Thinking of Starting to Reload

[model4006]

I think its time i started to reload. I plan on reloading .40 S&W, .223, .50AE, mostly, and maybe 10mm and .308 down the road.

My question is what type of reloader is good for a beginner, but also will last me a long time? Should i get a progressive? What brands are good? What does single stage mean, and if its not single stage then what is it?

 

[brentwal]

Start out with a single stage press, RCBS, Lee etc. Buy a starter kit & calipers.

Maybe get a tumbler and some type of case trimmer.

And reloading manuals and a must "The ABCs of Reloading"

 

[CRITGIT]

I started with the RCBS Rock Chucker Kit and a Lyman Tumbler. I've never regretted either.
Fun, cost effective and you are in control of the loads!

CRITGIT

 

[TX1911fan]

I just started with the Lee Classic Turret. It's great. Already loaded several hundred .45 rounds and 100 9mm. Easy to learn, easy to use. Just make sure you READ a bunch before you start. I recommend the ABCs of Reloading and the Lee Modern Reloading Manual (just ignore the blatant commercials for how great Lee and his stuff are).

 

[Poper]

Read Dave's sticky at the top of this forum. It will give you a good heads up for starters!

Oh, and welcome to the obsession.

Poper

 

[scrat]

Yep then be warned once you reload your hooked.

 

[Lookn4Brass]

Ditto on the Lee Turret Press. I used one for a long time. Some food for thought: If you are planning on reloading alot and are fairly handy/mechanically inclined, I would team up with someone whom you trust is a competent reloader and trade some favors to get them to help you with setting up a Dillon RL550 press. It is not hard to learn, and it will run at the pace you tell it to, and changing calibers is easy. After I got used to it(fairly quickly), it would produce 300-400 rounds an hour of .45 acp and 9mm ammo, and at a very consistent, very accurate and high quality, rivaling that of loading them one at a time. That allowed me to load just a few hours a month and have enough ammo to practice and compete with, and still have some left over to put in the gun safe. eloading can consume ALOT of your time if you let it. If you want to spend alot of time at it, that's OK and up to you. I had rather reload well, and spend the rest of my time getting to be better at shooting.

Something else to consider: I used to pay $10.00 to $20+ for a box of .45 ammo. Now I can make even better ammo for half that or even less! For me, I can safely get most of my semi-auto brass to about 20 uses before it needs throwing away. Probably a bit less for .357 or another magnum, but that's still OK. That's where the saving comes in - plus, you can get around 1,000 or more shots out of a pound of powder for most handgun loads.

 

[lgbloader]

My question is what type of reloader is good for a beginner, but also will last me a long time?

Single stage presses are really good to start on. You can always use a single stage press.
The LEE Classic Cast (Only $69.00) is really all you need.

Should i get a progressive?

To start off with, it depends on how much you are willing to read, how mechanically inclined you are, and how much ammo you will need to assemble. Me personally, I would pay my dues woodsheding with a single stage press.

What brands are good?

Redding, RCBS, Lyman, Hornady, Lee, and others make good single stage presses.
Dillon, Hornady, RCBS, and Lee make good progressive presses.

What does single stage mean

A single stage press is a press that has a single shell holder and will hold a single die for use in one stage of handloading a cartridge. With this type of press, it is best to work in a batch type process utilizing on specific purpose at a time, working from one load block to another, left to right if you will.

and if its not single stage then what is it?

It could be a turret which is the same principle of a single stage but has variations of how it works. It will consist of a single shellholder but the difference is that it has a turret (a round indexing thick plate) that will have 3 - 4 or even up to 7 places to install dies or a powder measure or a bullet puller and will allow for indexing to another die or station without having to remove a die and install another and reset the die or remove the piece of brass that you are working on from the shell holder. Some index manually, others do it automatically.

I hope I didn't confuse you but in case I did, you really need to start reading a few manuals before doing anything. Good Luck to you and most importantly, Start slow... and have fun.

Cheers.
__________________

 

[BullsEye10x]

A single stage press means you load in batches, and do one step at a time. The production rate is slow, but the quality of ammo is always very good. Single stage loading is good for rifle and target shooters, but if you shoot a lot (practice, matches, etc...) then you need to look into a turret or progressive setup. They are much faster and still make better quality ammo than factory.

What kind of equipment you buy also depends on your budget; you can get into reloading for very little or spend a lot on the latest greatest stuff out there. A lot of people are starting now to save money (one of the reasons I did), and you really don't need to spend a fortune just to get into it. But if you enjoy making your own ammo as much as most folks do, you will find that cost savings is just another benefit. It adds a whole new dimension to shooting, and you'll find yourself spending more time doing both

Based on your description above, I would suggest that you look at a Lee Classic Turret press with a few upgrades. I got mine from here, and they are great people:

https://kempfgunshop.com//index.php...facturer_id=0&option=com_virtuemart&Itemid=41

If you're interested in this kit, make sure to get the upgraded version - It has a better powder measure and both primer size feeders. I got mine plus the MTM digital scale for about $250 shipped, and that was almost everything needed to get started except components (I also bought a caliper and tumbler locally while the kit was on the way) With this setup, I am loading for 3 different calibers now and am very happy with the quality and production rate (average 200 rounds per hour). In fact, I just moved everything inside so now I can reload in the nice comfy AC:

 

[benzuncle]

+ another 1 on the Lee Classic Turret Press. It's a semi-progressive, will load about 150 excellent accurate rounds per hours and has a good learning curve if you read, read, read as mentioned above. I'm pleased as punch with mine. Cabela's and Kempgunshop have kits available for a decent price. Let us know how you fare.

 

[nambu1]

I started with the old Lee beat and bang. I Now have a Lee Pro 1000, Lyman Orange Crusher, Lyman T-Mag and Lyman lube sizer on my bench. It is a hobby that went out of control. I find it relaxing and cost efficient. It is addictive.

 

[35 Whelen]

+1 on the single stage RCBS. I'm still using my fathers that he bought in the late 60's. They're virtually indestructible, and when you start loading centerfire rifle cases, some of which may require some muscle to resize, the beefy RCBS is perfect. You can buy them used, very reasonably at eBay. Also, RCBS has hands down THE BEST customer service in the business. I've called them on numerous occassions wanting information on replacement parts and without exception they sent the parts for $0.

If you've never reloaded before, I think a progressive press is a bad idea. There's alot going on at once that could be confusing for a neophyte. An alternate to a single stage press is a turret press. It's handy to screw all your dies in at once and simply turn the turret instead of screwing dies in and out.

Good luck,
35W

 

[moooose102]

buy a single stage press to start with, UNLESS you shoot a lot. if you buy a lee aniversary press kit, be prepared to up grade 2 things very soon. #1) is the scale. while it does work, it is the bottom of the line, and mine stuck on me. resulting in a couple of overloaded cartridges that were WAY TO HOT! Lee replaced it, no questions asked, but i wont ever trust it again. #2) is the "perfect" powder measure. which it is not. it works very well for rifle cartridges, but with ball or flake powder, it leaks like a siv, even when tightened up enough to make it HARD to turn. lee's position on this is " while it is a little messy, it does not cause a safety concern". it does measure very well, even whike keaking, it is just messy. the rest of it is great. i like it just fine. and one thing you will definitly want to buy of theirs is some of their "Factory Crimp Dies" these are the best thing since slice bread.