To buy $800+ on ammo or get gear and learn to reload???!!!

[awshoot]

...
One thing that no one has mentioned is that you want to be able to be totally focused on the reloading. Any kind of distraction can be an issue, either a double load or a squib. I do my reloading in a room in my garage alone, where it is quiet and there are no distractions and I can focus on the reloading.

Another excellent point.

EDIT: new reloaders should probably look at the "mistakes" thread -- funny and educational: Share your hand loading mistakes!

 

[joken]

I tried to message you buy your inbox is full

Try again

 

[nativeo]

Ok so I have an old herters press coming so now starting old school?

 

[joken]

Ok so I have an old herters press coming so now starting old school?

Yes, and IMO the best place to start. More people use a single-stage than progressive. I'm 72 and only started using progressive a couple years ago. I have a 550 and square deal,

 

[ageingstudent]

Yes, and IMO the best place to start. More people use a single-stage than progressive. I'm 72 and only started using progressive a couple years ago. I have a 550 and square deal,

You are not 72. You're nowhere near as dotty as my dad and he's 70

 

[nativeo]

This is great because I normally go for newer tech stuff but I'm starting right where I should be. Now what do I need lol... I'm reading and watching...

 

[Tom Louis]

Lots of excellent advice here. I started re-loading in the early 70's with a Lyman turret press that I still own but rarely use. In 1979 I bought a Mk II Martini Henry in .577-450. The only press that could size and load this large cartridge case at that time was the RCBS Rockchucker as it came with removable bushings that would accept either 7/8" or the larger 1" dies. I also still have and regularly use this virtually indestructible press for everything from the smallest to the largest cartridges. It is slower to produce ammo but fast enough for me. As an old man I still prefer books with covers and pages for my reloading information but have found the load charts that all the Powder companies have online increasingly useful. Some of the old Herters presses used proprietary shell holders and won't allow the use of modern shell holders, perhaps a question to be asked before acquiring one. I am now retired nearly six years and am grateful for every skill and hobby I pursued while young with all the spare time available now. Best. Tom

 

[awshoot]

This is great because I normally go for newer tech stuff but I'm starting right where I should be. Now what do I need lol... I'm reading and watching...

Get a reloading book or two. Not only do you get recipes you get instruction. Very important.

You need a set of dies for one of your calibers. I'd suggest buying one set of dies at first in case you end up not liking reloading. Pistol is also easier, at least 9mm and larger. I find doing .380s to be sort of fiddly and I've never done anything smaller which I imagine is worse. As for dies, everyone has preferences but I've had the best luck with RCBS and Redding. I have one Hornaday die set and don't like it. Others will have the opposite opinion. They all work.

You will want a powder measure. I have one like this: RCBS Uniflow Powder Measure Small Cylinder With this device you can adjust the amount of powder it drops so that you get a pretty good powder load for each case just by operating the handle. This is good enough for plinkers. For very accurate ammo, you want to "throw" a light charge, and then while the powder is on a scale, "trickle" powder up to the exact right amount. For that you want a trickler. This is what I have but any will do: Hornady Powder Trickler

If you want shiny brass, you will want a vibratory tumbler. A wet rotary pin tumbler will clean brass very well, but in my experience it dulls quickly -- I tend to wet clean in a rotary tumbler and then vibrate with some polish to get it extra shiny. This is NOT necessary. I've never used ultrasonic so can't comment.

You want loading blocks which look like this: Reloading Trays | Wooden & Plastic Trays in All Calibers | Shop Now or you can take a drill to a piece of wood. If you 3D print, it's extra easy.

You will need a good scale. I have both a balance and a digital scale but I've been mostly using the digital scale. Get a set of standard weights so you can check the scale, digital or analog.

A set of calipers will help you make sure you get the right seating depth. These will help you get a good surface between the caliper blades which are usually quite thin: Hornady Lock-N-Load Bullet Comparator Anvil Base Kit

A set of funnels for powder is useful.

You should be able to prime on the press, but look into a priming solution like a handheld or bench primer -- priming on the press is the slowest step and eliminating that will make your life noticeably better. Many people like hand priming tools: hand priming - MidwayUSA I have carpal tunnel so I can't say anything about them, they are inexpensive though.

You will probably want a chamfering and deburring tool to smooth the mouth of your cases: Hornady Deluxe 4-Blade Chamfer Deburring Tool The pointy side does the inside, the rocket fin looking end does the outside. You just hold the shell and twist the tool on it. This is important after trimming your cases because it gets rid of the sharp edges on the case mouth. Probably more important on rifle than on pistol -- honestly I don't trim pistol cartridges -- they're a dime a dozen and easy to replace. Quality bottle neck cases are going to cost a lot more than you are likely to guess and there are many tools for working on these, but I wouldn't say you need them to start out, except for a trimmer and chamfer/deburring tool. An inexpensive and effective trimmer is this: Lyman E-ZEE TRIM Hand Case Trimmer Universal Set You would need a pilot pin (sold separately) for the specific caliber you want to trim. If you want to get fancy, things like this are out there: Case Prep Tools for Reloading Ammo | Shop Now & Save Nice thing about this stuff is that is locally grown organic made in Cashmere WA and great quality.

I feel like that's a good start -- if I'm forgetting something, someone should say so.

 

[ageingstudent]

Get a reloading book or two. Not only do you get recipes you get instruction. Very important.

You need a set of dies for one of your calibers. I'd suggest buying one set of dies at first in case you end up not liking reloading. Pistol is also easier, at least 9mm and larger. I find doing .380s to be sort of fiddly and I've never done anything smaller which I imagine is worse. As for dies, everyone has preferences but I've had the best luck with RCBS and Redding. I have one Hornaday die set and don't like it. Others will have the opposite opinion. They all work.

You will want a powder measure. I have one like this: RCBS Uniflow Powder Measure Small Cylinder With this device you can adjust the amount of powder it drops so that you get a pretty good powder load for each case just by operating the handle. This is good enough for plinkers. For very accurate ammo, you want to "throw" a light charge, and then while the powder is on a scale, "trickle" powder up to the exact right amount. For that you want a trickler. This is what I have but any will do: Hornady Powder Trickler

If you want shiny brass, you will want a vibratory tumbler. A wet rotary pin tumbler will clean brass very well, but in my experience it dulls quickly -- I tend to wet clean in a rotary tumbler and then vibrate with some polish to get it extra shiny. This is NOT necessary. I've never used ultrasonic so can't comment.

You want loading blocks which look like this: Reloading Trays | Wooden & Plastic Trays in All Calibers | Shop Now or you can take a drill to a piece of wood. If you 3D print, it's extra easy.

You will need a good scale. I have both a balance and a digital scale but I've been mostly using the digital scale. Get a set of standard weights so you can check the scale, digital or analog.

A set of calipers will help you make sure you get the right seating depth. These will help you get a good surface between the caliper blades which are usually quite thin: Hornady Lock-N-Load Bullet Comparator Anvil Base Kit

A set of funnels for powder is useful.

You should be able to prime on the press, but look into a priming solution like a handheld or bench primer -- priming on the press is the slowest step and eliminating that will make your life noticeably better. Many people like hand priming tools: hand priming - MidwayUSA I have carpal tunnel so I can't say anything about them, they are inexpensive though.

You will probably want a chamfering and deburring tool to smooth the mouth of your cases: Hornady Deluxe 4-Blade Chamfer Deburring Tool The pointy side does the inside, the rocket fin looking end does the outside. You just hold the shell and twist the tool on it. This is important after trimming your cases because it gets rid of the sharp edges on the case mouth. Probably more important on rifle than on pistol -- honestly I don't trim pistol cartridges -- they're a dime a dozen and easy to replace. Quality bottle neck cases are going to cost a lot more than you are likely to guess and there are many tools for working on these, but I wouldn't say you need them to start out, except for a trimmer and chamfer/deburring tool. An inexpensive and effective trimmer is this: Lyman E-ZEE TRIM Hand Case Trimmer Universal Set You would need a pilot pin (sold separately) for the specific caliber you want to trim. If you want to get fancy, things like this are out there: Case Prep Tools for Reloading Ammo | Shop Now & Save Nice thing about this stuff is that is locally grown organic made in Cashmere WA and great quality.

I feel like that's a good start -- if I'm forgetting something, someone should say so.

.380 is a pain. So close to 9mm but such a pain. I actually use tweezers for the cases and bullets. I can't imagine doing something like .25 auto. The cases are tricky when flaring or crimping too. Minor die adjustments go a long way.

 

[awshoot]

.380 is a pain. So close to 9mm but such a pain. I actually use tweezers for the cases and bullets. I can't imagine doing something like .25 auto. The cases are tricky when flaring or crimping too. Minor die adjustments go a long way.

The Hornady die set I don't like is in .380, so my prejudice may be unfair. I eventually got an RCBS set but didn't totally retire the Hornady set -- I do like the Hornady bullet seating die with the little sleeve inside to ensure the bullet goes in straight, but I had a ton of trouble with getting the crimp set right -- never succeded in fact. It seemed like it was doing a roll crimp. So now I use the Hornady seating die with no crimp, and I crimp with the RCBS die which gives it a perfect bit of taper crimp. I have two single stage presses side by side so I seat on one press then crimp on the other.

 

[awshoot]

Here's one thing I forgot: ammo boxes -- nothing says "reloader" like pulling some nice boxes out of your ammo bag at the range. ;-)

I don't like the ones which merely bend on a tab of plastic. Like the blue one here: MTM Flip-Top Ammo Box 38 Special 357 Mag 100-Round Plastic Clear Green

At the same link, if you click on the opaque green one, you will see it has a hinge (also black body/green translucent lid). That's the type I like because the lid stays properly open.

 

[Helocat]

.380 is a pain. So close to 9mm but such a pain. I actually use tweezers for the cases and bullets. I can't imagine doing something like .25 auto. The cases are tricky when flaring or crimping too. Minor die adjustments go a long way.

I can't stand .380 auto! Sneaky little bastards get into my 9mm.

 

[DizzyJ]

I can't stand .380 auto! Sneaky little bastards get into my 9mm.

THIS!

 

[awshoot]

One thing I forgot -- case lube for bottleneck rifle cartridges. You don't need this for pistol cases if you have carbide dies (I think it is actually a mistake to use lube with carbide dies). However, if you don't lube bottlenecks -- or don't lube enough -- you are going to get a case stuck in your die. This is a major pain -- you will either have to buy or fabricate tools to remove the case and in the worst scenario, replace the die.

When I got a case stuck (improper application of One Shot), I had to buy this: RCBS Stuck Case Remover and I broke the decapping pin which added to the cost: RCBS Decapping Pins Small Pack of 5

 

[cookie]

One thing I forgot -- case lube for bottleneck rifle cartridges. You don't need this for pistol cases if you have carbide dies (I think it is actually a mistake to use lube with carbide dies). However, if you don't lube bottlenecks -- or don't lube enough -- you are going to get a case stuck in your die. This is a major pain -- you will either have to buy or fabricate tools to remove the case and in the worst scenario, replace the die.

When I got a case stuck (improper application of One Shot), I had to buy this: RCBS Stuck Case Remover and I broke the decapping pin which added to the cost: RCBS Decapping Pins Small Pack of 5

I lube my pistol cases with carbide dies. they run smoother and easier.

 

[Helocat]

I lube my pistol cases with carbide dies. they run smoother and easier.

Same here.

 

[awshoot]

Interesting -- I don't know where I got the idea that lube is bad in carbide dies, but I've had that idea for many years, never used lube, and never had a problem in carbide dies. The answer to this question -- to use lube or not in carbide dies -- is all over the place where ever you look: should you use lube with carbide dies at DuckDuckGo

Important note: the optionality of lube only applies to carbide pistol dies. Anything else requires it.

 

[PenTurner]

I like to use lube with the carbide dies, it makes the operation much smoother. Another thing to note is when you use a progressive press, everything happens with each pull of the handle. Having each die working smoother, helps to identify a problem by how much force you are using pulling the handle. You can identify a problem wih De-priming a sticky primer, pressing in a tight primer, resizing shells or seating a bullet. You will want to get to know your press and how it feels when using it.

 

[ageingstudent]

Interesting -- I don't know where I got the idea that lube is bad in carbide dies, but I've had that idea for many years, never used lube, and never had a problem in carbide dies. The answer to this question -- to use lube or not in carbide dies -- is all over the place where ever you look: should you use lube with carbide dies at DuckDuckGo

Important note: the optionality of lube only applies to carbide pistol dies. Anything else requires it.

I don't use lube in my .40 or .380 (short and very straight) but I do use just a wisp of hornady unique or imperial sizing wax in 9mm and .38 or .357. 9mm because that taper makes it a little unpleasant to size and I get a better feel and .38 and .357 because the cases are fairly long and it's just a lot easier with a little lube. After a wet clean and some polish in the vibratory they are so clean I don't worry about scratching dies with accumulated crud.

 

[AMT]

This is great because I normally go for newer tech stuff but I'm starting right where I should be. Now what do I need lol... I'm reading and watching...

YouTube videos! LOTS of good videos for beginners. That is where I learned a lot.

I ran across some instructional videos on RCBS site too.

If we can free up some time this weekend, I wouldn't mind meeting and showing where/how to get started. It really is easy once you get going.

PM if you want.