Investment to Setup Reload Home station

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  • IronDuck

    Active Member
    MDS Supporter
    Jan 11, 2021
    488
    Frederick ish MD
    Wanted to get some feedback on home reloading. I have been interested in it for some time. Thought, I would wait until retirement but the way things are, sooner may be better.
    I typically prefer to pay a little more upfront and get something, that will last. Also I want to spend money on equipment that will keep the process as regimented/easy as possible.
    Equipment needed? Any recommendations on brands to purchase? Tools, that may not jump out at me until I'm in the middle of my first reload?

    Should I just go online and order or is there a good dealer near Frederick MD that would give me good information and carry the products I need. I read about Hafer's near Hagerstown have not been there but its on my list.

    Thoughts and comments very much appreciated.
     

    jr355

    Active Member
    Apr 21, 2014
    301
    Fullerton md
    Take a look at this sticky "https://www.mdshooters.com/showthread.php?t=137551" many of your questions may be found there. You will most likely get some items from both local sources and on the web. However ALL supplies are hard to find right now and are dang high when you do find them. Good luck as you start down the rabbit hole.
     

    JChris

    Active Member
    Jan 10, 2021
    157
    Clarksburg
    Reloading is a great deal of fun.
    there many press tools to choose from as well plenty of vids on how to use them.
    if you don't vary to much into boutique calibers there is loads (pun) of data at easy reach.
    you may want to check the price of primers before you begin.
    that alone may deter you,
    $600.00 +:shocking::shocked: for a thousand rounds dose not scare you off
    you may get some satisfaction out of it
     

    ohen cepel

    Ultimate Member
    Feb 2, 2011
    4,509
    Where they send me.
    Depends a lot on you. What do you want to reload, how many, how fast. Do you want things fast? Can get a simple press for $100 or a high end Dillon for $1,000.

    Wet clean or dry clean? Lots of options and few people all go the same way.

    That said, it is VERY hard to get anything now so I would take your time to read for the next year or more. Maybe, find someone set up to see how they are doing it and if you would like a similar set up.
     

    Harrys

    Short Round
    Jul 12, 2014
    3,362
    SOMD
    I have used a one arm bandit Hornaday for 40 years, after about 30 years I bought a new one 10 tears ago. You can do a basic set up for 500 bucks to start and build from there. I do recommend you spend the coin to purchase matched dies, a little more cost but you get a better product.
     

    KRC

    Active Member
    Sep 30, 2018
    615
    Cecil County MD
    As prior posters have indicated, a clearer picture of what you want to accomplish would aid in advising for your purchasing decisions. A good set-up/components to crank out loads of blasting ammo would be significantly different than equipment purchases made to do a much smaller number of precision handloads. But either way, I would personally advise you consider starting with a low-end (low-cost i.e. Partner press) single threaded die type press to learn the basics. Then invest in a "system" that is better focused on your particular goals.

    And as others have also said, if you are trying to avoid the ammo shortage, you'll find MANY die sets, primers, powders and bullets are simply not available right now.
     

    IronDuck

    Active Member
    MDS Supporter
    Jan 11, 2021
    488
    Frederick ish MD
    Thanks for the info. please keep it coming. I truly enjoy tracking down the info and making comparisons, asking questions. I have not started the pricing part of my review, assumed I would save some money loading my own, but not the driving factor for getting into it. After reading the suggested sticky link, (Kudos to the author nicely done), I am enjoying searching and reading about the Dillon progressive press.
    But WOW, that's a lot of money, for primers! I may take some additional time to put together my shopping list!
     
    Thanks for the info. please keep it coming. I truly enjoy tracking down the info and making comparisons, asking questions. I have not started the pricing part of my review, assumed I would save some money loading my own, but not the driving factor for getting into it. After reading the suggested sticky link, (Kudos to the author nicely done), I am enjoying searching and reading about the Dillon progressive press.
    But WOW, that's a lot of money, for primers! I may take some additional time to put together my shopping list!

    As others have stated, what do you want to load? If you want match grade, precision rifle rounds tailored to your exact rifle, you can be up and running for <$200. Granted, you'll be making 10-15rds per hour, but they will be precise. If you want to pump out 500rds per hour of plinking 9mm, it is a completely different ballgame.
     

    erwos

    The Hebrew Hammer
    MDS Supporter
    Mar 25, 2009
    13,866
    Rockville, MD
    This is the worst time to start reloading. Primers are mostly unavailable from retailers, and the secondary market is horrific. Buy a book (ABCs of Reloading), read up, and make some plans. The market will probably begin to ease around the end of the summer unless there's some sort of national Internet ammo sales regulation.
     

    Virgil Co.C

    Active Member
    Aug 10, 2018
    615
    Bad times to start, I did last year and have lot of money wrapped up in something I cannot use due to as others had said , primers . Powder goes pretty far and I’ve been able to find what I have but primers are ridiculously expensive now and buying from a supplier is well nobody has them
     

    JamesDong

    Banned
    BANNED!!!
    Aug 13, 2020
    3,260
    Duffield, Va
    After 40 years I'm still doing on the cheap. Lee turret and antique Herters that has enough leverage to move the world. Turret tables are cheap 15 bucks or so, So once adjusted to your liking they stay, use another turret for another cartridge and so on. I had two other presses but not the room, I gave them away on this board.
    Best single stage I owned was a RCBS Rock Chucker, got out of reloading for a bit and gave it away too.

    I use this for priming even though I do have a hand primer. Seats them with ease and simple to use.

    p_100053067_1.jpg
     

    Uncle Duke

    Ultimate Member
    MDS Supporter
    Feb 2, 2013
    11,665
    Not Far Enough from the City
    Depends a lot on you. What do you want to reload, how many, how fast. Do you want things fast? Can get a simple press for $100 or a high end Dillon for $1,000.

    Wet clean or dry clean? Lots of options and few people all go the same way.

    That said, it is VERY hard to get anything now so I would take your time to read for the next year or more. Maybe, find someone set up to see how they are doing it and if you would like a similar set up.

    Absolutely yes to the reading. It will help you to know what questions to ask. The best $25 you can spend right now is for a good reloading manual. Which one? Well.....

    Like with other future "best for you" purchases? Three questions of primary importance at this point.

    What are you trying to accomplish with loading your own ammunition? And as mentioned by ohen cepel above, what cartridge or cartridges do you want to load? And how much do you intend to shoot of these?

    Think along the lines of the old carpenter's adage.

    Before you grab a saw, "Measure twice, cut once."
     

    spoon059

    Ultimate Member
    Jun 1, 2018
    5,335
    Look for used products. I bought a used Hornady LnL AP for about 1/3 the price of new. I bought a beam scale used too. Both are quality parts with lifetime transferable warranties. I already broke a piece on my press and had it replaced free of charge.

    I wouldn't buy dies used though. They can wear out and they can be damaged. Powders and primer are hard to find right now. I wouldn't overpay for them unless you need ammo right now. Find a local shop that carries them, hazmat shipping fees can get pricey. Start collecting brass now. I pick up brass at the range and process it myself.
     

    Blacksmith101

    Grumpy Old Man
    Jun 22, 2012
    22,154
    Another factor is how many calibers do you intend to reload? Two or three calibers is one thing but 10 or 15 is something else. You may end up wanting more than one set up. A couple of calibers you want high volume plinking level of accuracy the rest are low volume precision reloading might result in a progressive press for volume but a single stage for the precision work because of the different complexity of set up when changing calibers.

    Get yourself several manuals so you can compare points of view. The Lyman book and the Lee book are different in how the get to the same place. I now have 8 or 10 manuals some cartridge specific, some from powder makers others from bullet makers, and also those from equipment makers. You can learn something different from each point of view. And different manuals will include different combinations of components.
     

    trickg

    Guns 'n Drums
    MDS Supporter
    Jul 22, 2008
    14,590
    Glen Burnie
    I'll jump on and repeat about the shortage of primers - they are very hard to find right now and they are expensive when you can.

    With that said, election years like this one are always bad on ammo and reloading components stock - it will rebound but it's going to take 6 months or so.

    Reloading, and how much you intend to spend on gear all boils down to a series of choices between what you really need, what you want to have, and the large area in between.

    For instance, outside of components, you'll need a setup with the minimum of the following:

    • Reloading press
    • Dies for the calibers you want to load
    • Scale
    • Powder dispenser
    • Method of Priming cases
    • Reloading Manual - I can't emphasize this enough, and typically it's good to have at least two

    Those are the absolute basics. A kit will come with some other handy things like deburring tools, primer pocket cleaning tool, etc

    If you are going to reload for rifle, there are some other tools specific to rifle cartridges that you'll need - specifically speaking you'll need a case trimmer.

    There are a couple of things you'll probably want - one thing I would almost say is essential is a tumbler to clean and polish cases.

    Now that I've mentioned the above, there are a plethora of ways you can go.

    Single stage vs progressive
    Kit vs piecemeal
    Budget level vs upper level
    etc.

    I started on a Lee Challenger Anniversary kit that had all the basics needed to reload except for dies. In hindsight I wish I'd have gotten the RCBS Rockchucker kit - it's a better kit with better components that you'll still use after time, such as the M500 scale. Someone who starts with a Lee Challenger kit will invariably end up replacing literally everything out of that kit with something better.

    On the flip side, I loaded a lot of quality ammo with that Lee kit before I got anything else, and I still prefer my Lee dies after having used a couple of other brands.

    Do some research, and keep asking questions in this thread - you'll learn what you need to know soon enough.
     

    Pinecone

    Ultimate Member
    MDS Supporter
    Feb 4, 2013
    28,175
    You also have to look at how much you shoot.

    If you shoot 500 rounds of pistol a year, a Dillon, which can load up to 1000 rounds per hour, would be overkill.

    BUT, if you are really short on available time, the time savings may be worth it for you.

    Also, what rounds will your reload? Large magnum rounds need something different than high volume pistol.

    My suggestion is typically to start with a quality single stage press. RCBS, Lyman, etc. You will always find times with it is the best tool for the job.

    Then start learning, and see where it takes you. And that will point you to the next step.

    I started a Lyman kit. No tumbler. And loaded and shot a lot of .45 ACP and .223 with that setup.

    Later I got a Dillion 650, and have loaded a LOT of pistol and .223 on that setup. But I still use my single stage for precision rifle rounds and for working up loads.
     

    THier

    R.I.P.
    MDS Supporter
    Dec 3, 2010
    4,998
    Muscleville
    I have a Lee progressive press, (load master I think) a friend had the same press, then went to the Blue press. He advised me unless I was loading over a thousand rounds a month, EVERY month, save the money and stick with the Lee press.

    Right now components are CRAZY price, IF you can find them. Just saw 1000 LR primers for $180!!! 18 cents each! I paid 2-3 cents each for what I have.

    Now, you might want to start buying hardware, press, cleaning, processing stuff. Start collecting brass, even maybe start processing brass until component prices drop some.
     

    IronDuck

    Active Member
    MDS Supporter
    Jan 11, 2021
    488
    Frederick ish MD
    All,
    Thanks for everything provided, darn glad I found MD Shooters! Appears first step is to get some books, done I ordered 1. The ABC's of Reloading, 2. Barnes Reloading, 3. The Beginners guide to Reloading.
    Second step decide what kind of re loader I am going to be. "Mucho mass" or "Small batch perfecto"! Probably somewhere in the middle, but I wont have time restraints.
    Questions asked what calibers.
    9mm pistol rounds and/or .45 ACP FYI I don't currently have a 45. but a 1911, is in my future, it will replace for the most part recreational use of the 9mm, and I have a large qty of 9mm's stocked.
    .223 YES other than one of the 2 above this will be made the most
    30-06 yes many, Side note and project, can I self load, so that each round is interchangeable between the M1 Garand and my Remington model 700 & Winchester model 70,

    And that is it currently. Once up and running I will probably try to expand to reload almost all the calibers I have. 22, 38, 357, 44, 7.62x39, 7.62x54R, 308, shotguns probably only 12 ga. but that's just getting greedy!
     

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