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Hey guys,

As the title states, I am VERY green to reloading. The girlfriend and I have been spending TONS of time at the range, and reloading seems to be the most logical path to go down from here. Could you guys please offer up suggestions for complete setups? What do I need? Everything from start-to-finish. I want a high-quality, progressive press that allows me to load in considerable volume and do it efficiently. What powders do I need? Recommended primers? Bullets? I will be loading 9mm, .40S&W, .45ACP and maybe 5.56mm in the future.

I would like to keep it relatively inexpensive when it comes to bullets and such (no desire to run lead through my guns, though); but have no trouble spending a little when it comes to powder and primers that get the job done, especially the press itself.

If the reloading vets on this forum could point me in the right direction as to everything I need, it would be greatly appreciated.

I'll let the more experienced members answer you, but I'd also suggest this:
The Ft Worth Cabelas has a beginning reloading class every Saturday AM at 11:00.
It's free, it's casual, and the two guys that teach it are great people that know of what they speak.
Just show up in the reloading section. If you are the only one, you get private instruction on whatever you like.

Rex B wrote:I'll let the more experienced members answer you, but I'd also suggest this:
The Ft Worth Cabelas has a beginning reloading class every Saturday AM at 11:00.
It's free, it's casual, and the two guys that teach it are great people that know of what they speak.
Just show up in the reloading section. If you are the only one, you get private instruction on whatever you like.

The Cabela's reloading wizard (who reloads, but doesn't type ) says it's SUNDAY at 11:00 and 2:00, NOT Saturday. Show up, learn lots, have fun.

I know the Wizard. He is good & a good instructor.
He has helped me on several different occassions & I have been loading since 1972 & that is not a typo error.

Get a Dillon 550 or 650 press and save yourself some time and money starting with another press and moving to a Dillon.

Chas.

Charles L. Cotton wrote:Get a Dillon 550 or 650 press and save yourself some time and money starting with another press and moving to a Dillon.

Chas.

Ditto

I love my 650! I've been doing 9mm and 45acp, just getting started on 6.8.

Do your homework on powder, if you'll be loading 9, 40 and 45, maybe you can find one powder that will cover them all. Right now I use Bullseye for .45, Zip for 9mm and X-terminator for 6.8.

Goo luck!

Charles L. Cotton wrote:Get a Dillon 550 or 650 press and save yourself some time and money starting with another press and moving to a Dillon.

Chas.

I don't think we see eye-to-eye on that. I'm not badmouthing Dillons though, it's just that some people find the investment in a progressive press to be rather daunting. Sure, their "Square Deal B" option is nice if you want to load one caliber, but the cost to start off with a basic turret like the Lee Classic Turret is a great way to learn if you want to seriously do reloading. For about $200, you can get an amazing setup for a turret and be reloading enough ammunition to satisfy most shooting needs. If you shoot IPDA every week, you're definitely going to need a progressive, but you're not going to have much trouble finding a buyer for your turret if you decide to go that route. I don't recommend jumping right into a progressive press if you're new to reloading.

*EDIT*
Just wanted to make one more follow-up comment in Charles' favor: I've never met a person who has regretted spending the money on a Dillon 650 setup

I use Unique for .38, 9MM, 40, .45, and .357 it is a very versatile powder. You can get Max or near Max velocities with it along with "paper punching" loads. Bullets, I use whatever I can find cheap or pour my own. Berry's, Rainier, and Precision are my favorites.

I strongly urge you to start with a single stage press for your first couple of thousand rounds. With a progressive you have to get many things set up properly to make it work...and it is hard to check every step for errors. Single stage presses loading in batches of 50 or 100 rounds are slow, but you can concentrate on each individual step, get the hang of it, learn, and then progress to a progressive.

You will probably use the single stage press for years afterwards, and even if you don't, you'll not lose much reselling it if you keep it clean.

RCBS and Lee both make good starter kits, much of which you'll still need for a progressive press.

If you decide you want a single stage press, a progressive press can be used as a single stage simply by installing only one die.

Chas.

I started with a 550 Dillon and was glad I did. It is not diificult to learn or use. There are many videos on youtube to help you along.

Get a dillon 650. Go to dillon's wbesite or Brianenos.com. Lots of info.

ok, if you're REALLY aching for a progressive, I would tell you to do two things:
1) Read this http://fatwhiteman.com/files/28524-2706 ... arison.pdf
and
2) Find people that have progressive presses and try them out yourself. There's nothing more frustrating than hitting dead ends with a progressive. This is ESPECIALLY true if you're new to reloading. This is why I recommend a single stage or turret -- you learn the mechanics of reloading without the interference of the mechanics of finicky progressive reloaders.

I've been contemplating starting myself...for you experienced reloaders, what is the price per cartridge reloading versus buying them done already?

The way I cost it out is to calculate two values:

1) Factory cost per round

and

2) Cost of reloading equipment + reloading materials + time to find that "just right" load + cost of 3 or 4 books to cover all the powder/bullet/primer/seating combos + cost of dinners to make your spouse shop being angry with you that you converted their (laundry room/guest room/living room/master bedroom) into a reloading room + cost of medicine to cure all the headaches you'll get fighting your press to cooperate with you when you first start out.

In the end, you realize that reloading is a labor of love. I have no regrets doing it