[Sheepdog27]

OK so with the Ammo shortage, I have been looking at getting into reloading.
For me I only use 9mm Luger, and .45 acp. I also use .22lr and 12 gauge shotgun shells but as of yet have not found those to be in limited supply, that may change however.

So I am thinking a reloading press with dies that can do 9mm and .45 I have had one experience with reloading handgun ammo, but only made about 200 rounds and that was a long time ago. I think we used a single stage press.

I would like to try out a mult-stage press but not sure that I need to get reloading right away. I want to get the most for my money, and while I can go a tad into the cheap side, I'd rather not, because well lets face it we are making BULLETS! But I cannot afford a top of the line, Gucci reloader either.

So please help me to choose a good reloader, reliable, easy to use, no muss, no fuss, comes with most of the bells and whistles without to much Extra stuf to purchase, for a reasonable amount of $$$.

Some say to buy a dillion press, others say other presses, I was looking at MidwayUSA, and got real confused real quick.

Thanks for any help/advise.

 

[SuperTrkrE2812]

Confused????? Join the crowd. When i start reading about the different reloading presses out there and they start talking all their jargon, my eyes just glaze over and i go to my "nice" place. I guess they do not understand that when you do not have a clue what they are talking about in the first place, they can talk all their talk they want too and i still have no idea what they are talking about. We need a website called "reloading for dummies", the one and only place to go to find out aboutreloading ammo when you don't know s**t.

 

[BobL]

Confused????? Join the crowd. When i start reading about the different reloading presses out there and they start talking all their jargon, my eyes just glaze over and i go to my "nice" place. I guess they do not understand that when you do not have a clue what they are talking about in the first place, they can talk all their talk they want too and i still have no idea what they are talking about. We need a website called "reloading for dummies", the one and only place to go to find out aboutreloading ammo when you don't know s**t.

How about Reloading 101 ?

Videos, text, complete starter.


BobL

 

[T.S.]

I located these videos on Youtube, they should answer most of your questions.


Pt. 1 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kYS_3VsmOP0&feature=fvw

Pt. 2 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QdW4C0cLj2w&feature=channel

Pt. 3 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MfNbQzKl7kM&feature=channel


Different Author

Pt. 1 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MG5CcM3HMP4

Pt. 2 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w4hMV1oevv8&feature=related

 

[teter09]

I'm very new to reloading (just finished my first 100 rounds the other day) so I know what you are talking about. The question of which brand of press is about as common and highly debated as which brand of gun to purchase. Some people are die hard Dillon fans while some prefer RCBS and others prefer Lee. Which type of press (single stage, Turret, progressive) is still argued, though most people will tell you that SIMPLE is better to start. Personally, I've purchased a turret press that I've adjusted so it acts as a single stage for now. It wasn't much more for the turret and once I become more comfortable, I figured it wouldn't be bad to work faster!

The videos and websites are good for a general idea of what is going on, but sometimes they create more questions than they help you answer, so feel free to PM me any questions you have since I've recently gone through what you are now experiencing.

 

[T.S.]

I've purchased a turret press that I've adjusted so it acts as a single stage for now.

What brand did you buy?

 

[Rvrctyrngr]

Make it easy on yourself. Dillon SquareDeal-B (handgun only) or RL550 (if you want to load rifle cartridges as well) set up for your caliber of choice. Extra dies are not expensive.

I've used the Dillon SquarDeal-B (a buddy's) and owned the Lee 1000. I gave away the Lee.

 

[Steve48]

+1. I've been using a Dillon Square Deal for over 20 years. They still send me replacement parts whenever I ask, and at no charge. Immediately, no questions asked. Others may be as well supported, but I'm sure that none are better supported.

That said, the first thing to decide is whether you want manual or progressive. If you're not sure that you'll like reloading, then manual is a good choice. If you want to reload a lot of different calibers in moderate quantities, then manual may be right for you. If you know you're going to stick with reloading, and you want to make a lot of pistol ammo in one or two calibers, then go with a Square Deal.

Think about bullets. A big part of the savings in re-loading can come from casting your own. However, it's another sizable expense to get started, and you don't need to get into it at first. Buy the bullets and get accustomed to reloading. Then think about casting, sizing, and lubing your own.

Think about brass. Being able to reload does you no good if you have no brass. If you shoot automatic pistol at an indoor range, brass recovery may be a problem. Or it may not. It depends on how the range is set up. Nets to catch the brass may serve you well, or you may decide that fooling with them takes all the fun out of shooting.

 

[trulies]

Find a friend who will do all the work and clean up the mess.

Of course, you have to trust this person's work.


Friend of mine is doing his own casting, and loading. He works for himself so most of us are beginning to buy from him.

Free market does create business when you don't mess with it:thumsup

 

[teter09]

Wow, you guys are really going all out, as I recall that particular Dillon press is close to 350, right?

I started small, I bought the Lee Classic Turret. Came with the powder feed, scale and can be used for anything practically. Now sure, some day I may upgrade to the one you all are talking about, but right now I'm glad I made the purchase I did. Didn't break the bank, is sturdy enough and I can crank cases out at a decent clip (for what I think is a decent rate).

 

[Rvrctyrngr]

The Lee Classic is a great machine to get started with, Teter. Heck...DeadEyeDick uses a single-stage 'rock-chucker' press, and he does just fine with it.

I haven't reloaded in eons, which is why I gave the press I had to a friend. I plan to start again. The only reason I'll go with a Dillon is that I've found I prefer a 4-stage press vs. 3. I like having a dedicated powder station...just a matter of preference.

 

[N3OKI]

Well i feel old and out dated. I still use my original Lee single stage O frame from 20+ years ago. Now bear in mind i still measure and weigh each powder charge. But once i have a good rythm going i can load between 3oo and 400 rounds at a session. I will be the first to admit to being a little anal about my loads. But that come from shooting to much metalic silhouette in my younger days (44mag. in a T/C contender).

 

[teter09]

The Lee Classic is a great machine to get started with, Teter. Heck...DeadEyeDick uses a single-stage 'rock-chucker' press, and he does just fine with it.

I haven't reloaded in eons, which is why I gave the press I had to a friend. I plan to start again. The only reason I'll go with a Dillon is that I've found I prefer a 4-stage press vs. 3. I like having a dedicated powder station...just a matter of preference.

Glad you agree! I feel as though I tend to go the route of least negative opinions. My carry weapon being an HK, doesn't have many people saying that its a horrible weapon, just that its pricey and they prefer weapon Y. The Lee presses seem to be the same way, not a lot of negatives about it but everyone gravitates towards the Dillon or Hornady.

Personally, for what it is, I like it and would recommend it to anyone else. Perhaps as I reload more and more and get more proficient, I'll buy one of the progressives as well. I know its faster, but at THIS point, I want to be safe. I use the Pro Autodisk measure and weigh out every other charge to make sure I'm falling within a + or - .1 gr charge. Then once I had set the bullet and crimped, I measured each individual bullet and redid a few that weighed more than .2 grains of the average. Call me paranoid but I like my hands! My only gripe right now is that trimming 9mm cases in bulk SUCKS! I wish there were an easier way.

I almost feel the Lee Trimmer is backwards. I kind of want to put the blade into the drill and then have some sort of quick fit clamp that I could grab the brass, insert it onto the trimmer and then drop it. The screw on clamp action is lame as heck.

 

[Rvrctyrngr]

No such thing as too safe, brother! :thumsup

Trimming 9mm cases? I don't ever remember trimming 9mm or .45. Heck, with 9mm, most brass isn't even up to the recommended .751 trim length unless it's welllllllllll used.

I can see it possibly being an issue with a hotter round like .40S&W, .357magnum or .357SIG (which I wouldn't mess with anyway), but I, personally, wouldn't waste my time trimming most pistol cases.

 

[jchrisf]

The Lee Classic is a great machine to get started with, Teter. Heck...DeadEyeDick uses a single-stage 'rock-chucker' press, and he does just fine with it.

I haven't reloaded in eons, which is why I gave the press I had to a friend. I plan to start again. The only reason I'll go with a Dillon is that I've found I prefer a 4-stage press vs. 3. I like having a dedicated powder station...just a matter of preference.

Rvrctyrngr,

Lee does have a 4-stage press now. This video seems to make the process look faster and easier than the Dillon to me? Don't have experience with either one though as I have an old O style:
http://www.leeprecision.com/html/HelpVideos/videos/Turret%20Press/loading%20on%20turret-1.wmv

 

[Steve48]

That's a nice looking machine, but it's basically a turret press with an automatic rotation of the turret. There's no way that it's as fast or as simple as a Dillon Square Deal, or one of the other Dillon progressive loaders. With a Dillon, you get one loaded round for each stroke of the handle, after initial startup. This one takes several strokes for each loaded round.

 

[Rvrctyrngr]

Rvrctyrngr,

Lee does have a 4-stage press now. This video seems to make the process look faster and easier than the Dillon to me? Don't have experience with either one though as I have an old O style:
http://www.leeprecision.com/html/HelpVideos/videos/Turret%20Press/loading%20on%20turret-1.wmv

Thanks, jchrisf. I didn't know that. I definitely appreciate the info. :thumsup!

 

[teter09]

I can see it possibly being an issue with a hotter round like .40S&W, .357magnum or .357SIG (which I wouldn't mess with anyway), but I, personally, wouldn't waste my time trimming most pistol cases.

Seriously? Dang it, means I've wasted money on the trimmer AND time on doing 150 rounds or so. I checked a few fired and a few trimmed, and it doesn't seem to be taking much off. The untrimmed are around .750-.753 and the once I've trimmed are around .748-.751....so really not worth it! Thanks for point that out.

Need to go test out these rounds at the range so I can feel a little more confident in what I've been doing thus far!

 

[brownie]

I've never trimmed a 9mm or 45acp case and I've reloaded the 9mm brass as much as 7 times with no issues. The 45acp loads were fairly light and I've loaded them as much as 10-12 times.

Once you get past 3-4 times, watch for small splits at the case mouth. I just throw them away then and keep right on loading, but it always been after the 3-4th loading.

Used to load 50K+ a year between the two calibers when I was shooting in matches and real heavy into the practice regimen.

 

[Steve48]

I've never trimmed a case, and I've loaded 10's of thousands. .38 SP cases last a dozen reloads or more with target loads. As Brownie said, failure is usually splitting at the mouth.