If or when to start reloading?

[Winston_Smith]

Reloading is sort of like having a baby. If you keep waiting around for the perfect time, you'll never do it.

You crack me up.

Billsnogo, I decided to get started reloading when this whole ammo shortage started. I have been accumulating tools, components, and information over the past year. My advice is not to rush it and realize that many of the people here have been at it for a very long time.

 

[Wildyams]

Another thing i've noticed about reloading is it usually tends to throw my brass in a tighter pattern. With factory loads my 9mm will throw brass in 5 foot circle, with my hand loads my brass lands in about a 1 foot circle. Much easier to find.

 

[idahoglock36]

I started out with 40 cases of .222 shot them all each weekend. Bought my primers and bullets 100 at a time, and a pound of powder when needed. Had to save a long time to get there.

Then I was only 13 or so and would use the Lee hammer slammer reloading kit. Dipped my powder from a baby food jar, with the only lee dipper that came in the kit. No one to really teach me anything until I got enough money to go out the the do it yourself reloading shack in town....oh the good times.

Now we need tumblers, chronographs, trimmed brass, bullet pullers, special powder and bullets, calipers, scales, different dies, progressive reloaders.....Man was I surprised the first time I took a case trimmer to those 40 pieces of brass..probably could have made a real penny from the shavings from each one.

Some how I still miss hammering those rounds out on my parents living room floor while watching cartoons.

Spend a little money and try it out before you spend a lot....If you like it the rest will follow, if not it is less equipment to collect dust.

 

[billsnogo]

Great advice! I am looking at borrowing the abc's of reloading from my library to start, then buy it if I want to proceed. In the time being, I am thinking about maybe something like this http://cgi.ebay.com/LEE-Deluxe-4-Ho...emQQptZLH_DefaultDomain_0?hash=item5ad50e3cda and a tumbler from cabelas for $50, and need to find out what else to get.

Not looking to cast any bullets, just buy them for now. Will keep an eye on this forums classifieds also

 

[Seedtick]

Hey Bill,

I think you can save a little on that press kit at Graf & Sons - here and that price includes shipping. Grafs is a good place to do business and they have even had a few primers in stock the past few days.

ST

 

[rfwobbly]

It is easy to recover the brass for the .38, but my 9mm's tend to throw the brass all over....

Here's another point you're missing: With reloaded ammo in your auto pistol, the brass tends to pile up much, much closer together. With reloads you'll recoup a much higher percentage of your brass.

If you need volume brass, most indoor ranges will sell you 1000 for around $30.

 

[Arkansas Paul]

Don't count on finding any at a gun show. Oh, you'll find them all right. The last show we went to, we found them. Large rifle primers, $12 per 100. No thanks.

 

[billsnogo]

I can get the RCBS supreme kit for $250 from cabelas. Would this be a good starter kit?

edit: looks like I can get the Lyman Crusher II Expert Reloading Kit for the same price too.

or would I be better off piecing it together myself?
Something like the lee classic turret and use the extra $ for dies and tumbler, bullet puller?

 

[rfwobbly]

If you want new, then there's no way to beat the price on an assembled kit. You do save some money. In no particular order the top kits are probably: Hornady LNL Classic, RCBS Rock Chucker, Lyman T-mag, and Lee has several.

If there's any rifle ammo in your future then the Lyman kit is great because you get the #1 selling reloading manual and a case trimmer. I'm not aware of any other kit with a case trimmer, which is a "must" for rifle reloading.

If you are going to mainly load pistol, then you may wish to piece your system together. I say this for several reasons....
• Excellent single stage presses have been made since the 70's and there are a lot of them out there for cheap. Lots of excellent scales and accessories too.
• Once you hone your skills and processes on a single stage for about a year there will be no holding you back from a progressive press. When that time comes the single stage will be relegated to rifle, specials, and odd chores. You'll still need it, but you may not wish to have an outrageously expensive press sitting at the other end of the bench doing very little. So a lot of people buy a used press to start if there is a major urban center nearby where such things can be found.

What ever you do, remember this... Don't be like the new motorcycle owner who spends every dime on the bike only to remember they also need a helmet, coat, gloves, etc. There is no complete kit out there. They are all missing calipers, dies, bullets, powder, primers, work bench, chair, bikini-clad assistant, etc.

The choices are bewildering. Hang in there. Keep reading. Keep asking questions. Keep interviewing assistants.

Hope this helps!

 

[editingfx]

bikini-clad assistant

I need to load with wobbly sometime!

 

[Walkalong]

They are all missing............................... bikini-clad assistant, etc.

So.......unless he ordered one extra.

I wonder what those run anyway?



Explaining said assistant to the wife ...........priceless.

 

[lgbloader]

Walkalong:

Quote:
They are all missing............................... bikini-clad assistant, etc.

So.......unless he ordered one extra.

I wonder what those run anyway?



Explaining said assistant to the wife ...........priceless.

I hear ya, AC. I had to pass on that option for just that reason.

LGB

 

[billsnogo]

If you are going to mainly load pistol, then you may wish to piece your system together. I say this for several reasons....
• Excellent single stage presses have been made since the 70's and there are a lot of them out there for cheap. Lots of excellent scales and accessories too.
• Once you hone your skills and processes on a single stage for about a year there will be no holding you back from a progressive press. When that time comes the single stage will be relegated to rifle, specials, and odd chores. You'll still need it, but you may not wish to have an outrageously expensive press sitting at the other end of the bench doing very little. So a lot of people buy a used press to start if there is a major urban center nearby where such things can be found.

What ever you do, remember this... Don't be like the new motorcycle owner who spends every dime on the bike only to remember they also need a helmet, coat, gloves, etc. There is no complete kit out there. They are all missing calipers, dies, bullets, powder, primers, work bench, chair, bikini-clad assistant, etc.

The choices are bewildering. Hang in there. Keep reading. Keep asking questions. Keep interviewing assistants.

Hope this helps!

It does help. It will be mainly for pistol, at least for the next couple of years. So I take it something like the lee classic turret press will be the better choice.

I guess I can buy that and wait until I can get the abc's of reloading to find out what else would be needed other than dies. Just don't want to pass on the discount I can get ($50) with cabelas for now. Probably not that great of a savings, but what do I know

 

[THe Dove]

My advice is get the RCBS Supreme kit and start there. (Heck, I wish I would have had that oportunity for $250 18 or so years ago when I started)..... But, for danged sure I like the bakini clad assistant interviewin' idea as well!

The Dove

 

[billsnogo]

Thanks all for the suggestions and help.

I picked up the ABC's of reloading from my library and headed to Cabelas to get the Lee Classic turret kit. http://www.cabelas.com/cabelas/en/t...h-box.jsp.form1&Go.x=0&_dyncharset=ISO-8859-1

I want that one because if I get that and a set of the deluxe dies for 9mm, the total will be $227, and I have a $50 off coupon (club card deal), so I can get all that for $177. I didn't think that was too bad of a deal.

I didn't see it and asked if they carried it in the store? The guy said he could order it in, as my coupon can not be used for online purchases. So I should have it by next week.

I also picked up some clays powder, recommended by the employee behind the counter that also reloads. He also was kind enough to hand over 1k of CCI small pistol primers! They are in stock again!

Next I plan on buying some berrys plated bullets from them too, since they are in stock and can be had for $80 for 1000.

Now to get to reading

 

[DoesItMatter]

http://www.leeprecision.com/html/HelpVideos/video.html

Even if you don't use a Lee press, they do have some very helpful videos.

You can watch the whole process of loading and trimming, and some other info.

 

[RustyFN]

My advice would be to look at the Lee classic turret. With the single stage press you will be loading 50 to 75 rounds per hour after you get the hang of it. With the classic turret you will be loading close to 200 rounds per hour. I have been loading on a classic turret for around four years. It has been a great press for me. I load close to 200 RPH. The safety prime took a little tweaking to get it right but once set up it has been near flawless. The pro auto disk measure has been very consistant. For example for 9mm I load 4.2 grains of Titegroup with a 115 and 124 grain jacketed bullet. Every so often I will take one off the press and pour the powder into the scale to double check. It weighs 4.2 grains 99% of the time and has never been off more than .1. Once your dies are in a turret and are set up they will stay set up. Buy a turret for every caliber and you can change calibers in less than one minute. You can buy the classic turret in a kit at www.kempfgunshop.com for the same as the RCBS single stage kit. I load 9mm, 38 spcl, 45 auto and 223 on my classic turret. I also have my lead hardness tester for testing my cast bullets set up in a turret and use it on the press.





Good luck with which ever press you decide to go with.

 

[nulfisin]

Lee makes fine equipment. Earlier this year, though, I went with the Lyman T-Mag turret kit. I don't know if there's any difference in quality, but it came with the Lyman reloading manual. An excellent manual that covers the points in the "ABCs" and also gives you load data for most rounds you'd want to load.

 

[Walkalong]

I like RustyFN's setup. All marked and ready to go. Nifty storage he came up with. A little LED light shining down into the case. I bet he can swap calibers before you can blink.

 

[sig220mw]

It's all been said above. One more word of advice. Back during the Clinton years (1993-2000) there was a stretch of time when primers were hard to come by. When primers came back, I made it a point to always pick up 2 packages of primers of the kinds I use any time I was in a sporting goods type store that sold reloading supplies. 2 boxes of large rifle or large mag rifle or 2 boxes of large pistol or large mag pistol. Didn't cost so much that way and over the years I've laid in a few thousand primers. If you're in a store that sells the stuff, especially if you drove a ways to get there why not buy that powder or that brass that you will getting short of fairly soon. A little here and there and you stay supplied. Just a thought, but it's worked for me and I'm presently not short of anything I use.

 

[rfwobbly]

Billsnogo -
When you get around to reloading for the CZ talk to me here or on the CZ Forum first. The CZ has a notoriously short leade and, depending on the bullet style you bought, may take some special and interesting procedures. Nothing hard, and nothing that requires a PHd in "rocket science" to understand, it's just that the CZ may not digest every load and OAL listed in your manual.

All the best.