Lyman Ultimate Reloading System

[1911ly]

I have calipers already so that one is covered and just 10mm/357 Mag for starting, 9mm will be added at some point. 22TCM is the closest I’ll have to rifle caliber for the foreseeable future and until I have experience I won’t be trying that one.

i’ll look into the other brand ultra sonic cleaners. I don’t really have a good reason for the deprimer, I had the hand primer and decided there should be a hand deprimer. But if I don’t need one that’s an easy off the list.

Swapping to the Lyman drill and dropping the deprimer, gets the total to a much better place.

Is the Lyman scale I have listed a sold choice or should I spend a little more there for a nicer option?

Your die set will come with a die to decap.

Cleaning the brass: You will get lots of opinions on this. Wet tumble, dry tumble,or even just using a scotch bright pad. I dry tumble my brass in the garage. All 3 will clean your brass. Wet cost more and really cleans in side and out. Scotch bright is really cheap but labor intensive. Dry is in the middle.

The Lyman prep tool is the bomb. I really really like it. It's easy to hold in my arthritic hands.

I have used beam scales and even a cheap digital scale. Just have something of a known weight to check calibration. I haven't used the Lyman scale. Someone can chime in on the Lyman. Ik am sure it's fine. If you aren't reloading high volume a good beam scale will get you by. If you were closer to me I'd give you a Lee beam scale. I am spoiled with digital scales. I ponied up and bought the RCBS Chargemaster. It's pricey. And it isn't necessary. Let your budget decide.

I started with this setup: https://www.ebay.com/itm/Lee-Precis...304567&hash=item4d674add87:g:pEgAAOSweZJaBnCc

I added a digital scale for about 15 bucks. It came with 2 calibration weights. I checked the weights on a couple other scales and they were dead on. I bought various brand dies and then Lee quick trim dies for the calibers I shoot. I picked up the Lyman prep tool. I started with just 3 calibers for less then $250 for everything. Over the last few years I have added to that setup. It works for me. No regrets.

I really don't think any one makes a junk press.

Single stage, turrets or progressives. We are back to budget range. But JMHO, if you are just starting out the single is the easiest to start with. Especially if you are flying solo. And you can upgrade and you will still find uses for the single. Or sell it or pass it on.

Progressive are great for volume. But I load for target. I try for that last little bit of MOA. And I shoot rifle. If you shoot several hundred rounds a week of pistol or plink a lot of Semi Auto rifle a turret or progressive is probably going to be what you want. You will get a lot of help from fellow Turret/progressive press guys.

I think you are probably on information overload buy now.

Let your budget decide what to buy. You won't have any issues getting rid of a starter single stage press. Just sayin...

 

[ckcollins2003]

I have calipers already so that one is covered and just 10mm/357 Mag for starting, 9mm will be added at some point. 22TCM is the closest I’ll have to rifle caliber for the foreseeable future and until I have experience I won’t be trying that one.

i’ll look into the other brand ultra sonic cleaners. I don’t really have a good reason for the deprimer, I had the hand primer and decided there should be a hand deprimer. But if I don’t need one that’s an easy off the list.

Swapping to the Lyman drill and dropping the deprimer, gets the total to a much better place.

Is the Lyman scale I have listed a sold choice or should I spend a little more there for a nicer option?

I have never used a Lyman scale before so I can't really comment on them... I use a RCBS Rangemaster which has worked extremely well for years, but costs more.

As for dropping the bullet puller, I actually do not recommend that at all. While it will take a lot of screw ups to pay for it, nobody likes throwing away projectiles and brass... and you will screw up and need the puller. Although, if you can find a Frankford Arsenal or another brand of inertia puller for cheaper, I'd just go with it. I do agree on dropping the trimmer until you are ready to reload rifle though. And by then you can figure out if you want a bench mounted trimmer or something cheap like the drill mounted ones.

For cleaning primer pockets, I don't on pistol rounds... only on my precision rifle rounds, so I wouldn't worry about it.

Once you are tired of the slow speed of that press, start thinking about a progressive. I know a lot of people say not to start with them, but if you can get someone to teach you the ins and outs of reloading then you are much better off spending the extra since you are going to be doing pistol. I spent way too much time reloading pistol on a single stage before finally bucking up to a progressive, and Lee has progressive kits for pretty cheap that work just fine with a few upgrades.

Keep the turret press or single stage that you buy now for your rifle reloading when you are ready and enjoy the speed of the progressive for your pistol... you'll be happy you did.

 

[Areoflyer09]

Bullet pullers are cheap, several options under $20. Easy to throw that back on the order. Even with that, I’m at half the cost of the original kit. This is why I asked before buying anything.

Thinking about rifle rounds does bring up the question, does the 22TCM count as a rifle round or a pistol round for reloading? It’s not a straight walled cartridge and I have a rifle and pistol that use it. Depending on the answer, I may not own any rifle calibers currently. Either way, the 22TCM will be a future project. It’s not a SAAMI rated cartridge, so no published reloading information. Not something I’m comfortable starting with.

 

[1911ly]

I just looked up the 22TCM round. That's an interesting round.

I'd start a new thread about the round. I don't think very many will find your question buried in this thread.

 

[Areoflyer09]

When I’m closer to feeling comfortable with the reloading the 22TCM, I’ll start one. In the meantime, it was more of a curiosity point and a bit of a grey area as pistol or rifle round. It’s a fun round though. Lots of flash and noise, but very mild recoil.

 

[Areoflyer09]

Just wanted to bring this one to a close. I found a used Lee Classic turret and lots of extras that made it worth it. Turns out I’m going to start with 9mm anyways, part of the extras was enough of everything to load 2-300 rounds, and enough brass for another 500 after that.

Though I do need to find a home for roughly 1200 pieces of 223 brass, 223 dies and several other bits and pieces. There are worse issues to have.

Thanks for all the help guys!

 

[Doublehelix]

Congratulations! I started with that same press, and I still use it to develop load workups. You are on your way to great success!!!

I know I asked a lot of dumb questions when I started (I didn't realize that they were dumb at the time!), and everyone here was so patient with their responses, so now it is your turn to fire away! Lots of great people around here to help.

Best of luck.