Gettin started...

[SimplyChad]

Ammo is getting expensive fast for my wife and I. In the past month she spent almost 600 dollars on ammo. Enough is enough Ive got to start reloading.
Here are my currently used calibers at home.

.327 mag
.380/ 9mm
.38/357 mag
.223
.243
.7mm-08
.308
.30-06
8MMjs
.45-70

Soon to be added yet not enjoyed for a few more months :banghead:
.45 acp/colt
.454 casull
.44 mag

The main ones I worry about reloading are the Mag pistols, 45-70 and 7mm. Feeding a .44 mag, .454, and my 45/70 is just getting difficult
So for a basic reloading operation i.e. nothing fancy and hopefully under 250 bucks to start not including brass and what not what would yall suggest. Models and brands. Ive already ready the sticky.

 

[J_McLeod]

For what describe, at that price, the Lee classic turret is the best. It's easy to change calibers, and you can make over 100 per hour. You can also remove the index rod by removing one screw and use it as a single stage

 

[Lost Sheep]

Thanks for asking our advice.

Second recommendation for Lee's Classic Turret. It only has 4 die stations, but Lee is the only maker that markets an auto-indexing turret.

For the amount of shooting you do, a progressive might be better from a quantity standpoint (200 to 1,000 rounds per hour, depending on the equipment) where a single stage press pretty much tops out at 60 rounds per hour and most turrets are hard pressed to reach 150-200 per hour. But progressives are pretty expensive and changing calibers is a bit of a bother. With the Lee Turrets, caliber swaps take about 15-30 seconds (not counting the powder measure change-up).

Keep in mind that the Classic Turret is far superior to the Deluxe, especially for that 45-70.

Kempf's gun shop sells ($210) a dandy Classic Turret kit containing
Press
Dies
Powder Measure
Primer dispenser (for both large and small)
half-dozen MTM ammo boxes.

You add as many manuals as you care to have, a scale of your choice and a good pair of calipers and you are set. Adding each caliber will involve adding a set of dies and a turret head to mount them in (not necessary, but for $10, takes the 5 minute job of caliber swaps down to the aforementioned 15-30 seconds).

There are a lot of other things you will want, but they can wait until you find a use for them (case-mouth chamfer tool, bullet puller, etc)

Ask to be in contact with Sue Kempf. She uses the Classic Turret herself and will take good care of you.

Lost Sheep

 

[SimplyChad]

Thank you for the advice guys. The 210 deal looks great. Now the only question is to wait until im home or let her play with my new toys first?
I guess I should point out that was a crazy month for her. Im in afghanistan and shooting is how she relaxes. But Normally I shoot about 100 centerfire a month and as much 22 as I can.

 

[kingmt]

Your shooting may change when you can shoot center fire for the same price as 22LR.

I would look at progressive before I jumped into it. If she can burn that kind of ammo the price of the press is nothing.

 

[45+9]

The Lee Cast turret is a great first press. I bought mine about 6 months ago and have 12,000 rounds through it. As someone else said, Sue Kempf is great to deal with, cannot recommend them highly enough. I would upgrade to the Pro powder measure, I think it's $12 more, but the screws that hold the hopper thread into metal finger nuts. I think on the other model they thread into plastic. Not sure about that, never used the less expensive one.
I would also get about 10 of the square plastic nuts that run on the index rod. They are pretty easy to strip out as you learn the press, and they're 2 for a dollar. If you have a local source for Lee parts you may not need to keep that many, but they're cheap insurance. Not much else can you tear up without a big hammer.

 

[Blue68f100]

I would look at a progressive over a turret. I don't know how many rounds you shoot/week but some of the calibers you listed are quite pricy when buying new, where the reload cost would be only 25% of the new. At these savings your equipment will pay for it's self pretty quick. The front runners on Progressive are Dillon 550b or 650 and the Hornady LNL-AP with the LNL being cheaper. Just make sure your saving all the brass your shooting now.

Reloading is not hard if you are person who looks at the details. If your one who don't I would recommend not reloading. If you miss one detail you could blowup a gun and/or get hurt..

Most of us find reloading relaxing. Then if your one who shoot 1000/week and time is of an essences, this means you go more expensive Auto Progressive press(es) for higher volume, 600+/hr. Even with 9mm you can save 50% and it only gets better..... if you buy supplies in bulk. If your going to do it, now is the time to buy since this is an election year and supplies are starting to get scarce and price going up.

 

[357 Terms]

I love my classic Turret!

K.I.S.S. For the price it really can't be beat.

 

[joed]

During the last shortage my 2 progressive presses sat there silently for well over a year. The problem was for the price I could produce ammo I could go to Walmart and buy it cheaper. It wasn't till the end when you couldn't even get it from the Wal that I started producing.

I debated selling the presses but just can't bring myself to do it.

 

[mingansr]

SimplyChad, i'm new to reloading, but for what it's worth, here's what i've bought

i have purchased a new Lee Loadmaster for my .40s&w XD 40 (by the way, you can't purchase lee stuff for a better price than 'FSReloading.com', the factory authorized distributor for Lee Precision loaders and parts. i got mine, and they are on sale now, for 220 plus ship. i live in WI so i had to pay the sales tax. eBay couldn't come any closer than 239 plus ship.

the Loadmaster is a five station turret, with a huge 1 3/4" piston. it's massive. the price included 3 dies for 40sw, auto powder measure, auto primer feed. i purchased the fourth die, a Factory Crimp Die (the third die, which seats bullet, should then be backed off so no 'roll crimp' will be done). that was another 16 bucks. the Loadmaster can do all pistol and even the magnum rifle calibers. comes with shellplate for the 5 positions. you can quick swap out to another caliber in no time, as i understand.

the bug has bitten me, so i'm gonna reload my .30/06 and .270 soon, too.

the site has videos for reloading in the various presses, BUT at my xdtalk.com, one guy gave me the info on a great site, called 'loadmastervideos.com'. the Glock boys donated the money for the site, and it's great. cuz i saw a youtube video on loadmaster that just was not put together well, at least for a newbie like myself.

if you're gonna just load rifle calibers, perhaps the other guys might be right about other presses. IMO the Loadmaster is the best. other manufacturers are gonna charge a whole lot more. since every bullet i shoot comes from my IRA, dwindling fast now, i felt the loadmaster was the best value for me.