Alright guys, I keep saying next year, next year, I will start reloading but haven't yet and I'm not getting any younger. I now have my own climate controlled space to work in. I have an older friend of mine that has been a re-loader for a long time and has offered to teach me several times. I am going to accept his offer but wanting to get some feedback from other experienced fellers on here. I don't care about speed, as far as how many rounds a minute I can pump out. I am anal, I want every round to be perfect even if it takes longer so looking at a single stage press. What advice, equipment, pointers, videos, books, etc would you recommend? I want to get started off on the right foot. Please advise and thanks in advance!

What calibers and how many rounds a year do you expect to shoot?

Are you going for plinking or match ammo?

The only real plinking that I do is with .22's or pistols (.22, 38, 357 mag, 40 cal). I do quite a bit of hunting, never done any competition or long range shooting. For rifle calibers, I am planning on reloading for 223, 243, 22-250, 270, & 30-30 to start with. For the last several years I probably have only been shooting between 200-300 rds a yr all rifle calibers combined. I do a lot of pig hunting with the 223 & 243 mainly. After sighting my rifles in at the range, I only shoot while hunting unless I need to re-check at the range for some reason. My kids are shooting more & more, and the factory ammo is getting pretty expensive. I also shoot a lot of skeet & I'm a dove hunter, so wanting to get into re-loading for shotguns as well.

I'm a fan of the Redding turret press. I'd also consider a Bonanza co-ax, but I've not (yet) owned one. I'd also recommend the RCBS Chargemaster, if you don't mind spending the $$.

I don't mind spending the extra $$ if it's worth it. Being green to re-loading what I have been reading is a little overwhelming. There are so many different powders for this load or that load. Plenty of guys I have hunted with and worked with have spit out a ton of knowledge that I never absorbed. Use XXXX powder for this load, but only with this grain of this type of bullet....& only use XXXX type of powder with this grain of this particular type of boolit. I love to cook & am pretty good with recipes, but I have a lot to learn obviously when it comes to recipes for reloading.

Get the RCBS kit with the rockchucker press. I'd start with standard FL dies and then get fancier bushing dies or Lee Collet dies for your tackdrivers. I've made the transition from beam scale to electronic scale to the Lyman version of the RCBS Chargemaster. Since you are starting from scratch and will be loading a bunch of ammo, the Chargemaster (or Lyman or Hornady versions) will speed things up a bunch. If you don't have a lot of brass saved up, buy Norma, Lapua, or Nosler and you can skip any case prep - which will also speed things up.

RCBS will replace pretty much anything that breaks. I had heard that for years but had never had an RCBS tool of any sort break. But...my $12.95 1980 vintage primer seating tool broke, so I gave RCBS a call. Offered to buy the necessary parts to repair it, but they had one remaining in-stock seater like my old one, so they found it in the warehouse, dusted it off, and mailed it to me. For free.

As for powder, get a few pounds (if you can) of H335, IMR4064 or R15 or Varget, and some 4831. That'll cover most of your powder needs.

A lot of info in there, thank you. I will only be loading a few hundred rounds a year at least at first. I have NO brass saved, my re-loading buddies said I was a fool for never saving my brass & I let them or some stranger have it. I will be from now on. I have a lot to learn about powder.....

Lee 4-hole turret press is another good option. Or a Dillon 550.

Been reading a lot of good things about Dillon products.

For the amount of ammo you're talking about, it would be hard to justify spending that much on equipment (for me, anyway). However, their products are well-built, reliable, and hold their value well.

Also, the Hodgdon website has plenty of load data--and it's free!

My advise is simple, don't experiment. Use data you find in reloading manuals or powder web sites. Load only 5 rounds of each powder you think you might like at weights, starting at 2-3 grains under listed max. See how your rifle/pistol likes the recipe. Slowly go through each load and clean the gun after each 5 rounds. The best part of reloading is going to the range to see how each load works in your favorite gun

What he said^^^ I bought the Hornady kit which comes with the same stuff as the RCBS but I like the press with the RCBS better. I had no use for the powder measure which I sold and I didn't care for the cheap electronic scale either. I plan to add a balance beam scale to go along with my digital to double check measures. Before you buy the kit price it out individually without the parts you don't need to see if it's cheaper.

Varget will cover your 223, 22-250, and 243 loads but it's like finding a unicorn right now. I use H4350 in my 270 but there are others you can buy that may work well. Just don't buy a bunch of different powders or you end up with a smorgasbord of stuff you don't use like me. The Chargemaster is awesome but not worth the $$$ if you only reload a couple hundred rounds a year. I want one but I'm like you and don't plink; I hunt.

The best advice I can give you is to buy a couple different reloading manuals and READ THEM very carefully. Most manuals have a good "how to" section and this information is invaluable. Do this before attempting to reload anything!

Everything is easier if you understand the "how's" and "why's" and the information in the manuals will educate you much better and more completely than any amount of questions asked here.

There is a LOT of good information here, but learning the basic methods and procedures is really the foundation for safe accurate reloading.

Been loading like you for 40+'years but up to .338 Win Mag. Bought a guys whole rig after he changed to photography. Don't know why I " upgraded" from the old Herters web c frame to the Rockchucker. Both do a great job. Still using the Redding balance beam scale. RCBS and Lyman 55 powder measures one for pistol and one for rifle just cause the 55 was $10.

I use 6-8 manuals + the net. Clays family of powder is REALLY clean in pistol and scatter guns. IMR4895 for .243 thru .30-06 and IMR4831 in the .338.

Got into P'dog shooting so wife and kids gave me a Dillon RL450. Use it for .223 and .45 ACP but don't need it. Still have it cause it was a gift. Kinda like Weatherby says speed kills. Almost all of my reloading gaffs have been w the Dillon. For me this is a hobby production quotas are for work slow, well done and enjoy is the goal. I don't even use speed loaders or precut patches shooting flintlocks. Not a speed game.

I agree with BT and others. I have been reloading for my rifles, pistols and shotguns for about 38 years and still use my origingal RCBS single stage press and balance beam scales. (I did finally break down and invest in an RCBS Case Prep Station a couple of years ago. Sure does speed up case prep and takes the strain off of arthritic hands.) I have five or more loading manuals plus all the powder websites bookmarked. Speed is not really an issue for me as I enjoy the reloading act itself and strive for accuracy in my loads. Start at a reduced rate from maximum accepted load data, usually 10% and like Barny Topwater said, load 5 or so rounds per charge and watch for pressure signs in each load. That being said, pay close attention to how they perform in YOUR firearm. I have been working up a load for Hornady 55 gr. soft points for the AR-15 I built. I used the data from the newest Hornady manual for loads with H335 and none of the 3 loads I tried would reliably cycle the AR action. I went back and pulled the bullets from the rest of the loads, then reloaded them with data off of the H355 bottle, double checking it on Hodgdon's website. This load was a full 2 grains higher than what the Hornady manual had recommended. With an average of 2905 fps and an ES of 67 fps and a SD of 29 fps out of my 16" 1/9 twist carbine, I settled on this load. Looking back at the Hornady manual, the loads stated were all tested out of a 26" 1/12 twist barrel. I suggest you invest in a chronograph so you can see exactly what the loads are doing in YOUR firearms and you can also calculate your muzzle energy with the results. Good luck with your reloading. Be meticulous and safe and enjoy the results.

A lot of good advice here guys, thank you! Any particular manuals that are better than others?

One of the best manuals is the lyman 49th, I am also going to get the new berger Manuel as those are the bullets I shoot. I recommend getting one from the manufacture of bullets you shoot and also the lyman.

Walter

When it come to reloading I buy the best equipment I can to make the most consistent ammo tuned to my rifle. It has led to trying different things and spending a lot of money but finally settling on what I have now. I think just starting out to spend good money on your press so you don't ever have to upgrade it and to me that is the foster co-ax. But the redding turret press is a strong second imo. Most everything in reloading is subject and brand loyal like everything else there is. If you are ever over in my area you are more than welcome to stop by and take a look at my equipment and see what you like before you spend money. Which is my opinion to do before you buy anything.

Walter

Thank you.

For 300 rounds a year I wouldn't get into reloading. It is a lot of time and money for such low round count.

That was an estimate on rifle rounds used for hunting, with factory ammo. I'm sure that number will be much higher once I get into reloading and shoot more at the range. I also shoot a lot of pistol and shotgun as well, and going through more ammo now with the kids.

When you start loading your own, you will shoot more.

Buy the best you can afford right now. It will be cheaper in the long run. I went in with a fairly low budget thinking I didn't need the "fancy" stuff. Guess what. I sold or still have the low end stuff and now have the quality stuff anyway. So which way is cheaper in the long run? The more you learn, the more you want to improve your loads. The more you shoot the more you want to speed up the process so you can go shoot.

I would recommend getting a manual made by whatever bullet manufacturer you like best.

What your doing sounds like what I was doing when I started. I have a single stage press its great, anything faster will get you in trouble. I taught myself with a book. Go get a manual and the basics, a press set of dies scale and componets. Read through the manual a time or two with all the tools in front of you then go through slowly and set up the press and dies correctly. Finally introduce powder and primers to the equation, make sure you follow published load data and then work from there. Its not hard at all. Most of the loading manuals will direct you in the way of good powders to use for whichever caliber and weight of bullet your are planning on using. It may be intimidating, but take it one step at a time and you will be just fine.

I started with a rcbs rockchuker kit and the only things I have added to it are dies calipers a tumbler, lee case trimming tools, and a chargemaster. I don't load a lot at the moment and I still wouldn't be without the chargemaster, love it.

Also, there's nothing wrong with asking this forum what's your favorite powder for this cartridge or that cartridge. 308 and 7mm-08 for instance most will say Varget. 243 and the six fives most will say H-4350