Posted: 1/4/2013 6:02:45 PM EDT
| I'm new to these forums and to the AR platform as well but have been shooting my entire life for sport and hunting both. Now that I have my AR I am finding that I am shooting a larger quantity of somewhat pricey ammo than I ever have before. Therefore I think it is time for me to start loading my own rounds. I would like my buy my initial equipment as a kit and am not sure which brand would be the best. I'm thinking once I start reloading I will be doing so for all caliber I shoot, which is 7 different ones, with pistol and rifle loads both. I would like whatever I buy to be able to do it all and be built to last. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. |
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This is a big place. It is hard to find some forums.
CLICK HERE FOR RELOADING INFO |
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first read all of the tacked threads here. http://www.ar15.com/forums/f_6/42_Reloading.html
There is an especially good 4 part reloading 223 tutorial in there somewhere. watch you tube videos to get an idea of what it actually looks like and the processes involved. get a manual and abcs of reloading. you sound like one who may end up on a progressive but you can get a single stage to start off and you will still use it once you get a progressive. an RCBS kit is a great place to start, I myself still have a lee anniversary breechlock single stage kit that is probably one of the cheapest options out there and it serves me quite well for my purposes. |
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I will just throw out my .2cents....I started with a RCBS Pro2K kit and RCBS Tumbler, I shoot a lot of pistol and that seemed to be a good buy for me....then I loaded like a mad man, then I wanted to load some premium rifle rounds, went to a auction and found some equipment, smelter pot, brass, scales and a Rock Chucker. I played with the rock chucker, It was slow but precise. I loaded on that for a while but wanted a little more speed than the single stage chucker, so my wife bought me a Redding T7 for Christmas, holy crap that thing was heavy, but built more solid than my friends RCBS turret press. I attached my uniflow powder measure to the turret and now I have tighter tolerances and a little quicker load rate than the Rock chucker....I could go on but I need to get back to cleaning my gun.
So moral of what I say is this... I have been very pleased with RCBS products, I have had a couple pieces on the Pro2K get damaged (my fault as a newb) and they sent new replacements at no charge, other than that I have pressed out a little over 25k rounds and no issues. The redding T7 is awesome, I really like it. I also started with RCBS carbide dies, they are good quality, but as I bought some LEE dies I realized they are quicker to set up and easier to adjust. I load 7 pistol cartridges and 6 rifle cartridges, and over the last few years I have spent a good chunk of money on equipment and such...it is a great hobby/addiction Most important is a solid bench, I have a 2" oak butcher top Hope some of what I said helps, and welcome to reloading. |
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Let me just add that it is tempting to go for the progressive press, but my opinion is you should start out with a single stage press. There is a lot going on, and you need to pay attention to everything. Good call, I have a buddy that wanted to get into reloading but one afternoon with me and the P2k was a little to much, I loaned him one of my Chucker's and now he has stepped up to the Turret. I had the advantage of family members reloading and saw a good amount of it when I was younger, but jumping in with no background...would be wise to start off one step at a time. |
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And don't expect to save any money reloading......you will just find yourself shooting more....and that's a good thing. I would say if you do it right you can save money, but don't get into it for that reason only. You can load premium match rounds for what ball ammo would cost, and that would sort of be like saving some money, or if you got a 55 gallon drum of brass at an auction for 100 bucks, that would allow you to save money... No harm meant ScoutDriver 
http://www.ar15.com/forums/manageReply.html?a=write&b=1&f=5&t=1415564&r=-1&page=1&x=classic&pvID=37588401&pt=r# |
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Everybody will have a different brand preference..I like RCBS, though I have Redding for a couple die sets. I'll share my opinion that new people need a single stage to learn on before going progressive.
I dislike almost everything Lee makes, except the Auto Prime and the shell holder sets, others swear by Lee stuff which illustrates the brand preference and difference in opinion. |
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Get a single stage RCBS or Hornady kit, READ and WATCH youtube videos, pay attention and take your time.
Its an excellent hobby and allows you to shoot MUCH more for your $$$ You can load 77gr OTM match loads for the cost of ball ammo fodder, just use a starting load in the book and work your way up, don't hot rod your ammo from the start. Going to need to get powder and primers in a good quantity so you don't have to worry about panic buying so much, if you can find powder and primers right now. You will be able to fine tune your ammo to your rifle and bring out the best performance once you get a little skill developed, and then you will buy more guns and calibers to load for 
Check out the reloading section if you need help, lots of good stuff in there, its not hard to reload, you just have to pay attention and remember that there is always something more to learn. |
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Let me just add that it is tempting to go for the progressive press, but my opinion is you should start out with a single stage press. There is a lot going on, and you need to pay attention to everything. Go slow at first because the devil is in the details in reloading more than most things. I started with a Lee Anniversary Kit (Single stage press and accessories) for less than $100. It had all of the things you need (minus your dies) and forces you to do each step over and over. Later you can move up to a progressive press and automatic this and that. Now I have a Dillon 550 that cranks out hundreds of rounds per hour but I still have and use that little aluminum press regularly for decapping and test loads. |
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Let me just add that it is tempting to go for the progressive press, but my opinion is you should start out with a single stage press. There is a lot going on, and you need to pay attention to everything. Go slow at first because the devil is in the details in reloading more than most things. I started with a Lee Anniversary Kit (Single stage press and accessories) for less than $100. It had all of the things you need (minus your dies) and forces you to do each step over and over. Later you can move up to a progressive press and automatic this and that. Now I have a Dillon 550 that cranks out hundreds of rounds per hour but I still have and use that little aluminum press regularly for decapping and test loads. Wait till you get the 1050 or the 1050 junior (XL650) I never thought I "need" the 650, oh lawd... that thing cranks out the ammo. I still have the 550 and the Rock Chucker. I leave the 550 set up for large primer and the 650 for small primers. I'm now drooling on a 1050..... |
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The good news is that it's just about impossible to make a mistake buying reloading equipment. I wouldn't recommend the bench mounted cast aluminum presses sold by LEE or their small case prep tools, and that's about all.
We have a lot of new members in the Reloading forum. Please read through the Resources at the top of the forum, the tacked "Read Me" thread, and scan the other three tacked threads, and then peruse the first 3 to 5 pages of the forum to find out whether your question has been asked in the last 24 hours. Auto advance presses are generally a bad idea for new reloaders, with one exception, folks that work on complicated mechanisms such as packaging lines where several processes occur simultaneously. There are lots of steps occurring at one time and when some step screws up, and it will, the press wants to advance anyway. That generally magnifies the problems and probably causes more than one step to get out of whack. Learn the basics on a single stage, LEE Classic Turret, or a manual advance 550 or RCBS Pro 2000, then move on to an auto advance machine after gaining experience. The Pro 2000 can be modified for auto advance now; it's a great press. Here's a secret about progressive reloading presses. The processing speed is limited by handling of components (cases and bullets) if case or bullet feeders are not installed. |
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Just so you know, the point of reloading isn't to make ammo that's cheaper than what you can buy in the store. The economics of that don't really work out all that well. BUT, what you CAN do is get superior quality ammo capable of holding VERY tight groups for the cost of run of the mill commercial ammo. It's the quality difference that makes reloading worth it. Not so much the price. When you're loading match grade ammo for the cost of cheap blasting ammo, you're doing something good. CJ |
| Thanks guys. I was leaning towards buying the Hornaday progressive press and kit. Normally I buy what I figure eventually want to end with. But after reading all the comments from you guys and doing a bit of other research I think I will start out with the basics and get a single stage press. I feel a bit overwhelmed right now knowing I have a ton to learn but reallythink it Will be worth it in the long run. For those of you that pointed me at the reloading forum here, thanks if that was meant as helpfull but I posted this in general looking for more beginner info and others who could help, I figured if I had a more technical question once I have an idea what I'm doing then I will go there. |
| I have definitely read enough horror stories to be a bit nervous about loading my own. Which guide book/manual do you guys suggest for a person like me that will be learning to reload from scratch? I have nobody to help, will be relying on the books to do it right and not damage myself or my rifles. |
| I have a lee press that works great and saves a lot of money over the others. Make sure to budget a little bit more for a good powder measure, it will save you a lot of frustration. I have a redding 3br that is great, my friend has a Lyman 55 that works well. The cheap lee is terrible. I have had good luck with redding and lee dies. I personally don't care for rcbs dies. And getting some spilt lock rings for your dies will also help a lot. |
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It will take you many thousands of rounds to break even
Now is probably the worst time in the history of the world to buy reloading components You WILL fuck something up and it will cost you time or money or a gun. Reload for the experience of RELOADING, not because you think it will save you money. Chicks dig reloaders
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Idk why he'd have trouble with a progressive... Reloading is pretty straight forward... I set everything up and let an 8 year old do it for me. Try that without setting it up for an 8 year old or an adult. I'll bet you didn't just start pulling a handle the first time you loaded, you either read through the process while you went through each step, or someone coached you through each step, in order. |
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I have definitely read enough horror stories to be a bit nervous about loading my own. Which guide book/manual do you guys suggest for a person like me that will be learning to reload from scratch? I have nobody to help, will be relying on the books to do it right and not damage myself or my rifles. Go to the reloading forum. Read through all of the Resources at the top of the page. You'll find an explanation of the basic steps that have to be performed in order no matter what type equipment you use. There is a four part tutorial that walks through every step of loading .223 Rem, and it's equally applicable to any other cartridge. Check a local library for the ABC's of Reloading. Heck, get one through interlibrary loan, which is something we don't use much these days. Buy a Hornady 8th or 9th edition. While you're waiting on a manual, read through the Hornady web site, there are excellent writeups about internal and external ballistics with color pitchers. We're watching for your first post in Reloading. |
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My first press was a progressive.
Maybe it's not the way to go for everybody, but it worked well for me. Just learn as much as you can before you start like AeroE said above, or get someone that lives close by to mentor you. Straight walled pistol calibers are easier to start with, IMO. Bottleneck rifle cases add many more steps to the process. And just to add my $.02 about 'breaking even'. It will never happen. You'll just shoot more, and buy more tools that make the process easier/better. |