Thinking about getting into reloading....

[itgoesboom]

As I mentioned in earlier thread(s), I am getting a little money that my wife is 'allowing' me to use towards my shooting/hunting hobby.

After all is said and done, I will have ~$200 to spend extra.

One thought is to purchase a .22lr rifle, but the other thought is to see if I might be able to make a setup for reloading.

I am mainly intrested in reloading for my .30-06, although it would be nice to load for my 9mm pistol as well.

So my questions are:

1. What do I need to get into basic reloading?
2. What are the costs related to this?


Thanks everyone.

I.G.B.

 

[Lennyjoe]

Initial costs are a bit much but it pays off over time.

Equipment needed are;
Press, either a single stage or progressive. You can spend alot of money here. I use a single stage Lee for rifle loads (except mass .223 AR loads).
scale, you can get either a bar type scale like an RCBS 5-0-5 or you can spend money on a digital scale. Your call but for a beginner who is deciding on if he likes reloading I would suggest the 5-0-5 over the Lee anyday.
Dies,Chose the dies that best suit your needs. Once again, I use Lee's for most reloading and RCBS for neck sizing only.
calipers,a must for checking OAL. You can get either digital or standard calipers but make sure they are decent quality. No plastic allowed
case prep tools,such as chamfer tool, cutting tool and case length guage. Cheapest way to go for good tools are the Lee brand. Usually you can get all 3 for around $20.

You can get the Lee anniversary set up for around $65 but the scale is less than perfect for sure. For $200 you can get quite a bit of stuff to include bullets, brass and powder and be well on your way.

As for bullets, powder and brass, you first need to decide on what the load is for. For deer I use Winchester brass, WLR primers, IMR 4350 and Sierra 165gr SPBT bullets. They are plenty accurate and kill deer dead.

More to follow from other reloaders for sure. I just barely touched on the minimals. Don't overlook Lee products. They are good products at a decent price.

Enjoy.

 

[Ol` Joe]

The RCBS starters kits are a good way to get going with first rate equipment. I`d look at this one, just add dies and shell holder.

http://www.midwayusa.com/eproductpage.exe/showproduct?saleitemid=133068

 

[Smokey Joe]

Do your homework!!

Itgoesboom--Before you run out and start spending yr hard-earned $$ on a new venture, it pays to read up on the subject.

THE best primer on reloading, IMHO, is The ABC's of Reloading put out by Krause Publishing, www.krause.com Get it at yr local sptg gds sto, gun sho, the I'net, or order it from Krause.

Covers all phases of reloading, the what-to-do, the how-to, and the why-and-why-not's. Covers safety, needed equipment, nice extra equipment. Covers pistol, rifle, and shotgun ammo reloading.

Krause must be doing something right; the book is in its 7th edition. If you find an old 6th edition, that one is good too. (No experience further back.)

If there had been something like this when I started reloading in the early 60's, I would have saved endless fiddling around, wondering, re-inventing the wheel, and buying stuff I didn't need.

It's just a great reloading book; should be on every reloader's reference shelf.

You will also need a loading manual. There are several standard manuals, plus each maker of components puts out pamphlets on just their stuff. Plus the makers' websites are good too. Best manual for starters is the Lyman 48th edition. You will acquire others as you continue reloading, and it's good to cross-check when making up a new load.

But for heavens' sake, start yourself off on the right foot, with The ABC's.

 

[HMSHarley]

Reloading Tools you will need

Hello Sir:
These guys pretty well covered it all. I have just a little I would like to add. I just recently got all my stuff. Took me a year to get it all. Being that I am disabled and funds are very low. SO what I did was I got an acct with Ebay and hung out there for hours looking at all the reloading stuff there. I picked up a ton of xlnt deals in Ebay. PLUS. Wait til you here this one. I kid you not. I went to crags list.org. This is a true story. I was shocked as you all will be as well. Here goes.
I went to the sporting goods section and put my ad as follows:
Anyone have any reloading gear they want to sell and get rid of at a reasonable price? On disability and funds are low. Please let me know. A thank you and I was out of there. So I went back a day later and here I got a posting reading............Hey Harley, I got a buch of stuff I am getting rid of. Call me and you are welcome to it all. Some of it is trash and there is a ton of good stuff. Here's the deal. Take ALL OR NONE. I thought about it. I called him up and met with him a xouple of weeks later down in San Diego. It was well worth the hour drive. Holy moly did I make out good. I got over 1,000 cases of once fired brass, an old Deitemeyer Shotgun reloading press, complete. Still cleaning it up now. In perfect shape if anyone know anything about it. I may give it to aomeone that may want to mess with it. I also got a perfect brand new powder measure for pistol. Complete escept I had to get a nre sownspout and resevoir and cap. Powder measures are costly too. I also got a Lyman 6 hole T-Mag Turret press. Perfect conditon. A Lee single stage press. Brand new. Just everything was all dusty. No big deal though.
a little TLC and everything literally looks brand new now. All I need now is a bibratory tumbler and I am all set. For now I am loading new brass. Loaded my first one yesterday. Wow. So much fun to do. What a cool hobby. Plus this person gave me 2 kegs of Bullseye Gunpowder. So happens to be what I use for my handguns. Can you beleive this? A true story. I was so excited to get all this stuff. I even offered to pay him for this stuff and he would not take a single dime from me. He was just happy to do it. What a nice man. So I made a new friend as well got the stuff I needed to reload. So this is how I got started in teloading my own. Hope I didn't bore y'all with such a long story. I just wanted to share this with y'all. I am so gratefull. This kind of thing just don't happen these days anymore.
You may also want to go to www.rcbs.com and there are a ton of links on step by step reloading. READ IT.....You will learn a ton of stuff there. Then go to the Valiant powder site from there too. A bunch more reloading stuff and also they have reloading data and charts there with what to use and how much, etc. Oh one more thing. I just picked up a Hornady 3 poise magnetic dampner powder scale on Ebay and recv'd it yesterday. Only $20 and is in PERFECT condition. Hope this helps and y'all have a good day. Thanks for y'alls time too.

Sincerely, Richard Ormsby....aka....Harley

 

[AStone]

IGB, here's some more info.

Nem

 

[dcloco]

You can get the GOOD stuff for that money.

Buy a used RCBS press (or new Lee as the others indicated).

I will break down what I purchased online, gunshows, etc.

RCBS RockChucker - older version, with metal links, not the new black side links. $40 + 25 shipping - $65.

Uniflow powder measure - $30
Uniflow powder measure stand - $5

Hornady case trimmer - $35

Case trimmer pilots (Forster brand - they are cheaper!!) - bought a lot of them on fleabag - $15

RCBS 505 scale - $30 on gunbroker

Digital micrometer - on sale at Midway - $19.99

There is your $200. All of the above items you can probably sell for 20-40% more than what you paid. Just have to do your homework.

I highly recommend purchasing NEW dies - you don't know how others treated them.

You will also need:

Black sharpie - I stole mine from work
Sizing lube - I have tried them ALL, I LIKE Hornady or Imperial wax - $2.99 for the Hornady
Reloading tray - check Midway closeout sales - $0.99 per tray

Tumbler - I purchased a complete Frankford Arsenal brand from Midway when they were on sale - $49 - has the media seperator, bucket, and tumbler.

Good luck!

 

[Berek]

We should post a sticky about this. There have been a lot of "What do I need?" questions showing up. Someone should get a nice list, toss it around to see if someone thinks of something they didn't and then post it. Would make it real handy for ppl looking to start or just getting started...

Just my $0.02...

 

[Zen21Tao]

I just started reloading about a month or so ago and found out real quick that it can be a blackhole for money.

I started off modestly with $45 for reloading manuals/load books, a $95 Lee Turrent press a couple die sets for about $30 each, a 2nd powder measure for about $30, and a 2nd turrent disk for $10. Then came a Craftaman workbench and Backboard that set me back about $275. Once I had my set up came an extra $15 for a bullet puller, about $10 for plastic bullet cases/boxes, $40 for primers, $55 for powders (Hogedon and Alliant), $180 for bullets (800 rnds .40 and 500 rounds .50), $130 for Brass (1000 10mm nickel Starline).

Although there always seemed to be (and I am sure will continue to be) something else I needed to set me back a few more $$$, I must say that the first batch of ammo I loaded and fired gave me the feeling that this has all been money well spent.

 

[itgoesboom]

Thanks everyone!

I honestly had kinda forgotten that I had asked this question after a couple days.

Turns out that reloading is not in the cards, atleast just yet.

I.G.B.