The Firing Line Forums

Go Back   The Firing Line Forums > The Skunkworks > Handloading, Reloading, and Bullet Casting

Reply
 
Thread Tools Search this Thread
Old November 28, 2000, 11:47 AM   #1
Shin-Tao
Senior Member
 
Join Date: January 27, 2000
Posts: 1,528
Howdy. My first time in this section.

What's the most affordable way to get into reloading?
Shin-Tao is offline  
Old November 28, 2000, 07:50 PM   #2
Coolray
Senior Member
 
Join Date: August 10, 2000
Location: Spokane ,wa
Posts: 290
Depends.
I bought the Lee Deluxe Pistol kit with the hand prime for $88 shipping included add a die set $20 and supplies now your loading. This is the turret press, scale and auto disk powder measure and afew other do dads.

Bought it from http://www.fmreloading.com/

Look at it at http://www.leeprecision.com/

Kit number 90250
hand prime 90230
__________________
Hello My name is Coolray.............And I'm an Addict
Coolray is offline  
Old November 29, 2000, 08:11 AM   #3
Hal
Senior Member
 
Join Date: October 9, 1998
Location: Ohio USA
Posts: 8,563
Affordable?

Like Coolray says,Depends.

Handgun or Rifle?

What caliber(s)?

How much is your time worth? Progressives are faster, but a lot more money.You can load just as much with a single stage, but it takes a lot longer.

How many rounds do you foresee shooting in the next few years? A Dillon 550 can put out 500 rounds an hour. Great speed, but for me it's not that big an issue. 500 rounds of .45acp, for me, is a two months supply, maybe more. OTOH, 500 rounds of .22lr is about 2 hour supply.

Is a high quality piece of equipment a higher priority than one that will do the job? (Stanley or Craftsman work fine for most folks, but for some others, only a Snap-on is accepatable. I use a Snap-on screwdriver every day for work. At home, a Craftsman works fine)

I've heard a lot of negative about Lee equipment, but so far, mine is going strong after 25 years. For what I use it for, it's fine. I load only handgun rounds, mostly straight wall, and only load to pretty tame levels. My days of trying to work up the perfect world shaker magnum are pretty much past. Lee equipment has way too much slop for real precision loadings IMNSHO, and for heavy magnum loads, the equipment(Lee) just doesn't have the strength to resize a few thousand cases. Mine has a noticeable difference resizing factory .44mag once fiired vs my own tamer loads. YMMV, and most likely will. FWIW, I would recommend Dillon to anyone wanting to try reloading. They have an excellent reputation, and even though they are a lot more expensive, spread out over a lifetime it's a small difference in price. If it doesn't work out, you can always recoup most of your investment. If it does work out, then you're set for life.

We need a bit more to go on.
Hal is offline  
Old November 29, 2000, 08:15 AM   #4
Eric of IN
Senior Member
 
Join Date: April 4, 2000
Posts: 425
Most affordable, or cheapest?

Cheapest: Lee Anniversary kit from Midway $74.99 shipped plus dies, and shellholders. Not all that sturdy, and probably won't last as long.

Most affordable: Rock Chucker Master Reloading kit $286.99 shipped from Midway, also plus dies and shellholders. More expensive, but I have yet to hear of one that has worn out.
Eric
Eric of IN is offline  
Old November 29, 2000, 09:32 PM   #5
Swamp Yankee
Senior Member
 
Join Date: November 26, 2000
Location: Northeastern Ct.
Posts: 1,019
The method I used & still follow when I want to upgrade is to check the local shops and range bulletin boards for used equipment. This takes time and luck, you don't mention what your time frame is. Following is a list of some bargains I have uncovered.
Ohaus scale and powder measure nib discontinued stock for $40.
Lyman case trimmer with pilots, new, display model (they lost the box $25)
RCBS Reloader Special 3 used but like new $20
RCBS Rockchucker used $40
Pacific C frame Press Used $5
Lyman Turbo Tumbler Used like new $30
It did take over a year or so to find these treasures but they are out there. Try small stores that do not do a big volume in reloading. You'd be surprised how willing they can be to move things based upon "I'm sick of looking at it make an offer".
If you are in a hurry maybe get the Lee Aniversary Kit and start upgrading from there. Reloading equipment is like guns, you can't have enough.

Checking the gun shops for used equipment has a catch. Prior to entering the store you must say the following 5 times. " I will only look for used reloading equipment. I will not ask to see a pistol. I will walk right by the rifles without so much as a glance." Now if your in the shop before the third round is finished, by rule you don't have to listen.
Welcome to and enjoy the world of reloading.


Swamp Yankee is offline  
Old November 30, 2000, 12:14 AM   #6
Bogie
Senior Member
 
Join Date: June 5, 2000
Location: Job hunting on the road...
Posts: 3,827
Drop me a line if you want to talk about accuracy loading for a bolt action centerfire rifle... Traditional presses aren't always the way to go.

Bogie is offline  
Old November 30, 2000, 06:04 PM   #7
Steve Smith
Senior Member
 
Join Date: December 9, 1999
Posts: 4,131
Shin-Tao, many will tell of single stage presses for $100. That's standard. However, be prepared to spend abut twice that or a little more to get completely set up(barring the Lee stuff, or course. Expect to pay between $225 to $325 for a single stage setup with scales, dies, calipers, powder measure, case trimmer, and more. Recently I have been helping a friend get into reloading with the "most bang for the buck." We found the Lyman Expert Reloader's kit with the T-MagII turret press was the ticket. It sells for $259 through Natchez Shooter's supply, and will have you almost completely set up. All you need is a set of calipers and dies. It is also faster than a single stage. Sweet press. If I didn't have a Dillon, I would buy one of these.
Steve Smith is offline  
Old November 30, 2000, 06:15 PM   #8
Monkeyleg
Senior Member
 
Join Date: January 25, 2000
Posts: 4,625
Well, Mr. Groom-to-be , you'll need a press (obviously), a scale, a powder dispenser (unless you want to measure ad finitum), a case trimmer, a primer pocket cleaning tool and some dies. That's the minimum, although there's other stuff that makes it a bit easier. Dies will cost you about $25 for each caliber you want to load. You should be able to set yourself up with a good-quality single stage press and all the goodies for about $200 to $300 depending upon brand and how many goodies you want. But you'll recoup those costs (unless you count your time) in just a few hundred rounds. Federal .45ACP Match ammo around here costs $22 per 50 rounds. I can load 100 rounds of ammo that's more accurate for about $6. In the past year I've saved nearly $2300 just on .45 ACP ammo alone. Of course, I'm now shooting more than I ever did as well, since I can now afford it.

Dick
Want to send a message to Bush? Sign the petition at http://www.petitiononline.com/monk/petition.html and forward the link to every gun owner you know.
Monkeyleg is offline  
Reply

Thread Tools Search this Thread
Search this Thread:

Advanced Search

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off

Forum Jump


All times are GMT -5. The time now is 05:11 PM.


Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.7
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, vBulletin Solutions, Inc.
This site and contents, including all posts, Copyright © 1998-2021 S.W.A.T. Magazine
Copyright Complaints: Please direct DMCA Takedown Notices to the registered agent: thefiringline.com
Page generated in 0.05501 seconds with 10 queries