$$$ saving with reloading

[sdmc530]

Originally Posted by NAMVET72

and but some people don't have a lot of money for a big fancy reloading press and he is just beginning, and I am betting you two would have made a lot of mistakes if you used one the first time out...................


Just my .02 cents worth,

, no doubt I would have made mistakes....I just think of time as an investment and the cost of a progressive then is worth the cost, to me anyways. Blue is probably the higher priced that is true for sure but even a lee or Horn progressive would not be "horrible"

I am not putting down single stage at all, you do learn a lot and get a great understanding of reloading where as a progressive you may not. I learned a lot on my single stage. If I had a buddy who loaded I might not have had to learn the hard way though.

I still would go back to starting over would get progressive. The only thing about single stage is they are easy to sell to a buddy who wants to start up without investing $800ish in Dillion.

Either way you will do fine, learn a lot, make some mistakes and all will be well. You will shoot more and have a better satisfaction in shooting with you own made bullets!!


Its a great hobby!!

[skosh69]

Originally Posted by sdmc530

, no doubt I would have made mistakes....I just think of time as an investment and the cost of a progressive then is worth the cost, to me anyways. Blue is probably the higher priced that is true for sure but even a lee or Horn progressive would not be "horrible"

I am not putting down single stage at all, you do learn a lot and get a great understanding of reloading where as a progressive you may not. I learned a lot on my single stage. If I had a buddy who loaded I might not have had to learn the hard way though.

I still would go back to starting over would get progressive. The only thing about single stage is they are easy to sell to a buddy who wants to start up without investing $800ish in Dillion.

Either way you will do fine, learn a lot, make some mistakes and all will be well. You will shoot more and have a better satisfaction in shooting with you own made bullets!!


Its a great hobby!!

What he said.

[titanse05]

I'll share my experience with getting into reloading since I haven't been in the game all that long.

Back in 2009 I realized that I was shooting a lot for a non-competitive shooter and wouldn't take long to see the savings with reloading. So I bought a reloading book (ABC's of Reloading) and read it cover to cover a couple of times. Once I did that my research turned to the internet and I watched countless hours of videos of people's reloading process and reviews of various presses (single stage and progressive). It didn't take me long to realize that I was a progressive press kind of guy so my research focus was narrowed down to two auto-index presses, Dillon 650XL and the Hornady LNL.

After watching tons of videos and reading reviews on these presses, including comparisons between blue and red, I ended up making a decision. I went RED!

Now my reasons for going RED came down to two simple related things, cost and did I want/need a case feeder. As far as cost goes, after pricing both presses out with two calibers I would save over $200 plus get 500 free bullets from Hornady as part of their promo. Easy enough.

Now much more important was did I want/need a case feeder. On the blue press the case feeding station is located on the right side of the press which forces the inclusion of a case feeder to reload efficiently. On the RED press the case feeding station as well as the bullet feeding station are both located on the left side of the press. Why is this important you ask? Well to me this is very important because with the RED press I can keep my right hand on the press handle and the left hand handles the insertion of the case in station 1 and the bullet seating in station 4. So for my needs the RED press was a much cheaper choice since I didn't need a case feeder.

So in summary, if looking at these two presses it should come down to whether you want a case feeder or not. I didn't because it adds cost and noise to the process. But everyone's needs are different. I don't get passionate about pushing people to one or the other because I know that both are great choices and both aren't perfect. Most issues with both of these presses are with the priming systems and just need massaged and fiddled with a little every once in awhile to keep things running smoothly.

Now after I purchased everything for the startup I had around $800 invested. This included the LNL, shellplate, dies, good electronic scale, tumbler and all the other things needed for startup. As far as components went, I started off reloading lead bullets from www.mastercast.net and ended up with a cost of $0.11 per round of 45ACP. So back then Winchester White Box was around $33 per 100 rd value pack so reloading netted me with savings of around $0.22 per round. My press and all the reloading gear paid for itself after 3,600 rounds.

The first two years I probably reloaded around 4k rounds but over the last three years have only reloaded 1,500 rounds. These last few years I haven't had a ton of time to hit the range since I'd rather spend time with my wife and children (3 year old daughter and 1 month old son). Plus when I do go shoot I'm usually shooting my ARs and the pistols don't get much love.

I have been wanting to start reloading for the ARs but I have yet to get one completed round. Here is my thread about taking the plunge: http://www.cotep.org/forum/showthread.php?t=3651 However, I have a couple thousand cases ready to load I just need to get the dies and powder measure setup and I'll be ready to rock. Will happen this summer.

I have no regrets getting into reloading as I enjoy the process and I truly know that I have saved money over the years. I know that I will eventually have more time to dedicate to my hobby since my wife likes to shoot and wants more practice and of course when my kids are older they will be introduced to the sport.

Another huge plus to reloading is that once you are stocked up on components, which I am, you can just sit back and watch the gun/ammo scares and still enjoy shooting when you want.

If you have anymore questions I'll help if I can. Hope you found it helpful.

[titanse05]

As far as Single-Stage vs. Progressive discussion goes, I knew pretty quick that I was a progressive press kind of guy. However, one thing that is often overlooked is that nothing is keeping your from setting up and using a progressive press as a single stage press while you learn the process. This is exactly what I did and after about 50 rounds I was running progressive.

To me, I knew that buying a single stage press was going to be a waste of time and money.

[Jdl2]

Really appreciate all the input from you guys. You're terrific!
Jim

[bttbbob]

I reload for precision although it is half priced so I just shoot twice as much...As others have said.

I can't get the consistency from factory ammo that I do myself.

[Jdl2]

Thank you all! Just terrific input here.
Jim

[sdmc530]

Originally Posted by titanse05

Now much more important was did I want/need a case feeder. On the blue press the case feeding station is located on the right side of the press which forces the inclusion of a case feeder to reload efficiently. On the RED press the case feeding station as well as the bullet feeding station are both located on the left side of the press. Why is this important you ask? Well to me this is very important because with the RED press I can keep my right hand on the press handle and the left hand handles the insertion of the case in station 1 and the bullet seating in station 4. So for my needs the RED press was a much cheaper choice since I didn't need a case feeder.

So in summary, if looking at these two presses it should come down to whether you want a case feeder or not. I didn't because it adds cost and noise to the process. But everyone's needs are different. I don't get passionate about pushing people to one or the other because I know that both are great choices and both aren't perfect. Most issues with both of these presses are with the priming systems and just need massaged and fiddled with a little every once in awhile to keep things running smoothly.

Hope you found it helpful.

Super great advice and helpful, I will make a comment, case feeders can be noisy, they spin full of brass even at slow speeds and can make noise if you are in a small room with concrete walls. I have this sometimes.

The case feed on my Dillon is on the back right as you face it. I can see how it might get in the way of a loading person but don't have any issue with this. I can not see reloading on any progressive without it however. That seems to defeat the purpose of the progressive.

I think your main point is spot on, no matter the color Red or Blue you will love rocking the reloading press!!!

Load on!! Great thread discussion here!!