Is my reloading equipment shopping list complete?

[azonicdh]

I've pretty much read most of this fourm and googled every article/video in regards to reloading 9mm & 45ACP and decided to make a purchase. Since I don't have the space for a bench setup and will be loading at the range, I decided on using a single stage hand press & Speer brass from factory ammo I am using. Besides the bullets, powder & primer which I will buy after reseaching reloading manual(s), is there anything else I need to get?

Lee Modern Reloading 2nd Edition
Lee Hand Press Kit (with funnel, ram prime unit & lube)
Lee Primer Pocket Cleaner
Lee Deluxe Carbide 4-Die Set 9mm Luger
Lee Deluxe Carbide 4-Die Set 45 ACP
Frankford Arsenal DS-750 Electronic Powder Scale 750 Grain Capacity
Frankford Arsenal Impact Bullet Puller
Frankford Arsenal Electronic Caliper 6" Stainless Steel
Frankford Arsenal Flip-Top Ammo Box #508 (45ACP)
Frankford Arsenal Flip-Top Ammo Box #501 (9mm)
MTM Universal Reloading Tray Compact 50-Round Plastic

Please let me know If I am missing anything or something on the list should be replaced.

[uncyboo]

You will want a balance beam scale, just to double check the electroninc one.

Since you're going single stage, you may also want the Lee Auto-Prime. It's like 15 bucks and I've always found it easier to use that the priming apparatus on the press.

[Jim243]

Why are you going with the hand press??? It is basicly for benchrest shooters to reload rifle cases right at the bench they are shooting at. If you are buying 9mm and 45 ACP dies, I would go with the Lee Classic Turret press.

[2Old2Change]

Jim243; You miss the point. He said he'll be loading at the range. Obviously, he doesn't want to be carrying all these tools in, doing the work, and hauling it home. In my opinion, I'd go with a small hand press.

[hans4811]

edited...didnt see the loading at range...

[Dis-1-Shooter]

To OP, I do not recommend a new reloader reloading at the range. There are too many DISTRACTIONS. In my experience the digitial scale are very sensitive. Ceiling fan or someone walking by can throw off readings and they tend to lose zero often; I agree with uncyboo, could result in squib or BIG kaboom. I recommend working up some test samples and once reloads are good, load up alot at home. You really do not need a lot of room to start with the equiptment that you have. Another thing; someone please reconfirm, a green grasshopper once told to not use a crimp (Lee Factory Crimp Die" to crimp 9mm & 45 ACP. The greengrasshopper recommends a taper crimp die. Lee Factory Crimp Die are ok for revolvers. Good luck and happy shooting.

[NCMountain]

Get a nice magnetic dampened balance style beam scale. Easy and works like a charm. The Lee one I got with my kit is great. It cost only $20 to boot alone.

I also have a digital Hornady but find I grab the balance most often!

I use the digital to weigh my bullets to make sure they are the weight they claim. From time to time I will do the powder weight but not too often.

[Loader9]

Since you'll be loading outside in the wind, I'd skip any scale. Learn to use the Lee Dipper Set. You'd be surprised just how accurate you can dip powder with one.

[NWPilgrim]

- You need some means to prime the cases, so a hand priming tool would be good. Lee, Hornady, RCBS, Lyman, etc all make one.

- You might want some case lube even if you are using carbide resizing dies. I don't know how much leverage the hand press has, but I understand it was mainly designed for neck sizing rifle cases, not full length sizing. Certainly pistol cases take much less force, but it wouldn't hurt to have a can of RCBS or Hornady spray lube on hand just in case.

Actually, if you are loading at the range, I would do as much back at the workshop to prep, and just do the final steps at the range. At the workshop you could decap, resize, clean primer pockets, and prime the cases, and even bell the case mouths (ever so slightly). You can even calibrate your powder measure against your scale, especially if it is a fixed cavity measure such as the Lee dippers.

When you get to the range all you have to do is pour in the measured powder, and then seat and taper crimp the bullet. The hand press should easily handle these range steps.

At the workshop you could have a simple press like the Lee Reloader, or Challenger Breech Lock.

Be sure to take your reloading manual and bullet puller to the range as well.

[Stick_man]

You've got a great start to a very consuming (but also very rewarding) hobby. At some point you may want to consider a case trimmer for returning brass to correct OAL. One word of caution though, is that list would satify your starting needs but will NEVER be complete. Once you get into it, you will always be wanting more... more calibers, more dies, more room, etc. Plus, you may even eventually catch the bug to get into casting your own bullets. And then... Anyway, I think you catch the drift here. Pretty soon, you will not want to do anything else and you will realize YOU ARE ADDICTED! Some addictions are meant to be kicked. Other addictions can only be fed and cultivated.

Welcome to the wonderful world of reloading!

[Dr. Strangelove]

Simple, but - a flashlight.

Use it to make sure that all your cases are charged, and charged to the same level. Nothing like a case with no powder, or worse, a double charge!

[Lost Sheep]

Welcome to your new obsession, azonicdh.

Your shopping list is NEVER complete.

Lost Sheep

[Lost Sheep]

Thanks for asking our advice.

In the field, if you use a balance beam scale, you will want to be able to shield it from the wind (however calm it may be) A full box with a door that can be closed. Clear plexiglass is best. Or what Loader0 said. I have found the Lee powder scoops to be VERY repeatable, although throwing lighter charges than the index card says they do (I am told; I never refer to the card, I measure their powder charge myself). And a LOT cheaper that a powder thrower and almost as fast.

On the other hand, a powder dispenser (also called a powder thrower) will be pretty much immune to wind. Powder scoops (like the Lee set) need you to have the powder in some sort of open container. With much wind, the accuracy of the the scooping will be blown away, literally, and maybe some of your powder, too.

For a press, I suggest you do what I did when I first started reloading. I used a regular bench-mount press, but did not use a loading bench at all. I just mounted the press on a 2" x 6" plank long enough to wedge into the drawer of an end table. My loading gear all fit in a footlocker and spread out on the coffeetable and the lid of the footlocker. Good leverage meant the table did not lift or rock. I still use the same plank, but now it is mounted in a Black & Decker-type folding workbench. A loading bench "bolted to the center of the earth" (as some describe their setups) would be more stable, but I do not feel deprived without it.

I have never used a hand press, but I know that when I operate a mounted press with one hand, my other hand is picking up my next cartridge or bullet or something. Having both hands occupied to operate a portable press would slow me down considerably. If you don't want to bring a folding workbench to the range for loading, figure out how to mount a board on your bumper or trailer hitch.

I think, if you plan on doing a lot of loading in the field, I would rethink. When I first started with my single-stage press, I took about one minute per cartridge. A hand-held press would be (I estimate) twice as slow. Being careful, I am not a lot faster now, but it is a whole lot more comfortable in my living room than at a shooting range to load a couple of boxes of ammo.

Loading at the shooting range is usually done by those folks working up rounds for long-range rifle accuracy, not semi-auto handguns.

Modifications to your shopping list? I got along for years without a caliper of any kind. You can measure headspace by dropping the cartridge or the case into your barrel of your disassembled pistol. And I don't trust electrical measuring tools.

Get two loading blocks. Fill one with 50 cases, and as you pass them through each step of the process, place them in the other loading block. When the one is empty and the other is full, you are ready to do the next step.

If you are going to use a scale to measure each powder charge, a powder trickler is really handy. Scoop (or drop) a charge slightly less than your desired amount and trickle the weight up.

Eye protection. I have eye protection that is just for loading (though shooting glasses can do double duty, I prefer to keep one pair always next to my presses). I am looking around for a chemistry lab tech's full face shield (cheap). I have never set off a primer while loading, but you never know.

A primer flipper (a little plastic tray that, when you shake it, will flip all the primers face up for you).

More than one manual (The excellent Lee book gives very narrow ranges of loads -minimum to maximum-). And the powder manufacturers and bullet manufacturers provide some good data on their web sites, too.

When first starting out, use a voluminous, fast powder (like Trail Boss). Voluminous powder makes it harder to double-charge a case and makes the single charge easier to see (also use a flashlight as Dr. Strangelove suggested). Fast powders are more forgiving of light loads than slow powders, too.

Good luck, and don't pinch your fingers in your press.

Lost Sheep

Here are some other threads, too, aside from the excellent one "stickied" to the top of this forum and the good ones you can find in this forum. Just search on the obvious key words.

http://forums.accuratereloading.com/eve
http://www.rugerforum.com/phpBB/viewtopic.php?t=13543
http://www.rugerforum.com/phpBB/view...fbd5ae1f754eec

[zippy13]

You might want a brush for your inside case necks. Also, a bullet puller at the range is a little over kill (it relatively large and awkward). If you have an oops at the range, take it(them) home for future dis-assembly -- you'll be a happier camper.

I concur with those expressing doubts about a hand press at the range being a wise first step to reloading.

[Powderman]

For a good press that you can use almost universally, I recommend the Forster Co-Ax press. You can load any caliber with dies--it has a universal shell holder built in. Plus, if you carry a couple of long C-Clamps, you can clamp it to a bench at the range. No problems! Take a look...

http://www.forsterproducts.com/store.asp?pid=24822

[chris in va]

Lee Modern Reloading 2nd Edition
Lee Hand Press Kit (with funnel, ram prime unit & lube)
Lee Primer Pocket Cleaner (don't need)
Lee Deluxe Carbide 4-Die Set 9mm Luger
Lee Deluxe Carbide 4-Die Set 45 ACP
Frankford Arsenal DS-750 Electronic Powder Scale 750 Grain Capacity (get a beam scale instead)
Frankford Arsenal Impact Bullet Puller
Frankford Arsenal Electronic Caliper 6" Stainless Steel
Frankford Arsenal Flip-Top Ammo Box #508 (45ACP)
Frankford Arsenal Flip-Top Ammo Box #501 (9mm)
MTM Universal Reloading Tray Compact 50-Round Plastic

Sounds like you have everything set up the way I do, actually. One tip, make some powder dippers from spent shell casings. Measure out your powder load on the scale, cut down a 9mm casing to level with the charge and glue some wire to it for a handle. Works great, and you don't have to go buy dedicated powder dippers.

The one in the back is made from a 32ACP shell, and measures 3.6gr of Bullseye. Front is a 380 and is 3.0gr Bullseye.


Only use the Hand Press at the range if you want to adjust OAL or add more crimp. Don't reload at the range.

[riverwalker76]

Why not try the Lee Classic Loader? ..... http://www.leeprecision.com/cgi/cata...leeloader.html

I carry one in 45/70 Gov't with me on all of my Elk Hunts, and it fits in a pocket of my pack. I picked up a wooden mallet from a local Craft Supply store, and all I need are a dozen bullets, my Lee Classic Loader, a packet of primers, a small tuperware bowl with powder and a shop rag dampened with car polish in a plastic baggie, and I'm ready to go.

Less than 5 pounds of weight, and it will all fit in one pocket of my ALICE pack.

They're cheap enough that I have one of each caliber I own in my "Stuff Hit The Fan" bag in the garage. They are a cinch to use, and are very accurate because they only size the case neck.

[Dustin0]

The list looks good. To me might even have a few things you dont need. Like the 4 die sets you only need the 3 but its there is you want it. I would like some feed back on the hand press please.

[SaxonFSU]

honestly i would never want to use the hand press with pistol bullets, i use mine on occasion for rifle, and it was my first press, but soon realized that when i started to load pistol, i wanted something more. i went with a lee turret, but honestly,

http://www.midwayusa.com/viewproduct..._campaign=9315

this press bolted to wood, and then clamped to a bench at the range would serve you so much better, i also suggest going with a hand held primer.

[SaxonFSU]

or honestly after looking at your list, why not just get this?

http://www.midwayusa.com/viewProduct...tNumber=121744

has almost everything you need but the dies, and the breach lock's will make changing at the field so much easier.

[5R milspec]

well to be honest it will never be finished.thats if you get the bug we all end up getting.after you get used to loading for one type of cal,you will end up getting more trust me.

reloading for me can fixabout anything.even make the wife go away from time to time.LOLbut hey yeah your list looks good to me.but again it will never be finished.