Thinking about start reloading

[olstyn]

I just watched a video of single stage vs progressive, the one thing the guy stress is you can make mistake easier of double charging or no charging with progressive type as you run everything at the same time and particular multiple casing at the same time. Where is you do one bullet at a time and one task at a time. Chances of making mistake is a lot smaller.

This is part of why I suggested an auto-indexing progressive press earlier. The scenario you describe is possible with presses like the Dillon 550, which do not automatically rotate the shell plate to the next station with each pull of the handle. It's very unlikely with presses like the Dillon 650/750 and Hornady LNL AP which do automatically rotate the shell plate. The 650/750 and LNL are more expensive than the 550 (well, the LNL is *barely* more expensive), but the fact that they auto-index makes them easily worth the premium in my mind. Add in the fact that they have one more station than the 550 and the benefits really start to add up. (The extra station allows for using both a powder check die and a bullet feeder, or separating seat and crimp operations, or other beneficial options.)

[Wise_A]

I would go read The ABCs of Reloading or Reloading For Handgunners at this point. You're asking questions that are covering bits and pieces and missing big pieces.

[Erik]

In terms of what's available now, it's rough but if you're patient, know what you're looking for, troll the main distributors and follow the discord channel that was referenced in the "what components are available" thread, you can find stuff still; just not all at once and some of it not at what used to be normal prices. Over the last couple of weeks, I've gotten a Lee Classic Turret Press, Lee Auto Drum Powder Dispenser (that took a while to find), Lee safety prime system, an inexpensive but supposed to be decent digital scale and 9mm and .38/.357 (thank you BBI!) 4 die sets. Off the top of my head, I've spent about $325 or so to date. That's obviously not everything I need, but it's a good chunk of it and I think I'm not being bent over too badly on this stuff so far.

There's a lot of very good information in the existing threads in the reloading section and a lot of what you're asking about has been covered well and pretty recently. If you do some searches and read the existing threads, I think you'll find a lot of the answers you're looking for. Try searching titles only for the specific thing you're interested in - press, scale, powder measure, whatever. Then if you come back with more specific questions you'll get answers that are targeted towards your specific needs. Members here have been very generous with their advice. It has helped me tremendously and I really appreciate it.

[LittleLebowski]

I would go read The ABCs of Reloading or Reloading For Handgunners at this point. You're asking questions that are covering bits and pieces and missing big pieces.

I’m thinking The Beginner's Guide to Reloading Ammunition: With Space and Money Saving Tips for Apartment Dwellers and Those on a Budget unless he defines a budget. Any starting-out budget is gonna get stretched mighty thin these days, but the best time to get into reloading was yesterday and the second best time is now.

[LittleLebowski]

This is part of why I suggested an auto-indexing progressive press earlier. The scenario you describe is possible with presses like the Dillon 550, which do not automatically rotate the shell plate to the next station with each pull of the handle. It's very unlikely with presses like the Dillon 650/750 and Hornady LNL AP which do automatically rotate the shell plate. The 650/750 and LNL are more expensive than the 550 (well, the LNL is *barely* more expensive), but the fact that they auto-index makes them easily worth the premium in my mind. Add in the fact that they have one more station than the 550 and the benefits really start to add up. (The extra station allows for using both a powder check die and a bullet feeder, or separating seat and crimp operations, or other beneficial options.)

Not to mention putting a value on one’s spare time. For the OP, the “powder check” is a mechanical alarm to warn if your powder charge is off. It’s very nice to stroll over to my Dillon 650, top it off with primers, bullets, and brass, and crank out 200 rounds in 20 minutes or less, easy.

[JCS]

Do they sell Jacketed Hollow point bullet heads for reload? If they don't, reloading does NOT help me. I am not going to shoot a lot with the 9mm, all those are NOT exactly screaming accuracy, they are not going to be a target gun. I mainly need to prove that they are reliable.

You mean you cannot reload rounds good enough for defense?

You can get jacketed hollow points. What’s your current defensive ammo?
It’s not a matter of accuracy with reloaded rounds. It’s more expansion and velocity. Quality defensive ammo by federal or speer has been tested thousands of rounds by le organizations. If you are not familiar with the FBI standards for defensive ammo you should check it out. They are tested in ballistics gelatin to expand a certain amount and reach a certain distance. Unless your willing to buy ballistics gelatin you won’t know if your hollow points will penetrate to 6” or 26”. Both are a problem.

Part of the beauty of reloading is that you can tune a load to your gun to get it very accurate and soft shooting but again that’s for training not bet your life on it stuff.

Also how many rounds a year do you shoot. You need to know your break even point for a reloading setup. Even if you save $.20 a round how many rounds do you need to make to actually save money. Then you factor in the time and decide if it’s worth it to you.

[Spartan1980]

There are many things to consider when starting reloading, but there is one thing that's certain. That is, along the path you will most definitely change something up. A different press, powder measure, die configurations, the list goes on and on. You aren't going to buy a setup and use for years on end without changing, experimenting, etc.

I would tell you to skip the single stage altogether and buy a turret press if your decision comes down on single stage being where you want to start. A turret can operate EXACTLY like a true single stage and you have the option of combining a couple of steps when you get comfortable doing so. You can also keep a couple of die sets setup at all times and have a station or two left over for things like decapping, push through die, swaging, etc. If you expand your capabilities like most of us end up doing, you will want to keep the turret for load development before adjusting your progressive and small batch stuff or lower quantity precision rifle stuff. I know a lot of people with multiple progressives and they wouldn't be caught dead without a turret or single stage, it's just something you'll find yourself still using a lot once you are "bitten" by the hobby.

I consider my Redding T7 the king of the turret presses but even a Lee is fine. Should you decide that you in fact like reloading and want to "expand" into a full progressive, Dillon is what you want. I've owned Lee, Hornady, and Dillon and the Dillon is superior in all respects. It wins hands down on build quality and reliability.

I also use the full gamut of brands for my equipment. I have dies from probably 6 different manufacturers including Lee lest you think I'm a "Lee snob". As you learn what works for you, you'll find you like certain items for certain tasks. You don't have to have "all Dillon" or "all RCBS" anything, you'll have a bit from them all and use them all.

I would also echo @LittleLebowski and suggest the RCBS 5-0-5 scale. It's my goto and is about 30 years old now. It works as good today as it did 30 years ago and has never let me down. When it comes to scales analog is solid and that's a good thing. Pulling down 200 rounds because you found your electronic went out of calibration and you didn't discover it until your session was over sucks. Could suck a lot worse if you discover it on the range...

[Alan0354]

Looks like both Lee and RCBS are all out of stock!! I guess it's not just primmer out of stock, everything else are too.

[fly out]

Looks like both Lee and RCBS are all out of stock!! I guess it's not just primmer out of stock, everything else are too.

Everything is out of stock. You're going to spend $600-700 (minimum) on hardware, to say nothing of reloading components.

It's fun, as a hobby or an intellectual exercise, but it isn't going to save you money. Especially now. If you want to save money, keep trolling around and buy 100-200 rounds here and there, 500-1000 when they pop up (which they do), and you'll be way ahead.

One thing about the panics is that they compress the prices of everything. All of a sudden, HST and Gold Dots are not so expensive, percentage-wise, as 115 and 124 FMJ.

I agree with all of the statements about buying defensive ammo for carry. I prefer 147 JHP and will load bullets from the usual suspects, but I use HST or Ranger in my carry guns.

[Alan0354]

Everything is out of stock. You're going to spend $600-700 (minimum) on hardware, to say nothing of reloading components.

It's fun, as a hobby or an intellectual exercise, but it isn't going to save you money. Especially now. If you want to save money, keep trolling around and buy 100-200 rounds here and there, 500-1000 when they pop up (which they do), and you'll be way ahead.

One thing about the panics is that they compress the prices of everything. All of a sudden, HST and Gold Dots are not so expensive, percentage-wise, as 115 and 124 FMJ.

I agree with all of the statements about buying defensive ammo for carry. I prefer 147 JHP and will load bullets from the usual suspects, but I use HST or Ranger in my carry guns.

I also thinking about starting another hobby. I like to get into things, numerous hobbies through out the years. Ha ha, my last one is learning programming with C++, I spent 7 months and finished a text book from cover to cover. I am starting to get tired of it. So just looking for another hobby.

But right now, I can't even get into it if I want, can't even buy anything.