Welcome to reloading and thanks for asking our advice.
Welcome to reloading and thanks for asking our advice.
I'm trying to get into reloading. But the company web sites are terrible. Does anyone offer a starter kit?
Thanks in advance.
Everyone offers a starter kit. (Well, almost everyone.)
If, by "terrible", you mean the web sites are hard to decipher, I agree. If the reader is not familiar with the terminology and concepts of reloading (or any esoteric activity) reading advertisements and the web sites is bound to be difficult. Pretty much no cure for that but study.
If, by "terrible", you mean unproductive, that does not bode well for your reloading future.
I have read a number of the threads you started and you have been around long enough to know which way is up. So, I will tell you what I think.
Opinion: You will not likely be happy with any kit. One assembled by a manufacturer (or even a well-meaning advisor, no matter how experienced) is not likely to be selected for just the right equipment for any given person. Hey, it is hard enough to pick out stuff for one's self, much less a stranger. Almost every kit buyer winds up replacing most of the gear once the reloader has doped out his/her personal style and preferences. Any kit will have some stuff you will never use, and be missing stuff about which you will think, "What idiot left THIS out of the kit?"
So, my advice is to assemble your own kit. Piece by piece. But that's just me. Others will say that a kit will get you started with the basic gear and allow you to be reloading soonest and upgrade at your leisure. This is true. But not to my taste.
Assembling your own kit will require you to do more research up front. If you are the impatient type, probably not for you. If you are the impatient type, reloading may not be for you, either.
But don't let me discourage you at this point (as if I could!).
Research presses. First question to answer is, "Do you want a single stage, turret or progressive?" The biggest factor in this selection will be the number or rounds you will be loading.
You have a lever gun and your SRH, both in 454 Casull. You also tend to favor revolvers in centerfire, at least, so I assume you will be loading .357, .44 and .454. You like the magnum rounds, I think, so I imagine less than 200 rounds a week. Imminently doable on a single stage press. Far too few to justify a progressive. So, I would recommend a single-stage or a turret press. If you will be loading several different calibers per reloading session, I would suggest a press that allows easy changing of dies. A breech-lock press or a turret (or the Forster Co-Ax) will give you that.
If you like my writing style, I suggest you check out a thread I started, entitled "Budget Beginning Bench you will never outgrow, for the novice handloader."
http://rugerforum.net/reloading/293...you-will-never-outgrow-novice-handloader.html
Basically, it is what I would buy today if I were starting out today as I did in 1975, but with the knowledge (of reloading and of myself) that I have now, and with a limited budget.
And then there is my "10 Advices for the novice reloader"
Post #24 on this thread
http://rugerforum.net/reloading/24357-new-reloading.html
Now, what altitude_19 said: What's your budget? How much will you be reloading (for a good estimate, take what you are shooting now and triple it)? How much space do you have for your reloading gear? Will you leave your loading bench set up permanently or pack it away after each loading session? How important is portability? How mechanically inclined are you? (from your previous threads, I think, pretty mechanical)
We can give you better advice, the better we know your style and needs.
Good luck. Always wear eye protection, especially when working with primers and be safe, always, all ways.
Lost Sheep