Reloading: Where to start and what to buy

[Socalshooter]

I've been debating starting up reloading as I've seen the benefits of it and the cost reduction per round. Planning on reloading for my 300wm, 6.5 creed, 7remmag, and my '06. Ive been researching for a while but I've been overloaded with information, annealing, neck tension, crimping vs no crimp, shoulder bumping vs full case resizing, load development, and bullet seating, oal, etc.

There are times that I feel somewhat knowledgeable about it, but 95% of the time I feel that I have absolutely no idea about reloading nor the proper steps to take to reload successfully. Equipment wise, same thing. RCBS, Hornady, Lee reloading.
I really see the short term benefits of reloading and the long term benefits of it as well, I just wise I had a solid foundation to build on.
have tried going to

 

[Socalshooter]

budget wise- no more than 500$ to start me off, not including brass, propellent, bullets, primers

 

[quietmike]

First thing to get is reloading manuals, a few of them. They will fully explain the process and give you a base to start from.

 

[Howland]

A decent press. Single stage is fine.
A die set and shellholder. If you only want to load for bolt actions, a neck sizing die will be enough for now but you'll eventually need to full length size. I picked up a Redding Deluxe die set that includes both and a micrometer seating die. Semiauto loading requires full length sizing.
Calipers for measuring cases.
A scale. A balance beam is good enough, an automatic scale/powder dispenser is nice but your budget will dictate when. I used an RCBS balance beam for thousands of rounds. It's time consuming when you want your charges exact to the tenth of a grain but it gets the job done. I just got a small Frankfort Arsenal digital scale among a bunch of used equipment I got on Armslist (hint, hint - or here) and even that would be fine.
A case cleaner, tumbler is OK.
Components, powder, primers and bullets.
A manual is nice but most powder and bullet manufacturers have it online. I've never used the Lyman reloading manual but many here and elsewhere recommend it for beginners. It's a how-to from start to finish. I attended a free class sponsored by an LGS & Lyman and left with a hand press kit. The class was good, it's the next best thing to an experienced mentor. The kit paid for itself before it finally broke after thousands of rounds, but I was loading mostly straight walled pistol cases. I picked up a Rockchucker when I started bottleneck rifle rounds. It's a great single stage.
At some point you'll realize that using your press for priming is a PITA and you'll get a hand priming tool.
After setup, you should be able to find a load that shoots lights out from your rifles for 50-75¢ plus the case. You might find a factory load that can't be beat and it might not be match but if you're willing to devote the time to experiment, you can usually equal or better that.

 

[RRG]

The RCBS kits would make a good start. You get all the basics tools needed to get started. You can add on gradually until you have everything . Case tumblers, measuring tools, ultrasonic cleaners are things that good to have to load quality ammo but are necessary to get started.

 

[TripleBull]

A reloading manual or two is a good idea but I like some of the more detailed books out there. Here are a few:

https://www.amazon.com/Metallic-Car...eST=_SX258_BO1,204,203,200_QL70_&dpSrc=detail

https://www.amazon.com/Top-Grade-gu...e=UTF8&qid=1523145663&sr=8-1&keywords=zediker

https://www.amazon.com/Handloading-...e=UTF8&qid=1523145663&sr=8-3&keywords=zediker

Both of the Zedeker books have very good info but be warned - his writing style bugs many people.

If saving money is a key reason for you to reload, you probably should do homework on progressive presses. I hand load to get better performance and spend enough time doing it that I can't really act like I'm saving a bunch of money. And since my bench has about $5K invested, that would buy a shitload of ammo - and a $5K bench is no big deal compared to others on this forum.

 

[Billl223]

I've been reloading pistol for 20 years using a Dillon 650 because volume is required. Loading rifle for also as many years, I use a Redding turret press which has enough room to load 3 calibers. You need a basic 2 die set to start, I have RCBS and Redding dies. I like the RCBS bench priming tool. My $20 dollar Lee powder measure is surprising accurate even with stick powder. A powder scale is a must, the RCBS 10-10 is good but I also have a Dillon electronic scale which is accurate and faster. Case gages are useful, I just had to reform several hundred cases after I rebarreled an AR with a tighter chamber. Also buy a $100 chronometer to test your loads. Eventually you need a tool to trim cases to length. A dial caliper is useful for case and O.A.L. measurements.

 

[natdscott]

Zediker.

 

[hereinaz]

Buy just good enough stuff. Then, replace it as you go along.

Me, I'd get a Forster coax press and cheap other stuff. Build around a good press.

RCBS for a kit.

 

[Lonestar1027]

Second the Forster COAX. I'm loving mine and have no regrets

 

[DrainTheSwamp]

There’s a lot of ways to skin the cat here. When I first started reloading and asked on forums what I should buy, the answers weren’t as black and white as I wanted them to be. I made some bone headed purchases on items that are now collecting dust just as most everyone else has also.

Just keep researching and asking questions along the way and everyone here will be more than welcome to help ya out.

I cheaped put on my powder drop and hand primer but I tried to buy the best scale and dies that I could afford at the time. I’m still rocking a lee single stage press but plan to get a COAX and use my lee for decapping only once I upgrade. I would of had a coax along time ago but I hated Brass prep so much that some money got allocated towards prep recently.

Moral or story is to just get into it, learn the basics and make some safe and affordable ammo then decide on what areas you want to improve on later.

 

[McHaggis]

I've been reloading for many years but never in quantity or quality until recently. Now I've got into precision reloading and it's a different beast to just "reloading".

My take on gear is.....
A decent press. Even a basic cheap Lee Classic Cast press works well. One thing about presses is that if you upgrade at a later date to say a Co-ax the old press will normally be set-up with some die in it so they always tend to get used.
Buy very good scales. Old scales are usually put away or sold so don't go cheapish here. If you do, get a decent beam scale.
Dies. Buy decent dies and I'd suggest a micro seater from maybe Forster. Once you use one you'll never go back.
Case trimmer. I used the cheap LEE setup for years and they work great. I recently got the Lyman and wish I'd got the Wilson. GET the WILSON.
Digital caliper. Mitutoyo or similar good quality. You won't regret it as you'll use these a lot!
Hornady Lock n Load bullet comparator and Headspace gauge kit. You'll use these lots with your decent digital caliper. You can't guess this stuff.
Powder handling. Go expensive or cheap. Lee powder throw and trickle up or a Charge Master or Adam's setup. Budget determined big time.
Priming tool. RCBS universal hand primer or better. They are quick easy and give good feel.
Case lube, loading tray, powder funnel, ammo box, chamfer tools, neck brush, primer pocket cleaner, bullet puller (Hornady Cam Lock) - one day you'll need one!

A kit is a great way to get many of these items at a good rate so look into what each kit offers in the way of items and cost. But it may still be better value buying what you actually want when it's on special.

The above list is what I've found is the basic list of equipment that you need and use all the time. Once you get "into it" you can add concentricity gauges, annealers, flash hole tools, tumblers, etc, etc.

 

[Socalshooter]

I was looking deeply into the iron press kit by Hornady but I see there’s a lot there that I would almost instantly change out for better quality and more accurate substitutes
Does anyone have any experience with Hornady reloading presses?

 

[Horns8491]

I've used the hornady lock n load single stage. It's fine. People will say its not as solid as a rockchucker, and they're probably right, but Id be shocked if you could spot the difference in the finished round. The lock n load bushings suck. For them to be useful at all, you have to buy one for every die. They dont always stay in the fully locked position, so I found myself checking them a lot. And then the dies sitting in the bushings no longer fit in the cases or in my rack for dies. But for things like bullet pulling, decapping, etc. where precision is not required, the lock n load bushings I guess are pretty nice because you can swap them quickly.

If you are going to buy a single stage, get the co-ax and dont look back.

 

[magnumruger]

I bought a RCBS RockChucker, hand chamfer/deburr tools, powder trickler, FA calipers, rcbs digital scale, and rcbs hand priming tool. Nice and slow process to help familiarize yourself with reloading. Uorgraded many tools over the years and Just now bought a Hornady LNL AP press for mass producing “plinking rounds”. Single stage will always be my go to for premium accuracy. Start small, do what works for you and grow into better equipment.