[quote=nachogrande;139977331][QUOTE=Thomas
The common "wisdom" among shooters that reloading ammo saves a ton of money is simply not true.
to get started in this endeavor you will need at a minimum an investment of $500.00 however $1,000.00 is not out of the question.
A quick ebay search for a rockchucker (quality) press Used 40$, & the first 1 listed. YES other items will be needed/wanted & the upgrades to newer/better is ongoing, depending on how INTO IT you become. Brass can be cleaned on the stovetop & dried in the oven. I can't remember the last time I trimmed my revolver brass. SURE in 35+/- years I probly have app 2500$ worth of STUFF. Some of it I actually use.
Play Golf? How much have you spent on clubs (how many sets?), green fees, club memberships, caddies, carts, tips, silly looking clothes???
Fishing, hunting, scuba, photography, skiing, tennis, ALL THE ABOVE.
[/quote]
I try to buy only what I need and started out with Lee Handloading tools. I'm a bit of an exception in that reloading REALLY saves me tons and I couldn't shoot like I wanted to without reloading
I will say though, that over 35 years of reloading I have broken down the last few years and bought some stuff to make reloading easier. Like:
A tumbler to clean cases since I use a lot of range brass. Faster than washing and drying them, and it does a good job of shining them up and making them 'purdy'. That's something I care about more for the people that shoot with me so they won't have to use dirty ammo.
An RCBS Uniflow measure to replace Lee scoops that I used in conjunction with the scale and a trickler.
A digital scale. An inexpensive Forster that is faster than my $20 Lee scale which is a good comparator/backup.
I think one thing is that time is no object to me. I'm on disability so I have plenty of time and I'm on SocSec so I don't have much money.
PS: If you really want an expensive hobby take up film photography. You ALWAYS need something new. I was in that but I had money then. But if you want to be a cheapskate like I am now you can have a lot of fun with a box Brownie.
PPS: Buying stuff over time eases the pain.