I am very new to even the idea of reloading and am hoping someone can point me in the right direction.
where should I start to look. Is there a be all/end all guide to reloading?
How much $$$ do i need to save for the equipment? I am willing to work slowly and save money over loading a bunch at a time and spending a ton.
I am going to need to load .40 S&W, .358/.38 spl, .45 ACP and .41, is there one machine that can do all that. I only vaguely know about dies and the like.
If someone has a link to anything helpful, i would appreciate it greatly.

Welcome, I am a new reloader also.
I just purchased all of my supplies in the past week, so I can give you what it cost me.
I shopped at cabelas for my things.
I got the lee turret press for $90
Dies for .44 mag/special for $32, figure the same for each set.
And with the lee turret I have I can get top plates so I can change calibers in about 10 seconds. Extra plates are $10 each.
tumbler kit for $57.

The components will vary on your caliber and desires.
I have 400 bullets on order with Venom Ballistics for about $49
Picked up 250 nosler 200gr HPs for $35
1000 primers were $30
I am reloading cases I saved from manufactured ammo I bought.
I am starting with 1 lb of Unique powder. $20

I may be missing something, but others will chime in.
I decided to start fairly inexpensive, so your startup will mostly hinge on the cost of your reloader.

Hope this helps,


Jim

quote:

I am very new to even the idea of reloading and am hoping someone can point me in the right direction.
where should I start to look. Is there a be all/end all guide to reloading?

Find a Speer #8 manual, on second thought don’t do that. I like Lyman manuals but that said reloading manuals usually walk you thru what is required. As for a press that can do it all the Dillon 550 progressive. The progressive may overwhelm the beginner but if you only load one round at a time and go through all the stations with a single round it’s basically acting like a turret or single stage press. Once you master the progressive you’ll be able to produce quality reloads in volume that meets your requirements. Like all beginnings haste makes waste go slow in order to go fast applies.

Genesis (beginning) is a good name for a beginner!

My recommendation would be along the lines of a Lee Cast Iron Classic Turret press for around $80 from Midway and such (here's the press from Graf's, where they pay the shipping). I like the RCBS 505 beam scale for another $70 or so (it's a good dependable scale that is durable). A set of Lee Universal shell holders for about $15 and a $2 funnel would have you loading, provided you have the necessary dies.

Lee's "Modern Reloading, 2nd Edition" has all of the basics for reloading and it's relatively cheap too, about $13. Lee's Powder Dipper set for $7 will help speed up the loading process while using a scale or as a stand alone.

That's less than $200 for good durable tools and you can add to later on to makes things easier.

The press can be used as a single stage until you get a good grip on reloading and then later it can be used for a little more speed in loading.

I just used my Lee turret to resize some 7mm STW brass that has been fired in a slightly over sized chamber. The press handled the job quite well, so it should do whatever you need it to do (maybe not .50 BMG, but everything else).

There is no reason to buy new equipment, when so much good quality, servicable used equipment is available. Check out gun shows. An old Pacific C press should be bought for less than $20, and there are lots of used scales, powder measures and dies around.

Welcome to reloading. I have been at it a long time. You can't go wrong buying a quality single stage press - new or used - try your local pawn shops. I have two single stage presses - RCBS Junior and Rockchucker and still use them even though I have a Dillon 550 which I highly recommend when you want to produce volume ammo.

Learn on the single stage press. I still use my Jr. press for ALL depriming in order to keep my other presses clean.

Buy two or three quality manuals and study them. I strive for moderate to less than maximum accurate loads in all calibers. If the 30-06 with a 165 or 180 grain Nosler won't do the job, I move up to the .338 with a 225 grain.

If a 158 grain SWC at moderate velocity in a .38 or .357 in not enough - move up to a 240 or in the .44 mag.

If you stay with moderate loads, you will likely not experience the problems that some members post here. Some reloaders seem to be searching for that maximum load that will work in their firearm. That's OK if that is their goal, but I recommend the middle ground as the safest and most accurate.

I load for fun and accuracy and for a hunting load that will penetrate and do the job.

I do recommend the Lee crimp die. For handguns, I seat and crimp in separate steps and the Lee die seems best to me.

All of my dies are RCBS, Redding or Dillon.

Just a few tips, I hope they help.

LaFayne

Those are good suggestions about finding a used press. I wonder why I didn't think of it?

I have quite a few (maybe 20) RCBS die sets, but all of the new ones I have are Lee dies, especially the carbide pistol calibers. I also like the Lee collet neck sizing dies for rifle calibers.

The place to start is buying a manual so you can learn the reloading process.

Lee's book is good, so is Lyman's, Speer's, Hodgdons etc. etc. All of them go over the basics of how to reload. For beginners I recommend a book called "ABC's of Reloading"; looking at Amazon a new edition is coming out in June. The old editions are still valid to learn with as the process hasn't changed, just some of the brands and models of equipment. (i.e. Lee introduced it's "Classic Cast" single stage press about two years ago, so it won't be in the books but lots of other single stage presses that work the same will.) Once you know the process, you can decide on which equipment to buy; and the internet is full of people's opinions on which equipment is best, cheapest, or best value. You should still buy some other loading manuals to get the actual loading data; though most of it is now available on the internet I think it is still worth buying the actual books. Several companies are bringing out new editions this summer, so you may want to wait and get the latest edition so you will have data for the new cartridges being added.