Looking for help and advise on reloading equipment. I tend to be a very frugal person on most things and have watched my finances getting a tad too high in the ammunition section, do to my weekly tendencies of shooting. I will start reloading, but find the reloading kits online rather pricey. So, my questions comes to this:

1. What equipment do you NEED and what can you do without?
2. What equipment can you make at home, like a primer punch? cleaning solvents? lubricants? scales?
3. Out of the equipment needed, what can you go cheaper on and what is worth the extra money?

I am not concerned about bullets, brass or powder at this time as I will be getting that, no matter what. Just looking for help on equipment.
I will be reloading mostly .30 caliber rounds for .308, .30-06, .300 Win. Mag. and maybe tackle reloading for .223 rounds.

This is one of those posts that get a lot of people going.

Basically all you need to start with is a press, dies for the cartridge you want to reload, priming tool, powder funnel, and scale. A bowl to hold extra powder and a small spoon for a trickler. This is how I started and the price range is up to you.

I think a lot of guys started like me, they didn't have any “hand me downs”, they had to buy or make everything they own one piece at a time. Money was a lot tighter for me in the 1970s than it is now.

For starters you will need a press, a powder scale , a powder dispenser and dies. If the press you chose doesn't have priming capability than you need a priming tool.All these things can be had at gun shows or on forums including AR at fair pricing.I'm reasonably sure you,ll get some offers on this thread. roger

You'll find that as time moves on that a powder dispenser or the Lee powder cups are a lot more handy and faster then a spoon.

You'll need to trim your brass at some point, at the least you'll need a trim die.

For your use, get the basic original, Lee Loader; I loaded thousands of rounds whilst a high school kid on two of them. The accessories you will need are, a plastic hammer, a coffee cup, some case lube, and a loading block is handy. That's it. they cost ten bucks in the 60s and I think they are up to 20 now. You do not need a press nor a trim die to start reloading on a budget.
Even if you think you need a press, etc, and if you never loaded before, get one to start with and learn.
Might get a loading manual and study that first.
Lee makes a good basic press kit too, for about 125. Of course you can spend thousands on one that does no better job.

quote:

Originally posted by TheWecker512:
Looking for help and advise on reloading equipment. I tend to be a very frugal person on most things and have watched my finances getting a tad too high in the ammunition section, do to my weekly tendencies of shooting. I will start reloading, but find the reloading kits online rather pricey. So, my questions comes to this:

1. What equipment do you NEED and what can you do without?
2. What equipment can you make at home , like a primer punch? cleaning solvents? lubricants? scales?
3. Out of the equipment needed, what can you go cheaper on and what is worth the extra money?

I am not concerned about bullets, brass or powder at this time as I will be getting that, no matter what. Just looking for help on equipment.
I will be reloading mostly .30 caliber rounds for .308, .30-06, .300 Win. Mag. and maybe tackle reloading for .223 rounds.

You want to make a scale that is accurate to 1/10 of a grain or better, at home???
You're pulling my leg right?

Bare minimum is Lee Loaders:
http://leeprecision.com/reload...ts/lee-loader-rifle/

If you can take the initial plunge, and not have to be upgrading within six months, I would strongly suggest the Dillon 550B. It is a rotary press, four station, manually indexed unit. I have used them since they first came out.

They are made in Arizona, have a no-BS lifetime warranty (on the unit, not the buyer) and you can load 300 rounds easily in an hour. That is a conservative estimate.

It will take you ten to fifteen minutes to switch the tool head and shell plate, re-set your powder measure and calibrate it, and be ready to go.

You can buy separate tool heads and shell plates, and leave them set up.

Just call 800-762-3844 and order a catalog.

Rich

Get a reloading book or two. The Lyman book comes to mind but there are several that have good "intro to reloading" sections.Read it cover to cover, twice. This will give you a good idea of what you need to start. As posted, a Lee Loader will definitely get you there and even if you elect to go with a kit that includes a press, it wouldn't hurt to look at a Lee Loader kit to see what you really only need to reload. As with any hobby, there are a lot of "nice to have" items that you can add as funds become available.
A word of caution, you will not save money by reloading. But you will get more Bangs for your Bucks.

The first year of reloading one buys everything he thinks he needs; and then spends the next ten years or so selling off a lot of what was once "mandatory". KISS

Press, scale, priming tool and trimmer. Buy something you will enjoy using otherwise you will not enjoy reloading. You can buy all the stuff listed for about $150, most likely less, if you look for used at local gun shows or online.

Be interesting to see if the OP returns and post an update to what he purchased or plan to purchase.

My reloader was made in 1989. It will weigh down to 1/10 Gr and will do up to 375 HH. Only parts that I didn't make was the case length measure scale.

It would be nice to know where the OP is from there might be some one close by to help him out.

Save money reloading? HA!! Not at my house!!!!....lol!

Reloading is another hobby that I haven't been able to save money at. I simply do it because I enjoy reloading.

Most of the popular reloading equipment companies now sell boxed ready to start kits of varying complexity. I have not priced these against individual components to see how much if any of a saving there would be but I suspect they are cheaper when bought this way; And they do come up for sale at discounts from time to time.

1. Check Craigslist or similar sources. Used reloading equipment goes for a fraction of the new price. I just bought a like-new RCBS Rock Chucker, an RCBS "reloader" press, a Mec 700 shotshell press, a NIB Ohaus scale, and an RCBS trimmer for $100. A couple of things were a little rusty/dusty, but in perfect working order. It's not uncommon to find someone who has moved on to other interests (or a widow) wishing to dispose of equipment which is perfectly good but no longer used. (Divorcees or jilted girlfriends will sell "left behinds" for practically nothing, just out of spite.)

2. Buy a simple single stage press. Progressive presses are WAY more expensive and complicated, and are only useful if you are stocking up to fight an insurrection. For typical, more modest, reloading volumes a single stage press is better, and actually faster due to the simplicity of set up. You can also generally make more precise ammunition on a single-stage press.

3. You'll find as you go along that there are a few relatively inexpensive accessories that come in handy. A case mouth chamfering tool is useful, and mandatory if you have to trim cases. Something to brush case mouths is helpful. And eventually you'll likely want a case tumbler to clean and brighten badly tarnished cases.

4. Unless you have an extremely keen sense of decorating propriety, not everything needs to be the same color. All makes of dies fit all makes of presses. Your press doesn't care if the powder measure is green while the press is red; and your green powder measure doesn't care if your scale is brown.

quote:

Originally posted by TheWecker512:

1. What equipment do you NEED and what can you do without?

If you want to be REALLY frugal, a lot of people have loaded a lot of ammo with the simple, old Lee loader. That is about DEFINITELY as inexpensive as it gets. With the dippers, you can load ammunition safely. Do you need your reloads to be custom tailored and accurate? If so, you may want to get a scale and a press.
I remember when my Dad had another fellow load up some 300 savage rounds for him and the guy never trimmed any of the cases to length. And as a result, many of those reloads would not chamber. If you want to do it right, you need a way to trim the cases. Lee also covers that on the cheap.

If you dont want to fiddle with the tedious, time consuming process of using a Lee loader and want a better product, you will need a press. I would suggest looking for an old Pacific, Bair, Herters or ? "C" press on Ebay. (Old "O" press, even better!) Some of them can be had dirt cheap and are pretty solid. IMO much better than an El-cheapo Lee Challenger.

If there is one area where I would recommend NOT looking for the least expensive piece of equpiment on the market, it is a scale. Although good old Lee does make one pretty affordable and lots of people use them, apparently to their satisfaction. I use a Hornady scale and can readily recommend it. RCBS and OHaus also seem to come highly recommended.

I have numerous powder measures and NONE of them are more accurate then the inexpensive Lee. It works!

Obviously you will need dies. Many of them are priced pretty similar, I recommend RCBS as they have outstanding support and a solid product.

You will need a way to lube your cases. A little light oil on a rag will suffice. dont use too much and keep it off the shoulder!

You really should have a set of veneer calipers to measure the over all length so you know where to set your dies. Harbor frieght sells them really cheap.

You really should have a good reloading manual, the more current, the better. Lyman and Speer are my favorites.

If you do get a press as opposed to a Lee loader, you will need a way to install new primers. Most old presses were equipped with a little gadget that will do this, I dont think too many people use them because they are kind of tedious to work with, but they can suffice. Eventualy you may want to move up to a "hand primer tool". G-Luck!

I started with, and still often use, the Lee Breech Lock Hand press kit. They're $50 now. But it's a hand press with lube and a priming setup. I always use a separate priming tool now, but didn't have it at first. That, dies fro the caliber, scale. I still sometimes use a spoon (actually now it's the lee powder scoop that comes with their dies) to trickle powder to weight.

quote:

Originally posted by skl1:
I I still sometimes use a spoon (actually now it's the lee powder scoop that comes with their dies) to trickle powder to weight.

Ive done that a lot. I dont like using tricklers.