I'm ready to take the plunge into reloading! Pleasse help with advice.

[rock_jock]

I've finally decided that this is the way to go. In the past year, every time I've saved enough for a reloader, I ended up buying a new gun instead. So, I have lots of questions for you experienced folks. Probably the most important is: do I have enough room for a reloading setup? My house is quite packed, and the only possible place I could put a small set of shelves is a a four foot space in my garage. Will four feet be enough to set up a reloader and accessories?

Here are a few others (please be patient with these questions since I know know squat about reloading):

- What is your favorite place online to buy supplies? I found a Dillon RL 550B at D&R Sports for $278 - is this a good price?

- What other accessories besides the reloader itself should I get?

- All my handguns are of different calibers. I shoot the following about the same amount - .40, .38 Sp, .44 Sp. Which would be the most economical of these three to reload (i.e., compared to factory-produced prices)?

Any other suggestions or comments are welcome and appreciated.

rock

[bullet44]

Glad to see you are entering the world of reloading,
great fun, and better ammo.
Yes 4ft sq enough however as you go you will find
yourself expanding into the house, everwhere.
Now my advice is different from others in that I
believe it is best to start small, a single stage
press or better yet a inexpensive lee turret press.
That way you get to feel and see entire process and
much easier to catch mistakes. With the turret you
can load 100-200 per hour with practice. Then see
what your needs/wants are and move up to the progressive,
in any event the price you quoted on the Dillon was
very good.
Best of luck and happy reloading.!!!

[LilJoe]

I agree with Bullet. With the single stage you will learn everything about each stage that way when you do go to a progresive press you will know when something goes wrong just from a sound or a feel. As for the turret. You still are basically on a single stage by only doing one round at a time.You will start really slow and learning everything then before long you can get great amounts out of the turret. As for the Lee Turret. You can get a new Lee Pistol Deluxe for about $89. That will get you everything you need. Since you shoot more than one cal. all you need is enough 4 hole turret plates to keep your dies set up in and all you need to do is just change out. It would only take you seconds. Once you start shooting alot and your need for more rounds goes up you can goto the Dillon and have the knowledge to have minimal squib loads. My wife shoots about 1000 round a week and we do it all right now on a Lee Turret. If I could stop her from wanting more guns then I could get the dillon and keep ahead of her but she would still keep ahead of the machine!

Joe and Marci

PS. Find some reloaders in your area and check out the hobby and relaod with them for a little bit and that will help too!

[Mike Irwin]

I reload on a 2-foot wide bookshelf that is in my basement. I screwed it to the wall studs to keep it steady, and then plated one of the shelves and attached my Lee Turret press to that. It's a little cramped, but jugging stuff between shelves (I use the other shelves for storage, and the unit goes from floor to ceiling), I can reload pretty efficiently.

I want to get a real loading area set up one of these days.

[SDC]

You should be able to do your loading in a 4-foot square area, but you'll quickly find yourselve wanting more room. I load rifle, pistol, and handgun, and I keep my presses mounted on 3/4" boards that I can just C-clamp to the table when I want to use them. Get yourself a good manual and a couple of "Handloader's Digests", and you'll figure out what you need to do. For pistol, I use a Lee turret with extra heads set up for different calibres, so you can switch them in a couple of seconds. As long as you verify your charge weight each time you change dies, there's not a whole lot that can go wrong.

[muzzletalk]

I started out with a lee loadmaster progressive press with auto indexing. I now have a Dillon 550 that I love. I find this setup better than the lee for mainly one reason. With the 550, I fell that I have more control over the press than what I did with the auto indexing press. I decide when the shell plate is to turn. This eliminates problems that I have had with the auto indexing. With the auto, everytime that you pull the lever, the shell plate turns no matter what. The more control that you have over the press the safer you will be. Some might disagree, but I have found out that reloading is just like the rest of life, you get what you pay for. If you use cheap bullets, you get cheap results and the same with the rest of the components. I think that you found a really good deal on the 550 and would snatch it up. There are lots of books out there and just by reading here, I have learned allot.

[kjm]

Don't do it. Don't get into reloading at all, just turn around and walk away!!!! First you'll start saving money, but not for long. You'll eventually wind up getting all the neat gadgets out there, and before long you'll be shooting so much that you'll purchase a little country place to shoot more often. You'll be the envy of your friends but the dread of the local firemen when you begin to store hundreds of pounds of powder.

You'll eventually start to lie to your wife about where this money went and where that money went: "no honey, we didn't get a Christmas bonust this year 'cause the boss was giving out chronographs." It would be better if you didn't even bother, but knowing that you will anyway--GO DILLON!!!!

My first cartridge cost me $2200.00. All the rest were free!

[James C. Parker]

I have been reloading for pistol, rifle, and shotgun for about 34 years. I started out with an RCBS Junior press and still use it some, but I have added a Lyman T-Mag turret press. I keep extra turrets with the dies set. I am now loading over twenty calibers. I have long been a fan of RCBS components, particularly the dies, but have had good service with other brands. I enjoy reloading and prefer the single stage and turret styles over progressive. So I reload for both enjoyment and to save money on ammo. I concur with the others who say to get a good instruction and data book and get with a friend who reloads to get a feel for it before investing a lot of money. But, this is a hobby that can be done relatively inexpensively and can be added to forever. I would also suggest that in addition to a press you should start out with these items: powder scales, case-length gauge, case trimmer, and loading blocks (to hold the cases). Remember, you will have to purchase several things separately every time you go to a new caliber, including a shell holder, set of dies, brass, bullets, etc. Be sure to follow the powder charge data to the letter, starting with a suggested starter load. Never begin with suggested maximum charges. Try them out in your firearm first, inspect your cases and primers, and work up to a suitably accurate load. Good luck! I know you'll get lots of fun and enjoyment from this.

[Johnny Guest]

ROCK JOCK--

Good advice from all who have posted replies so far. If you STILL want to get into it, glad to have you aboard. I like to think this board provides some very useful information, and, even with all the years I've been re-stuffing ca'tridge hulls, members of the forum have saved me from some potentially serious errors. You don't have to agree with ALL the information posted herein, but it costs nothing to read it, and the entertainment value is great!

Professor PARKER---

I see you are new to The Firing Line, but a vereran of about as many years loading as I. Thanks for your input and we'll look forward to seeing you often.

Best regards to all--
Johnny

[Bob C]

I strongly recommend you start with a single stage press, and get very familiar with what is happening at every step. Then, if you think it worthwhile, go for a progressive, such as ther Dillon.

I recently ( two weeks ago) bought a Dillon 550, and after buying the misc. stuff I thought I needed that didn't come with the press, it cost about $550 to load for five calibers, including the press.

Learning this press is interesting, but without a good working knolwedge of reloading going in to it, I'd be in trouble.

If you upgrade later, the single stage is still handier for working up loads, or correcting problems, or for rifle calibers, etc.

[Steve Smith]

Well, we're all different, and we all have different likes and dislikes. Otherwise, there would only be one brand of press out there.

I have to respectfully disagree with Bob C., but first, I need to clear the table. I haven't been reloading long...maybe a year and a half. I feel like I've had an extremely steep learning curve, though. I typically do with anything that I'm interested in. When I first started, I looked around at the local shops that carry reloading equipment, and asked a lot of questions. A really old-hand handloader (and store owner) said, "I typically start everyone on a single stage...are you mechanically inclined?" "Yes," I said, "I put the fuel-injected 350 in that Toyota Land Cruiser and set it up myself." Pointing to my Cruiser in his parking lot. He said, "Do you do that for a living?" "No," I replied, "I'm a video teleconferencing engineer for the military." He said. "You'll need a progressive. Don't waste your time with a single stage."

I didn't type that to pat myself on the back. I typed that because the old man was sizing me up. You need to size yourself up...are you inclined to really LEARN what's going on with each stage, and will you DEDICATE yourself to pating total attention to your press while in operation? If so, and if you feel like you're mechanically inclined, then by all means, get a Dillon.

BTW, I'm penny-wise and pound foolish sometimes. I wound up buying a Lee Pro (slow) 1000 for my first press. I quickly learned how much a press could suck. I quickly sold it and bought a Dillon 550B. The press runs great, and I reload with a smile on my face. She's pretty new, though, only 15K through her so far (not even broken in!)

[JerryM]

I have a friend who has a 550 that has very little use. It comes with a .357 conversion kit. In addition he has 3 extra toolheads; a toolhead stand; conversion kits for 30 M1 Carbine, .45 ACP, and 40S&W; an extra new Dillon powder measure, a set of Dillon Carbide dies (I forgot which cal), a Lee .45 Taper Crimp die, and a dust cover. He wants $350 plus shipping for all. Not a steal, but about $100 less than retail I think. A good buy if you need all the conversion kits. If interested email me and I will get you in touch with him. I am not getting a commission. Jerry [email protected]

[slo_dog]

I'm not going to get into the single vrs. multi stage debate as I have and use both . My recomendation would be to purchase a starter kit in the cal. you would like to reload . If you start piecing the equip. you will spend much more than you will on a kit that will include the basics . As in ,case gauge,press,dies,trimmer,brush,loading manuel,tumbler. I consider this to be basic starter equip. There is no good short cuts when loading . Also when you buy your powder be shure to get a manuel for that particular powder , yes there is a difference . be warned rolling your own is very addictive