile, and precise: but, the basic Lee Loader has everything you need. It just can be improved upon. Other things I would get as time goes on: Lee Auto Prime. This is a priming tool that will greatly speed up the priming step of the operation and will eliminate the chance of setting off a primer while priming the case (just a loud noise). Powder measure/powder scale. The Lee Loader comes with a powder scoop. It works, but it will only give you one load for a given powder. If you are easily satisfied, you can use that scoop and that one load for the rest of your life, but you will almost certainly want to play around with different loads and you can't do that without a powder measure and scale. When you decide to upgrade to an adjustable powder measure and scale, get a good one. It will last you the rest of your life. The Lee Loader comes with a load table that gives you loads with various powders and bullets using that one scoop that comes with the loader. If you stick to those loads and that scoop you don't need a loading manual for load data, however they are great for explaining the handloading process. Case cleaning. When I started out handloading, I didn't clean the cases at all. This isn't a big deal. You don't HAVE to clean your cases in any way. It is nice if you can, so eventually I would buy a case tumbler. Again, get a good one and make it the biggest one they make. This is another long term investment that will probably last you a very long time if not your whole life.
I have always considered the Lee Loader a good way to start out because you can make these little upgrades as you go along without breaking the bank. And, if you buy good stuff, in the end, you can simply buy a press and dies and keep right on using all the other stuff you bought.
I still occasionally crank out some ammo using a Lee Loader for old times sake. Actually, I have a Lee Loader for at least one caliber that I don't have any other way to handload. There is nothing wrong with them and I think they are fun.
 
What's the advantage of the Hand Press over the Classic Loader? That it can use standard dies?
I may end up getting both, since the Classic Loader is so cheap ($13 at Cabelas).
Click to expand...

Try them, you'll see.

The hand press is a real press, using standard dies. It's major shortcomings, IMHO, are it's kind of sucky ergonomics, and the fact that you don't have enough leverage to easily size larger rifle cartridges.
 
Lee Speed Die

fwiw, I have the Lee Speed dies in .38 spl & 9mm. I think they work fine, but my reloading experience is limited as well. I like the fact that you don't need to change dies for any step but the priming.

The Hand Loader comes with a universal priming die/tool and with the speed die you can get started. The speed dies de-prime, plus they include the shell holder.

I also got the Lee safety scale which seems very accurate, but takes longer than using the scoops alone.

The Lee classic hammer based tool is good also. I have one in .38 special. It is nice because you can do the entire process 1 round at a time so it is easier to stop when interrupted or you are getting tired. The down side is all of the pounding. It was driving my wife & daughter crazy, so I bought the press.

My next purchase will be another hand press to leave with the priming tool on it so I don't have to reset the depth of the main die part way through the process. Some would say to get a priming tool, but cost is similar and since I haven't tried a dedicated primer tool, I will likely go with what I already like.

Good luck & be safe.

-ChuckV
 
Ditto on the Lee classic Loader. Then, get the Lee auto prime ASAP. After you POP a primer tapping it in with the hammer, you won't be able to get one fast enough.

Excluding the Hammer, Bullets, Powder and Primers

Lee classic loader $13.99
Lee auto prime $10.59
Shell holder for above $2.69

Welcome to the world of metalic reloading for the

Grand total (at Midway) $27.27 not including shipping


What I like most about this loader is that it allows the newbee to learn and fully understand each step involved in the process.


Darkside
 
I actually started reloading very recently with the Classic Lee Loader. I had read both negative and postiive things about it, but I thought, "hey, for $13, if I don't really like it I'm not out a whole lot", and I wanted to test the waters to see if I would enjoy reloading at all. So, I bought a Lee Loader in.38spl and a Lee Autoprime because I took peoples' word that accidentally setting off primers isn't fun. Anyways, most of the steps are pretty easy, depriming cases is really fast, and I think I can deprime something like 100 cases in 15 minutes. Sizing is pretty slow, and I didn't have a rubber mallet to start with because the local hardware store was out of them, so I had to improvise and use the handle of a screwdriver (don't laugh...actually go ahead and laugh since I deserve it). Beleive me, sizing longer cases like .38spl using only the force from a screwdriver handle gets very tiresome very fast. however, I recently acquired an 8oz. rubber mallet and sizing is MUCH easier. I would say that you can probably size 100 cases is 30 minutes, but you'll be tired. Expanding the case mouth is pretty easy. Using the Lee Autoprime to prime the cases is also pretty fast. The slowest part for me is using the scoop to measure scoop up some powder, scrape off the excess, and to dump it into the case without spilling any of it. Seating bullets is pretty easy too, but getting a perfectly consistent seating depth is a bit of a challenge for me. Crimping is also pretty easy. So in conclusion, the kit itself is pretty neat and you can crank out a decent amount of ammo in a reasonable time using an autoprime and a real mallet. It is no doubt much slower than using a real press, but it isn't nearly as slow as I thought it would be reading some peoples' posts.
 
OtG,

Your scale and calipers are safety equipment. Invest what money you have here.

Lee Hand Press and handheld priming tool.
Carbide Dies
Lube will make resizing easier, but will have to be cleaned off.
A powder measure is nice but will need to be mounted. Lee's scoops are ok as long as you have a scale.
Manuals: you need 2 or 3 to start. Lots of data can be found online.
Trimming: Loading 38 special wadcutters you may never need to trim.
Bullets: Star 148 grain HBWC
Powder: Alliant Red Dot
Primer: CCI

David
 
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