I'm curious about the cost of reloading equipment.
What are the items needed to reload and what is the approximate cost?
cost of reloading equipment
Moderators: carlson1, Charles L. Cotton
cost of reloading equipment
"If a man breaks in your house, he ain't there for iced tea." Mom & Dad.
The NRA & TSRA are a bargain; they're much cheaper than the cold, dead hands experience.
The NRA & TSRA are a bargain; they're much cheaper than the cold, dead hands experience.
Well I got my equipment at a gun show used for $400. Came with alot of stuff and everything was mounted on a craftsman toolbox.
The following is the bare minimum to get started, but you will have to clean the cases with soap and let them dry.
Turret Press - I suggest Lee
Dies for each caliber - I suggest Lee
Powder Scale - Any Decent Brand
Powder Dump - I suggest Lyman
Good Dial/Digital Caliper - Anything not dirt cheap, no plastic
Hand Priming Tool - I suggest Lee or RCBS
Good Loading Manual - I suggest Lyman
Loading Tray - Whatever you can find
Approximate Price: $350
I would also suggest the following to ease the process.
Tumbler - I suggest Lyman
Kinetic Bullet Puller - Whatever you can find
Approximate Price: $60
Then other things you may need at some point.
Case Trimmer
Deburring Tool
Primer Pocket Cleaner
Approximate Price: $40
As for the press, alot of people will recommend Dillon, but I think the Lee Turret Presses work just fine and that's what I use. Now if you want to be able to load several hundred rounds in an hour I would go with a Dillon Progressive Press. I however think they are very dangerous, I prefer to put the casings in a shell holder and use the powder dump to drop powder in each one, then I can look and verify all charges are the same. I don't have the money to replace blown up guns let alone my hands.
The equipment I suggested should work just fine unless you want to load more than 100 rounds per hour. Now if you have more money than time and don't mind the risk of blowing your gun up Dillon is the way to go. Many people have used them for years and never had a problem, I just think it's too easy to make a mistake.
The following is the bare minimum to get started, but you will have to clean the cases with soap and let them dry.
Turret Press - I suggest Lee
Dies for each caliber - I suggest Lee
Powder Scale - Any Decent Brand
Powder Dump - I suggest Lyman
Good Dial/Digital Caliper - Anything not dirt cheap, no plastic
Hand Priming Tool - I suggest Lee or RCBS
Good Loading Manual - I suggest Lyman
Loading Tray - Whatever you can find
Approximate Price: $350
I would also suggest the following to ease the process.
Tumbler - I suggest Lyman
Kinetic Bullet Puller - Whatever you can find
Approximate Price: $60
Then other things you may need at some point.
Case Trimmer
Deburring Tool
Primer Pocket Cleaner
Approximate Price: $40
As for the press, alot of people will recommend Dillon, but I think the Lee Turret Presses work just fine and that's what I use. Now if you want to be able to load several hundred rounds in an hour I would go with a Dillon Progressive Press. I however think they are very dangerous, I prefer to put the casings in a shell holder and use the powder dump to drop powder in each one, then I can look and verify all charges are the same. I don't have the money to replace blown up guns let alone my hands.
The equipment I suggested should work just fine unless you want to load more than 100 rounds per hour. Now if you have more money than time and don't mind the risk of blowing your gun up Dillon is the way to go. Many people have used them for years and never had a problem, I just think it's too easy to make a mistake.
Venus Pax -
Send a PM to Diode, he just got a great new setup (progressive press) for a great price. I'm sure he'll be happy to chime in on this one and give any info you need.
Maybe there's no need to PM him, he'll probably see this post between 6:00 and 7:00 am tommorrow morning and chime in!
JLaw
Send a PM to Diode, he just got a great new setup (progressive press) for a great price. I'm sure he'll be happy to chime in on this one and give any info you need.
Maybe there's no need to PM him, he'll probably see this post between 6:00 and 7:00 am tommorrow morning and chime in!
JLaw
Coffee's ready JLaw. 
After much research I decided on the Lee Loadmaster. ( Lots of help from Dw1117) For the price it is a great setup. Here is what I settled on:
Lee Loadmaster $215.99 (http://www.midwayusa.com)
Lee Crimping die $11.79 " "
Lee Adjustable Charge Bar $10.29
Framkford Impact bullet puller $12.99 " "
RCBS Model 502 Scale $56.99 " "
Cheap Dial Caliper from home depot $29.00
I think that's everything so far. I shot my first loads last night and they were great! IF you have the money buy the Dillon, their warenty is the best but you'll spend 3 time what I spent on the Lee press. Your welcome to come to Spring and see it, it really is a nice machine and very well built.
Also, from where you stand operating the Progressive press you can see the powder load very easily.
Hope this helps.
After much research I decided on the Lee Loadmaster. ( Lots of help from Dw1117) For the price it is a great setup. Here is what I settled on:
Lee Loadmaster $215.99 (http://www.midwayusa.com)
Lee Crimping die $11.79 " "
Lee Adjustable Charge Bar $10.29
Framkford Impact bullet puller $12.99 " "
RCBS Model 502 Scale $56.99 " "
Cheap Dial Caliper from home depot $29.00
I think that's everything so far. I shot my first loads last night and they were great! IF you have the money buy the Dillon, their warenty is the best but you'll spend 3 time what I spent on the Lee press. Your welcome to come to Spring and see it, it really is a nice machine and very well built.
Also, from where you stand operating the Progressive press you can see the powder load very easily.
Hope this helps.
Regarding the Lee Turret Press, someone on a mailing list just posted this review:
http://www.realguns.com/archives/122.htm
Kevin
http://www.realguns.com/archives/122.htm
Kevin