This may be a decent article to plug into (link below) on handloading that might help the folks that are thinking about getting into it.
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Hand Load Ammunition. . .
- Thread starter 6hold
- Start date
good article
One thing to keep in mind is that straight wall cases can be reloaded
many time... 10-12 easily. One caution here,,, inspect the cases
your gonna load after cleaning and discard any the show cracks or
wearing.
JimB
One thing to keep in mind is that straight wall cases can be reloaded
many time... 10-12 easily. One caution here,,, inspect the cases
your gonna load after cleaning and discard any the show cracks or
wearing.
JimB
This link is excellent. I've been looking for a link like it everywhere. I am intrigued with the idea of reloading, although the idea isn't feasable for me now, eventually I will reload. How much space is actually required for a decent reloading station? I have an empty desk about 4ft by 2ft.
Here's another one for you:
Varmint Al's reloading page. This is not a "how to" guide by any means, but he's got some good stuff there.
I have two progressive presses in that much space.
You'll need additional room for scales, supplies, tools, and a tumbler/case separator, but these items can be taken out and put away easily when you don't need them.
Yes it is, I own Lee equipment. I like it, it works for me, and it works well.
If I had the $600 that you have ready to invest, and I know what I know now, I would most likely go with the Hornady Lock-N-Load setup. From everything I have read it is an outstanding piece of quality equipment, and has a few options that my Lee press doesn't offer. Jim (eddiecoyle) has this press, and is usually more than willing to share all the fine points of it's operation with users here. He would probably be your best resource for that information.
If I had the $600 that you have ready to invest, and I know what I know now, I would most likely go with the Hornady Lock-N-Load setup. From everything I have read it is an outstanding piece of quality equipment, and has a few options that my Lee press doesn't offer. Jim (eddiecoyle) has this press, and is usually more than willing to share all the fine points of it's operation with users here. He would probably be your best resource for that information.
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What kind of stuff could I be looking at. I am willing to throw more for a progressive press, but am unsure about the cost of practically anything else. You'll have to excuse me, I haven't any prior knowledge of reloading, but am considering based on increasing ammo prices + tightening of my budget (spend less on factory ammo). What is a estimated break-down of costs?
Saw this deal for $336.80, is this a good deal?
Dillon 550 Reloading Press with Many Accessories. This is a very lightly used Dillon 550 reloading press. It is in great shape and is ready to start loading your shells. It comes with 9mm,41mag,44mag,.357/38spec,30-06 and .270 dies. There are also 4 tool heads, 3 toolhead stands, all of the shell plates and conversion kits. It has 1 powder measure, instruction manual and primer tubes and primer conversions. I am sure if all of this was added up it would probably reach between $800 and $900.00 easily. Buyer to pay shipping. Paypal preferred. NOTE: If winner would like I will take the press to Dillon and have it gone through before shipping it out. This is about a 3week wait and it runs about $40.00 extra. Also this item is for sale locally and I reserve the right to end the auction without notice if it sells here first.
Dillon 550 Reloading Press with Many Accessories. This is a very lightly used Dillon 550 reloading press. It is in great shape and is ready to start loading your shells. It comes with 9mm,41mag,44mag,.357/38spec,30-06 and .270 dies. There are also 4 tool heads, 3 toolhead stands, all of the shell plates and conversion kits. It has 1 powder measure, instruction manual and primer tubes and primer conversions. I am sure if all of this was added up it would probably reach between $800 and $900.00 easily. Buyer to pay shipping. Paypal preferred. NOTE: If winner would like I will take the press to Dillon and have it gone through before shipping it out. This is about a 3week wait and it runs about $40.00 extra. Also this item is for sale locally and I reserve the right to end the auction without notice if it sells here first.
What calibers do you want to reload?
9mm, .40s&w, .45, .357, mainly the list of defensive pistol. I have plenty rifles, but don't shoot them often enough for reloading to be worth it. I plan on practicing a lot, and shooting a lot. As of now, all i have for my guns is 9mm (eventually will have the rest).
That's a great deal assuming you can get it for that price. It's an auction though and likely to go up. You'll also need to buy some other stuff.
Let's say you want to load .45 ACP, here's a breakdown of stuff you'll need to get started:
$350 for the press
$16 for bushings
$26 for a shellplate
$38 for a set of dies
$19 for a separate crimp die
$25 for a powder check die
$50 for the tumbler and media separator
$25 for a scale
$5 for a powder pan
$20 for the calipers
$12 for the bullet puller (not that you'll need it)
![[wink]](/xen/styles/default/xenforo/smilies.vb/002.gif "Wink [wink]")
$586 is the grand total
This stuff will get you started. You could go cheaper on the dies if you wanted but in my experience, it's not worth it. I put in a separate crimp die because it's easier to set up (and WAY easier to adjust) than a combo seat/crimp die. The L-N-L press also has 5 stations so I included a powder check die to ensure that you don't over or under charge a case. This is not an absolute necessity - especially on a self indexing press (I don't use one) but you have an extra station so you can use it if you want.
To answer your question: Yes, you can get going for $600.
EDIT: You can get going with a Dillon 550 instead for a bit cheaper, mainly because this press comes already set up to load one caliber. It doesn't auto index, and does not have room for both a separate crimp die and a powder check. The stuff for caliber changes is also more expensive.
You can add a case feeder to either press, and either press can be set up to load pistol or rifle cartridges.
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Wow. Thanks Eddiecoyle, your help was invaluable. I am putting that in my favorites. I appreciate the time spent gathering those links. After I get all of those, then its just a case of gettin the powder,bullets,casings,and primers??
Yup. Don't buy any cases though - you should be able to scrounge most of those calibers at the range.
Right. Woohoo, this may be my winter project!!! As it is right now, I'm saving up for a stackable laundry machine, so gun expenses will have to wait. I think instead of buying another gun, this will be a worthier investment. I'll be saving $$ instead of buying $600 worth ammo (which isn't much anymore).
Start saving your brass. Keep in mind that loading just 9mm is not going to save you much money. It's the cheapest caliber to buy, and once you have the brass, it costs just as much to reload as many other less common calibers.
Where reloading really starts to save you money is when/if you start shooting stuff like .38 Super, 10mm, .44 special, .460 & .500 Magnum, etc. I posted a cost breakdown on here somewhere a while back but I "paid" for my whole setup (and then some) the first afternoon I used it to load .500 Magnum.
Where reloading really starts to save you money is when/if you start shooting stuff like .38 Super, 10mm, .44 special, .460 & .500 Magnum, etc. I posted a cost breakdown on here somewhere a while back but I "paid" for my whole setup (and then some) the first afternoon I used it to load .500 Magnum.
I would be reloading .40 and .45 as well. Right now, i've only bought for 9mm because it is cheap, but I'm looking into getting a .40 Sig P229 and a 1911 S&W for IDPA. I know those two caliber's can get pricey.
