New interest in reloading.

[Aaryq]

Howdy, folks. I'm getting some weapons in pretty soon and the ammo's pretty expensive. I want to start getting into reloading but I'm on a pretty tight budget. I've been doing some reading on the THR stickies and elsewhere, but how much would the initial buy in set me back? My 3 big ticket items would be 7.62X54R (pretty easy to come along), .303 Enfield, and 8mm. I've already got a 9mm. I'm also going to end up (in excess of a year from now) getting .45 LC, .38 Special/.357 mag, and/or .40 S&W. So just for what I have right now, how much would the initial buy in cost?

 

[DaveInFloweryBranchGA]

The initial cost depends entirely upon you and what equipment you select. The more expensive the equipment, the higher cost. If you want something that'll reload all the stuff you mentioned at a reasonable price, with reasonable production and reasonable quality, I would look at a Lee Classic Cast turret press setup.

For the rifle, I would use a Hornady or RCBS case activated powder drop and an RCBS Uniflow as my powder measure for rifle cartirdges. I would use Lee die sets for both pistol and rifle. For pistol, I would use a Lee Pro Auto Disk power measure on top of the Lee expander die that comes with Lee Deluxe pistol die sets.

That'll get you reloading with a setup most can afford. You can spend less, but the Lee Classic turret is a press you can own for a lifetime or sell easily if you decide reloading isn't for you.

Regards,

Dave

 

[scrat]

True it all depends on you. now the lee aniversary set would be the best in my opinion. all you would need to do then is purchase some dyes. then its primers, powder and bullets. you need to get some reloading books though.

 

[Aaryq]

But could you give me a ball park estimate on how much money it will cost to get started?

 

[kludge]

Lee Anniv. Kit + 3 sets Lee rifle dies + 1 powder + primers + bullets = ~$250

4895 would work for all three rifles.

Online load data = free

...just checking... For some reason IMR's website doesn't list the 7.62x54 for IMR4895, but all three are listed for H4895 (Hodgdon).

Chrony = $80 ... Yes, you really want one.

 

[scrat]

thats a good estimate. now you can shave off about 60 bucks or more if you start off on one rifle at a time. you can reload cheaper. but thats a good set up. i spent less than 100 to get started. you still can if you want to go cheaper. you can get the standard lee press and a set of dies. if you get the red die pack it will have the sizer decapper die, the seating die, and the crimping die, plus case holder and dipper. Only thing else you would need is a primer installer. But the lee modern reloading manual is a big plus. check out www.midwayusa.com or even go direct to leeprecision.com