DILLON 550B, buy once and done with the ability to expand as need arises...
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First time reloader
- Thread starter Lorentzoe45
- Start date
I'm thinking of selling one of my Dillon 550Bs and upgrading to the XL650.
Very good Idea Love my 650 about 90,000 rounds on it and it keeps going if you keep it clean
much easier and faster with the self index. I always use the powder charge checker so it tells you if something is wrong
how much ????
The Hornady 'Lock n Load' progressive is also very good, and is usually priced better than the Dillons.
One thing I would suggest before you spend a cent is to read some of the better books on reloading. Pick up a few of the manuals and go through them. You don't need to memorize the tables or anything, but they all seem to have good sections on reloading.
You should also find a few books on reloading in general. Two I can recommend are "The ABCs Of Reloading" (Rodney James) and "Lee Precision Modern Reloading" (Richard Lee). These are both great overviews of reloading, although the Lee book does have a real bias towards the Lee products.
These books will help you with more than the mechanics of releading and how to work a press, they will also explain what different reloading steps do and how they affect the final results.
Lastly, they both have good safety information. Some of the things that can turn your reloads into small bombs are not obvious until you know about them. Most rookie mistakes are pretty harmless, but a few can easily be life threatening.
If you don't have a reloading mentor around, reading these will at least get you started with a basic knowledge of reloading and how to do it safely. That and a lot of practice will get you where you want to go.
One thing I would suggest before you spend a cent is to read some of the better books on reloading. Pick up a few of the manuals and go through them. You don't need to memorize the tables or anything, but they all seem to have good sections on reloading.
You should also find a few books on reloading in general. Two I can recommend are "The ABCs Of Reloading" (Rodney James) and "Lee Precision Modern Reloading" (Richard Lee). These are both great overviews of reloading, although the Lee book does have a real bias towards the Lee products.
These books will help you with more than the mechanics of releading and how to work a press, they will also explain what different reloading steps do and how they affect the final results.
Lastly, they both have good safety information. Some of the things that can turn your reloads into small bombs are not obvious until you know about them. Most rookie mistakes are pretty harmless, but a few can easily be life threatening.
If you don't have a reloading mentor around, reading these will at least get you started with a basic knowledge of reloading and how to do it safely. That and a lot of practice will get you where you want to go.
Will you save money? Most likely not but you will shoot a heck of a lot more.
Will you spend time, yes but getting into a progressive reloader and you will spend less time.
Reloading allows several things, reduced cost per round, customized or tailored rounds and optimized rounds (accuracy). A good starting progressive and fairly easy to setup and operate is the Dillon 550. It will accept standard dies and you can do pistol/rifle on it.
Some calculate the cost of brass but I rarely do that. First a fair amount of my brass was my ammo that I shot. Second I reuse it several times or much more depending on caliber and pressures.
Try to buy in bulk for bullets, primers and after developing loads powders, especially when on sale. Bullets are a majority of the reoccurring cost and finding or possibly making cheap projectiles will save even more. I shoot lead cast a lot but some barrels may not work well with that (polygonal rifling).
It is really not a matter if but when the next ammo run will begin, perhaps 2016 if Hildabeast becomes the first woman president.
Bullets and brass don't have a shelf life. Primer and powder if stored in a cool dry area will probably out last you. Reports of ammo >75 years old working still exist with questionable storage conditions. Back in 2000 bulk ammo was so cheap I stopped reloading most ammo. I just loaded performance rifle rounds for accuracy.
However that changed.
I sincerely hope the China ammo ban gets lifted. Those wooden crates of 1,200 rounds of copper washed 7.62x39 or 1,600 rounds 5.56/.223 brass cased Norinco would return at prices cheaper than I can reload it for......
Will you spend time, yes but getting into a progressive reloader and you will spend less time.
Reloading allows several things, reduced cost per round, customized or tailored rounds and optimized rounds (accuracy). A good starting progressive and fairly easy to setup and operate is the Dillon 550. It will accept standard dies and you can do pistol/rifle on it.
Some calculate the cost of brass but I rarely do that. First a fair amount of my brass was my ammo that I shot. Second I reuse it several times or much more depending on caliber and pressures.
Try to buy in bulk for bullets, primers and after developing loads powders, especially when on sale. Bullets are a majority of the reoccurring cost and finding or possibly making cheap projectiles will save even more. I shoot lead cast a lot but some barrels may not work well with that (polygonal rifling).
It is really not a matter if but when the next ammo run will begin, perhaps 2016 if Hildabeast becomes the first woman president.
Bullets and brass don't have a shelf life. Primer and powder if stored in a cool dry area will probably out last you. Reports of ammo >75 years old working still exist with questionable storage conditions. Back in 2000 bulk ammo was so cheap I stopped reloading most ammo. I just loaded performance rifle rounds for accuracy.
However that changed.
I sincerely hope the China ammo ban gets lifted. Those wooden crates of 1,200 rounds of copper washed 7.62x39 or 1,600 rounds 5.56/.223 brass cased Norinco would return at prices cheaper than I can reload it for......
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IMHO (and I have been reloading for over 40 years), there are a few basic questions you need to answer before jumping into something that you are going to have to spend both time and money learning:
1) How much do you shoot? If it is less than 200 rounds per month, forget about reloading as it is the same as learning to type and only typing a couple of letters a month ... just isn't worth it.
2) How much spare time do you have to spend doing something that your wife / girlfriend (if you have one) will likely resent your spending away from them?
Remember, you will spend far more time reloading than you currently spend on shooting!
3) How meticulous are you at paying attention to details? If you are not that type of person: forget about undertaking something that will likely result in an injury or a final trip to the ultimate undertaker!
4) Are you willing to spend a few weeks reading a couple or few good reloading books; then watching a dozen or so YouTube Videos on the subject before your then spend at least $300 to $600 in start-up equipment and supplies?
If you can comfortably live with the answers to these questions, then proceed with learning to reload.
If you find that you want to proceed .... then there is a wealth of information here on this forum already published, or available from its members!
1) How much do you shoot? If it is less than 200 rounds per month, forget about reloading as it is the same as learning to type and only typing a couple of letters a month ... just isn't worth it.
2) How much spare time do you have to spend doing something that your wife / girlfriend (if you have one) will likely resent your spending away from them?
Remember, you will spend far more time reloading than you currently spend on shooting!
3) How meticulous are you at paying attention to details? If you are not that type of person: forget about undertaking something that will likely result in an injury or a final trip to the ultimate undertaker!
4) Are you willing to spend a few weeks reading a couple or few good reloading books; then watching a dozen or so YouTube Videos on the subject before your then spend at least $300 to $600 in start-up equipment and supplies?
If you can comfortably live with the answers to these questions, then proceed with learning to reload.
If you find that you want to proceed .... then there is a wealth of information here on this forum already published, or available from its members!
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just remember on YouTube not all the information is correct
like don't watch the guy that drinks Scotch and Smokes while reloading It's just an accident waiting to happen
Ok thanks guys. I think I'm going to go get some books and try it out. Worst case scenario I hate it but can make ammo in shtf scenario
You will not save any money reloading. But you will shoot a lot more. example: if you have 100 dollars to spend on ammo. You will spend a 100 dollars but you will shoot twice as much.
