Reloading noob, want to load 9mm

[olstyn]

That said, if you're loading 9mm and want volume, a Dillon may be a better choice.

Yeah, I'd go either Dillon or Hornady for the volumes the OP is talking about. I personally went with the Hornady because it's feature equivalent to a 650/750 at about the price of a 550 (frankly I'm somewhat confused that the 550 still exists, as it seems to me to be strictly inferior to the 650/750 and the Hornady, but maybe there's some factor I'm missing), plus the quick change die bushings are nice if you load (or plan to load) multiple calibers - they make switching over very fast and easy.

[mmc45414]

So for brass cleaning you just reload dirty?

This probably depends on where you shoot. If you pick up your brass off of a concrete floor you can load it without cleaning, if you are picking it up out of a mud puddle not so much. You could certainly start off that way. Wet tumbling was mentioned, but also inferred to be expensive. I have this and it great:
https://www.amazon.com/Frankford-Ars...s%2C188&sr=8-2
But now this is an option:
https://www.amazon.com/Frankford-Ars...s%2C188&sr=8-3
The smaller one does not include pins, but they are typically not necessary and I have only used mine a couple times. Drying is a factor, and a dryer would be nice, but I just tumble a week or so in advance, then jumble the cases in a towel and then lay them all out flat and they are dry, including in the primer pockets, in a few days. This will obviously vary by climate. This would be a PITA with rifle cases, that could also pool water on their sides, but a deprimed case sood upside-down in a plastic loading block would probable be dry in a few hours, certainly overnight.

Reading everyone loud and clear on distractions and reloading.

This is not that tricky, but you want to give it focus.

This might be a good time to ask a little more about you. How would you describe your aptitude for something like this? Are you mechanically inclined? Should you start off with a single stage, where very little can go wrong and mistakes are not compounded very quickly? Or would you be fine starting out with a progressive press? Have you worked on your own cars ever? Done things to your guns? If you can change a tire you can reload ammo. If you can change your own oil you should probably be fine starting with a progressive. If you have ever done your own brake job this will all be a slam dunk.

Lee makes good equipment and I have many of their products, though I would recommend being careful about the Loadmaster. The Turret Press is a good piece of kit. But I am going to sound dogmatic but if you can budget $1k and you have the aptitude for it, and plan to load 1k rounds a month, I sure think you would be happy if you bought a Dillon 750. Not to dis any of the other recommendations.

[mtnbkr]

You guys keep talking about 1k/month being high volume and requiring a progressive.

That's only about 35 rounds a day.

In January I loaded 650 rounds of 38Spec Wadcutters and 500 45AR on my turret press (not to mention several <100 count runs of various other things, test loads, etc). With the bulk loads, I set a minimum goal of 100rnds/day, but I ended up doing more than that each day I loaded ammo. Once I got powder measure set up and verified, I could run through about 150rnds/hr, so I was really only loading for an hour or two each day and not even all at one stretch (benefit of working from home, I could take a sanity break and run the crank for 15-20 mins).

That sort of volume does assume a large batch of an established load. If you're doing multiple small batches, you'll lose a lot of time to powder measure set up and validation, seating and crimping die set up, etc. I'm also much slower on rifle, especially if it's a case I full length resize.

Not to talk anyone out of a Dillon, but if you're not loading 1k/month every month, I'm not sure it's worth the investment from a volumetric perspective. I've got nearly 15 years on my current Lee press and nothing about it is worn out (I gifted the previous one to a friend to get him started...it's still in use). I have all of my dies on turrets with dedicated powder measures and can switch calibers in about 2 minutes (more if I have to find the shellholder and/or primer arm).

Chris

[ranger]

Its not the total divided by days. I like to load 100 to 300 at a time. So 1000 = 3 to 10 events for me. Big difference between loading 100 on a single state or turret vs a progressive.

[Hambo]

So for brass cleaning you just reload dirty?

Yep, but am mostly on an indoor range.

[Hambo]

You guys keep talking about 1k/month being high volume and requiring a progressive.

That's only about 35 rounds a day.

In January I loaded 650 rounds of 38Spec Wadcutters and 500 45AR on my turret press (not to mention several <100 count runs of various other things, test loads, etc). With the bulk loads, I set a minimum goal of 100rnds/day, but I ended up doing more than that each day I loaded ammo. Once I got powder measure set up and verified, I could run through about 150rnds/hr, so I was really only loading for an hour or two each day and not even all at one stretch (benefit of working from home, I could take a sanity break and run the crank for 15-20 mins).

That sort of volume does assume a large batch of an established load. If you're doing multiple small batches, you'll lose a lot of time to powder measure set up and validation, seating and crimping die set up, etc. I'm also much slower on rifle, especially if it's a case I full length resize.

Not to talk anyone out of a Dillon, but if you're not loading 1k/month every month, I'm not sure it's worth the investment from a volumetric perspective. I've got nearly 15 years on my current Lee press and nothing about it is worn out (I gifted the previous one to a friend to get him started...it's still in use). I have all of my dies on turrets with dedicated powder measures and can switch calibers in about 2 minutes (more if I have to find the shellholder and/or primer arm).

Chris

You absolutely right, but once I started loading larger batches of ammo, I bought my first 550.

I shoot around 1K/month, but I binge reload. It could be 3K 9mm this week, and then for a couple of months I might load rifle, shotgun, or small batches of handgun.

It's also about the time it takes to load X number of rounds and how much time you have to dedicate to it. In terms of effort, you get one round every time you pull the handle on a progressive, versus running each round three times on a single stage.

[mmc45414]

You guys keep talking about 1k/month being high volume and requiring a progressive.
I could run through about 150rnds/hr, so I was really only loading for an hour or two each day and not even all at one stretch

You raise a good point, we should probably ask the OP how much time he expects to spend loading ammo each month?

I agree the Turret is a very good tool (I have had one), And 150/hr is a good pace. But I can go from a full tube of primers to the low primer buzzer in 6min. Admittedly this is an infrequent occurrence (there is always something that slows you down), and obviously an unsustainable pace, but the cost benefit ratio is probably personal. One shooting buddy that has spent a lot of money on many more, much nicer guns than I have, thinks it is crazy to load 9mm. But I have a nicer press than he does and I don't mind.

[Crazy Dane]

You guys keep talking about 1k/month being high volume and requiring a progressive.

That's only about 35 rounds a day.

In January I loaded 650 rounds of 38Spec Wadcutters and 500 45AR on my turret press (not to mention several <100 count runs of various other things, test loads, etc). With the bulk loads, I set a minimum goal of 100rnds/day, but I ended up doing more than that each day I loaded ammo. Once I got powder measure set up and verified, I could run through about 150rnds/hr, so I was really only loading for an hour or two each day and not even all at one stretch (benefit of working from home, I could take a sanity break and run the crank for 15-20 mins).

That sort of volume does assume a large batch of an established load. If you're doing multiple small batches, you'll lose a lot of time to powder measure set up and validation, seating and crimping die set up, etc. I'm also much slower on rifle, especially if it's a case I full length resize.

Not to talk anyone out of a Dillon, but if you're not loading 1k/month every month, I'm not sure it's worth the investment from a volumetric perspective. I've got nearly 15 years on my current Lee press and nothing about it is worn out (I gifted the previous one to a friend to get him started...it's still in use). I have all of my dies on turrets with dedicated powder measures and can switch calibers in about 2 minutes (more if I have to find the shellholder and/or primer arm).

Chris

Way back when I was shooting bowling pin tournaments and steel matches, the reasons I got into reloading if the first place, I was shooting 1000 rounds of .45acp every other week, give or take a few hundred either way, and I was reloading that after every match. I have got the process down to where a can load 200 rounds per hour on the Lee turret press. I was working third shift at the time and would spend about 2 hours after I got off of a morning sitting at loading bench. Yes I did dream of a Dillon but when it came time to put the order in, I never could justify spending that money. If I ever have to load more than 1000 a week then I would look at a progressive.

The turret transitions to a single stage by removing the op rod which is a tool-less endeavor, and loads very good rifle ammo, this just makes sense with the OP thinking he might eventually load for rifle.

Several years ago I sent my press back to Lee because it developed a crack in the turret head hoping they could replace it. They did with a whole new press. I don't shoot as much as I once did so that press should last me until I'm done.

[Grey]

Anyone have a solid 9mm load I can start with?

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[mmc45414]

Anyone have a solid 9mm load I can start with?

My one piece of advice on this is to not worry about it.

Your biggest thing is to pick a powder, are there any other pistol cartridges you want to load for?

9mm is probably the one cartridge where you can use a load for a powder that you pick.

ETA: buy a pound of a powder you think you will like, it will be enough to load nearly two thousand rounds with (ETA: I should have said "over a thousand). If you like it buy 8 pounds of it.
Seriously, unless you want to do 147g bullets almost all of them work, this is just from Hodgdon for 115g: