newbie

[Guest minnesota ole]

Pressed

[Guest minnesota ole]

Ok I'm totally new to this but I realize I need to reload. I'm sorry if you have recently answered this but what is a good starter for reloading. No one I know reloads so I don't know where to turn

[Smithy]

I shoot one caliber (well two if you count shotgun), 45 LC for both rifle and pistol and since I'm in Frontier Cartridge it's a black powder round. Being nervous about BP and a progressive, I went single stage and got a Lee cast press and a fair amount of Lee hand tools; trimmers, primers, pocket cleaners, etc. I also got a Midway tumbler and a set of RCBS 12 ga dies and Lee 45 LC dies. For the 45 I used the advice of just enough powder to allow for slight compression under my Lee cast 200 grain bullet and found the Lee scoop that would do that for me. In the shotgun I ended up with a .9 ounce load and the same volume scoop of powder. Loading is a bit slow, but fun. After a match or shooting session I clean my weapons first then the following day is spent reloading to fill the void. I try to keep 480 rounds of 45 loaded at all times and 160 shotshells. That should take care of any shoot I may come across. I have had great luck with the "steel" Lee products, also their molds. You will be steered towards Dillon, Hornady and a number of other products and ultimately the choice is yours, but Lee has been good to me and starting out you can't beat the price. Also going single stage, it's easier to get a handle on all aspects of reloading step at a time vs. a progressive. There is also less chance for a big mistake I feel, but again the choice is up to you. Best of luck and welcome to the reloading world. Smithy.

[BrimstoneJerome]

I'd say buy the Lee 50th challenger kit, and then figure out where if you would like to advance to a progressive loader. My uncle bought me that kit when I was 12, faired me tremendously until I was ready for a progressive loader. After loading on the single stage a few years I was much better equipped to make a solid decision on a progressive loader........actually I won a Dillon in a raffle at Winter Range.... but that's neither here nor there. I don't know what your reloading or shooting experience is but IMHO buying a progressive right off the bat, with little experience loading, puts you in the dragster at 16, starting with a single stage gives you a chance to get you learners permit. Others will have great input, this is just my .02 cents.

 

Brim.

[Gold Canyon Kid #43974]

Buy a Dillon SDB and you can't go wrong. When I first started I had never reloaded and got the SDB and never looked back. Before you do any reloading purchase at leaat a couple reloading manuals and read them first.

[Guest diablo slim shootist]

+1 on Lee equipment -good place to start

Later you may want to go to a turret or progressive

if you only shoot 1 or 2 matches a month a single

stage press is all you need.By the way-You-tube has

lots of how to videos to help you get started

[Driftwood Johnson, SASS #38283]

Howdy

 

Step away from the check book grasshopper.

 

Before you spend one red cent on reloading equipment or get involved in the endless debate about what is best, buy yourself a good reloading manual. All the good reloading manuals include a chapter describing the reloading process in detail. Sit down and read that chapter so you get a good understanding of what you are going to be doing. I started with the Lyman Pistol and Revolver Handbook. There are many other good manuals including Lee, Hornady, Speer, the big Lyman book, and probably a few others that I have forgotten. Read up a bit, start to get an idea of what various types of equipment are out there; single stage, turret, and progressive. Think about your own needs; do you need to mass produce tons of ammo, or can you get by with a bit less. Don't even start thinking about what brand you want to go with until you have done a little bit of studying on the types of equipment available and what your needs are.

 

Then start reading the debate.

[Bad Hand]

Howdy

 

Step away from the check book grasshopper.

 

Before you spend one red cent on reloading equipment or get involved in the endless debate about what is best, buy yourself a good reloading manual. All the good reloading manuals include a chapter describing the reloading process in detail. Sit down and read that chapter so you get a good understanding of what you are going to be doing. I started with the Lyman Pistol and Revolver Handbook. There are many other good manuals including Lee, Hornady, Speer, the big Lyman book, and probably a few others that I have forgotten. Read up a bit, start to get an idea of what various types of equipment are out there; single stage, turret, and progressive. Think about your own needs; do you need to mass produce tons of ammo, or can you get by with a bit less. Don't even start thinking about what brand you want to go with until you have done a little bit of studying on the types of equipment available and what your needs are.

 

Then start reading the debate.

 

This is great advice, it will save you time, money, and aggravation.

[Subdeacon Joe]

Howdy

 

Step away from the check book grasshopper.

 

Before you spend one red cent on reloading equipment or get involved in the endless debate about what is best, buy yourself a good reloading manual. All the good reloading manuals include a chapter describing the reloading process in detail. Sit down and read that chapter so you get a good understanding of what you are going to be doing. I started with the Lyman Pistol and Revolver Handbook. There are many other good manuals including Lee, Hornady, Speer, the big Lyman book, and probably a few others that I have forgotten. Read up a bit, start to get an idea of what various types of equipment are out there; single stage, turret, and progressive. Think about your own needs; do you need to mass produce tons of ammo, or can you get by with a bit less. Don't even start thinking about what brand you want to go with until you have done a little bit of studying on the types of equipment available and what your needs are.

 

Then start reading the debate.

 

BINGO! I would say along with the Lyman buy at least one other book. I'm partial to the Sierra one myself. But read, study, ponder, do it again.

[grubstake charlie]

Howdy

 

Step away from the check book grasshopper.

 

Before you spend one red cent on reloading equipment or get involved in the endless debate about what is best, buy yourself a good reloading manual. All the good reloading manuals include a chapter describing the reloading process in detail. Sit down and read that chapter so you get a good understanding of what you are going to be doing. I started with the Lyman Pistol and Revolver Handbook. There are many other good manuals including Lee, Hornady, Speer, the big Lyman book, and probably a few others that I have forgotten. Read up a bit, start to get an idea of what various types of equipment are out there; single stage, turret, and progressive. Think about your own needs; do you need to mass produce tons of ammo, or can you get by with a bit less. Don't even start thinking about what brand you want to go with until you have done a little bit of studying on the types of equipment available and what your needs are.

 

Then start reading the debate.

 

+1 Get at least one reloading manual (they may even be available at your library) and read the chapters on basic reloading.

[Loophole LaRue, SASS #51438]

Ole:

 

I'm with Driftwood and his echoes on the manuals as a first step...but let me add one more issue.

 

Try to find a local NRA reloading class. I called my gun club, and they had a fella standing by to run the class based upon interest. Within a couple of weeks, we had 10 or 12 folks signed up, and the class was GREAT. Nothing like seeing it done by someone who knows what they are talking about, and being able to ask questions as its happening.

 

Alot of folks advise starting out with simple single stage presses...the class gave me the confidence to start with a Dillon 550B...and I've been very happy with it. I now reload 4 calibers plus shotgun, and although I'm still learning every day, I really enjoy the sense of independence that comes from turning out your own ammo.

 

Start with the books, move to a class, and you'll start well no matter what equipment you choose.

 

LL

[Abe E.S. Corpus SASS #87667]

Welcome aboard, Ole.

 

The best advice for new cowboy shooters is to attend a local match before buying anything. I'd say this goes for reloading as well. I'm sure you'll find some cowboys that would show you the ropes of reloading. Some might have a good used press for sale and save you some money. If you have not already hooked up with a local club, click on "SASS Clubs" on the SASS main page, then click on your state. You'll find contact information for local clubs. Let them know you are a new shooter and I bet you'll be warmly welcomed.

 

The Lee products are inexpensive. They have a couple of single stage presses that don't break the bank and the Lee dies can be used with a turret or progressive press if you upgrade later. I've been loading on a single stage press for years. If you are shooting one or two matches a month you can get by fine with a progressive.

 

I agree with the other replies about buying and reading a good manual first. I understand the Lee manual has sections describing how the different Lee products work.

[Guest minnesota ole]

Thank you for all the great advice. I'd love to shoot more but with work and an eight month old son I will only be able to shoot one to two matches a month. I haven't bought all my gear yet so I don't know what caliber I will be loading. I love 45's but I hear 38's are a ton cheaper

 

Again thanks everybody for putting up with simple questions

[Rum River #36276]

Minnesota Ole,

 

I just sent you a PM.

[Buckshot Frank]

I prefer a turret press because you can set the dies up once, and never mess with them again. Changing calibers is as easy as swapping the whole turret out and the dies are untouched. For a beginning reloader, a turret is also nice since you can keep an eye on every stage. I think that there are too many things going on at once on a progressive for a newbie to stay on top of. Here is what I would suggest for the budget conscious reloader:

 

Lee Classic turret press

Lee Auto disk powder measure

Lee 4 die set (pistol calibers)

Vintage scale off of ebay (This is one place where I do not like the Lee equipment.)

Stainless steel digital calipers from Harbor Freight

Reloading Manual- I found the Lee manual to be pretty good.

Case Tumbler- Harbor Freight

Bullet Puller- to salvage mistakes

[Curley Cole, SASS #56849]

I started about 35 years ago using the Lee loaders (the ones you pound em in and pound em out.) Loaded lots of ammo with them. Progressed to a Lee Turret press and am still using it.

 

But the one thing you should buy before you get anything else is the book: Modern Reloading by Dr Richard Lee. It shows you how to load cartridges and shotshells, with pictures and he also will most often tell you WHY you are doing what you are doing..plus, it also can serve as your first reloading manual. (and if you are using the Lee autodisk powder measure it will give you the disk numbers. It is a very useful book for beginners and old tymers alike.

 

good shootin and loadin

curley

[Bart Solo]

Buy a couple of reloading books. Read the reloading chapters and then read them again. Understand why you are doing what you are doing. In addition to dies, and a press you will need some other stuff as well. Calipers and a decent scale are indispensible. Before you buy anything read a good manual, maybe two. The big Lyman Reloading Handbook, 49th edition is great.

 

If you are like most of us you will get hooked on reloading and have almost as much fun assembling your bullets as you do shooting. There is something about pulling the trigger on a bullet you assembled and having it go bang just like you planned it. After a few months you will be exchanging favorite loads with your fellow shooters.

 

As to the reloading process itself, never exceed the maximum load in the manual and strive for consistancy, consistancy, consistancy.

[Mack Hacker, #60477]

Ok I'm totally new to this but I realize I need to reload. I'm sorry if you have recently answered this but what is a good starter for reloading. so I don't know where to turn

 

 

Of course the advice given here to buy at least one reloading manual and study it before doing anything is absolutely correct. You do state however that "No one I know reloads" .

You also need to fix that problem. Go to a few shoots. Ask questions. Soon you will have some friends who are reloaders and willing to help.

 

Different people learn differently. Some can learn just fine by reading and then just jumping in. Others will learn much more quickly by instruction and example. The best result is more often achieved with a combination of the two.

[Charlie Whiskers]

For the 1st season you will be shooting you might want to wait on buying a reloader.If and when you join a local club,there'll be (almost guaranteed) a lot of people that reload.Talk to them.They'll let you know what they use and how they like or dislike what they use.I just started reloading 4+ years ago,but before then,I shot factory reloads or new ammo I got on sale.Then I found a fellow shooter that would reload for me.I'd buy the brass,bullets,powder and primers plus an extra 1000 primers for him doing my reloads.This was usually 1000 rounds at a time he was doing.After a season of that I decided I'd like to start reloading.After a LOT of talking and listening I bought my reloader.Got help setting it up and tutalage during my beginner stages of reloading.I now load 99% 38's because they're a LOT cheaper to shoot and find components for (brass,bullets,primers...small verus large...and powder...less used) plus several other pistol and a rifle caliber(s).

[Doc Tombstone, SASS #49630]

First of all go to a few shoots and find a mentor, preferably one who has more reloading experience than just CAS. Personally I get a little nervous when I see some of the advise on this forum. A good friend of mine got hurt when his full primer tray blew up recently, from a company mentioned several times in this thread alone.

How do you do that? Well a good way to get brass is to buy loaded ammo, go to some shoots, ask some members if they know of a shooter who is also a good reloader and would reload your brass for a modest charge.

If you are serious about the sport you have to reload unless you are rich, but don't just decide to take advice from someone you have never met, spend a bunch of money and start cranking out revolver rounds.

It sounds like the route Charlie Whiskers went is a good one.

 

Good luck

Doc

 

PS Charlie Whiskers-Hope to see you shooting with the Rangers again this yr, range still covered in snow right now.

[Charlie Whiskers]

First of all go to a few shoots and find a mentor, preferably one who has more reloading experience than just CAS. Personally I get a little nervous when I see some of the advise on this forum. A good friend of mine got hurt when his full primer tray blew up recently, from a company mentioned several times in this thread alone.

How do you do that? Well a good way to get brass is to buy loaded ammo, go to some shoots, ask some members if they know of a shooter who is also a good reloader and would reload your brass for a modest charge.

If you are serious about the sport you have to reload unless you are rich, but don't just decide to take advice from someone you have never met, spend a bunch of money and start cranking out revolver rounds.

It sounds like the route Charlie Whiskers went is a good one.

 

Good luck

Doc

 

PS Charlie Whiskers-Hope to see you shooting with the Rangers again this yr, range still covered in snow right now.

 

 

 

Hey Doc....you can count on it.Probably June or August.Maybe more.Smoke Jensen and I are heading out on the 30th for a 5 week shooting binge in Nevada and Arizona.Be back right after the 1st of May.I still plan on joining your club this year.Gotta send Jocko an email and ask him to send me an enrollment form.

[Grizzly Dave]

Looks like I'm late to this party, but I'll recommend the book ABCs of Reloading

 

It came highly recommended when I started reloading, and is a good reference after you get your feet wet.

 

Find a pard at the clubs you shoot to mentor you, always nice to have someone experienced guide you through set up and your first few rounds.

 

Grizz

[Guest minnesota ole]

Thank you to all that help a very kind shooter has offered to mentor me. I appreciate all the knowledge you have shared

[Utah Bob #35998]

I'm glad you saw the light right off the bat and realized reloading was the way to go instead of hanging on whining about ammo prices and saying "I just don't have the time/space/money/energy to reload", like some fellers.

They drive me nutz.

[Cpt Dan Blodgett, SASS #75655]

Just remember you will not save a nickel reloading. You will however, be able to shoot a lot more for the money you are willing to spend.

 

There are other values such as finding a load your gun absolutely loves that is more accurate than anything you can buy.

 

Years ago when I started shooting high power I bought the Lymann T-Mag expert kit. A progressive like a dillon did not make a lot of sense for cases that had to be lubed, sized, trimmed, deburred and cleaned of lube before priming charging and seating bullets. Did not have much problem loading enough to shoot 3 matches a month in the summer time.

[Boulder Canyon Bob# 32052L]

Ok I'm totally new to this but I realize I need to reload. I'm sorry if you have recently answered this but what is a good starter for reloading. No one I know reloads so I don't know where to turn

Ole if you are from Minnesota as your name suggests come out to the Crow River Rangers Spring Roundup this Sunday. We are having raffle for a new Dillon Square Deal in the caliber of your choice.

http://www.crowriverrangers.com/

[Abilene Slim SASS 81783]

I'm partial to the Lyman and Speer manuals which do a great job of describing the process. Bear in mind that the manuals have "points of view" and present a soft sell regarding equipment. Lyman features their equipment, Speer features RCBS and so on. That's to be expected and I don't have a problem with it. The only reason I bring it up is so you don't pick up one manual and think the equipment they feature is the way to go. Lots of good stuff out there from different manufacturers.

 

The process is one thing, the equipment required for the process is a debate unto itself. And we on the wire will bury you with our opinions and prejudices on what equipment is best.

 

Good luck!

[Christopher Carson]

FWIW, three good "generic" books on handloading are:

 

The ABC's of Reloading (as Griz said)

NRA's Handloading

Lee's fat book on reloading

 

There's one in German language, too, called "Wiederladen" but you probably don't need that one :>)

 

And as DJ and others have said, Lyman's book is especially useful on the topic of handloading using cast bullets.

 

-Chris

[Driftwood Johnson, SASS #38283]

No one I know reloads so I don't know where to turn

 

Howdy Again

 

That really should not be an impediment. When I decided I had better start reloading, I did not know anybody who reloaded either. I bought a couple of books, did my homework, selected some equipment, and taught myself to reload. It is not rocket science, but you are dealing with explosives, so you do have to be very careful. I am a naturally cautious person and I actually read the directions when I try something new. I simply went slowly, double checking everything as I went. There is no law against leaving the book open while you are reloading. That is one reason I like the Lyman books. They feature an illustration that shows each process in cross section. As I progressed through each station, I moved to that illustration, so I could keep track of what I was doing. Needless to say, I did all this on a single stage press, because I knew it would be simpler to keep track of what I was doing. It did not take too long until I felt confident enough to put the book away. A few years later I graduated to a progressive press. That is what worked for me.

 

However, I certainly am in favor of taking a class, or getting a mentor to show you the ropes.

 

I prefer a turret press because you can set the dies up once, and never mess with them again. Changing calibers is as easy as swapping the whole turret out and the dies are untouched.

 

I have heard this statement many times, and I really do not understand it. Most modern dies that I am familiar with come with a locking ring. Once the die has been adjusted, the locking ring is turned down until it snugs up against the body of the press. Then the ring is locked to the die with a set screw. The die is now set. All the reloader needs to do next session is thread the die down into the press until the locking ring bottoms on the body of the press. No resetting is necessary.

[Olen Rugged]

Ok I'm totally new to this but I realize I need to reload. I'm sorry if you have recently answered this but what is a good starter for reloading. No one I know reloads so I don't know where to turn

 

 

Several have suggested a "good book" I think that the Sierra Speer #14 reloading manual is tops for cowboy. It has a section dedicated to cowboy loads and a huge amount of reloading wisdom.

 

Local folks are a good resource for beginners but you can get quite an education on YouTube without leaving the house. Search on "reloading ammo" and you will find thousands of videos covering basics for every loader known to man. Dillon has great instruction videos for about $20 each.

 

As to the advice on specific tools, get a basic progressive machine, then dress it out over time with case collators and such. A Dillon BL 550 is a hundred bucks cheaper than the Square deal and it can be dressed out to a full 550B as you can afford it. It has the advantage of being rifle capable if you ever need it. Of course Blue is not the only choice. There are red and green machines out there that are very capable.

 

Olen

[Ranger Clayton Conagher #43872]

I'd say buy the Lee 50th challenger kit, and then figure out where if you would like to advance to a progressive loader. My uncle bought me that kit when I was 12, faired me tremendously until I was ready for a progressive loader. After loading on the single stage a few years I was much better equipped to make a solid decision on a progressive loader........actually I won a Dillon in a raffle at Winter Range.... but that's neither here nor there. I don't know what your reloading or shooting experience is but IMHO buying a progressive right off the bat, with little experience loading, puts you in the dragster at 16, starting with a single stage gives you a chance to get you learners permit. Others will have great input, this is just my .02 cents.

 

Brim.

 

I started out with a Lee 50th kit ten years ago when I started with CAS. I still use it today. I have no need for a dillion. I also use a Lee Load All for my shotgun shells.

[Christopher Carson]

I have heard this statement many times, and I really do not understand it. Most modern dies that I am familiar with come with a locking ring. Once the die has been adjusted, the locking ring is turned down until it snugs up against the body of the press. Then the ring is locked to the die with a set screw. The die is now set. All the reloader needs to do next session is thread the die down into the press until the locking ring bottoms on the body of the press. No resetting is necessary.

 

It's not a big deal for me, but changing an old Lee turret -- and all 3 dies simultaneously -- takes me about 5 seconds, probably counting parking the "outie." Given I can reload for 3 CAS cartridges, 2 revolver cartridges, 2 pistol cartridges, and 6 rifle cartridges... the total number of single die changes just seemed like more trouble than it's worth, given that a turret that can be dedicated to all (or most) dies for a single cartridge costs something like $10. Like you, though, I've moved some of that folderol to a progressive press, though.

 

-Chris

[Driftwood Johnson, SASS #38283]

It's not a big deal for me, but changing an old Lee turret -- and all 3 dies simultaneously -- takes me about 5 seconds, probably counting parking the "outie." Given I can reload for 3 CAS cartridges, 2 revolver cartridges, 2 pistol cartridges, and 6 rifle cartridges... the total number of single die changes just seemed like more trouble than it's worth, given that a turret that can be dedicated to all (or most) dies for a single cartridge costs something like $10. Like you, though, I've moved some of that folderol to a progressive press, though.

 

When loading on a single stage press, what difference does it make if it takes 20 seconds to screw out one die and screw in the next? The majority of the time on a single stage is spent running one shell after another through the dies, not changing dies. That's why even though my two progressive presses are Hornady presses, I have never felt the need to invest in a Hornady with the Lock & Load collets for single stage loading. As I said earlier, changing dies just consists of screwing one die out and replacing it with another die. There is no resetting involved. My old Lyman Spartan press is fine for when I feel like Single Stage loading. I still use it for 303 British and 45-70, and a few oddball obsolete cartridges that Hornady does not make a shell plate for anyway.

 

When the time came that I wanted to up my ammo production I went right to the Hornady Lock & Load AP. I now have two of them, one stays set up for small pistol primers, the other stays set up for large pistol primers. That one is also the one I load all my CAS Black Powder loads on.

[Hoot Hamilton]

Howdy

 

Step away from the check book grasshopper.

 

Before you spend one red cent on reloading equipment or get involved in the endless debate about what is best, buy yourself a good reloading manual. All the good reloading manuals include a chapter describing the reloading process in detail. Sit down and read that chapter so you get a good understanding of what you are going to be doing. I started with the Lyman Pistol and Revolver Handbook. There are many other good manuals including Lee, Hornady, Speer, the big Lyman book, and probably a few others that I have forgotten. Read up a bit, start to get an idea of what various types of equipment are out there; single stage, turret, and progressive. Think about your own needs; do you need to mass produce tons of ammo, or can you get by with a bit less. Don't even start thinking about what brand you want to go with until you have done a little bit of studying on the types of equipment available and what your needs are.

 

Then start reading the debate.

 

+1+1 Great advice Driftwood

 

I got the same advice a couple years back, paid attention to it and it paid off.

 

Welcome to the fold, Ole

 

hOOt

[Jed Irons]

My brothers got me the Lee Hand Press for Christmas, and through internet research and a friend who reloads I learned the process. I took it very slowly my first time, reloading one cartridge from start to finish, triple checking every step along the way so I understood the process. Overall, I've only reloaded maybe 50 rounds so far, but I have shot half my reloads, and they performed wonderfully (seemed slightly more accurate than the factory ammo I had). It was .45 S&W, which was harder to find load data for, but I did find it.

 

I'd like to get a bench mounted press, but I live in a small condo with no garage, so I don't have the room at the moment. Because of this, the Hand Press has served me well so far, even though I understand it's slower than the standard presses.