Hi all, as I find myself shooting more and more these days I am considering whether it would be a good idea to look into reloading myself. I have 2 primary friearms I will be shooting, one is a Beretta 92FS 9mm parabellum the other will be a Ruger GP100 357. (Coming soon)
I am curious as to what it takes to get started (brands of presses etc) $$$ and roughly what my return may be. I know from sculking about that the equipment isn't cheap and there is a definite art to reloading however if it brings me more grins as the shooting does I think it would be worth it. Thanks for your reponses. mack

Are several "kits" sold as a package...usually safe a few dollars. The low end would be the Lee...can read on these borads how some folks feel about Lee. In one caliber, call it $70-80. May have a deal on tehir new big steel press, but I haven't looked.

Complete RCBS, Lyman, or Redding Kits will be between $240-$280. Have to shop each (Midway at least has pictures on tehir site) and see what they include. Many include a case trimmer...nice to have, but of less use in handgun relaoding.

You won't save a cent...you'll just shoot four to five times as much.

Mack
Your two pistol cartridges there, 9mm and 357, that are reloaded more then any others.
I'd recommend Dillon's SquareDeal, with a tool head for both. The only thing you'll need after the press and tools heads will be a powder measure for adjusting the powder weight you are throwing.
You will learn more about the reloading process using the single stage and maybe you will turn out a better product. The Dillon will produce many more rounds for the effort and most likely an equal product.
Jim

Below is a list to help new potential reloaders think through all the types of equipment and things they may want, as well as get a list up of stuff they want or need.

Reloading Equipment Basics

Before you get any of the reloading equipment on the equipment list below, you’ll want to do some reading. You won’t need all of them, but here’s are some good manuals to
start with:

The ABC's of Reloading
Metallic Cartridge Reloading
Speer Manual #13
Modern Reloading by Richard Lee
Lyman Metallic Reloading Handbook
Hornady 5th Edition Reloading Handbook (2 volume set)

1. A reloading press-for what you're doing, you’ll need to know what type of cartridge and in what quantities before a press can be advised, think on how much you think you'll shoot. Generally speaking, single stages are better for more accurate cartridges in rifle, with the RCBS, (Rock Chucker) Lee, (Classic Cast Press) Redding (Boss or Big Boss) and Forester (Coax) brands being excellent choices. If you go with the Rock Chucker, I'd suggest also getting a Hornady Lock N Load bushing conversion kit for the Rock chucker with another 10 additional bushings. The Lee is the least expensive of the bunch, is the latest single stage out and has compared favorably with the Rock Chucker and like the Rock Chucker, will accept the Hornady Lock N Load Conversion Bushing kit. With these, you adjust your dies once, tighten down the lock ring and next time you want to change dies, you just insert, twist and snap/lock in and you're done changing dies in about 2 seconds. I use these on my newly purchased Lee Classic Cast press and used Rock Chucker I just bought used and they're wonderful.

For reloading pistol, you’d want to consider a turret or progressive press. If you are new, a turret would be the best choice, to have a bit more control and to get an understanding of what’s happening, though a progressive is “do-able,” you run a larger risk of making a mistake that could harm you or damage your pistol/rifle. Good brands of turrets are Lee (90932 4 station, automatic advance), Dillon (AT500, 4 station), RCBS (88901, cast iron) and Redding (T7, cast iron). For the lowest price, the Lee will do the job, get you started and if you decide to stay with it, you may want a more expensive turret or you may want to go progressive. If you want to go progressive, excellent brands are Hornady (Lock N Load {5 station fully automated; I have one and love it.}), Dillon (550 {4 station semi-automated turret or 650 station fully automated}) (I don’t recommend Dillon’s SBD because it’s dies won’t fit anything else, nor will any other dies fit it, so you’re stuck with Dillon dies and it doesn’t reload rifle.) and the RCBS 2000 (An excellent cast iron semi automated press with an excellent primer feed). A good economy brand is the Lee Pro 1000. The Lee is less expensive and can take some tweaking, but it can be done and it’s way less expensive to purchase, a serious consideration if your money is tight. Here’s a good how to website for Lee equipment:

http://www.geocities.com/leereloading/index.htm

2. Reloading dies for the caliber of your choice. I have Hornady and RCBS dies, but I wouldn't hesitate to buy and use Lee or Dillon, who also load excellent ammo. Rumor has it that Redding is the Cadillac of dies, but their prices reflect it. If money were no objection, I'd definitely explore the Redding dies. For pistol, you'll want to buy carbide or TiN coated dies. For a single stage press, you'll need a shell holder that matches the caliber you're loading.

3. A Powder measure/dispenser (Many kits include these.) I like the Hornady, RCBS and Redding brands for these. I have both the Hornady and Redding brands. Of these, the Hornady is an automated version and is more consistent (to me) because of the automated feature. It came with my Hornady Lock and Load Auto Progressive Press. (BTW, in my opinion, the Hornady progressive is the bomb when price, features and quality are taken into account. I have a price comparison vs. Dillon, but I'd rather not prejudice you. The Dillon guys will argue hot and loudly with me on this, because they love their Dillons as much as I love my Hornady.)

4. A powder scale, no matter single stage, turret or progressive, you'll need one of these. I like the RCBS 505 and 1010, the Hornady and the Dillon scales. I have a Redding, but wish I had gotten another brand because the fine adjustment is hard to see and can be bumped out of adjustment accidentally.'

5. A set of calipers to measure your cartridges with. I have a Frankford Arsenal set that's done well for me. Other folks spend a lot more money, but these have been more than accurate enough for everything I've loaded, including high-power rifle cartridges.

6. A reloading manual- I have and like my Speer #13, but Hornady, Lee and a couple other folks make excellent ones. I haven't heard much about Lyman's reloading manual, but their lead bullet manual is supposed to be pretty good. A good loading book on the basics like the ABC's of Reloading and Metallic Cartridge Reloading can help you understand the process a lot better. Read them a couple times it will get you to a good understanding. Read the directions that come with your press, dies etc.

7. Some snap lid plastic storage containers with bins to store all the little pieces and parts from the equipment. It might not be a bad idea to look at plastic fishing tackle boxes, as they have lots of storage compartments.

8. Some plastic bins to hold your brass, bullets and loaded cartridges while you're in the process of reloading. If you're loading single stage, you might need some cartridge blocks to regain the brass in various stages of production. Buy the cheapest bins out there, such as HarborFreight; they're all plastic so you gain nothing by paying more.

9. A couple of adjustable wrenches, one six inch and one eight inch. There may be other hand tools, but if you have a toolbox, you may already have them.

10. A kinetic bullet puller. I have the one made by Frankford Arsenal. If you whack it firmly, rather than as hard as you can and hit it upon a piece of hardwood, it'll last and do the job great. You can spend more, but this one works well and is only about $20.00.

11. A brass trimmer. I have an RCBS automated version, but I used to compete in high-power rifle, reload lots of rifle cartridges that need to be trimmed to length occasionally. For smaller quantities of brass, a hand trimmer would be sufficient and much more fun to use. You will need to check your brass is not over the maximum allowed length. After trimming, you will need a de-burring tool cleans up the inside and outside necks so the case-mouth isn't sharp and bullets insert smoothly without damage.

12. Cartridge gauge. These are nicely convenient to check to see if your reloaded cartridges are within SAAMI specification.

13. Case lube - I use Hornady One Shot on my rifle cartridges, but I find it and their cleaner lube handy for lubricating moving parts on my progressive that I don't have grease and oil getting into. For rifle cartridges you can lube with a pad and case lube (such as the one included in the RCBS kit) or use something like Hornady one-shot or try out Imperial Sizing Die Wax, which I hear is another excellent product.

14. Brass - I recommend you research and buy a better brand of brass, particularly what the majority of folks shooting your caliber are loading, it'll generally be (but not always) the best compromise of quality and price. Occasionally something new comes along that whips the "standard" pretty badly.

15. Powder - Again, start with the "Old standby" for your cartridge (if one exists) and then move out to other brands as you gain reloading experience.

16. Bullets - FMJ is great, but lead is cheaper. I'd advise buying them in bulk, 500 to a thousand at a time. You'll want to learn how to reload before you even think about making your own lead bullets. With the caliber you're shooting, this will certainly result in significant savings.

17. Safety glasses, wear them while you're reloading, just like you do when you're shooting.

18. You will need to clean the brass. If you are reloading for small quantities, don't bother with fancy tumblers, you can clean it with a vinegar formula such as the one the NRA suggest and just wipe the brass down with a rag and dry it. If you want the formula, I'll be glad to post it. You also have the option of a tumbler/sifter combination. Bose's Guns, (http://www.bosesguns.com/) has a Frankford Arsenal combination that does well, it's the one I have. Another more expensive alternative would be the Dillon combination (Dillonprecision.com).


hope this helps,

Dave in Oakwood, GA