A few months ago I posted and asked about a good hand gun to start off with. You folks had lots of good ideas and pointed me in the right direction.

Thank you!!

I ended up with a Ruger GP100 .357 Magnum. 4" barrel, rubber grip, blue finish. Picked it up brand new for $450 about a month ago.

Very nice gun and I've been to the range every Sunday since I got it! Getting better at my aiming each time. Still need some work at the 35' distance however! 15' and 25' is not too bad...

Wow, ammo is the expensive part. Even the range rounds in .38 is $16 for a box of 50. I've popped off a box of .357 rounds and they want $20 for a box of those!

I've been keeping my spent cartridges and looking very seriously at reloaders. Now I have to learn about a whole new thing!

I like the Dillons, but a bit pricey.. I know that you want a quaility unit and the ones that offer the progressive loading is the way to go for sure! Lee Precision looks good too and about the same pricing as the Dillons. I know there are dozens of others out there too!

So, any of you guys into reloading! Have any tips out there for a noob... Any specific brands to stay away from?

I have done some 12 gauge reloading a long time ago when Dad and I were into hunting.. But, need to start from scratch on this now.

Right now it's costing me $0.32 a round to fire the .38's. $0.40 a round for the .357's.. Ouch... I've already popped off 350 rounds of .38's and one box of .357s... At this rate, I could have bought the machine and almost have it paid off! I know the supplies will run some $$ too, but it's got to save some in the long run, right?

Thanks for any opions you guys have out there!


Mitch

 

If your new to reloading you might want to think about starting with a single stage press first, then work your way up to a progressive. I have an RCBS single stage press and it works great. I would like to upgrade to a turrent press. Ive been looking at the Lee 4 hole turrent press. It would speed things up alot, you might want to look into that one.

 

All of the big names in reloading are really good folks to deal with. Dillon, Lee, RCBS, Lyman, Hornady, Redding, Forster, I'm sure I'm forgetting a couple more.

A lot of people will tell you to shy away from progressive presses when starting out. I'm of the belief that if you take your time and read the instructions, you'll be fine. Besides, single stage rifle loading is one thing, loading pistol ammo with a single stage absolutely sucks with the comparative volume of pistol ammo folks typically go through compared to rifle ammo (and for me, my fat fingers have trouble handling lots of little pistol cases, rifle is just plain easier IMO).

Another thing to consider...unless you're shooting a ton, don't go into reloading with the thought that you're saving money. It takes a bit of time to recoup the initial investment depending on how much you shoot and what kind of equipment you buy. I like to think that regardless of whatever happens, as long as I have components and time, I'll have stuff to shoot.

I don't load pistol ammo, mostly because with how much I shoot and the calibers I shoot, it's not really feasible for me to buy the dies, powder, primers and bullets and invest the time to reload that stuff.

RCBS and Lee both make excellent starter kits that come with everything you need except dies and components (and a few other little things, like dial calipers and case gauges) to get started. I especially like the RCBS kit with the Rock Chucker press. It's a single stage, but it's a mainstay on most everyone's reloading bench. It's a bombproof press, and RCBS is a stand up company to deal with.

There's a book that breaks down everything in the loading process - it's called the ABCs of Reloading, a definite must-have for a first time loader. Buy some reloading manuals - I recommend at least one from a bullet manufacturer, and one from a powder manufacturer, so you can cross reference and double check yourself. The Sierra manual is good to have, so's the Hornady book, and the Speer manual. Those are all bullet manufacturers. Some powder manufacturers to check out would be Hodgdon, Alliant, and Vihtavouri - all have reloading manuals, and good information on their websites.

Read, read, and read, and ask questions before you go to load your first round. Wear safety glasses, don't blow yourself up, take your time and you'll be fine.

 

http://www.midwayusa.com/eproductpag...eitemid=679228
Considered on par with Dillion and not near as expensive, this is the next press I will buy.

 

Agree across the board. The other thing is you might decide you don't like reloading and give it up so instead of being out of big bucks, you would be out of medium to semi-big bucks.

Try some ammo companies. One I use around here is Atlanta Arms & Ammo. They reload but their client list reads like a whos who of the shooting world. Bottom line is, stock up. They wont come after your gun, just the bullets at first, gun next.

 

Thanks for the info guys! I know it's a lot to take in and I do have a lot to learn, so reading up on it may help me decide if I even want to mess with it.

Mitch

 

I started reloading with a Dillon and never looked back. You can not go wrong with the Dillon. They do stand by their product. In my case, I got a RL450B, which was upgraded to the 550B. With this, and extra heads and dies, you do not need to reset everything when you switch between calibers. I reload 357, 44 mag, and 45acp. With 3 heads and the dies for each, the only thing I have to change between calibers is the bottom plate and the amount of powder being measured out.
I have worked on a friends Rock Chucker. Good press, but when it comes to doing multiple calibers and being able to easily reload 300+ rounds an hour, I will take the Dillon.