cost for the basics?

I am wanting to start reloading and have no clue where to start. My three main calibers are pistol: 9mm, rifle: 5.56/.223, and shotgun: 12 gauge. My question is, what basic equipment do I need to get started and a ball park figure I'll be looking at to get it.... I would appreciate any input...........
-Kevan-

If you are looking for information about reloading, I'd suggest checking out Brian Enos Reloading FAQ. It's a great place to start and many of your questions will have already been answered.

I know nothing about shotshell loading. For rifle/pistol there are many different single stage presses that will get you started. Even if you get a progressive, you'll still need a single.

The best advice I can give you is to meet up with a reloader in your area.

miker84 wrote:
I know nothing about shotshell loading. For rifle/pistol there are many different single stage presses that will get you started. Even if you get a progressive, you'll still need a single.

The best advice I can give you is to meet up with a reloader in your area.

I agree, start slow and with a single. Many will say start on the progressive or better yet a Dillon. While you will certainly upgrade later ( assuming you stay with it), you will always have a use of the single stage press. Agree with the advise of finding a mentor in your area that can let you watch and someone who can help when you have a question or two.

Suggest that before you purchase the first piece of equipment, Read - Read, and Read some more. Since you are going to need a couple different reloading manuals, buy them first and read , read, read each of them several times. Feel free to ask any questions you may right here on this board. I would suggest that one of the manuals be the Lyman -- tons of info about the steps of reloading.

Shotshells are a different animal. You can use your pistol/rifle equipment to load almost any caliber you desire (just purchase the appropriate dies for each caliber); however, your shotshell reloading is going to take a completely different equipment ..... with the current cost of lead shot, I have trashed the idea of setting my shotshell reloader back up for the time being.

It's kinda like asking "How much is a used car".

$200 or so will get going on a budget.

$400 - $500 gets you better stuff and some "goodies".

Single Stage to start. Ebay's a good place for presses, since they are virtually indestructable. I suggest new dies and scale, very little extra money and you know what you're getting.

captain-03 wrote:
I agree, start slow and with a single. Many will say start on the progressive

For an middle perspective, I started on a Lee Turret Press. Seemed like the best choice at the time. Years later, I'm still very happy with it, and would recommend it.

You still have all the simplicity a single-stage gives you. Additional turrets are very cheap, so you can easily leave dies for multiple calibers mounted and adjusted, and it's easy to switch from one to another. And after you've done your first batches to learn the process, you can drop the auto-index rod in it and get much better speed than a single will ever give you, while still leaving you the simplicity of having to think about one thing at a time.

It'll never threaten the speed of a progressive, to be sure. But it's not hard to load 3 digits an hour when you get cranking. And it's really not any more complicated than a single; you can use it exactly like one without the autoindex, and even with it you're still only doing one operation at a time. Best of both worlds, IMO.

If I were starting out, I'd definitely get the new "Classic" version, rather than the older standard. It's worth the extra bucks just for the drilled-through ram even if it had no other advantages; you'll get sick of spent primers flying all over the place after about 5 cases. I'll probably get one myself this year as a partner for my old one.

When you're ready to buy:
Just google the brand name of the press and read up on what comes with anything you want, compare kits. They have a price list of all they carry. Now you can go to other websites or locals to buy. I've found websites cheaper than locals and ebay. You may want to try craigslist.org too.
Some websites to look at, others may add to the list.
leepresicion.com
lymanproducts.com
fmreloading.com
wideners.com
natchezss.com
midsouthshooterssupplies.com
midwayusa.com

I'd stick with rifle/pistol and leave shotgun to someone else. Unless your going to shoot 50,000 rounds of it a year. Its not worth the cost IMO.