What reloading kit to start with?
- Thread starter buggz
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Others may give you different opinions.
my thoughts are:
First locate a local reloader and get some basics prior to spending money.
Don’t start with a progressive loader.
Don’t start in the biggest drought of components in history.
Doubt you wanted to hear any of that but it’s what I think.
my thoughts are:
First locate a local reloader and get some basics prior to spending money.
Don’t start with a progressive loader.
Don’t start in the biggest drought of components in history.
Doubt you wanted to hear any of that but it’s what I think.
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Also be realistic: It won't make shooting cheaper, but it will make shooting better.
I usually suggest that basic rifle reloading start with a kit like this, or by assembling something like it.
I usually suggest that basic rifle reloading start with a kit like this, or by assembling something like it.
Reality is in normal times you won’t shoot cheaper, you will shoot more. You might shoot better.
In these times you will sit wondering where you can scrounge some overpriced components.
In these times you will sit wondering where you can scrounge some overpriced components.
Tough times to start reloading
I’d try to find someone you know that reloads and try their equipment and learn the lessons from experience they earned first
It’s really easy to buy reloading stuff only to later learn there’s stuff better for what your doing or needs.
Kits generally have stuff that gets upgraded really quickly.
In these times finding components is a real challenge and without a friends network and components hustle your in for a real challenge or get raped on prices.
I’d try to find someone you know that reloads and try their equipment and learn the lessons from experience they earned first
It’s really easy to buy reloading stuff only to later learn there’s stuff better for what your doing or needs.
Kits generally have stuff that gets upgraded really quickly.
In these times finding components is a real challenge and without a friends network and components hustle your in for a real challenge or get raped on prices.
Aside from the points other a have brought up, consider WHY you want to start reloading.
What are you looking to gain from buying ammo?
After JUST getting a progressive this year, I kick myself for not doing it sooner. I've hand loaded single stage for hunting rifles for the last 15 or so years. Didn't make sense to go progressive to load a little bit of handgun and 223 ammo a year.
I don't SAVE a penny reloading. I just shoot more. A lot more. Lol.
But, till prices and availability hopefully come back, I couldn't recommend starting now.
A kit usually isn't the way to go. They usually come with a bunch of junk you don't need and don't come with a bunch of stuff you do need. Not always the case. There's about 9472794 different processes to load a single round. We argue on here daily about what's "best". Why? Because there is no best. What works for me might not work for you. Where I like to invest time isn't practical for a guy just looking to hit a 3ft target.
I started because I REALLY wanted a 35 Whelen. I found the rifle. Then realized ammo for it was nearly impossible find find crazy priced. (It's since become a bit more popular and more choices abd better prices) for the cost of 2 or 3 boxes of ammo I could buy a Rock Chuker. I was rolling my own ammo for the cost of a handful of boxes of loaded ammo. And already had a few other rifles I could load for. And down the road I went.
This is just a horrible time to try to scrounge components. But, the future is unknown. If you knew what you will need in the future, and come across it at a reasonable price, it may be worth snagging. Most stuff can always be resold if you find out you don't need it or whatever.
Good luck!
What are you looking to gain from buying ammo?
After JUST getting a progressive this year, I kick myself for not doing it sooner. I've hand loaded single stage for hunting rifles for the last 15 or so years. Didn't make sense to go progressive to load a little bit of handgun and 223 ammo a year.
I don't SAVE a penny reloading. I just shoot more. A lot more. Lol.
But, till prices and availability hopefully come back, I couldn't recommend starting now.
A kit usually isn't the way to go. They usually come with a bunch of junk you don't need and don't come with a bunch of stuff you do need. Not always the case. There's about 9472794 different processes to load a single round. We argue on here daily about what's "best". Why? Because there is no best. What works for me might not work for you. Where I like to invest time isn't practical for a guy just looking to hit a 3ft target.
I started because I REALLY wanted a 35 Whelen. I found the rifle. Then realized ammo for it was nearly impossible find find crazy priced. (It's since become a bit more popular and more choices abd better prices) for the cost of 2 or 3 boxes of ammo I could buy a Rock Chuker. I was rolling my own ammo for the cost of a handful of boxes of loaded ammo. And already had a few other rifles I could load for. And down the road I went.
This is just a horrible time to try to scrounge components. But, the future is unknown. If you knew what you will need in the future, and come across it at a reasonable price, it may be worth snagging. Most stuff can always be resold if you find out you don't need it or whatever.
Good luck!
Sorta. There's a significant initial investment to get started in reloading, even if you buy all the right stuff.
Savings starts to happen when you shoot in higher volume or can get better deals on components.
To get set up to load 1k rounds of 308 with new components at today's prices (I used MidwayUSA), it would cost about $1208. $1.20/round is pretty decent, but you'll have a lot of time invested.
Factor in the potential of trying multiple bullet types, multiple loads, trips to the range to test/verify... Your investment goes up.
If you stick with it, cost will go down over time. The real benefit will be higher quality shooting with better ammo, and self-reliance from being able to make your own ammo.
Actually I think this is sage and very good advice.
Sitting down with a reloader for an hour or even half of that will save anyone tons of money and headaches.
To the OP: starting completely from scratch a decent turret press might be a good starting point.
There are a lot more questions that need to be answered before you can get a solid answer.
If I say "buy brand X" that might work out but for something you will use for 20 years it needs to be understood WHY you are getting what you get.
A little bit of knowledge will pay huge dividends.
Where are you going to put the press? What are you going to mount it on? How much do you shoot? Are you loading primarily pistol or primarily precision rifle?
From my perspective it's not unlike rth1800. Going more in depth though, how all the different things fit together will make or break a reloading process.
You might want to look at the space you have available and figure out how other people make their work flow and then buy later on once you have a better feel for how it works.
It's not that we don't want you to reload but rather to take some time to make wise choices.
It might be more expensive than you thought it would be to tool up but you will recoup that money plus some over time.
Alamo brings up a good point.
SPACE. I overlooked that and found it troublesome. Basically had to get everything out and setup up and then take it down and put it away. It was taking longer to do all that than it was to load ammo.
I found out that the board I thought would hold my press....wouldn't. Lol. So had to build a bench.
Moved to a new house. Didn't have anything usable. Had to build a new bench. 3 years later I'm finally settling in and happy enough with the setup. I have too many hobbies that are always on-going so my work area is a mess. I've isolated 1 bench to strictly reloading...
Now that I'm loading bulk pistol and 223 rounds, I have buckets of brass all over lol.
Definitely something to consider depending how deep you dive. Now that I load for precision and progressive, I have a lot more....stuff.
SPACE. I overlooked that and found it troublesome. Basically had to get everything out and setup up and then take it down and put it away. It was taking longer to do all that than it was to load ammo.
I found out that the board I thought would hold my press....wouldn't. Lol. So had to build a bench.
Moved to a new house. Didn't have anything usable. Had to build a new bench. 3 years later I'm finally settling in and happy enough with the setup. I have too many hobbies that are always on-going so my work area is a mess. I've isolated 1 bench to strictly reloading...
Now that I'm loading bulk pistol and 223 rounds, I have buckets of brass all over lol.
Definitely something to consider depending how deep you dive. Now that I load for precision and progressive, I have a lot more....stuff.
If I were you I'd avoid the kits, you'll end up tossing most of the junk included with those, and it'll actually end up costing more than it has to in order to get everything you need.
Yes, your timing sucks, but if you enjoy shooting you'll probably enjoy reloading so just be prepared for it to take a while to get all your stuff together...
Since it's going to be a pain in the ass to get a hold of components right now, and it's going to take a little while for you to get up to speed on what you're chasing down anyways, I say wait and buy your components last (hopefully stuff will be more available and there'll be less price-gouging later on when the time comes for you). It's going to take a bit of effort and time just to get the tools you'll need together anyways, so I wouldn't worry about it.
This is a simple list of the bare-bones stuff you'll need to track down:
single-stage press (quality is better than bells and whistles - I recommend the Lyman Ideal if you can find one)
powder measure
case tumbler
dies
calipers
scale
loading blocks
priming tool (99% of press-mounted priming tools are complete shit)
I'd read/watch everything you can about reloading for the calibers you plan to load for BEFORE buying most of this stuff, with reloading tools many times the better tool for the job isn't more expensive, you've just got to buy the right thing...
Yes, your timing sucks, but if you enjoy shooting you'll probably enjoy reloading so just be prepared for it to take a while to get all your stuff together...
Since it's going to be a pain in the ass to get a hold of components right now, and it's going to take a little while for you to get up to speed on what you're chasing down anyways, I say wait and buy your components last (hopefully stuff will be more available and there'll be less price-gouging later on when the time comes for you). It's going to take a bit of effort and time just to get the tools you'll need together anyways, so I wouldn't worry about it.
This is a simple list of the bare-bones stuff you'll need to track down:
single-stage press (quality is better than bells and whistles - I recommend the Lyman Ideal if you can find one)
powder measure
case tumbler
dies
calipers
scale
loading blocks
priming tool (99% of press-mounted priming tools are complete shit)
I'd read/watch everything you can about reloading for the calibers you plan to load for BEFORE buying most of this stuff, with reloading tools many times the better tool for the job isn't more expensive, you've just got to buy the right thing...
Waiting and researching are not the same thing. It's going to take a while to figure out what will work best for you. Don't just shelve the idea of reloading thinking you might revisit it six months from now.
Getting components such as bullets, brass, powder, primers is a no go for now. If you place orders for bullets for example you have a 2-3 month long backorder. That's just the lead and copper bullet, not ammo. Primers are even worse to come by.
And you pay extra for everything now.
You can get certain things now but you need to be ready for them and know what you want. A lot of items sell out quickly. I'm talking about the tools itself.
That said you can find deals still.
For a simple start buy a Redding beam scale. You will need one.
You can get a powder throw. There are several good ones.
You might graduate later on to fancy electronic scales or expensive powder measuring systems but for now it's not needed to go that far.
Another thing you can get is a Forster priming tool. In my opinion it's better than sliced bread.
If you know what calibers get some dies but before you do double check with any of the experienced reloaders.
As for a press get a Redding T7.
None of that stuff will be cheap but you can sell any of those things next week and get your money back. Even 3 or 4 years later they have value.
If you buy super cheap stuff you will be stuck with it no matter what.
Another thing to consider is an InLine Fabrication press mount.
I mentioned those things because that is what I use. Inevitably you will buy something and not like it. That said all of the stuff I mentioned is very good stuff. You can reload everything with those and never have a problem.
If you want to just jump in and start I would do it that way. Just know that as you learn more you will spend some money on chasing down things or doing something new.
Also the tumbler and media are a no brainer. I use a Frankfort Arsenal wet tumbler with Southern Shine Media.
I have no idea what the sum total is for all of those things but it's easily over $1000 bucks.
If you are reloading match rifle ammo though you can save $1 per round vs buying it so it will balance out.
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In an ideal world though if you network around someone might let you reload on their setup for a while. You will learn more doing that and potentially save hundreds if not thousands of dollars that way. Not saying to mooch from anyone but rather to get you past the initial learning curve without blowing your face off and seeing for yourself exactly what to spend money on.
i jumped in back in q4 2020 from scratch. lyman t7 turret press for accuracy loads (match 223 for longer range 2 & 3 gun) for starters, PRS and hunting calibers later). dillon 750 for handgun (9mm, .40 and 38 super). primers are hardest by far components to get but they're out there, just need to be glued to a computer. powder isn't ample but it's out there. new brass is hard to find but used & processed is out there. i've had no big prob getting all sorts of bullets from 223 smk's to 9mm fmj. thinking reloading is always cheaper than new ammo (labor excluded) so if you need ammo then it's one or the other. if you have enough ammo (whatever level that is) then you might want to wait until prices hopefully recede and availability increases. plus with reloading you can customize your loads though time and cost for testing isn't cheap. between the two presses, dies, brass tumbler, elec powder trickler, brass trimmer etc i'm pushing $3k. already loaded 1k of the match .223 and pushing 10k between the handgun calibers.
I'm always going to favor the Dillon 550, regardless of how new you are.
1.) They have great resale value
2.) You can use it like a single stage or like a progressive. You can run it full speed making 500-600rds an hour, or you can go slow and do each step individually.
3.) They can make just as precise of ammo as any other regular press.
Start with the BL550 if you want more affordable. You can use it more like a single stage and when you get used to it, buy the priming system and the powder measure and then you can run it like a full progressive as well.
All that being said, like everyone else has said, horrible time to get into reloading. I would read, read, read on here and through other reloading forums. Get a reloading manual like the Lyman 50th edition and read the whole front half a couple times.
