Shopping list for reloading equipment

Executive

Executive

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I want to start reloading. Tired of paying big $$$ for run of the mill ammo. I shoot 9mm, .38/.357, .40, .45, and .223/5.56. I have looked through this thread: http://northeastshooters.com/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=13198 and picked up a few thoughts, but need more information. About the only thing I DO know is that I want a progressive press so that I can make the most of my reloading time. How about a list of equipment from experienced reloaders. Scale, trimmer, press, dies, what else? Where to buy? Perhaps this could be stickied?
 
Here are a few more items to add to your list:

Calipers for measuring cartridge overall length.

Tumbler with media and media separator - You'll need these to clean your cases before reloading. You can get away with not having the media separator, but if you don't get it, you'll regret not having it.

Digital scale - Here are some on eBay.

Powder pan for scale - put this on the scale above, press the "tare" button, and weigh away.

Bullet puller, because everyone makes mistakes.
 
Everything above plus some kind of Powder Cop/Lock out die for checking your loads.

Without causing a debate on vendors I'd give a good look at the Hornady. Comes with 1000 free bullets- that bring the "effective" price to something like $200-$250. Of course you need shell plates and some extras. Still a great deal. There are lots of other little things that you might pick up at some point like EGW undersize dies (good for resizing Glock cases), etc.
 
Round Gun Shooter said:
Soft pillow to bang your head on when you get frustrated with the process.
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LOL- yes this is true too, I forgot about that one. Take it slow when you get started. I've spilled powder all over the place and had smaller spills when I've missed the primer. I ALWAYS focus on the powder charge- don't take your eye off that one. [wink]
 
Here we go again... LOL If you're looking for a Progressive press save yourself money now and buy a Dillon. If you don't you will end up with one in the long run. I would recommend either a 550 or 650. I have a 650 and love it.

For extras you will need a powder scale. A digital one is nice because it is much quicker but it isn't a mandatory item. It is something you can upgrade later. Make sure to get a tumbler, a decent pair of calipers, eye protection, some empty buckets to sort your brass, and a nice solid bench. Then you'll need to buy tons of bullets, brass, primers, and powder and have yourself a blast.

Pete
 
PistolPete said:
Here we go again... LOL If you're looking for a Progressive press save yourself money now and buy a Dillon. If you don't you will end up with one in the long run. I would recommend either a 550 or 650. I have a 650 and love it.

For extras you will need a powder scale. A digital one is nice because it is much quicker but it isn't a mandatory item. It is something you can upgrade later. Make sure to get a tumbler, a decent pair of calipers, eye protection, some empty buckets to sort your brass, and a nice solid bench. Then you'll need to buy tons of bullets, brass, primers, and powder and have yourself a blast.

Pete
Click to expand...

Great start with the Dillon 550/650
How about some brand names for the other stuff?
 
Scale wise I would go with the Lee safety scale. I got mine for 12 dollars shipped. It's a balance scale, doesn't matter who made it. Spend the extra cash on a check weight.

Case gauges are nice, I don't bother as I don't care if the ammo jams every once in a blue moon. Cross-X saw that it didn't hurt my performance today! ;-) I have not had any ammo related failures yet so I never started gauging. If you have finicky eaters or you want to run a gun on the edge it is probably worthwhile. Undersized dies might be necessary, might not, again a bandaid for Glock brass or undersized chambers. Your smith finish reamed that new Kart barrel right?


I got started with the press, dies, calipers, tumbler, and scale. That's it. The rest can come as you need it.
 
Executive said:
Great start with the Dillon 550/650 How about some brand names for the other stuff?
Click to expand...

I vehemently DISagree with recommending a 650 to a new reloader. So does Brian Enos and he SELLS them! Go to his website and read why.

Get a 550 or a Hornady Lock-N-Load, which is a true progressive.

Whichever press you get:

1. Buy CARBIDE die sets!

2. Get a Lee Factory Crimp Die (FCD) for each caliber and use it in the final station.

Start slowly and learn at your own pace. This is NOT an area in which you want to guess, "wing it" or otherwise employ trial and error techniques. Things can go "Ka-Boom" with dire consequences if you get sloppy. [shocked]
 
As for presses...

I started loading on a Lee single stage (I gave it away to a member), went to a Dillon Square Deal (which I sold to a member) Now I own both a Dillon 550 and a Hornady L-N-L Progressive. I load 90% of my rounds on the Hornady.
 
Scrivener said:
I vehemently DISagree with recommending a 650 to a new reloader. So does Brian Enos and he SELLS them! Go to his website and read why.

Get a 550 or a Hornady Lock-N-Load, which is a true progressive.

Whichever press you get:

1. Buy CARBIDE die sets!

2. Get a Lee Factory Crimp Die (FCD) for each caliber and use it in the final station.

Start slowly and learn at your own pace. This is NOT an area in which you want to guess, "wing it" or otherwise employ trial and error techniques. Things can go "Ka-Boom" with dire consequences if you get sloppy. [shocked]
Click to expand...

I agree with this with one caveat. I recently bought a Square Deal to accompany my 2 550s on the bench. As a dedicated caliber loader, it will be just what I wanted.

Do not discount the Square deal loaders. They have auto indexing and can be found used. If I find one set up for 45 ACP, I will buy it and sell one 550 as the 45 is the only large pistol primer brass I reload for.

Start small and work your way up. If you have problems, you want support and Dillon does that.

Edit to add: I started with the RCBS Junior I bought used and still use it sometimes. I have had it since 1974 and have never had a problem with it.

Regards,
 
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tele_mark said:
Just curious Jim -- not to derail the thread, but what rounds to you load on the 550 and why?
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I bought it for $50 at an estate sale. The antique-hags that were there didn't even know what it was. Whoo hoo for me!

The powder measure on the 550 is a pain to set up, so I leave the press set up for .38 Special w/4.4 grains of Bullseye (Those were the loads that we were shooting to point-of-aim at 100 yards in my Model 10, but shoot to POA at 50ft in my Model 14). I bought about 3500 of those 125 grain bullets on eBay awhile back so I figure I'll be loading them for a while.

For every other caliber, I use the L-N-L because it is much easier to change over.

Another L-N-L advantage dawned on me over the weekend. When loading on the L-N-L, I think nothing of popping out a die for a second to clean it or check something out. I was loading lead .500 bullets that had a really gummy lube on them. I was pulling out the seating and crimping dies every 50 rounds or so to de-wax them with Q-tips and solvent. If that was a Dillon, I'd still be loading because you have to remove the whole tool head.

Don't get me wrong, the Dillon is a good machine, but it's not fair to compare a 550 to an L-N-L.
 
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My only suggestion would be to start with a balance beam scale. While the digitals are great, they can be finiky to set up and use. Plus they are costly.
 
I load on a square deal, it's a decent choice for a dedicated single caliber reloader. If you want the option of a case feeder then the LNL is probably worth the extra coin. I have an LnL but don't have it set up in my main volume caliber of .45
 
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One accessory that I'm thinking of getting is a Dillon primer tube filler. I have one of the hand-held ones from Frankford Arsenal but I don't like it.

I like to load in quanities of 500-1000 rounds at a time. The worst part of loading is filling the primer tubes, and I like the idea of having something that will do that for me. I don't like the idea of spending >$250 on the filler though!
 
I started loading on a single stage press 20 years ago and still do, one step at a time. Other people can load hundreds of rounds in the time it takes me to do 50 but it is the way I prefer it. One item I would suggest is a case/headspace guage for bottleneck rifle cartidges. It can aid you in setting up the sizing die so you don't push the shoulder to far back among other things. I have found with some dies that even if you set them according the the directions they need to be adusted slightly..

Just my 2 cents...
Walter
 
1903Collector said:
I started loading on a single stage press 20 years ago and still do, one step at a time. Other people can load hundreds of rounds in the time it takes me to do 50 but it is the way I prefer it. One item I would suggest is a case/headspace guage for bottleneck rifle cartidges.
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Your sentiments and signature indicate a rifle target shooter. For that application, I understand your preference for a single stage press.

For handguns, that process is the equivalent of making cloth on a hand loom. Competition shooters consume more ammo on some stages than you probably shoot in an entire day at the range.

We need production capability! [wink]
 
Scrivener said:
Your sentiments and signature indicate a rifle target shooter. For that application, I understand your preference for a single stage press.

For handguns, that process is the equivalent of making cloth on a hand loom. Competition shooters consume more ammo on some stages than you probably shoot in an entire day at the range.

We need production capability! [wink]
Click to expand...

I shoot and load both rifle and handgun and I agree with you on the handgun ammo. I wasn't knocking progressive machines by any stretch as they are very good at what they do. I was just offering that as an option to a new reloader. Like I said I have always used a single stage press but I also use things to speed up the process such as a Pact powder dispenser etc. I approach reloading from a quality standpoint rather than quantity, not to say others don't as well. but I find for myself that doing it this way I can scrutinize every step in the process. Sounds a bit anal I know but I can't imagine doing it any other way.

Walter...[grin]
 
EddieCoyle said:
I was pulling out the seating and crimping dies every 50 rounds or so to de-wax them with Q-tips and solvent. If that was a Dillon, I'd still be loading because you have to remove the whole tool head
Click to expand...

Not with Dillon dies. They come apart for cleaning by pulling a pin without removing the body from the toolhead.
 
dwarven1 said:
What's the cardboard for? [thinking]
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It goes over the strainer so I can shake it without losing any brass. It started out as an invention of necessety, now I just keep doing it because I'm cheap and it works. The day I started reloading, I didn't have a handy shopping list like this, and did not have the foresight to know I had to somehow sepperate the media from the brass when it was done polishing. I started with an empty coffee can that I cut holes in the plastic lid to sift the stuff out. That was just not going to cut it. I bought my press and tumbler second hand, and the tumbler is huge (fits about 1500 pieces of .38spl brass, and it was full when I bought it), so I needed to find a quicker way to do this. I started by looking around the house for useable materials when the image of a bucket and a spaghetti stainer popped into my head. Well, I may not have a gun shop that's open on sunday near me, but I live 5 minutes away from a kmart and home depot. I started by swirling the strainer, but there would still be stuff in the cases, so I put a pice of cardboard over it and shook it after the bulk of the media had fallen into the bucket.
 
Uncle Fester said:
The day I started reloading, I didn't have a handy shopping list like this, and did not have the foresight to know I had to somehow sepperate the media from the brass when it was done polishing. I started with an empty coffee can that I cut holes in the plastic lid to sift the stuff out. That was just not going to cut it..... I started by looking around the house for useable materials when the image of a bucket and a spaghetti stainer popped into my head.
Click to expand...

Ditto here. As I use a deep bucket, I don't need the cardboard; I pour the contents of the tumbler into the bucket and use the wire mesh strainer to scoop up the brass. Shake the strainer like crazy to get the brass moving, then dump it into large coffee cans or Slurpy cups.

Cheap, simple and effective.
 

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