How to start reloading

[nicneufeld]

Hi guys,

I have a 10mm pistol, and I was warned to start thinking about reloading, so here I am, considering it!

Only trouble, I don't know where to begin. Reading through my Midway catalog, I could buy thousands of dollars of stuff, but I don't know what the essentials are, and what are just nice accessories for the serious reloader.

Basically, what do I really need, and how cheaply can I do it? I'm not looking to dive into reloading as a sub-hobby any time soon, I'm only thinking of doing some basic reloading in 10mm to save money, and I don't mind a somewhat laborious process if the initial equipment cost is less.

If you guys can come up with a basic shopping list for me, I'd appreciate it! Cheers!

[DefensiveCarry.com]

[pistola]

First thing to buy is a Lyman reloading manual. After reading it and thinking your needs over, I would suggest a set of carbide dies and a single stage press. This will be the least expensive route. The single stage press will be more time and labor intensive,but you will end up with an equal quality reload.This is an ideal set up for a new reloader and good way to learn.

[nicneufeld]

Great! I have a Lee single stage press in my cart for about 45 bucks, and another 20 bucks for a set of three Lee carbide dies in 10mm. Now, are there any other "essentials" I would need? Anything required to insert or extract primers? What should be used to measure powder? Is some sort of case cleaning or tumbling required for reliable reloads?

Thanks!

[farronwolf]

My suggestion is to read through this post:

http://www.defensivecarry.com/vbulle...ad.php?t=34594

She had the same question as you did, and got some pretty good answers.

First, second and third, read, read, read. Lyman's manual is a good one, read the first part of it a couple of times. Figure out what you want from your reloading equipment, and know what your going to do with it for the first several thousand rounds or tens of thousands for that matter, then make a descision about what type of equipment you want.

I did, and choose a turret press, others have choosen single stages, while others have progressives. We all want different things from our reloading equipment. The good thing is, no matter what you get, it will always be useful for some aspect of reloading if you take care of it.

[nicneufeld]

Good suggestions. I've made the same suggestions to others (mainly, get books and spend some weeks digesting information first) interested in hobbies that I am more deeply into, so I understand. I guess I am just trying to get a basic idea of the bare essentials before I commit to the point of buying reloading manuals and such. I'll check out that other thread, thanks!

[Tubby45]

STOP! Empty your cart. Do some research first before you buy. You will thank me later. I'm posting a long post here so just wait until I'm done.

[Tubby45]

Ok, the basic equipment needed is as follows:

reloading press
reloading dies
shellholder or shell plate (Lee dies come with shellholder)
powder measure
powder scale
calipers
priming tool if not done on the press (all presses have this capability)
reloading manuals
ABC's of Reloading book

For dies, I recommend the Lee carbide 4 die set. This will get you a full length sizer die (FL sizer), an expander die to bell the case mouth to accept a bullet and has a hole through which powder can be charged directly into the case, a bullet seater die and a carbide factory crimp die (FCD). This last die will post size the case and remove the bell out of the mouth you put in the second stage. Lee dies come with a shellholder to hold the case in place while it is being run in the dies.

The powder measure (PM) can be press mounted (the Lee Auto Disk Pro is designed to be mounted on the Lee expander dies and the case activates the drop). There can be stand alone PM such as the excellent RCBS Uniflow or the similar ones from Redding or Lyman. Lee makes one too.

The powder scale can be a beam scale or electronic scale I use both. The other stuff is self explanitory.

Don't ever let anyone talk crap about how Lee is junk blah, blah, blah. I shot this group at 50 feet offhand with a 10mm Auto using a Lee press and dies.



Go to this link and watch the Lee videos of the operation of setting and adjusting dies, using the Classic Turret press (I have one), and other things.

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

Kempf's gunshop has the Lee Classic Turret kit for a great price, includes dies and is a great start to reloading. I recommend the upgrade to the Auto Disk Pro and get both priming feeders. The calipers I use are from CarQuest and were $15. Here's the link:

http://www.kempfgunshop.com/products.../KempfKit.html

[nicneufeld]

Thanks! All great info, and the friesepferd thread was very informative too!

Don't worry, I'm not rushing into anything, just trying to "count the cost" before I commit.

[Tubby45]

Cheapest practical buy in price is the $180-200 you'll spend on the Lee Classic Turret press kit from Kempf's. You can load 200rds per hour on that press without breaking a sweat.

You can easily save 50% off the cost of factory. Real factory ammo is about 50¢/rd. Handloading 10mm for 25¢/rd (if using jacketed bullets) means you will need to load 800 rounds to recoup the cost of the equipment. On the LCT press that's only four hours of loading. Then after that you are only in for components. Pretty soon you will realize the cost savings of shooting lead and then you can load 10mm for 8-10¢/rd. Then you realize if you cast your own bullets you can cut that cost in half yet again and load 10mm for 4-5¢/rd that I do.

It's a sickness.

[friesepferd]

+1 to what tubby45 said.
i followed his suggestion to me and got the lee classic turret and am VERY glad i did.

[fatboy97]

I started by reading "The ABC's of Reloading." After researching a number of sites, including http://www.brianenos.com/pages/dillon.html who has a lot of comparison information on Dillon Presses.

[MnemonicMonkey]

What would be the related cost for 9mm? I'm buying WWB at Wally World for 15 cents a round- it sounds to me like reloading isn't going to save me enough $$$ to be worth it. Especially at only 200-300 a month.

[Tubby45]

Same startup costs for the 9mm with the Lee Classic Turret kit from Kempf's. Will just take longer to recoup the cost of the equipment.

[farronwolf]

Lets see, if you can get WWB for 7.50 per box that is .15 per round.

Box of 1000 copper coated bullets if you don't want to use lead 70 bucks, 1000 primers, 25 bucks, pound of powder 20 bucks or so. I am assuming your saving your brass. Not too many people pick up 9mm, yet.

That is $110 per thousand rounds of 9mm. Now, granted I haven't shot WWB for 9mm in a while, but the last 1000 rds of 9mm I ordered from Miwall, was more than 7.50 per box, equivalent.

But you could still save $40 per thousand assuming you can get them for .15 each still.

[cmidkiff]

Never made much sense to me to reload 9mm, or .223 for that matter, unless you're wanting something you can't get in cheap off the shelf ammo. For 'match grade' ammo, the difference with reloading becomes more important.

The real benefit for me comes when reloading for revolvers and bench guns. (1) you don't have to pick up the brass :) (2) Since you're not relying on standard pressure rounds to cycle the action, you can load 'up' or 'down' to your hearts content, making one caliber suitable for many different purposes. For instance, my 12yo daughter loves to shoot my light .357 mag loads. They're cheap, fairly quiet, and pretty accurate at 25 yards. A .44mag loaded with 180g SWC over a healthy charge of 2400 is a great 'long distance' revolver round. Far better than anything I've ever found on the shelf. My Savage in .204 ruger shoots _way_ better with 39g BlitzKings over a good load of W748 in a neck-sized case than it will with anything else I've ever found. Packaged ammo doesn't even come close.

For the .40s&w? Makes sense based on cost. For 9mm? Probably not. For revolvers and bench rest cartridges? Even if it were more expensive, it's still worth reloading, just for the flexibility you get!

Pick up a lee kit, I prefer single stage to the turret, but that's just me. Add a decent scale (the lee one is OK, but very slow...) and a set of dial calipers, a 3 die set for your caliber, a tumbler, and all the books you can find.

Start with powders that fill (or nearly fill) the case you're reloading for. Hard to not notice a double charge when it spills onto the floor :)