Guides to Getting Started with Reloading

[ER_STL]

Another thing to consider with loading beyond what to buy and how to load is the administrative stuff that leads to a safer loading experience. Things like being able to spot brass that's not fit for loading (splits, bulges, etc), which powders are more forgiving to slight deviations in charges, etc are important skills to have developed before you get too far down the rabbit hole. As LSP noted, brianenos.com is an excellent source of information and was one of the primary sites I visited when I was first getting started.

[Chance]

I'd like to thank everyone for their input, and PF for starting up this subforum. I have an update on my progress.

It is obviously a pitch, and the gal is a little bubbly, but this vide on the 550 shows the straight forward process:
https://youtu.be/k0__OViMcaA .

I got my SO interested in shooting and survival stuff, so she'll periodically impulse buy things she thinks are interesting (we don't have any kids yet, so a portion of income is disposable). I told her I was interested in learning how to reload, and showed her this video.

Whilst bored at work, she starts texting me about things to get (apparently Amazon had a sell on outdoors stuff at the time). I tell her, "We don't need a tent. Buy that reloading machine I showed you the other day, or something."

So she did. Not the 550 though, the "next one up" (her words). We have a Dillon XL650 now. Just need to figure out some basic things like... where to put it. And how to operate it. And where to get supplies for it. And pretty much every other aspect of this process.

[mmc45414]

Soon you will start going shooting just so you can have some more empty casings...

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[mmc45414]

Just need to figure out some basic things like... where to put it. And how to operate it. And where to get supplies for it.

A big part of the good news here is you can actually buy components now, unlike the perpetual scavenger hunt of the last few years. Not sure what you are going to load, but with a few exceptions you can just get one of the many powders that are on the faster side and cover a lot of bases. If you can find some 231 (aka HP-38) you could probably get it and by the time you used it up you will have learned enough to know what you want. A single pound will flirt with 1500 rounds, with both of you shooting maybe pick up a four pound jug. There are differences, but primers are pretty much primers at your stage of the game so stocking up on a box of 5,000 is easy.

Lots of online sources but remember there is a HazMat shipping upcharge and I forget but maybe primers and powder cannot be on the same HazMat shipment. Depends on how deep you are going to stock up, the HazMat charge is the same on one pound or sixteen pounds so if you are going to buy a pound it is more than the powder, on sixteen pounds not so bad. Dunno where you live but some LGSs stock components but many are sporadic.

As far as where to put it, do you own or rent? Unfinished basement or not?

[olstyn]

Lots of online sources but remember there is a HazMat shipping upcharge and I forget but maybe primers and powder cannot be on the same HazMat shipment. Depends on how deep you are going to stock up, the HazMat charge is the same on one pound or sixteen pounds so if you are going to buy a pound it is more than the powder, on sixteen pounds not so bad. Dunno where you live but some LGSs stock components but many are sporadic.

Powder and primers are fine in the same shipment, unless Powder Valley screwed up with my last shipment (8 pounds of N320 and IIRC 4K primers). Had I a larger budget, I'd probably have gone for more like 16 pounds and enough primers to put me at the legal limit for storage, just to spread the hazmat fee farther around, but even on my smallish order, I was still way ahead of buying at retail.

[olstyn]

So she did. Not the 550 though, the "next one up" (her words). We have a Dillon XL650 now. Just need to figure out some basic things like... where to put it. And how to operate it. And where to get supplies for it. And pretty much every other aspect of this process.

You will not be even slightly sad that you have the 650; as a 5-station auto indexing press, it has some significant advantages over the 550.

[mmc45414]

You will not be even slightly sad that you have the 650; as a 5-station auto indexing press, it has some significant advantages over the 550.

I have always loved my 550s, bought a second one and added the case feeder, but am starting to wish I had gone with a 650 instead of a second 550. Since I have conversions for the 550 for everything I didn't want to start over, but since I have been doing more and more of my practice with 9mm (love that 9mm AR!) I am starting to think about 650 and keep a 550 for the other stuff.