Reloading advice

[Twebster]

I am thinking about buying a reloading machine. Right now I want to reload .40sw, 45acp, and 30-06.

What is a good machine that I can get? Is it worh reloading, does it save you money? Will one press reload handgun and rifle ammo? What is the difference from single stage press, turret reloading press, and progressive press?

[rwilson452]

Their are a lot of good reloading presses you can get it really depends on how much your willing to spend. Depending on what your reloading it will take at least 2000 rounds to amortize the cost of the equipment. More than likely you will not save money, you do get more bangs for your buck. In other words you wind up shooting up your savings. As to the difference in presses I suggest you read the stick at the top of this forum. if you want a press that will load both your pistol and rifle I would suggest a turret press as a beginning, a self indexing one. I favor the Lee Classic turret. I admit I like Lee presses I have three. the Classic Cast for my varmint rounds. I tend to be rather anal retentive about my varmint rounds. Each case is meticulously prepped each charge is trickle charged. A Classic Turret for short pistol runs and AR fodder. A Lee Loadmaster for churning out large numbers of pistol fodder.

A word of warning, reloading is a very addictive hobby and there is no know cure.

I am thinking about buying a reloading machine. Right now I want to reload .40sw, 45acp, and 30-06.

What is a good machine that I can get? Is it worh reloading, does it save you money? Will one press reload handgun and rifle ammo? What is the difference from single stage press, turret reloading press, and progressive press?

[Sevens]

Another vote for reading the sticky thread and then asking the questions-- we can help a lot more with specific questions. I will address this one, though:

Is it worth reloading, does it save you money?

It is absolutely worth reloading, for some of us it's a hobby all it's own that is just as enjoyable as shooting and collecting firearms. Myself, I probably enjoy it more. Not everyone loves it, for some folks it's just work and something that "has to be done" in order to go shooting.

Money-wise, you will spend a nice lump of cash to get rolling, so the cost savings isn't something you see right away. You will always be trying new powders and buying in bulk, so you'll spend a lot of money all along. The big difference is that you'll be shooting a lot more and you'll always have ammo. Instead of stopping by the gun store or Wal-Mart and dropping $30-$50 on ammo, you'll be spending the same or more on a bag of bullets, primers or powder.

So if you are on a shoe string budget right now, reloading isn't going to be an instant cure. Instead, it's going to be another big expenditure.

[Grandpa Shooter]

I started out with a Lee 3 hole turret progressive to load 38, 357, 308 and 30-06. Learned that turning it by hand had many advantages over the progressive where the press turns the turret for you. When doing rifle especially you need to be looking at every stage in the process. If I were to do it over again, I would upgrade to the 4 hole so that I could use the Lee factory crimp die in the 4th hole.

With rifle, you need to check the overall length after sizing and depriming each case. If it is over length you will need to trim it back to an acceptable length. Only then should you throw a powder charge, or dip one if doing it manually. Seat the bullet and apply an appropriate crimp. That again depends on the caliber and bullet being used.

Pistol can be run progressive after you understand all of the steps involved. It has been my experience that pistol brass rarely ever needs to be trimmed. Usually it fails long before being stretched so much it needs sizing or trimming. Make certain you keep track of the powder charging step so that you KNOW you have one and only one charge of powder. 40 and 45 are large enough capacity cases to allow a double charge if you are running a light load. YOU do not want that to happen.

Confused? Take your time and ask as many questions as you need. Try to make them as detailed as possible so that we can give you detailed answers. The more detail oriented you are, the better your outcome.

We were all noobies to reloading once.

[tom234]

Take a look at the Dillon RL550. If you can afford it go for the XL650 and be done with it. You don't have to buy all the add-ons/ options at once but when you can afford them.
http://www.dillonprecision.com/#/Dil...hines-8-1.html

[Twebster]

Sorry for the questions not being speific. I can start with buying the press and when I get it, if I have any questions I will ask. I am totally new at this.

Is it dangerous, can the bullet go off when pressing?

Thank you for the info.

[rwilson452]

Ok for starters the bullet is that projectile that goes down the barrel. the cartridge is the completed package. it consist of the case ( sometimes called the brass) the primer, the powder and the bullet. to answer the question you ask, it's impossible. to answer the question you should have ask. I have heard of primers detonating but I have never heard of the cartridge going off when reloading. I guess if you messed up really really bad enough or tried really hard you could get one to go off but I don't worry about it.

Sorry for the questions not being speific. I can start with buying the press and when I get it, if I have any questions I will ask. I am totally new at this.

Is it dangerous, can the bullet go off when pressing?

Thank you for the info.

[Zombie Steve]

I'm only a few steps ahead of you. I started reloading a few months back. I made the leap with an RCBS Rockchuker kit and bought some other goodies on the side. I won't realize any savings for a while now, but the other really good reason to get started is the accuracy you'll get when you find the right load for your gun. I've had great success with my .308 / Rem 700 - I'm already doing better than any match ammo I've run through her.
I might later look into a progressive (something blue, probably) and get some volume going, but I can load anything I want now on my single stage (I'll always use it for rifle). It will help you to start on a single stage / do batch operations first IMHO. Crawl, walk then run.


My 5 cents (2 cents adjusted for inflation).

[dmickey]

I started reloading on an RCBS Rockchucker about 40 years ago. (Has it been that long ago? ) I still use that same press for decapping and use an even older RCBS A2 press for loading both rifle and pistol ammunition. At one time or another I tried a turret press and a progressive press but didn't like them. So back to the single stage press! I figure that if you are having fun reloading why rush things?

[Ozzieman]

I have been 30 years with a Rockchucker and this morning I finished 500 44 special and sized 7mm REM MAG, it’s one of the best single stage pres made.
But I would disagree with most here, don’t go out a buy a set up.
Go to a local gun store or range and try to find some one that can show you the ropes. It will save you a lot of expense of buying crap instead of good equipment, and what I think is great you might not like.
As a beginner start with a single stage press and Carbide dies, also for any auto cartridge get a taper crimp die for the final step in the reloading process.
I have read where many members offer newbie’s here to show them reloading and you might find some one here that lives close to you.

There are a few things that a new person should buy.
Lee primer. One of the best low price primers.
Good scale, spend extra on one.
The best powder measure that you can afford that will do low to high charges so you can use it from 9mm to 30-03 loads.
Wilson case length trimmer for trimming rifle cases to the proper length.
A good dial caliper.
Every reloading book you can get your hands on. This is one of the best places to learn before you buy the process of reloading. The more you read the fewer mistakes you will make. I have been reloading for over 30 years now and have never had an accident of any king with my reloads or while reloading. There are some safety issues but do everything by the book, keep your charges within recommended loads, check and check again and again the loads your building and keep your reloading bench clean and you wont have any problems.
I would not suggest a progressive reloader for a beginner, set up can be a monster and as a beginner you need to do each step and inspect each step as you work your loads.
I have a Dillon 550 and reloads 9mm, 45 ACP. For the rest I use the single stage.
It’s cheaper once you have everything you need. Your first box of 45 ACP might cost $600 or 6000$ depending on the quality of your equipment but over the years it’s cheaper and the quality is better since you can reload for the gun your shooting.
For the best of equipment check out
http://www.sinclairintl.com/

[jamaica]

Do you like tinkering with mechanical stuff? If so you will probably like reloading.

Can you save money? Good question, but consider this: I think you can get a Rockchucker Kit and a few other tools for about $250. Enough to get you started. It is my experience that I can reload for about half the cost of factory ammo. Say you were loading for 45 ACP you can probably recoup your investment in about 1600 rounds. If you are shooting 200 rounds a week, that pays off in two months.

At this point you will probably want a few more tools, so you buy a few more tools. The real savings come after you decide you have enough tools.

I will second the notion to start out with a single stage press. When you get some experience you will know better what you may want to expand to. You will always have a use for a single stage press.

Have a great day!

[jamaica]

Will one press reload handgun and rifle ammo? What is the difference from single stage press, turret reloading press, and progressive press?

Yes, one press can do both pistol and rifle. On a single stage, one press of the handle does one operation on one brass casing. You change dies to move to the next step. On a turret, one press of the handle does one operation on one brass casing. The turret allows the mounting of several tools (dies) so you don't have to change tools, but just turn the turret to go to the next step. On a progressive, you mount several tools on the press and there is a turret that turns. Each pull of the handle does several operations and gives you a finished round.

You Tube has some good videos on reloading. Just pop over there and do a search. You can see some of these rigs in operation.

[BigJimP]

Adding reloading to your shooting hobby is a great idea - and most of us love it. Look at the link mentioned - then check out the websites for Hornady, RCBS, Dillon etc and look at their options.

For the calibers you list - I'd recommend the Dillon 650 model. Its a very good machine but not the only option out there by any means.

[elkman06]

I've been using a RCBS rockchucker set up for about 4 years now. I figure handgun ammo at about $8-10 per 50ct. Rifle about $6-8 per 20ct, maybe even less on rifle, depends on caliber, depends a lot on bullet selection for both. I pour a lot of powder into my 300 win cases..lol
A very definite side benefit of reloading is the desire to go shoot much more often. It turns back into a hobby that you may have done when younger and bored. It also has made me much more acquainted with my weapons and much more accurate w/ them.
elkman06

[BigJimP]

Cost of reloads: for 9mm I'm at about $4.75 a box now / .45 acp is about $ 7.50 a box ( with .40, .38 spl, .357 mag etc in between those 2 costs). But retail on 9mm is close to $10 a box out here / .45 acp is close to $ 18 a box.

[mniesen89]

18$ a box of .45 Jim? what state do you live in,I'm movin there! Here in florida,a box of that at the local waly world would run you about 25 and change!

[BigJimP]

Washington - but you have to shop to find it / and its going up as we speak. I saw some MagTech the other day / by the case / for under
$ 200 but it may have been old inventory that they hadn't re-priced.

[GuateShooter]

In my case, I start reloading with a Dillon 650 and I think its the best, I reload 0.40, 0.45, 9mm, 30-06. I tried other brands and this its better, faster, and foolproof.