My Initial Thoughts On Reloading - Advice Welcome

[Twinsen]

I clamp mine to my ugly coffee table and pop primers while watching TV. Since it's so low, I just have it dump into a cardboard box on the floor. Any box. Or anything, really.

[psharon97]

The faster you do something, the more likely your are to make a mistake. I would recommend a single stage press for everything when starting out. Here are 2 kits that I would look at.
http://www.midwayusa.com/product/724116/lyman-crusher-2-single-stage-press-deluxe-expert-kit-110-volt?cm_vc=ProductFinding
or
http://www.midwayusa.com/product/937051/rcbs-rock-chucker-supreme-master-single-stage-press-kit?cm_vc=ProductFinding.

[GaCop]

One year ago this month, I decided to get into reloading. I bought two reloading manuals and did extensive research on equipment. I also decided on the Dillon 550. However, when it came to buying powder, I hit a brick wall. There is no powder for what I wanted to use it for at all. Everyone is out of stock. I live remotely, so everything must be done online. I was able to find 2 pounds of powder in the last year. It was not one of the powders I wanted, but it would work. Unfortunately, that is all the powder I’ve been able to get my hands on in the last year, so reloading for me is on hold. I have not bought a single piece of equipment, and won’t till I can find a decent amount of the powder I want, which is Unique. There are two other powders I want, but none have been in stock in the last year, well, Unique came into stock once. I was sitting at my computer when the “in stock” notice came, but it sold out before I could get to it. Finding powder makes finding .22 ammo in the last year and a half look easy. Have you checked Powder Valley's web site? They usually have a good selection of powders. Order enough to make the HAZ MAT fee some what economical.

[svana]

Hey guys,
Thanks for al of the advice. It's great to hear different points of view. I've got someone that's been showing me the ropes (so to speak) in talking back and forth about any questions I've got, and he's also willing to have me over to work through the reloading process whenever I'd like. I've also got a couple manuals on order and am going to be looking through those, but I feel like most of the reviews on these manuals are simply stating that they've got all of the load data, not a lot in regards to the basics of reloading. Either way, I'll take a look and see what I can get from it. In regards to equipment, I've decided to go with the Dillon 550, but am focused on buying used. I am in talks now with getting one with a whole list's worth of accessories for about $400, so if it's in good shape and I can close on that I'll be pretty content. I think my biggest obstacle at this point is still finding a solid starting point in terms of a load, but I'm narrowing it down some.

[seanhagerty]

At $400, just jump on it. Dillon will fix it if its not right. Their customer service is second to none.

[D.ID]

At $400, just jump on it. Dillon will fix it if its not right. Their customer service is second to none.

They claim to have a no B.S. warranty on everything they do.
Im my experience........they mean it. Great service, buy with confidence.

[wingspar]

Have you checked Powder Valley's web site? They usually have a good selection of powders. Order enough to make the HAZ MAT fee some what economical.

Yes, Powder Valley is one of my default sites to check for powder. Haven’t seen anything in stock at all. Just looked. Still out of stock.