Complete Reloading for 150 bucks?

[kludge]

One more thing you WILL need... calipers. No need to spend a fortune right out of the gate... I prefer dial calipers... no battery. The Harbor Freight ones are good enough to start with. (I have Mitutoyo's but a few of the guys at work have these and they do fine.)

Digital Calipers - Save on these 6 Inch Digital Calipers
6" Dial Caliper

 

[shibumiseeker]

One note -

I have always told the people that take my classes that, once they complete it, they're welcome to come and use my equipment anytime they wish. I know I'm a little far away, but I have all the equipment you'll need - including dies for all four calibers - so feel free to contact me if there is anything I can do.

Damn man. I'd rep you AGAIN if I could. That's really generous of you.

 

[U.S. Patriot]

Pretty much what others have said.

1. 9mm -- the only way to reload it and save enough money to make it worth my time is to use lead bullets. If you have polygonal rifling (like a Glock) don't use lead bullets. You can still save a couple bucks though by using plated or some of the cheap (Zero or Montana Gold) FMJ bullets.

2. Ditto for 7.62x39 but even more so since you can't reload most brass. Not that the new brass is all that expensive comparatively speaking, but I keep my costs way down by reloading range pickups, and there isn't any brass to pick up for 7.62x39.

3. I'll repeat some others, but the 38/357 is the one to start with. You can save a ton of money here. I load lead bullets in .38 for ~$6-$7, for a saving of $15-20 a box.

4. Natchez has pretty good prices. $99 for this kit. I used this kit (with the pre-Breech Lock press) and nothing else for several years.

Lee Breech Lock Challenger Press Kit - Natchez Shooters Supplies Breech Lock Challenger Press Kit

The reason you should pick this kit over the "Anniversary" kit is that it also comes with the hand priming tool and the shell holder set.

5. Lee .38 SPL carbide die set. Can load .357 Magnum also.

Lee 38 Special/357 Mag Carbide 4 Die Set - Natchez Shooters Supplies 38 Special/357 Mag Carbide 4 Die Set

The 4-die set includes the Factory Crimp Die. It's not needed (IMO) for auto pistols, but I really like it for revolvers. It makes the die adjustments faster and easier and gives very consistent results for a good roll crimp that is needed for good ignition on magnum loads.

6. Lyman's 49th.

Lyman 49th Edition Reloading Handbook - Soft Cover - Natchez Shooters Supplies 49th Edition Reloading Handbook - Soft Cover

So there you go... $161 + shipping to start reloading.

Yes you need the book.

Next step is to get powder and primers (locally to avoid paying Haz-Mat fees). Winchester Small Pistol Primers (WSP) the brand of primer is not too critical, a pound of Hodgdon's "Universal" and a pound of Alliant "2400". If all you were ever going to reload is .38 SPL, then I would have said Accurate "No.2" instead of Universal. "2400" because then you can use standard (not magnum) pistol primers and you only have to stock one type of primer to start.

The powder and primers will run you about $70-$80.

I'm reloading 9mm for roughly $6 per 50. The last time I checked the cheapest I have found for brass cased is roughly $12 per 50. So, I'm saving roughly $6 per 50 I reload. Per 1k rounds I reload I can practically buy enough components to reload another 1k.

 

[Chance]

You can get started without breaking the bank

You can start with something like a Lee Challenger kit ($89 - Midway) then add dies (Lee pistol dies $30/set). It is an aluminum press and I used one just like it for 20 years and still didn't wear it out. I have reloaded more than most have though about. Loading for pistol cartridges is not hard on a single stage press.

I have yet to find anyone that has used up an aluminum O type press. Cast iron is great, I have one since I now load more large center fire rifle rounds.

For those of you that remember them, I started using a Lee Load All for my .357. Now that is a slow process.

 

[Aszerigan]

Damn man. I'd rep you AGAIN if I could. That's really generous of you.

I figure that they know what they're doing if I taught them.

 

[msd]

We need more people out there like you Andrew. The world would be a lot better place to live in

 

[shibumiseeker]

I figure that they know what they're doing if I taught them.

That's my philosophy when I teach people high angle work...

Still, the value that you add to the shooting community is far out of proportion to what the shooting community does for you, if we had more folks like that (and we have several) then the world would be a brighter place. Too many people just want to take take take.

 

[Harry2110]

Not counting consumables (powder, brass, primers. bullets) yes it can be done easily for about $25 per caliber:

Classic Loader 9mm Luger


If you want to step up, you can still do it for all four calibers within your budget:

Reloader Single Stage Press

Carbide 3-Die Set 9mm Luger

And of course you can simply go up from there and you can get better equipment used.

Personally, I'd recommend spending the money to take Aszerigan's class then figure out how to spend your money best. Reloading is reasonably safe if you are dilligent, but it's also possible to get hurt or hurt other people if you screw it up.

how hard is it to do the classic way as i might just have to do that as I dont have the space for a press

 

[shibumiseeker]

how hard is it to do the classic way as i might just have to do that as I dont have the space for a press

It's not hard, but it's slow. No matter what equipment you use the basics of reloading are all the same. That's why I recommended the OP spend some of his budget on training, once you are trained the the possibilities are endless.

I have a set of the classic loaders for my common calibers in my "end of the world" supplies and one day I decided on a test to see how many I could load an hour. Worked out to be about 20-30 an hour, half what I can do with a single stage press. However:

If I were recommending a setup for small spaces, I would recommend the hand press. It and everything you need to reload any given caliber including powder, primers, and bullets, can fit in a shoebox. That and you don't need a mallet. The classic loader's biggest advantage is when transport space and weight is a premium (like if you are on foot).


http://www.google.com/products/cata...=X&ei=lIapTs2nAoW4tge5ga35Dw&ved=0CEMQ8gIwAA#

 

[Leo]

The Lee Loader kit, where you load with nothing but a little brass mallet and the punches in their kit is an all evening affair to get a single box of ammo loaded. Since it only comes with a single dipper, you HAVE to use the powder/bullet selection they list on the instruction sheet. That kit was my first experience loading, and since every single function was a seperate step, I really learned what was going on in the reloading process. Maybe every beginner should try their hand loading with a Lee Loader kit and a brass mallet.

After my experience with the little kit, I bought a Lee press and die set. That was 35 years, at least a dozen presses and 100's of thousands of rounds ago. Good Luck

BTW, Graf & sons has the Lee die sets on sale for $24.

 

[sadclownwp]

I am buying 2 sets of dies, a RCBS 9mm 3 die set not carbide, and a RCBS 38 special 3 die set not carbide off an ingo memeber for 10 bucks a peice after the amount of ammo i'm getting off of him.

Here are some of the other thing he has for sale for reloading, what say you ingo, good deals?

LYMAN SPARTAN PRESS $40.00

C&H TOOL “O” FRAME PRESS (BLACK) WITH PRIMER INSTALLER LARGE AND SMALL $60.00

LYMAN POWDER MEASURE (MISSING FUNNEL INSERT) STILL WORKS FINE $30.00

LYMAN UNIVERSAL CASE TRIMMER WITH two PILOTS #22 AND #30 $40.00


REDDING No.1 SCALE $25.00

 

[Classic]

At the low end of the scale, a Lee Classic, current price $26 for 1 caliber. Labor intensive but effective. I started with one.

 

[kludge]

how hard is it to do the classic way as i might just have to do that as I dont have the space for a press

No space for a press or a bench? Mount the press to a piece of 2x6 and use c-clamps to clamp it to the kitchen table.

 

[ShootinDave]

sadclown
I went to Kempfs in Mi city about 6 weeks ago and told him I wanted every thing needed to do 9mm- I walked out with:
Lee 4 turret press kit-has everything including powder measure and scale
3 pc 9mm carbide die set
500 Win small pistol primers
1lb Win 231 powder
500 plated 115 bullets
Lee second edition manual
out the door was 268.00-have loaded 400 and shot 300 with zero prob

 

[sadclownwp]

Anyone know if these are good prices on these used items?




LYMAN SPARTAN PRESS $40.00

C&H TOOL “O” FRAME PRESS (BLACK) WITH PRIMER INSTALLER LARGE AND SMALL $60.00

LYMAN POWDER MEASURE (MISSING FUNNEL INSERT) STILL WORKS FINE $30.00

LYMAN UNIVERSAL CASE TRIMMER WITH two PILOTS #22 AND #30 $40.00


REDDING No.1 SCALE $25.00

 

[sadclownwp]

I hope these are good deals

 

[sadclownwp]

Well I did it, after a visit to 21st Century Firearms, I now have everything I need to reload, and I beat my 150 dollar price limit by 25 bucks on equipment. Then I bought bullets, powerder, and primers. I was able to afford those with money I got from doing a computer job for a guy, so bonus!!!!

The only thing I still need is a good set of calipers.

 

[jedi]

Well I did it, after a visit to 21st Century Firearms, I now have everything I need to reload, and I beat my 150 dollar price limit by 25 bucks on equipment. Then I bought bullets, powerder, and primers. I was able to afford those with money I got from doing a computer job for a guy, so bonus!!!!

The only thing I still need is a good set of calipers.

so now we just wait for the newspaper article that some redneck lake county gun owner blew his home up.


BTW what did you end up getting?

 

[sadclownwp]

LYMAN SPARTAN PRESS
LYMAN POWDER MEASURE
Lee Scale
Lee Hand Priming tool
RCBS 9mm Dies
RCBS .38 special dies
case trimmer
Primer Tray
Powder Dribbler
case lube
Bullets
Powder
CCI small pistol primers

 

[JetGirl]

LYMAN SPARTAN PRESS
LYMAN POWDER MEASURE
Lee Scale
Lee Hand Priming tool
RCBS 9mm Dies
RCBS .38 special dies
case trimmer
Primer Tray
Powder Dribbler
case lube
Bullets
Powder
CCI small pistol primers

Other than calipers, you really should have a bullet puller on hand, as well. When you find a bad round or catch a mistake, pull it then so it doesn't accidentally get mixed in with good stuff you're gonna shoot.
RCBS - Kinetic Bullet Puller