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Old July 20, 2010, 09:37 PM   #1
Beaninlv
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Newby needs help

I want to reload myself, how much (ballpark) am I looking to spend for your basic setup for 9mm, .40, .45 acp and 38 special? Any brands/products I should stay away from? Thaks for all your help.
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Old July 20, 2010, 09:41 PM   #2
Unclenick
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Welcome to the forum.

Start by reading the forum sticky for new reloaders, here. It may answer all your questions. If not, it will give you more specifics to inquire about.
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Old July 20, 2010, 10:56 PM   #3
midnightrider
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Lee makes a great turret press I have been using mine for 2 years, I love it. The single stage is good but for a beginner spend a little extra on the Lee classic turret press and learn how to use it. trust me its totally worth it. it makes realoding alot faster.

check ebay for a powder measure. you want to get a good match grade powder measure. I found a Midway brand one for around 40$ and it will throw fifty charges all the same with ball powder.

RCBS 505 scale is a awsome scale. I picked one off ebay for cheap at auction

Lee pistol dies have worked great for me and they are a great deal.

Lee primer tool also works very well.

Im not sure whats out there for case trimmers, I have a forster screwed to my bench it also works very well.

Lyman .50 cal chamfer/deburer tool I have found to work out very well. the standard size ones will break if you drop them. I have dropped mine thre or four times and it hasnt broke.

thats whats on my bench this equip has worked well for me.

your off to a great start already joining the forums and asking this stuff.
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Old July 21, 2010, 08:39 AM   #4
rtpzwms
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I would guesstimate that 300 for the first caliber and 100 for each caliber you add. That number includes powder, bullets and primers for each and its a very round #. Best to make a shopping list and post it and many here will be able to tell you who has the best deal at the moment. Others will add to your list those things you've forgotten that they find important. You can then look at all of the input and decide what you need and you'll know where to get it at a good price.
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Old July 21, 2010, 03:39 PM   #5
Dave R
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I was out of pocket under $100 when I loaded my first round, but I bought press, powder measure and scale used.
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Old July 21, 2010, 04:51 PM   #6
dlb435
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One of your best souces is Ebay. Hold out for a reloading set that is complete and has the calibers you want to reload. All the little bits and peices can get expensive. Both RCBS and Dillon offer lifetime warranties so a used press can often be repaired with little or no money out of your pocket. Lee is a lot cheaper but is only warrantied for two years.
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Old July 21, 2010, 06:17 PM   #7
BigJimP
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read the sticky at the top like someone else said ...

In terms of equipment / most anything made in the last 30 yrs is decent equipment. At the same time / they're all a little different. Some are single stage / some are progressive. I lean more toward the "progressive" so you get a finished round off the press every time you pull the handle - so its a lot faster. Time is at a premium these days / and if it takes you an hour to load one box of 50 it can be discouraging for handgun ammo. But not everyone needs a press that will produce 20 boxes an hour either ...

Fast is not good by itself / you need safety foremost / and high quality. You can get both on a single stage or a progressive. A progressive in an of itself is not dangerous to a new loader - but you have to study / learn the process.

I think the Turret presses mentioned may be ok / and they're inexpensive. Dillon makes an entry level press for about $ 365 and it comes with dies. At the upper end of progressive loaders you'll find the Hornady LNL / or the Dillon 650. Dillon 650 for just the press is $ 545 and you need dies, etc to make it work ( so its really about $ 750 ).

There is lots of good used equip out there for sale / some of it is rode hard and put away wet ...some of it is good. You have to know what you're looking at to judge.

You'll need some startup stuff / case cleaner, scale, etc and probably a few hundred bucks in that stuff. Press $ 150 - $ 750 -- you pick one ... Components are different .... if you buy in smaller volume ( like powder in 1 lb cans vs 8 lb kegs / you should expect to pay more ) .... so just on 9mm, as an example, you might end up paying $ 0.07 a round for components to over $ 0.12 a round ...just depends ...

Try and find some guys at your local club / that will help educate you on equipment / maybe act as a mentor to you ...help you thru the learning curve a little. Give you some pros and cons on different equipment.
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Old July 21, 2010, 06:52 PM   #8
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Lee Precision Classic Turret is a great place to start. You get a kit and dies for $177.95 from Kempfs https://kempfgunshop.com//index.php?...mart&Itemid=41
Read owner reviews on Midway USA and Cabelas web sites and you will see which equipment is worth buying. The Classic Turret is highly rated. Get Lymans Reloading manual and Modern Reloading by Richard Lee especially if you decide to use Lee Precision equipment.
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Old July 21, 2010, 10:11 PM   #9
midnightrider
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^^^X2 ^^^^ on the Lee classic press, I have one I love it. It depends on how much shooting you intend to do to make the jump to a progressive press. If you plan on putting 200 rounds downrange each time you go you may want to get a progressive. but for the workin' man that does some shooting on the weekends the Lee classic is a great press. I can sit down and load up fifty pistol bullets in less than 20 min. Rifle is different I shoot precision so it takes longer. I do get carried away on squezzing accuracy out on my rifle reloading. If I wanted I could pump out rifle almost as fast as I can pistol.

I have broken my Lee Classic press trying to neck size 30-06 with a Lee neck sizer. the Lee neck sizer works great on rifle cartidges where the neck walls are paper thin but for anything bigger the Lee neck die is a giant piece of S***:barf: dont get those, they take way too much upward force to get neck tension needed on rifle cartridge, people have luck with them, seems 50/50 on good and bad from guys I know. The turret holder broke into two pieces. Lee fixed me right up. I mailed them the busted piece to them, and they sent me a new one.

Last edited by midnightrider; July 21, 2010 at 11:43 PM.
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Old July 21, 2010, 10:54 PM   #10
riverwalker76
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You could have all you'd need for around $250 if you went with a Lee Breech Lock Challenger Kit, all of the Lee dies you would need for the listed calibers, and a few reloading trays. That's minus your primers, brass, bullets, and boxes for storing your finished cartridges.

I know a lot of people like the Classic Turret Press, but I prefer the 'Plain Jane' Challenger Press. The Challenger Press is easy to set up, and you can become as efficient with it as any other. For pistol calibers ... that's all you need. It also leaves less room for error when you consider the single stage press operation over the multi-stage operation of some presses.
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Old July 21, 2010, 11:12 PM   #11
chris in va
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I bought an inexpensive Lee hand press kit and just about everything else was used. All told, probably $120.

I agree about that Lee Classic Cast turret, if you prefer to reload on a bench it would be a good way to go.
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Old July 22, 2010, 09:28 AM   #12
engineermike
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Bean;
Your info says your in the LV area, if that is the case then as suggested above, I would look for a local gun/shooting club. If you have one or several then I would go to all of them and see how you like the people who hang out there and check to see if there are any safety issues and just start asking questions. Usually clubs get their members discounts of supplies but you may also be able to find suppies at a discount near you. The calibers you cited for reloading will take a couple of different sized primers and maybe a couple of different powders. As far as price, well it's just like buying stock, no one ever buys at the bottom or sells at the top. You can check Midway USA, Graf & Sons, Cabela's, Midsouth Shooters, and others for an average price and used is usually a good choice. As stated earlier in this thread, this forum is a good source of information, and althought I have not been on here very long, I find they are a good lot of people. Just buy the basics and start from there.

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