If you were to start reloading today?

[Steve300xcw]

Thanks for the heads up on this, Ill probably skip the 9mm for now and just focus on the rifle cartridges. I sometimes forget how cheap a box of 9mm is compared to any of my rifle ammo.

Handgun..I load for 45,44 an 357. 9mm gets bought by the case from whoever has the best deal

 

[Dirty-D]

I started with a second hand Dillon 550 about 20 years ago for low pressure 40 and 45 rounds for IPSC/USPSA. It was nice because it had lots of upgrades someone else who was willing to teach me the ropes so I got a set-up and a process to match. I was shooting 100k+ a year back then, before life, wife, children took over…

I’m now doing hunting ammo with a Forster co-ax, am learning a lot of what I need, what works for me, and how to balance cost vs. utility.

My biggest issue now is getting powder from the 8# tub into the redding 50PR thrower, and back into the bottle without little grains all over my space!!!

Currently working on loads for 300WSM with H4350. The big 36 hour Texas freeze/Ice storm of 2026 allowed me to build up ladders with 3 different bullets. Time to shoot!

 

[streamerfish]

You mentioned the starline brass and that got me thinking. How many reloads do people get out of higher end brass vs the cheaper hornady brass? Is it 4-5 on higher end stuff and more like 2-3 out of the hornady brass usually?

Depends on what your shooting, how your sizing etc...

Creedmoors I've been seeing as many as 7 without trimming. I usually get 5/6. Considering starline is around 60 cents each, when im down around 10-12 cents per brass after 5-6 loads im good. Your gonna need 12 loads out of lapua to get the same roi.

Something that is notorious for growing like a 300 win mag maybe just a couple.

Reloading becomes pretty fast when you have no brass prep, and your powder throws take a few seconds.

 

[Gila]

You do not absolutely need a headspace gauge if you use a full length resizing die. But it is a good idea to bump the shoulder back .002” to avoid over working the brass. Annealing every firing would offset the stretching some, but only to a certain degree.

If you are constrained by action/chamber or magazine length then COAL is the only parameter that matters and you wouldn’t use a bullet comparator. However if shooting a heavy for caliber bullet with a high BC, then the CBTO or just CBO parameter becomes important to measure seating depth. That’s where the bullet comparator comes into play. Depends on the cartridge and the rifle.

 

[Luked]

I have been down this rabbit hole also.
I started reloading years ago for mainly handguns. Then got more into the rifles. The first round for me reloading I just bought a RCBS Rock Chucker kit. And it worked fine for what I was doing.
Then life changed and I sold it all off.

Then life changed again and I got back into it. This was about 3 years ago. Then I got where I was shooting a lot and this time I pretty much pieced all my stuff together instead of buying a kit.
Bought a single Stage press. Elect Powder Throw, Better priming tool. Nice case trimmer. Alum funnel to pour powder etc.
At this point I also now have 2 presses set up that are ready to go.
I load for about 8 different rifles as well as about 5 Handguns. I have more stuff now than I did back then, but I knew enough about it to be able to be more selective on what I bought.

The Kits are great to get you started. But you will end up upgrading some of the stuff that is in the kit. And there are a lot of things in the kits that you dont use. I have 2-3 of the case lube trays that have never been used. I use Hornaday One shot spray case lube.
Just small stuff like that. But the Press, powder Measure, and powder throw will be used from the kit.

And honestly that is part of the fun of it, at least for me. Always chasing the next fun shiny thing

 

[Gila]

Lee has some good dies and presses. I bought a Lee Classic 4-hole turret press, no kit. It’s really a progressive press, only the turret moves as there is no base plate with multiple shell holders. A pull of the handle advances the turret to the next station. I have case activation dies for the powder measure. Priming is on press also. To change calibers, just snap in another turret. Turrets go for about $10-12 each. I do not have case or bullet feeders.

If I am doing precision rifle, I just pull the indexing arm and turn the turret by hand to the next station. I also mounted a manual powder measure to the stand. I use two digital scales, thumb trickler on the primary scale. If both scales are within .1 gr of each other, the powder charge gets funneled into the case. When both scales don’t jive, I calibrate and zero both scales. Beam scales are not susceptible to EMI like the digital scales are. For my process, I have found it to be more efficient to dump the powder into all of the cases I want to load in that session. Then move to the press and seat bullets.

One thing I didn’t consider when I started was a bullet puller. You will need one from the start, guaranteed. The hammer type works but if you need to pull a dozen or so, you will probably want to go to a collet die. I have a Hornady which works ok but I have to change the collet for most calibers. If I could find a better one, I would spent the money. I am the odd man out for one shot…I use Redding sizing die wax. One tin lasts forever. I wear gloves when reloading anyway. Some make their own with a lanolin mix.

 

[Cap'n Bruce]

I've recently geared up myself and lots of good advice here. I was patient and bought most of what I have on the second hand market. I think the Frankford Arsenal case prep station in invaluable. If it goes down, I'll likely replace it immediately with the same or similar. I don't have an electronic trickler/scale setup but I would like one.

 

[DaveT1]

If you were to start reloading again today, where would you spend or save money?

I'm sure this subject has been beat down over and over but I want some opinions considering what tools are in the market now. I'm a complete newb to reloading so I'm trying to learn where I can before I make the investment. I have enough brass collected that I want to start considering the process. I'd be loading 3-4 short action cartridges, and 9mm to start with. From the research I've done I understand that a single stage press and hand-primer would be best to start until I have the desire to load hundreds of cartridges in a session. Here is a few general questions I have.

Is a rcbs, redding, or co-ax press much better than the hornady lnl classic or are the single stage presses all comparable? With the hornady rebates it seems like a no brainer to go that route unless the press, or the lnl system is a pain to use.

Would it be worth considering a progressive or turret press for my first one?

Is it worth it to get a chargemaster or autocharge pro and just get used to using that from the start?

Where is it worth spending extra money up front? (things like billet trays, funnels, etc)

I've looked at a few of the kits but it seems like most of the "kit" will get replaced with other things quickly and I already have some mitutoyo calipers. All that said I'm someone who doesn't mind investing in nice tools to make the job more enjoyable.

Rcbs rockchucker kit.

 

[nm.otter]

You do not absolutely need a headspace gauge if you use a full length resizing die. But it is a good idea to bump the shoulder back .002” to avoid over working the brass.

This is kind of a big deal for someone who loads a cartridge for a specific rifle. Under $50, and you could potentially borrow one (for an hour) to set your die.

 

[xringshutr]

Single Stage
Headspace and bullet comparator set
Good dial calipers
Good powder scale

That will get you started well.

 

[TX_Diver]

I like a turret press so I don’t have to mess with swapping dies around.

I have gone back to a powder throw after doing some testing. I am going to post my charge master lite at some point when I get around to taking pics of it. PM me if you are interested in it.

 

[TX_Diver]

I’ve loaded up a few more to compare my harrells to my RCBS Uniflow but haven’t shot them yet. Will update this thread when I get around to shooting them

T

Thread 'Harrells Culver vs Lee Perfect Powder - Super Scientific Comparison'

Jun 6, 2025

Trying to find something faster than my RCBS CM Lite to throw powder with. My RCBS Uniflow works fine for Staball 6.5 and Match, but I got close to +/- .5gr with H4350 (unfortunately I can't find my notes).

The 2 most popular powder throws for stick powders seem to be Harrells (@Carl Ross ) and the Lee Perfect Powder Measure. These powder measures are at complete opposite end of the quality spectrum. The Harrells is a piece of art and costs $240 and the Lee is extremely cheap feeling and cost $22. I didn't know the exact settings I needed to get 41 gr of H4350 (which is what I'd...

• TX_Diver
• Replies: 16
• Forum: Reloading

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[pbroski]

Don't confuse a Lee turret press with a progressive press. With a Lee turret press, only 1 operation can be done at a time with each stroke of the handle. With a progressive press, as many as 6 or more operations can be done simultaneously with each stoke of the handle. Also, case, primer, and bullet feeders can be added to progressive presses to really speed things up.

For 9mm, (or other pistol or small rifle cartridges), the Lee Six Pack Pro Kit is a pretty good option for less money than other progressive presses. A case collimator and an RCBS lockout die would make good additions.

That being said, it's better to start off with a good single stage press for simplicity.