Getting into reloading, need info on the must haves to start.

[marine6680]

Sorry Marine, that kit from Midway is the OK. the pre-boxed turret kit FS Reloading sells is not the classic cast. I ASSumed it was the same kit Midway sells.

No problem. Not many places sell the better kit.

Marine:
Dumb question number 152
Have you checked eBay for the Press and Dies (or other equipment) you?re looking for ?
Some great deals can be found there
Also, IMHO, the Four Hole and FCD is a good idea
I use the Seater Die to set the Bullet to depth (with no crimp) only and then crimp in a separate cycle
When setting and crimping all in one cycle, I have found that some Bullets (usually Lead) can leave a ring of flashing or Bullet material at the Case Mouth, which will cause a lot of chambering issues and has to be removed by hand
AND, here?s a part I find needs replacement too often
They?re cheap, but shipping only one (when needed) will kill you
http://www.midwayusa.com/product/375049/lee-3-hole-4-hole-turret-press-shellholder-retainer-clip
Just my $0.02


ALSO.....
If you go with a Three Die Set, here?s a little trick
First call RCBS
Ask them to send you out a 38 / 357 Spacer Ring?It?ll be FREE !
This little honey works great
Set your Seater / Crimp Die to the crimp you want and lock the Die Nut there
Remove the Die, add the Spacer Ring and replace the Die and Ring in the Press
Set you Seater Plug to OAL depth you want and run a couple test rounds
If all is to the right OAL, run all your loads through
Pull the Die and remove the Spacer Ring, then replace the Die in the Press
NOW THIS IS CRITICAL ! ! ! Back you Seater Plug off about a quarter inch
Run a loaded round into the Die and set the Seater Plug to just touch the round in the Die
And run a few rounds to check if all is seated and crimped as needed
If so, then run the whole batch
I know it sound odd, but it save a lot of resetting of your Die

And here?s a little added tool that saves a lot of lost time;
http://www.midwayusa.com/find?userSearchQuery=Max+Cartridge+Gage+9mm+
I have them for all the rounds I load

Hope any of this helps

Not yet... got the list of stuff I need, will check ebay when closer to actually buying.

Will look into those parts too.

Edit:
Just checked ebay... the stuff I need, nothing is cheaper. Maybe if I went with a different brand kit I could find a deal. I can upgrade my scale to a better brand for less, but not needed yet.

[Wobbly]

I still have a lot of factory ammo to shoot. Should have close to 1500 cases of 9mm (minus any I loose) and near 1000 cases of 40 S&W when that is all gone.

Hold everything. I smell a rat !!

If you were truly an anal retentive reloader, like the rest of us, you'd be able to open any drawer or cabinet door in your home and find a big bag of brass. You'd have to shake the brass out you socks and underwear in the morning just to get dressed. 

Only 2500 pieces? I'm not sure you meet the minimums to be a member of this forum. Most of us like to have a number equal to the national debt, which I admit has been hard to match with the present administration. But still we try. 


We'll have to take a vote before we can teach you the secret handshake.

I mean, we DO have standards to uphold.

[Wobbly]

As I said, I have the Lee Classic Cast Turret Press and love it.  Since I got mine, my Grandfather and Great-Uncle have also purchased the same press.  It truely is a wonderful piece of machinery.

Notice that while he's using the Classic Cast Turret press, he is not using the Lee accessories. That's a Redding powder measure  (the green thing off to the left). Also under the press is a well-used RCBS 5-0-5 scale. So JamesLovesJamie is using only the Lee press and has collected the other bits from other sources.

Due to the quality of Lee plastic accessories, that's a very common site.

[Wobbly]

? When I shop for items I always go to Midway because their web site is very well organized. But I never buy from Midway because their shipping is so very high.

Other sellers equivalent to them with better prices are.....
Bass Pro (exact same prices as Midway without the shipping)
Graf & Sons
Mid South
Natchez

? I repeatedly see a place called "Factory Sales" for buying the lowest priced Lee products. Apparently, it's across the street from the Lee factory, but not related. I also see a seller mentioned a lot in the mid-west called 'Klemps' or 'Kemps' that apparently has very attractive pricing.

? Shipping will vary by where you live. Why don't you tell us your state? And fill it out in your profile.

 

[painter]

? When I shop for items I always go to Midway because their web site is very well organized. But I never buy from Midway because their shipping is so very high.

Other sellers equivalent to them with better prices are.....
Bass Pro (exact same prices as Midway without the shipping)
Graf & Sons
Mid South
Natchez

? I repeatedly see a place called "Factory Sales" for buying the lowest priced Lee products. Apparently, it's across the street from the Lee factory, but not related. I also see a seller mentioned a lot in the mid-west called 'Klemps' or 'Kemps' that apparently has very attractive pricing.

? Shipping will vary by where you live. Why don't you tell us your state? And fill it out in your profile.

 

I think it's Kempf's
http://www.kempfgunshop.com/

[Wobbly]

I think it's Kempf's
http://www.kempfgunshop.com/

You be d man.

[painter]

I think it's Kempf's
http://www.kempfgunshop.com/

You be d man.

Hardly Mr W.

Details just get stuck in there. [Bangs head ]

[Wobbly]

I know the feeling. I seem to be expert in all things that you can't make money at.   

[painter]

I know the feeling. I seem to be expert in all things that you can't make money at.   

I still suspect we were separated at birth...

Lol

[Wobbly]

I still suspect we were separated at birth...

I still remember that basket not being very well insulated.

And those people took forever to answer the door. 

 

[marine6680]

HAHA, I only been back into shooting for a little over a month.

Got laid off several years ago ago and had to sell my firearms to help with bills... it was a sad day.

So I only been to the range 3 times, and the brass I have collected is what I got those days. Most of it is still in factory loaded form ATM. The times I went, I shot the .40 once (about 200 rounds) and the other times were helping the fiance figure out a pistol for her, so several 9mm rounds fired (400 or so)... Oh, and letting her shoot full auto for the first time ever. H&K MP5 9mm... lost most of that brass, it threw it forward of the firing line... indoor range. 

I will be upgrading the extra bits and pieces after a few months (6 or so) plus my friend still has a lot of his equipment and it sits unused, I will pick up his stuff cheap. Not sure what he still has, I think he gave some parts away. I remember seeing his Lyman measure... which was his dads before him.

I wish the manufacturers offered an accessory kit without the press. I could buy the press I want and then the accessories kit I wanted. No one does that unfortunately.

[marine6680]

Midsouth was only about $7 more than Midway... much better shipping... I live in the same state so taxes make it cost more. 

[gianmarko]

9mm shooters often find that their bullets are not seated straight because the no frills Lee seater only offers a single seating anvil. Bullets for the 9mm are, of course, available in about 20 different nose shapes. In that case you might prefer Hornady dies since they comes with multiple anvils.

[Wobbly]

So why don't you look on CraigsList for local used gear. Just type in "reloading" and see what pops up. Or, put a notice on your local range or gun club bulletin board. People are aging out of the hobby everyday with tons of excellent gear. The most important thing to them is to see the equipment go to a good "home". So you sit there and chat with them; you never know you may pick up a mentor.

When I got back into reloading I stumbled upon a guy getting out of reloading on CraigsList. He sold me an entire pickup truck full, most of which I went home and put on Ebay. There was 5 presses, 16 pounds of various powders, 24 dies sets, about 10,000 various primers, and 2 or 3 of every accessory you could think of. The 2 Dillon tumblers I got from him were alone worth what I paid for the entire load.

And he liked my kid too, so he just gave him 500 rounds of 7.62x54R. Nice guy. My kid still loves him.    This was 5 or 6 years ago. My kid is also still shooting up the rifle primers. I just finished up the pistol primers last week. 

People on this board have found similar deals.

[marine6680]

Will give it a look then.