Reloading brass

[Nmathew24]

Good morning!

I would like to start re-loading my brass, but I'm having a hard time finding some used equipment or some inexpensive new equipment...any advice?

 

[Cat-Herder]

The first thing you should buy is a reloading manual. Then read it...twice. By then, you'll have an idea of the equipment you'll actually need. It's a bit of an initial investment to get started. There's no way around that.
There are guys here on the forum that offer professional classes in the "how-to" with hands on training. I'd recommend that.
Good luck!

 

[Broom_jm]

Can you give us an idea what your budget is and what kind/amount of ammo you hope to reload? Cat-Herder gave you some excellent advice about reading up on this BEFORE you buy any equipment. The reloading class, or seeing someone else reload, is also a very good idea, before buying your own stuff. It will help you get what you really need, the first time.

 

[Hiker1911]

There's three ways to go to save money, other than finding things on sale or clearance (the first two take more time in many cases).

1. Buy a setup from someone getting out of reloading.
2. Buy some used components, and some new components.
3. Buy a Lee complete kit.

That said, my used press, dies and some other gear are RCBS brand, and very good quality. The only Lee gear that I have at the moment is the Auto Prime hand tool, the Lee shell holder kit that works with it, and a Lee universal shell holder kit to accompany my RCBS press.

 

[spencer rifle]

Plenty of how-to videos on YouTube. They can give you an idea of how different brands and volumes work, steps involved, equipment needed. Certainly a manual first. Mine was Modern Reloading by the Lee guys. Read like a big ad for Lee equipment, but lots of useful information. Your preference, intended calibers and desired volume will narrow down your equipment choices. Take your time - more research now = less regrets later.

 

[CountryBoy19]

While it's not impossible to find good used equipment for a good price, you have to be very lucky to find somebody that just wants to get rid of a bunch of stuff without knowing what it is, or you have to be very patient and just pick up one or 2 pieces at a time when you find a deal. Both of those are hard to do. I recommend that if you want to start reloading soon you just buy new equipment. The Lee stuff is very good for beginners and it will work fine for loading ammo; it's very cheap compared to most reloading equipment. Later on, if you want to upgrade to better quality you can.

 

[mdemetz]

Profire Arms there in Indy is buying used reloading equipment, so I assume he is selling it too?

 

[Nmathew24]

I know the starting cost will be high. I am just trying to stay away from the "cheap" equipment. I have viewed a lot of videos online and read up on it. I would like to reload all brass, but with the price on the dies I would only want to do .40 and .223

 

[CountryBoy19]

I know the starting cost will be high. I am just trying to stay away from the "cheap" equipment. I have viewed a lot of videos online and read up on it. I would like to reload all brass, but with the price on the dies I would only want to do .40 and .223

.223 is going to be where your big cost savings is... .40 isn't going to save you very much unless you start casting your own lead bullets too... if you're worried about the cost of dies I recommend you start with the cartridges that will save you the most for right now...

 

[Broom_jm]

I know the starting cost will be high. I am just trying to stay away from the "cheap" equipment. I have viewed a lot of videos online and read up on it. I would like to reload all brass, but with the price on the dies I would only want to do .40 and .223

I'm confused.

The cost of dies is usually only ~$30. What cartridges are you NOT going to reload, due to the cost of dies? You can definitely save some money reloading for 40S&W and 223 Rem, but I have found that you save quite a bit more, per round, with less common ammo.

What other cartridges will you reload for, when finances allow?

 

[dukeboy_318]

Check ebay(yuck) craigslist and the classifieds here. I picked up an RCBS rock chucker press off of INGO classifieds for 60 bucks.


Also read this:

https://www.indianagunowners.com/fo...reload_but_you_don_t_know_where_to_begin.html

 

[LarryC]

The first thing, as has been stated is to purchase at least one reloading manual - two or three won't be to many as they often have different load data. I think we have 6 or 7. To be perfectly honest Lee presses and dies work just about as well as Hornady or RCBS or Dillon for most calibers (Some large calibers may re-size and seat better on Top priced equipment). Yes my son and I have and have used all the above except for Dillon. The difference is normally in the speed of the operation and possibly the life of the equipment. To start out I would buy a Lee kit - you need a single stage press, dies (for each cal), powder scale, Primer pocket reamer & brush, length gages and length trim tool (for each caliber you want to reload). You also need a method to clean the brass, We have both a rotating drum and a Vibrating bowl cleaner. Other small items like a powder funnel and blocks to hold your brass while working- probably other small items I have missed. You can save a lot more if you want to cast your own bullets for your .40 cal. Then you need a lead pot (we have 3 - 2 lees and an RCBS) - actually use the Lee more than anything), a mold for each bullet type/weight you want to cast, and bullet lube. you may want to re-size the cast bullets (sometimes necessary - not always) if so you need the die set. A powder trickler is real handy - not absolutely necessary but a manual one doesn't cost much. I'm not trying to discourage you, reloading is great fun and almost a hobby in itself. Cost wise, unless you shoot a lot (more than 50 rounds/ week) it will probably take a year or so to recoup your investment but it does then really start to pay, I have never worn out a die set in 20 + years of reloading - do have to replace the small stuff like reamers / cutters etc. A real advantage of reloading is that you can find the very best load for your gun - often really increasing the accuracy. You can load reduced power ammo for targeting and your gun and wrist will thank you. My son purchased a Hornady Lock and Load Progressive a couple of year ago with all the available options and with shell holders/ plates for all the (I think 28 calibers) we reload. It is quite fast but I think he put between $1200 to $1800 in everything - we had almost all the dies and other equipment already. It is nice and loads fast and accurately - but doesn't turn out ammo that performs any different than the Lee.

 

[Nmathew24]

Thanks for the info guys! I know for right now I will not be doing any of the odd ball ammo

 

[Never A Victim]

Go to Profire and speak with Andrew...it looks like you live in Indy anyways. And you can save major money on loading pistol calibers, such as .40. Heck, you save money on anything you reload! But seriously, go talk to Andrew at Profire.

 

[deviljunkie]

ebay. some of the older stuff is pretty reasonable.

 

[Leo]

Just for reference, Hornady has just published a new version (9)of their reloading manual. Places like midway, grafs and other online suppliers have the last one (8) marked down to $22. That is about $10 cheaper. It is a well written, hard cover book. Unless you have a new caliber that was not covered in volume 8, it will still be a valuable tool. They have a very detailed section in the front covering reloading and ballistics. Good Luck

 

[tatic05]

I'm confused.

The cost of dies is usually only ~$30. What cartridges are you NOT going to reload, due to the cost of dies? You can definitely save some money reloading for 40S&W and 223 Rem, but I have found that you save quite a bit more, per round, with less common ammo.

What other cartridges will you reload for, when finances allow?

You will save more with reloading rifle ammo than handgun ammo. 7.62x39 you wont save a lot of money or possibly any reloading that with the comparison to surplus ammo. If you are trying to make "perfect" rounds thats another story because of how detailed you can get with working on one bullet at a time.

Also dont forget you might not be saving any money, just getting to shoot more with the money you have in it.