What is the best reloading equipment to start out with?

[ZS84]

I am sure this has been covered before but i find myself reading through other threads and picking out information here and there. So i am just going to ask again. Sorry if this bothers anyone.

What is the best reloading equipment to start with. I have read many times that it is best to start with a single stage press but what would you suggest? A RockChucker? And if so what is a fair price on one? Any other good equipment when starting up that you think would be helpful i would be happy to hear.

 

[farmboy365]

If you start with single stage I would get the rcbs rock chucker supreme starter kit. If you want to go progressive I would go with the dillon 550 I have both. I use the dillon for Pistol and small rifle and the RCBS for magnum rifles.

 

[billybob44]

RockChucker for me..

I am sure this has been covered before but i find myself reading through other threads and picking out information here and there. So i am just going to ask again. Sorry if this bothers anyone.

What is the best reloading equipment to start with. I have read many times that it is best to start with a single stage press but what would you suggest? A RockChucker? And if so what is a fair price on one? Any other good equipment when starting up that you think would be helpful i would be happy to hear.

I started hand loading in the mid '70's and a RockChucker was my first press. During that time I bought mostly RCBS tools to go with the press.
In the mid '80's my Wife bought me a Dillon RL550 progressive press. I have been loading with the two ever since+have been happy with both.
You will get a lot of different preferences when you ask the question that you did, but that's my story+I'm sticking to it..Bill..

 

[Cowboy1629]

If I were just starting out and didn't know if I would be staying with it I would get a single stage press like the RCBS Rock Chucker. If you decide you want to go bigger later there will still be a use for the single stage press.

That being said... My first was the Dillon RL550B. It still gets a lot of use but for larger quantity rounds I use the Dillon XL650 now. My 550 handles the rifle reloading and gets used like a single stage press at times. It works a lot better for tweaking in special rounds than the 650 and is faster and cheaper to convert to different rounds.

 

[42769vette]

it depends on what kind of reloading you are trying to do. if your trying to load bulk pistol to save money id probabaly go progressive. if your trying to load precision rifle i still use a single stage foster.

if your doing single stage imo forster coax is the best press out there

 

[1$Chuck]

RCBS is affordable, has lifetime warranty and really good resale if you decide you want to go a different route down the road. If you don't believe me, watch what people are paying for used Rock chuckers and RCBS scales on eBay.

I'd get the Rockchucker supreme master reloading kit. Its around $300, but RCBS has a promotion right now for a $50 mail in rebate when you spend $300 in product.

http://www.rcbs.com/pdf/RC184_RCBSCoupon.pdf

 

[shibumiseeker]

In order to answer your question:

How much money you got to spend?

How much volume and of what types are you looking to reload?

It can be a relaxing hobby or a chore, what is your time worth to you?

The answers for someone looking for the bare minimum versus someone who shoots thousands of rounds a month will be very different. The answer to someone who shoots a lot but only has a couple hours a week to spare to reload will be different than the answer to someone who is unemployed or underemployed and spend a lot of time on the couch watching the tube. Anyone who tells you there is only one way to do it is a fool.

 

[Aszerigan]

The best reloading equipment to start with is knowledge. Take a class, intern with a reloader - then you'll know what your physical needs are. There's really no answer to your question.

 

[Sailor]

My first and only press is a Lee Classic Turret. Been working for me.

 

[PistolBob]

I started loading 9mm, 38 Special, and 357 Magnum about 20 years ago. I use a Lee Challenger press and Lee Dies. It still works great, it is a single stage press...not even sure of they make it anymore. I bet I have saved myself a couple thousand dollars over the years of reloading pistol rounds.

I never got into reloading for my .308's, I probably should though with the prices being what they are.

So I guess it all depends on what you want to reload. I have never loaded shot shells, but if I was bird buster I would definitely go that route to save some cabbage.

Have fun with it....keep GOOD records of when and how you reload each batch. I have logs that go back showing kinds and amounts of powder used, type of primer, how many times the same brass had been reloaded, weight of bullet, type of bullet....and any notable things occurring during shooting.

I don't shoot as much now as I used to, but I am getting back into it.

 

[ZS84]

Thanks for all of the input everyone. I am wanting to start reloading for a few reasons. One being that i like to do most things for myself. I like to be self sufficient. The more you do yourself the more involved you become in your hobby, and who doesn't want to be more involved in their hobby. Second, for the same reason i like to bow hunt and process all of the animals i take myself, it is more of a challenge. I want to see how accurate i can get some of my rifle rounds. I want to see how well i can load my own ammo, something i can take more pride in. It is another challenge to add to something i already have a passion for. Another is the price of ammo in the last couple of years. The more money i save then the more often i can shoot. At the end of the day who does not like to shoot more often for less money.

Before = $X for

After = Still $X for

 

[kludge]

Lee Classic Turret. I don't own a single stage any more. (But I use my LCT in single stage mode almost all of the time.)

 

[IndianaGTI]

it depends on what kind of reloading you are trying to do. if your trying to load bulk pistol to save money id probabaly go progressive. if your trying to load precision rifle i still use a single stage foster.

if your doing single stage imo forster coax is the best press out there

What he said. I went straight for the progressive. It works great for loading tons of .45 acp rounds quickly. HOWEVER, I do not like it for precision .308 rounds. Yes, it works, but I would rather load the .308 on a turret or single stage press.

 

[EvilElmo]

What he said. I went straight for the progressive. It works great for loading tons of .45 acp rounds quickly. HOWEVER, I do not like it for precision .308 rounds. Yes, it works, but I would rather load the .308 on a turret or single stage press.

I'd agree. I started on a Lee turret press my father in law gave me and later moved up to a progressive. Progressives are great for large quantities of ammo but you'll probably get more precision out of a single stage (or the turret with the indexing mechanism removed).

One thing that I haven't seen mentioned is cost. How much do you want to spend? Lots of people like to scream Dillon but that's some rather expensive stuff. Dillons are good machines and have a great warranty but you pay through the nose for that warranty. I like the Lee equipment because I only load a few thousand rounds a year.