Beginner Reloader

[Guest jayf]

Im new to this site and also new to reloading. Im going to purchase the lee pro 1000. However the powders are a little confusing. Can anyone help me out with some advice, also what would everyone recomend me getting along side the lee? Im going to be reloading .45, 9mm, and 7.62x39. Also if anyone knows were i can get my hands on the casings, powder, and projectiles i would greatly appreciate it. ANY advice would be great. Glad to be on such an awesome site!!!!

[Dolomite_supafly]

Do not buy the 1000 to begin. I have been loading for a long time and I do not use my 1000 because it is too tempermental.

 

Good luck finding reloadable 7.62x39, they are rare and generally expensive. When I wanted accurate 7.62x39 I would tear down steel case ammo and use known goo powder and bullets. As far as finding 45 and 9mm look on the ground at the range.

 

A1680 powder is the powder generally used for 7.62x39. There are dozens, literally, of different kinds of powders that will work with 45 ACP and 9mm.

 

I would highly recommend a single stage press to begin or at least a turret but not a progressive.

 

You need to buy a reloading manual and read it. There is a lot of stuff involved and reading about it will only enhance your safety.

 

Dolomite

[Raoul]

Im new to this site and also new to reloading. Im going to purchase the lee pro 1000. However the powders are a little confusing. Can anyone help me out with some advice, also what would everyone recomend me getting along side the lee? Im going to be reloading .45, 9mm, and 7.62x39. Also if anyone knows were i can get my hands on the casings, powder, and projectiles i would greatly appreciate it. ANY advice would be great. Glad to be on such an awesome site!!!!

The best advice I can give you is to buy a couple of good reloading manuals first.

For supplies look for local gun shows and pay attention on here to see if our reloading guru David is going to be there in order to get powder and primers.

[Raoul]

David is

dlm37015

He is at most of the RK shows and is a great source of supplies.

As for the Lee 1000. I really have no opinion, but I did have the Lee Loadmaster and it was not satisfactory.

[Guest Fruit jar]

A 1000 isn't for beginners. If I was starting over, I'd go with a Lee #90030 kit or Lee #90304 kit. They are both good starter kits. They have a lot of things to get you started. You can update some items at a later date.

[gregintenn]

I would also suggest a single stage press for a beginner. Later, if you feel the need to upgrade to a turret press or even a progressive, you'll still find occasional uses for the single stage press. I've been loading for 30 years now, and haven't really wanted to go beyond the single stage press.

[Fourtyfive]

Welcome jayf , I'm watching this thread thinking of starting in reloading as well.

[Fourtyfive]

Interesting http://m.youtube.com/watch?feature=related&v=irC3NuIKDm4

[Dolomite_supafly]

I use a single stage for everything now. It isn't as bad as most people think. You get into a groove and it goes by very quickly.

 

Dolomite

[Berettatn]

I use a single stage for everything now. It isn't as bad as most people think. You get into a groove and it goes by very quickly.

 

Dolomite

 

Same here.  I think quality control is better this way.

[Patton]

Same here. I think quality control is better this way.

It sure is. I am able to produce with a single stage press a lot more ammo than I can afford to make and shoot anyway.

[Raoul]

Same here.  I think quality control is better this way.

 

Me too. I actually have 3 rockchukers set up. I handle every round and know what I'm shooting.

[Jonnin]

I like to recommend a turret press.  It can morph into a single stage if you want, or it can speed up the process if you need bulk ammo that goes bang. Its a little more than a single stage but worth the money if you think speed over quality is useful.

[frankmako]

first i would get some reloading books to read.  new and/or older books will work.  then i would get a single stage press to start.  a used one will work. 

[Superman]

I like to recommend a turret press.  It can morph into a single stage if you want, or it can speed up the process if you need bulk ammo that goes bang. Its a little more than a single stage but worth the money if you think speed over quality is useful.

I would have to agree with this. I do not have a turret style press, but have been wanting one. If I was just starting out thats what I would get, but I have only been reloading for a few years.

[Rock.45]

Spend the money on a dillon press and two or three reloading manuals

[Dolomite_supafly]

Although there is nothing wrong with Dillon there is also nothing wrong with Lee or any of the makers in between. I have probably used something from every brand and they all will work to load quality ammo. Lee is the best bang for the buck. I have used a Lee perfect powder measure, cheap electronic scale, Lee hand prime and Lee dies to load ammo that shoots .4" or better at 100 yards. And in the end I generally try to see if Lee will fit my needs first. There is not sense in spending hundreds of dollars as a beginner. I would rather a person get into reloading for cheap than not be able to afford to do so.

 

All makers have their strong and weak points. For me Lee's strong points far outweigh any weaknesses they might have.

 

Attention to detail has more to do with quality ammo than the equipment used to load that ammo. A person using the highest costing equipment can still mess things up.

 

With that being said Lee 1000 is very difficult to get to run right and even more difficult to continue to run. But Lee single stage presses are among the best when you consider what you get for the money. Lee made the best hand primer for a very long time. Their dies do the exact same thing any other makers budget dies and they do it for less.

 

For a beginner is is hard to beat Lee when getting into reloading. If you search my name on here there is a list that I have given out to dozens of people. It will get you into the reloading game for under $200. The list has some Lee as well as other makers. And you can always upgrade as the need arises. I have spent a metric ton buying stuff I was told I needed but never use.

 

Dolomite

[leftyk82]

I've just started. Got a Lyman and Sierra manual along with a RCBS Rock Chucker.

It fits my needs and allows me to be precise and keep track of all that's involved with loading for rifle.

[2.ooohhh]

I too usually start with lee dies and upgrade if required, over the years I've found several worthwile upgrades but most are pretty small costs. One was upgrading lock nuts on my expander, seating, and crimp dies to the ones from hornady, I've found that this makes them more consistent. Another small upgrade was to buy an RCBS #16 shell holder for use with my 9mm dies, this was because the RCBS is better suited to the job than the Lee that is trying to cover more calibers with that single shell holder where the RCBS is for 9mm cases alone.

 

 

I'm currently using an RCBS Rock Chucker for everything but decapping. I decap in a smaller Lee press set up with a lee universal decapping die before case prep.

My best frind is now running a hornady lock 'n load. (his Rock Chucker sits dormant most nights)

 

 

My friend can turn out 9mm ammo much faster than I can hourly, but I can change from one load to another much faster and easier for experimentation in my different guns and I have much more control over each stage of the process. Occasionally I'll find a load I really like and I'll bother to ask him to change his LNL setup to my load's specs for a day and crank out 2k-3k rounds. It takes about an hour each way to change the setup on the LNL so 2 hours of an 8 hour day is lost to setup, but if I really like a particular load well enough to want it in volume it's worth it.

 

I generally load 2 nights a week at a very relaxing pace, while listening to music or an audio book. I find it enjoyable and it's quite relaxing. While it's not impossible to relax with a progressive press, I find it harder b/c there is so much more happening at once.

[Patton]

The majority of my equipment is Lee but I have used a lot of RCBS equipment. Maybe if I get a chance to use Dillon equipment I will have a different opinion but until then, Lee equipment does great and saves money for the bottom line reason I reload. I reload to shoot more. I don't own a safe full of guns because I reload, I reload because I own guns.

I fully believe Dillon makes great equipment because that is all I hear. If I were shooting only 9mm and 10's of thousands of them a year, I would have a progressive press or a turret press. Since I am only doing a few hundred a year of about 6 or less calibers the single stage is actually better. I may be wrong but I see a single stage, especially if your using bushings to change dies, more multi caliber friendly.

[Guest jayf]

Thanks everyone for the advice. The lee 1000 can be turned into a single stage or progressive so economically wouldnt that be a wiser choice?

[2.ooohhh]

Machines designed to serve 2 purposes often excel at neither.  :2cents: