Post your reloading setups!

[JAD]

This is right on for that quantity, assuming you aren't buying brass, but it's still cheaper than factory. I bought a case of ammo for a class for about $200. If that's what you're paying for factory you can spend $900 on equipment and be even the first year.

There's also the factor that you get twice as many rounds per dollar invested in hoarding, and they're more versatile rounds. The more you hoard, the more immunity you have to the vicissitudes of the ammo market.

[Andy in NH]

Very basic, nothing fancy:

[Rich@CCC]

SLG,
You're probably going load much more than I do on the Load Master so take that into consideration.

I load 9mm, .45 acp, .32 acp, .380 and .223 on my Load Master. I use the case feeder for the pistol cartridges but not the bullet feeder. No feeders at all for the .223

There are some fairly easy tweaks that can be done to the primer feed system to make it very reliable. It's all plastic and can have some mold lines and rough spots that need a fluff and buff. It's also particular about primer levels. You need to keep the chute at least 3/4 full or it starts to misfeed. Keeping a close eye on it is cheap and easy if you have the mind set. I built an IR eye to alarm when the tray is empty. It cost all of about $20.00 in parts for both large and small feeders. I have few if any issues with priming on the Load Master. In fact, with the exception of missing the occasional small primer .45 case I would say the primer system runs as near flawlessly as can be expected. The priming system seems to be the number one complaint about any of the progressive presses.

I wouldn't spend the $20.00 on that book without getting a peek at the contents list at least. All of the tricks and tweaks are up on youtube from various sources.

The Load Master is never going to feel like a Dillon or Hornady press, but they can made to run reliably and reasonably smoothly with very little work.

Titan Reloading is my go to online resource for Lee and MEC parts and equipment.

Load Master, 9mm Everything to reload 9mm including dies, shell plate and Auto Disk powder measure, though I may be switching over to the new Auto Drum for everything soon.

A complete pistol caliber change can be done for $75.00, not including a dedicated powder measure.

If you are going to load thousands of rounds/month then the extra initial cash out lay for a Dillon or Hornady is probably smart money considering their warranty and reputation for durability. If not, the Lee gear should last many, many years.

[SLG]

So, how do you guys store your powder and primers? I try to follow the regs about that, but with any real quantity, it can get tough at times. Of course, having your house burn down or your kids hurt would be fairly disastrous.

[SLG]

Rich,

Ive watched all the youtube videos on it, just thought id post the book for anyone interested.

Good to hear that youve had such a good experience with yours. Looks like all the fixes are very simple and a small amount of attention to detail can make the press work very well. I only load small quantities of ammo at a time, which is why i really like the classic turret. If I need to produce large quantities of something in the future, I'll likely use the 650, but for the price, its hard not to want a loadmaster dedicated to another caliber, with easier changes to boot.

[Rich@CCC]

I store my primers in one cabinet and my powder in another a few feat away. Both are in an area where no work that can produce sparks is ever done. Always store the primers in the factory packaging, no loose primers in a can or box.

Make sure that your powder magazine is not air tight(air tight magazine = bomb). Metal is better than wood but face the facts, your powder will not spontaneously combust. It's not going to get hot enough in an un-insulated garage or outbuilding to ignite smokeless powder. If your powder catches fire odds are your structure is already pretty much done for so you just need to keep the flare up from the powder from spreading the fire to another, un-involved structure.

[Slavex]

I cannot say enough bad things about Lee loaders, sorry, I've yet to meet one that wasn't total crap. I've known a few people who've liked them but they are certainly in the minority. I don't want to be Mr. Pissy Pants on this, but the level of frustration I've seen expressed on Lee machines far far outweighs the risk in getting one to me. The only Lee products I can recommend are the Factory Crimp die and their old hand primer. The time spent fixing and or fiddling with any of their presses will exceed the time spent doing a calibre change on just about any other machine short of a Camdex. Now don't get me wrong, I am not a Dillon lover, I think their presses need work too, especially the 1050s, but they are a massive improvement over the Lees in the progressive department. Single stage I'm an RCBS guy, and for dies I'm mostly RCBS or Redding Competition die guy. I even had a RCBS sizing die modified to take the Dillon decapping unit. Best die mod ever.

I store my powder in jugs, on the floor, or occasionally in a cabinet. Primers are stored in a cabinet though. Oh, and I have powder in boxes in my garage, 5lb boxes with the powder in a sealed bag (Tightgroup). I've seen a couple buddies houses after a fire and the reloading room isn't usually any worse off than anywhere else, unless they had blackpowder, then it can be bad. I wouldn't have wanted to stand by their primer cabinet when it went up, but damage to the room from it going up was minimal. Powder just burned really fast.

[mmc45414]

Looks like a rube goldberg contraption to me, but it is genius, no question. Since the Loadmaster costs as much as a caliber change on the 650, I figured I'd try it one of these days.

I know what you are sayin, cause I was sayin the same thing a couple of years ago. I figured I would get one in 9 and 40 and 45, and rig them up so I could clamp them on the lip of the bench interchangeably, partially because I am getting tired of changing things over, and when you figure in a powder measure they are not that much more than a 550 conversion. I thought I would be golden for the primary three, and still use my 550 for things like, well like everything else. At the time I had not been loading 9, so I got one in 9. With auto indexing and a case feeder, when it got in a groove it just was smoking! And then something would come offa the rails and then the smoke would come outa my ears. In the end I started to question if maybe it was the old dog (I was probably 54...) and a new trick.

So I thought about getting a 650. But this was also about the time the case feeder for the 550 came along and I decided that was the best compromise. You can buy a 550 without a conversion for like $390, so I bought a second 550 and got a case feeder for it. Now I am sorta thinking about getting another one, it just seems like I drift around. Like right now 550 #1 (case feed) is setup in 9, and 550 #2 is getting ready for 5.56. But I just bought a new 44...

But I am not one of the jihadists, I really wish the Loadmaster had worked out, I would have two more by now, YMMV.

[mmc45414]

The more you hoard, the more immunity you have to the vicissitudes of the ammo market.

Wow, had to look that up...

[mmc45414]

Just an unsolicited opinion, but I think it is cool to start out with a single stage. Load maybe 500-1000 pistol rounds with it and you will have a great understanding of what is going on with the process. You will end up with a press and a powder measure that will not be utilized when you migrate to a progressive for straight wall pistol cartridges, but after you learn the process there will be SOMETHING else you will want to load and you will not want to disrupt your progressive setup.

I have two 550s (and a 900 and a PW800) and still have three single stage presses I use. You could end up with a 1050 and doubt the single stage will go on ebay.

If you really want to start with a progressive I like the 550, nothing stops you from doing one at a time, and you can back up any time you need to, and pull a button anytime you want to and pull out a round in progress.