kruuth Posted July 22, 2009 Report Share Posted July 22, 2009 It looks like I'm going to have to start reloading. Things are just getting too pricey not to. I've never reloaded and I'm most likely going to reload only 45. Could the re loaders on the board please help me out? I'm looking for something simple that I can setup in an apartment? While I'm on it, who has the cheapest ammo now and are we still not shooting wolf? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
couchcommando Posted July 22, 2009 Report Share Posted July 22, 2009 Hi Kruuth! If you'v never reloaded before, you ought to start simple. Lee makes a nifty little hand reloader kit for about $30-$40 bucks, or buy used on gun auction site for 1/2. you learn the basics pretty quick, although it is slow to reload a quantity of ammo. Get into casting your own bullets as well. lee also makes kits for this. then when you feel cocky enough about your abilities to reload ammo, buy a progressive press from Lee. THEN you can start cranking out the quantity's you want. Who has the cheapest ammo? Hard to say as no one ever has any ammo in stock. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
apriav Posted July 22, 2009 Report Share Posted July 22, 2009 Get a Dillon reloader, a 550 would be my choice for the first one. Just reload one shell at a time tell you get used to loading. It will last you a life time, and has the best "NO BS" warranty......if it breaks Dillon will fix it. I have broken parts (my fault) and Dillon replaced them without asking...and paid the freight. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
deerslayer Posted July 22, 2009 Report Share Posted July 22, 2009 After buying and using a lee progressive .45 loader, I'd say spend the extra bucks on the Dillon. I'm always tinkering with mine to keep it going. True, it was cheaper, but not worth it in the long run. If space is a premium, you can of course get a single stage loader, load them one at a time, take it all down and box it up when not in use. Hard to do that with any of the larger progessive presses. Dan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
just4grins Posted July 22, 2009 Report Share Posted July 22, 2009 I also have a Dillon 550B. Works well, easy to use. Another choice from Dillon, if you're only loading one caliber, is their square deal B (lower price). If you're going to eventually load more than 1 caliber then the 550B is a better choice. I used to have my 550B on a workbench, and broke it down when not in use, so would work well with limited space. Also comes with a good instructional video. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RoscoeTurner Posted July 22, 2009 Report Share Posted July 22, 2009 Get a Dillon reloader, a 550 would be my choice for the first one. Just reload one shell at a time tell you get used to loading. It will last you a life time, and has the best "NO BS" warranty......if it breaks Dillon will fix it. I have broken parts (my fault) and Dillon replaced them without asking...and paid the freight. This is good advice and will save you the cost of a single stage press. Nothing wrong with a single stage, it just mainly depends on how many rounds you want to load in a given period of time. I keep a RCBS single stage on my reloading brench next to my Dillon 550B. The RCBS press is used for case forming and the odd caliber I am too cheap to buy a conversion kit for and do not load in large numbers such as .303 British or .30-40 Krag. The Dillon I use for calibers I shoot in large quantity such as 9mm, 38 Special, 45 ACP, .223, 7.62 NATO and 30-06. Either way you cannot go wrong but I would side with buying the Dillon 550B and loading one case at a time like a single stage until I felt comfortable. Reloading is fun, relaxing and safe as long as you take your time and pay close attention to what you are doing. BTW, there are a number of good instructional reloading videos on Youtube. Do a search on their site using Dillon and several will pop up. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
newtommygunner Posted July 22, 2009 Report Share Posted July 22, 2009 (edited) I just returned fm walmart with 600 rds of 45acp, 15.98/box of 50. Yesterday I stopped at acadamy and picked up two boxes of 50 at 22.98/box. I also just started reloading, 45acp, using a dillon square deal b progressive loader i got on ebay. I have set it up and have loaded about 400rds with it. Not as easy as I thought but it is relaxing and keeps me busy. What surprised me was the cost of the reloading supplies. I figure I'm spending 26-27 cent/rd. Using jacked bullets and having to buy the brass, plus gunpowder and primmers which are hard to find and are now expencive compared to a few years ago. Anyway Walmart(which I normally don't shop] seems to have the cheapest brass ammo ATT. I was told to stay away fm steel in my thompsons> NO WOLF Mike, Oh! I'd go with the 550 dillon, much more flexible for the few dollars more. Dies are also easier to find, more dealers and more on auction sites Edited July 22, 2009 by newtommygunner Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
james m Posted July 22, 2009 Report Share Posted July 22, 2009 Quote: "What surprised me was the cost of the reloading supplies. I figure I'm spending 26-27 cent/rd. Using jacked bullets and having to buy the brass, plus gunpowder and primmers which are hard to find and are now expencive compared to a few years ago. " What I believe we are seeing at this time is speculators taking advantage of a construed "ammunition/component" shortage to jack prices up and in general screw over everyone. This is reminescent of the "high capacity magazine" shortage of the Clinton years. I have plenty of components on hand right now and have no intention of enriching these price gougers. What you have been seeing is fearmongering and the hoarding of ammo by those who fear the Obama administration will cut off supplies. Unless you absolutely need something at this time I'd recommend everyone sit tight and prices will come back down to reasonable levels shortly. Jim Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
newtommygunner Posted July 22, 2009 Report Share Posted July 22, 2009 Quote: "What surprised me was the cost of the reloading supplies. I figure I'm spending 26-27 cent/rd. Using jacked bullets and having to buy the brass, plus gunpowder and primmers which are hard to find and are now expencive compared to a few years ago. " What I believe we are seeing at this time is speculators taking advantage of a construed "ammunition/component" shortage to jack prices up and in general screw over everyone. This is reminescent of the "high capacity magazine" shortage of the Clinton years. I have plenty of components on hand right now and have no intention of enriching these price gougers. What you have been seeing is fearmongering and the hoarding of ammo by those who fear the Obama administration will cut off supplies. Unless you absolutely need something at this time I'd recommend everyone sit tight and prices will come back down to reasonable levels shortly. Jim Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
newtommygunner Posted July 22, 2009 Report Share Posted July 22, 2009 Quote: "What surprised me was the cost of the reloading supplies. I figure I'm spending 26-27 cent/rd. Using jacked bullets and having to buy the brass, plus gunpowder and primmers which are hard to find and are now expencive compared to a few years ago. " What I believe we are seeing at this time is speculators taking advantage of a construed "ammunition/component" shortage to jack prices up and in general screw over everyone. This is reminescent of the "high capacity magazine" shortage of the Clinton years. I have plenty of components on hand right now and have no intention of enriching these price gougers. What you have been seeing is fearmongering and the hoarding of ammo by those who fear the Obama administration will cut off supplies. Unless you absolutely need something at this time I'd recommend everyone sit tight and prices will come back down to reasonable levels shortly. Jim I agree with Jim, What I bought I had to(wanted to, needed] have to set up my reloading equipment. AAT it's almost cheaper to buy at walmart by the time u figure in ur time. Mike Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JimFromFL Posted July 22, 2009 Report Share Posted July 22, 2009 Check out this URL for a comparison. http://www.comrace.ca/cmfiles/dillonLeeHornadyComparison.pdf Right now primers are tough to get, but hopefully that is changing soon as we already have seen prices drop on some firearms. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
giantpanda4 Posted July 22, 2009 Report Share Posted July 22, 2009 Primers were $40/brick at Camp Perry last week. Large Pistol - CCI or Win. On the reloaders.... I have a Sq deal B and a 550. I have 4 caliber changes for the Sq deal, and 4 for the 550. I prefer the Sq deal - and it is progressive, the 550 is not. Yeah, for starting out that can be not so good. But the 550 had a change in powder linkages somewhere it its past, and caused about 20 rounds in a pail of 700 to be squibs. Had to pull all bullets after getting tired of using the 1911 to empty them. Lesson here - get yourself a powder sensor on ANY press. That means with Dillon - you need to get at least a 650 (it has 5 stations, not four, and you use one for the powder check). I have been lusting for the 1050. But - Dillon does not apply the no BS to the 1050 because so many commercial reloaders use them up! To start - get a Sq deal B in .45acp. Be careful and watch your powder. Tell them what you want to load, it will come ready to go right out of the box, and it is rather quick. If you really want a better press, skip to the 650 and get the powder sensor. Just my opinion. But nobody can afford squibs in a Tommy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ron_brock Posted July 23, 2009 Report Share Posted July 23, 2009 (edited) Primers were $40/brick at Camp Perry last week. Large Pistol - CCI or Win. On the reloaders.... I have a Sq deal B and a 550. I have 4 caliber changes for the Sq deal, and 4 for the 550. I prefer the Sq deal - and it is progressive, the 550 is not. Yeah, for starting out that can be not so good. But the 550 had a change in powder linkages somewhere it its past, and caused about 20 rounds in a pail of 700 to be squibs. Had to pull all bullets after getting tired of using the 1911 to empty them. Lesson here - get yourself a powder sensor on ANY press. That means with Dillon - you need to get at least a 650 (it has 5 stations, not four, and you use one for the powder check). I have been lusting for the 1050. But - Dillon does not apply the no BS to the 1050 because so many commercial reloaders use them up! To start - get a Sq deal B in .45acp. Be careful and watch your powder. Tell them what you want to load, it will come ready to go right out of the box, and it is rather quick. If you really want a better press, skip to the 650 and get the powder sensor. Just my opinion. But nobody can afford squibs in a Tommy. Ditto on all the good advise so far. Start slow and have fun. Don't go cheap on a reloading press if you are feeding your Tommy (was the gun cheap??). Lee makes some good affordable components, but I use mine for slow single shell reloading so I can confirm powder loads, etc. Good luck on components. They are still a bit tough to find, but are getting better. At least you can find some components now. Mike W, I'm grounded. Kelly likes the Auto Ord contract M1 carbine, but its going to cost me!! In fact, I had to get her a Glock 21sf last weekend so she had a toy for the TATA shoot. - Ron Edited July 23, 2009 by ron_brock Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bridgeport28A1 Posted July 23, 2009 Report Share Posted July 23, 2009 A friend shooting at the Pistol Championships at Camp Perry picked some primers up for me. I believe Champion Choice had primers at Camp Perry priced at $30 per thousand with a limit of one brick per customer. Cheapest that I have found locally is $40 per thousand. Ross Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
james m Posted July 27, 2009 Report Share Posted July 27, 2009 Dillons was charging $34 per thousand for large pistol primers when I was there a couple of weeks ago. However they were completely out of jacketed bullets in any caliber and didn't know when they would be getting some more. I was hoping to load up some 9mm to feed my UZI but I guess I'll have to wait for awhile. Jim Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kruuth Posted July 31, 2009 Author Report Share Posted July 31, 2009 You actually were able to get ammo at WalMart? I haven't seen anything there for months. Especially not 45. I so hope that the 22lr kit is moving along well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zebcoboy Posted July 31, 2009 Report Share Posted July 31, 2009 It looks like I'm going to have to start reloading. Things are just getting too pricey not to. I've never reloaded and I'm most likely going to reload only 45. Could the re loaders on the board please help me out? I'm looking for something simple that I can setup in an apartment? While I'm on it, who has the cheapest ammo now and are we still not shooting wolf? A word to the wise. Never load pistol on a press that does not index automatically. Too easy to double charge on a 550. The Dillon Square Deal works fine for pistol cartridges. If you will be loading rifle at a later date than the 650 is the way to go. Both the Square Deal and the 650 index automatically. Read the Hornady reloading manual from stem to stern before you start loading. I use Berrys plated bullets and Power Pistol powder and the resulting load cost about .18 cents a piece. Have fun. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RoscoeTurner Posted July 31, 2009 Report Share Posted July 31, 2009 It looks like I'm going to have to start reloading. Things are just getting too pricey not to. I've never reloaded and I'm most likely going to reload only 45. Could the re loaders on the board please help me out? I'm looking for something simple that I can setup in an apartment? While I'm on it, who has the cheapest ammo now and are we still not shooting wolf? A word to the wise. Never load pistol on a press that does not index automatically. Too easy to double charge on a 550. The Dillon Square Deal works fine for pistol cartridges. If you will be loading rifle at a later date than the 650 is the way to go. Both the Square Deal and the 650 index automatically. Read the Hornady reloading manual from stem to stern before you start loading. I use Berrys plated bullets and Power Pistol powder and the resulting load cost about .18 cents a piece. Have fun. I have loaded thousands of rounds of .38 Special, 9mm, and 45 ACP on the 550B without a double charge. Loading pistol ammunition on a 550B is not a problem, all the person doing the reloading has to do is pay attention to what they are doing. Inattention with any reloading machine will cause a problem. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Raven Jeff Posted July 31, 2009 Report Share Posted July 31, 2009 I agree with those who have recommended Dillon products and the 550. I have loaded tens of thousands of pistol rounds without any problems at all. I wish I would have bought the 650 for the case feeder because I think it would give slightly higher productivity. I used Lee products 35 years ago. Yuck! Jeff Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RoscoeTurner Posted July 31, 2009 Report Share Posted July 31, 2009 I agree with those who have recommended Dillon products and the 550. I have loaded tens of thousands of pistol rounds without any problems at all. I wish I would have bought the 650 for the case feeder because I think it would give slightly higher productivity. I used Lee products 35 years ago. Yuck! Jeff Jeff, Dillon offers a case feed for the 550B now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zebcoboy Posted July 31, 2009 Report Share Posted July 31, 2009 (edited) It looks like I'm going to have to start reloading. Things are just getting too pricey not to. I've never reloaded and I'm most likely going to reload only 45. Could the re loaders on the board please help me out? I'm looking for something simple that I can setup in an apartment? While I'm on it, who has the cheapest ammo now and are we still not shooting wolf? A word to the wise. Never load pistol on a press that does not index automatically. Too easy to double charge on a 550. The Dillon Square Deal works fine for pistol cartridges. If you will be loading rifle at a later date than the 650 is the way to go. Both the Square Deal and the 650 index automatically. Read the Hornady reloading manual from stem to stern before you start loading. I use Berrys plated bullets and Power Pistol powder and the resulting load cost about .18 cents a piece. Have fun. I have loaded thousands of rounds of .38 Special, 9mm, and 45 ACP on the 550B without a double charge. Loading pistol ammunition on a 550B is not a problem, all the person doing the reloading has to do is pay attention to what they are doing. Inattention with any reloading machine will cause a problem. Good for you. It only takes one mistake and it's all over but the crying. Edited July 31, 2009 by zebcoboy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RoscoeTurner Posted July 31, 2009 Report Share Posted July 31, 2009 Good for you. It only takes one mistake and it's all over but the crying. The same could be said for any reloading machine manufactured on the planet. If someone expects the machine to avoid the mistakes for them they do not need to be reloading. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FireMerc Posted August 1, 2009 Report Share Posted August 1, 2009 I am fond of the Dillon 550B as well. The main reason that I like the manual indexing is that if some stage has a glitch (usually when seating a primer) it can be dealt with more easily. When I first started reloading I took an ad for a used 550 into Dillon and asked their opinion about buying used or new. They looked at the ad and said to buy it and bring it in. I showed up with a press that turned out to be a old 450 they said it could probably use a 'tune up' and it disappeared into the shop. The salesman proceeded to walk me through how to set up the machine (one of their display models) and properly load a cartridge. About an hour later my machine came back up to the front counter...I think one of my original set screws was put in a new 550B press, that is the quality of Dillon's customer service. I have loaded what I shoot from 9mm to .450 Marlin and could not be more pleased with their products. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GUTTERRATT Posted August 1, 2009 Report Share Posted August 1, 2009 I looked over the Dillon web site and I think I'm gona pick up a XL650 and start learning about this aspect of the game... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blueline541 Posted August 3, 2009 Report Share Posted August 3, 2009 I started reloading three years ago on a borrowed Dillon 450. Three years later I've cranked out 30,000 rounds of ammo on a pair of Dillon 550s (one for large primer and one for small) which I would buy again if I had to start over. Press preference is secondary to always paying attention to what you're doing. Keep that in mind and you'll have success with whichever press you decide upon. But be very careful, or you may suffer my fate. I now cast my own bullets, which is almost as fun as shooting. And here's the best part. I can produce 1,000 rounds of pistol ammo, in this case .40 cal, for thirty-five bucks flat. Take your time, pay attention, and have fun. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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