aus71383

There are a few videos on youtube.com
I also recommend The ABC's of Reloading.
It can cost as much as you want to get started. You could get a Lee Loader and have everything you need for about $50. It would be slow going. There are many different tools you can reload with - all have their own benefits and drawbacks. Get educated on the matter, and then make the best decision for you.

Austin

wvshooter

If you like shooting (more than 50 rounds per month) then you probably should reload your own ammo. You will save about 70% over buying factory ammo. You can then shoot 500 rounds per month and not break the bank. Also, it becomes a fun hobby.

IMO the only person that needs a progressive press is someone shooting 1,000 rounds or more per month. I can easily load 50 rounds on my single stage press in a hour. A progressive press performs about five different functions on five different cartrideges every time you pull the handle down. You have five opportunities for something to go wrong. With a single stage press every pull of the handle does one function on one cartridege. You have much more control over the quality of your finished ammo with a single stage press.

Here's how it works with a single stage press.....

1. Collect some fired brass for your chosen caliber
2. Put it in a turbo tumbler and let it tumble for a couple hours. The brass will come out looking almost new
3. Take about 25 of the cases out of the tumbler and run them through the press with the sizing/depriming die inserted in the press. Perform this resizing step with all 25 cases.
4. Use a small screwdriver like tool with a small wire bristle on the end to clean the residue of powder from inside the primer hole of all 25 cases.
5. Remove the sizing/depriming die and insert the die which opens the case mouth up to make it easy for the new bullet to enter the case. The sizer die mentioned in #3 above shrinks the case diameter along its entire length while the fluting die mentioned in #5 opens the case mouth just a little. Do all 25 cases.
6. Insert new primers by using a handheld primer tool. It looks a little like those spingy things you've seen for strengthing your grip. Yes, I know all the reloading presses have attachments for inserting new primers but the seperate hand primer gizmo gives you more "feel" and you need feel for inserting new primers
7. You're now ready to put a measured amount of new powder into the 25 cases you're working on. I use a charge thrower that has a cylinder which you fill with enough powder to do 500 to 1,000 rounds. It has simple adjustments which allow you to select the desired amount of powder for each case. Once you've adjusted for amount of powder you hold the case under the powder discharge outlet and lift and then drop a small handle, about like the handle on a pencil sharpener.

Instead of holding each case under the powder outlet one at a time take the 25 cases, put them on a case holder tray and drop the powder into all 25 cases at the same time. Of course you'll have to move the tray a little for each powder drop.
8. Last step. Get rid of the fluting die and put in the bullet seating die. Put one of your charged cases on the press, put the chosen bullet on top of the case and seat the bullet by pushing down on the press handle like you did for all the other steps. It is not necessary to have the bullet perfectly in line with the case prior to using the handle. Just get close with allignment and the press will perfectly allign the bullet.

You will usually save money by buying a reloading kit which will contain just about everything you will need. I bought an RCBS "supreme" kit and paid $300. The quality is outstanding. My turbo tumbler was about $100 and makes the brass look new. For each caliber you load you will need a set of dies. A die set is about $40 and for handgun ammo will contain three dies. You will also need a shell holder for each caliber. They are about $7 each. I bought two for each caliber I load. One for the press and one for the hand primer tool. The last thing you really have to have is one or two reloading manuals. Some of the kits will come with a manual.

Its a great hobby and if you shoot much it will save a ton of money.

HotGuns

Great post wvshooter.

Reminds me exactly of a guy at work that used to say the same thing...all of the time.

I invited him over to the house when we got in a discussion about reloading and the time spent doing it. Since we were both working alot of overtime at that time, we didn't have a whole lot of spare time to reload.

He was a die hard single stage fanatic. I say fanatic because he wasn't willing to concede the fact that a progressive could load as good a quality of ammo that he could on a single stage. At that time,he had never actually used one.

So anyhow, he came over and checked out everything I had. I just sat back and let him try everything out. He didn't believe that the powder measure could be so accurate so he loaded some up and checked every single charge. Then every 10th charge and when he was convinced that it was as good as was used to he quit checking.

He too stated that he could do 50 rounds per hour.

In an hours time, I can load the 500 that you talked about shooting in a month. One hour.

I guess whether you use a single stage or a progressive really comes down to how much your time is worth. I am currently loading 22 different calibers and generally do it on the Dillon 550. I do own several single stages presses and I do believe that they have their place. I use them for developing loads for rifles. Once I figure out a great load, I'll duplicate them on the Dillon and usually knock out several hundred just so I don't have to mess with it for awhile.

I do shoot pistol more than rifle though and there is no comparison between the single stage and the progressive. Ive been known to come home from work, load 2-300 and then go to the range and shoot it all up.

No way could I do that with a single stage.

And about my friend...

not long after he broke down and bought a Dillon 550B. I wish I got a commission from Dillon, there has been at least had a dozen hard shooters that tried mine out and eventually bought one.

I guess they all figured their time was worth the cost of the progressive stuff.

__________________
AR. CHL Instr.

To achieve world government, it is necessary to remove from the minds of men, their individualism, loyalty to family traditions, national patriotism, and religious dogmas.'
Dr. G. Brock Chisolm

sdr7871

Thanks for all the great info.Looks like I have it narrowed down to this.Either the Dillon RL550B or the Lee Loadmaster.So now the big question is.......which one?

kavity

If i got this to reload .38spl what else would I need to get started?

http://www.midwayusa.com/eproductpag...062&t=11082005


BTW keep this as inexpensive as possible :)
<--college student

aus71383

http://www.beartoothbullets.com/tech...h_notes.htm/51

Here's a good one for you. You will need powder, primers, and bullets if you already have cases. Otherwise, those too.

Austin

wvshooter

Great post Hot Guns.

With the numbers you are talking about a single stage press would be a waste of time.

Why don't you outline the steps of the actual loading on a progressive press so that those of us who have never used one can see how it's done.

Colin

Good advice a turret press will allow you to make 100 bullets an hour comfortable and still be safe. Get the Lee reloading book with it and a set of powder scales. Also got the adjustable autodisk and a few other things. Lee is easy to deal with. if you get the turret press, also get a spare rachet thingy and the plastic holder it fit into. As you are learning you are likely to distort this part and it will alter how the machine performs, easy to replace and cheap.

go slow always consult the book and enjoy.

HotGuns

Ok..I'll give it a try.
The Dillon 550B has 4 stages that use four separate dies. These dies are arranged on a die block that is removable from the press. Once they are set for a particular load, unless one experiments they can be removed from the press and put back in place without any further adjustment.

Once the dies are set, you place the case in the first stage which is the decapping,sizing and priming stage. A pull of the lever puts the case into the die, which deprimes it and sizes it at the same time. Bringing the lever back up primes the case using a primer feeder that holds about 110 primers. Now that you have the first stage done, you flip the shellplate with you thumb and start the first case into the powder die. While you flip the shell holder around, you pick up another case and insert it into the first stage.

The second stage pushes the case up into the powder die which uses a case specific bushing to activate the powder bar. The bushing also "bells" the case which allows the bullet to be started easier.Pushing the lever down pushes the case up into the powder bar which dispenses the powder down into the case. That ends the second stage.Once again, using your thumb, you flip the shell holder to stage three.

Now that you are on stage three, using your right hand you place another case into stage one. Now you have 3 cases in the shell holder and the process repeats itself with each throw of the lever.

At stage three, using your left hand, you place a bullet on top of the case. As you pull the lever, the bullet is seated into the case. You flip the shell holder with your thumb advancing it. You pick up another case with the right hand and place it in stage one.

Now onto stage four, the final stage. This is the crimp die. Throw the lever and the bullet is crimped. Using your thumb to advance the shell holder, a loaded shell falls into the bin.

Now, you have four cases in the shell holder. The key to the speed is to place a new case into stage one and a bullet into the case on stage three. From that point on, every throw of the lever produces a loader round. You repeat the process which until you run out of primers. If you have multiple primer tubes already loaded, you simply dump one into the primer feed, that takes all of about 10 seconds.

You then continue the process. Placing the cases in a bin at your right hand and a bin of bullets at your left increases the speed of loading. The average speed of the Dillon by someone that is taking their time is around 500 rounds per hour. I personally have done as many as 600, that is with several loaded primer tubes and all of the cases and bullets positioned so as not to lose any time.

The thing about it is, once you really start cranking them out, its amazing how fast the primers depletes as well as the powder in the powder measure.

Changing die blocks is as simple as removing two pins in the top of the press. If you have the same primer size, lets say you are loading 9mm at one setting and .357 at another which used the same primers and powder, you just change the die block,change the shell plate and adjust the powder measure accordingly and take off running. A caliber changout takes about anywhere from 5-10 minutes.

If you go from a small primer to a large primer, you must change the primer feed, that takes about 5 minutes.

The thing is, you get quality ammunition with repeatable results. There is no compromise due to speed.Many shooting competitions have been won using ammo loaded on Dillon presses. The Dillon company is fantastic when it comes to parts.

Years ago, my two teen aged boys were messing around in my shop and somehow the cracked the plastic tube on my powder measure. I called Dillon and asked them how much one cost, fully intending to pay for it.They insisted on sending me a new one...free of charge.

Service like that is hard to beat.

Not to slam Lee, any, but their progressive presses arent even it the same league.Everyone that I know that had one got rid of it and eventually bought a Dillon. Yes, I know that a Dillon and the stuff that goes with it is expensive, but here you truly get what you pay for. Once you get every thing adjusted where you want it, it pretty well stays put...something that the Lee progressive presses arent known for, being pot metal and plastic.

A progressive press really saves alot of time if you shoot alot. Even if you dont shoot alot, you can load a bunch at one sitting and shoot for the rest of the year. Having used an RCBS single stage for years, I got to where I was spending way to much time reloading due to the volume I was shooting at the local gun club every Thursday night. I was loading all week long just to shoot it all up.

Actually, my wife got me the Dillon for Christmas. Shes says it was the best money she ever spent.

__________________
AR. CHL Instr.

To achieve world government, it is necessary to remove from the minds of men, their individualism, loyalty to family traditions, national patriotism, and religious dogmas.'
Dr. G. Brock Chisolm

farronwolf

I use a Lyman, turret press. It is no where near as fast as the Dillon, or no where near as costly.

The thing I liked about the turret press, and one reason other than cost was that I could set up two pistol calibers, or three rifle calibers per turret, depending on they type of dies your using.

Changing calibers takes about 30 seconds or 1 minute if I have to change the primer size.

I never load one caliber at a time. I do my reloading in stages. I will decap all of one caliber, and start tumbling, then move to the next caliber.

After all of the decaping and tumbling is done then I move to the resizing and priming of all the calibers, then I powder and load the lead of all of them.

Like I said this is no where near as fast as the Dillon, but much faster than a single stage. I can work up loads in small batches if I want to without lots of time spent on setting up equipment if I make changes to bullet weights, etc.

I usually load somewhere between 300 to 1200 rounds during the week that I begin the process depending on how much brass I have accumulated. A couple of hours in the evening for a few evenings and I am done for a month or so, depending on how much I have had time to shoot.

The real suggestion I have is to find some people that reload and watch them. Get the feel for how it is done and the time it takes to set up and how many rounds you can get for your time spent. Before you spend any money, know what you want out of the reloading process.

If you can afford the Dillon progressive press and like the idea then go for it. If not there are lots of other options out there. For me it was a turret press, and I am happy with it. I enjoy the process and have learned a lot about ballistics and bullet characteristics by loading my own, and for other people that shoot with me.

Good luck.

__________________
Just remember that shot placement is much more important with what you carry than how big a bang you get with each trigger pull.