There's a bucketload of good advice here. And welcome to reloading--I haven't bought ammo since I
--Make sure you get the one with the primer drop and auto-index. started. My thoughts:
The indexing makes a huge difference.
--I like the Auto Disk Pro. I think the Pro's upgrades are more than worth it. And the auto-disk is very simple to use. It's more reliable, I've found, for dropping consistent charges (because all the cavities are uniformly circular), so long as the charge you want is covered by a cavity. Sometimes it can be annoying to have to bump up a charge more than you want because there's no in-between size (unless you get crazy with some epoxy and a drill). That said, I've heard a lot of nice things about the Auto-Drum.
--You'll need the riser. And a plate for each die set is well worth it.
--I like digital scales over beam scales. A beam scale can be more accurate, but once you calibrate it, there are less mistakes to make with a digital. I also think that a digital is a bit easier to use and more bench-friendly, meaning you're more likely to actually use it.
--Get a good reloading manual. Lee's 2nd Edition is alright, but I like the data in Lyman's 50th a lot better. While you're at it, grab the ABCs of Reloading, and/or Reloading For Handgunners.
--A box of nitrile gloves is great for keeping lead and gunk off your left hand, the one that picks up and seats bullets. They're also great for cleaning guns. They're also good for when you're sifting bullets from cleaning media.
--Speaking of sifting bullets from media, you have two options. One is a strainer-type deal that fits over a 5-gallon bucket. I consider this to be a messy, dusty pain in the neck. The other is a big, deep kitty-litter scooper. This takes more time, but involves pouring less media and inhaling less god-awful toxic dust.
--Depending on your age, gender, how much you reload, and so on, you may want to consider a face mask for sifting media. I don't bother, but it's a thought.
--If you don't have a spare pair of protective glasses, get some and keep them on your bench. Otherwise you won't use them.
--Your reloading area should be comfortable. It's not comfortable to reload in a garage in February. You should also count on a lot of errant powder and other stuff getting all over the floor. Carpet is not a good option for this, and neither is an area where pets and children can get at. No distractions, either.
--Get good lighting. I've got a pair of incandescent 65-watt bulbs over my bench.
--You can never have too much storage. If you haven't been saving plastic jars, about coffee-can size, start now. If you can get square containers from somewhere, they make significantly better use of shelf space than round. Why the hell isn't everything sold in square containers?
--Set aside a container for your spent primers. It's fun to save them, and periodically drop that sucker on the bench when somebody asks you how much you reload, or if it's worth getting into.
--Label your containers. Make sure to differentiate between "clean" and "dirty" brass. Ask me how I know.
--Get a notebook to record what you loaded, how much, and so on. Nothing's worse than peeling off six layers of box labels to figure out what you loaded that worked so great with X bullet 4 months ago. Go on, ask me how I know.
--Music is okay for reloading. Especially if it helps keep you focused. A movie or TV show is not--eyes on the press. Ditto for talking on the phone while reloading, or chatting with a buddy in-person.
--The little plastic boxes for reloaded ammo are great, so long as they have real hinges and snap shut. For bulk storage, I like sandwich-size resealable bags. They hold 100 rounds of 9mm without popping open when held upside down (but not if you just grab one side or the other at the top). Again, a coffee can can work, but the sandwich bags hold just enough to be convenient to grab and drop in a range bag, and keep track of.
--Buy in bulk, buy on sale. Getting 5000 primers for $28/1000 might only save you $6/1000, but that adds up. Wait till there's a big holiday sale at Midsouth or someplace, order the 5000 primers, and then toss in a few pounds of powder. Unless you really only need a pound of this or 1000 of that, there's no reason to shop local (either that, or everybody around me is trying to rip me off).
--Ditto for bullets. Xtreme runs huge sales on each holiday, you'd be a sucker to buy any other time. Remember--shipping is usually about $14 whether you buy 15 pounds of bullets, or 60. If you feel bad for your mail carrier, make arrangements with them.
--Save your brass. Save all the brass. Save brass for cartridges you'd never think of reloading. I always skipped scavenging 9mm, because I never thought I'd get one or bother reloading for it, and because there was always 9mm lying around. Then I got one (and then another...). You can also always trade your unused brass for things you can use.
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You are not going to save a single dime reloading. Fact of life: this is going to cost you money.
Yes, I save 50% on 9mm, 55% or so on .45 ACP, 66% on .38 Spl, and a whopping 76% on .44 Magnum. This much is true.
I also shoot much, much more than if I was paying factory prices for ammo. And I wouldn't have even spent the $800 my .44 Magnum cost me out the door if a box of ammo cost me $36 instead of $8.50.
I figure I'm in the hole for more than a grand, and I've only been reloading a few years. Damn this hobby.
I'll just relate my experiences with a Lee Turret old style (pre "Classic Cast"). I got my 4 hole Lee turret mebbe 17 years go and disconnected the auto index 16.99 years ago. The press would index when I was setting up my dies so I took the index hardware off (just a few seconds). I continued to use the press, hand indexing, for everything from F/L sizing and loading 30-06 (fired in a semi-auto) to reloading thousands of 44 Magnums and a whole bunch of 9mm. I put 4 Lee bullet sizing dies on a turret and sized many, many cast bullets. I installed a ram prime in a couple turrets (ones set up but had an extra hole) and primed many thousands of cases. I have reloaded some 308 Win. ammo that gave me 1" groups and an occasional 7/8" group. Old primers are no big deal; I mounted my press on a plate for my Rock Dock and drilled a 2" hole in the plate. When the base gets full I just remove the press from the Dock and shake it over the scrap bucket. I have no idea how many thousands of rounds I have reloaded and the most was prolly .44 Magnum (my favorite round and I shot a lot of them). I have/had no use for a semi-progressive press so I just hand indexed the turret and if I so chose, I could load as fast as with an auto-index...
