Jeff's post was well stated and an excellent cautionary tale.

I asked the question for exactly the perspectives I received.

Thanks.

I'm incorrigible.

Actually, as far as factory loaded ammo goes, one cannot go wrong with the standard 250 grain lead bullet load. Just stay away from anything with "cowboy" on the box - it's all substantially down-loaded for the Cowboy Action set. Its works well enough for plinking, but the standard velocity 250 grain loads from Remington, Winchester, or Federal are what you want for all-around "woods bumming" use. They are fantastic no muss, no fuss loads that get the job done. Not as glamorous as the latest "hyper black x shock talon hydra sabre golden hollow point" b.s. permeating the market, but very effective none the less.

While very effective in its standard pressure factory guise, hand loading raises the venerable old .45 Colt to the next level. The newer (third generation) Peacemakers and Ruger New Vaqueros (which are smaller than the old Vaqueros, at about the same size as the Peacemaker) can take a substantially heavier load than the factories assemble in deference to the older guns. Where the factory loads propel that 250 grain lead bullet to about 850 fps, it's quite easy to get a 270 grain bullet from Dave Scovill's RCBS .45-270 SAA mold up to 950 fps in the newer Peacemakers and Vaqueros.

At the next level we find the Ruger Blackhawk and old, original Vaquero, along with such obscure guns as the Interarms Virginian Dragoon, the Seville, and other larger framed single actions. We can drive a 300 to 320 grain bullet from these faster than the .44 mag can drive a 240-250 grain bullet. We are even doing this at lower pressures than the .44 mag.

Even beyond that, we find the custom five shot cylinders in Blackhawk frames from John Linebaugh, Hamilton Bowen, and others. With this combination we can even exceed .454 Casull ballistics. The .45 Colt case is longer than the Casull's, and the frame opening on the Blackhawk is longer than that of the Freedom Arms single action. This all adds up to more powder capacity and higher velocities. Anyone for 350 grain bullets at over 1500 fps from a 4 3/4" single action? It's not pleasant, but the .45 Colt can do it.

The .45 Colt is a great caliber in its factory guise, but hand loading it opens up a level of versatility beyond any other handgun caliber. From 200 grain "cowboy" loads at 700 fps to 350 grain hunting loads at over 1,500 fps, the old .45 Colt can do it all.

I like to reload rifle cartridges, especially .303 British and .308 Winchester. I reload a lot of .223 and that's gets cost effective if you buy everything in bulk.

Not a big fan of starting out with a progressive press. While Dillon makes good stuff, I am nut sure if the volume he is talking about is worth the expense.

I would recommend starting with this:

http://www.cabelas.com/cabelas/en/templates/links/link.jsp?type=pod&cmCat=MainCatcat602007-cat20728-cat20847&id=0018937

I have been reloading for well over 35 years. I've never seen the need for a progressive press of any kind. I bought a version of that very RCBS starter kit, and I'm still using every last item in it. I've used it to reload over a quarter million rounds by actual count. I've loaded match winning black powder cartridge ammo, match winning pistol ammo, and match winning high power ammo with it. Every game animal I have ever taken as an adult has been taken with ammo loaded with that "starter kit". While I have picked up additional pieces of equipment over the years (powder measures, trickler, bullet casting equipment, etc.) the scale and press from that very first kit remain, to this day, the only ones I own. I think I've gotten my money's worth...

That all speaks as much about the quality and utility of the equipment as it does about my philosophy of reloading. While I have certainly rolled up an awful lot of ammunition over the years, sheer quantity has never been the goal - it's always been about my interest in the reloading itself. The experimentation with different loads, or making different oddball old guns shoot again.

Cost? I quit counting 30 some years ago. I know it isn't much, especially because the vast majority of my bullets are free, being cast from free wheel weights by yours truly. But that's not the point. I would still reload even if it cost more than buying factory ammo. I find the hobby of reloading that engrossing.

I got a Dillon Square Deal B when I was competing regularly in IPSC matches, where quantity was important, otherwise I just load single stage, even for pistols.

I got most of the parts of that RCBS kit as well, but piece by piece at greater expense as I upgraded the stuff from the cheap Lee kit I started with.

There is a similar Lee Kit (which is actually better than the kit I bought), with a street price of about $100, but the scale is garbage (I owned one) and the priming tool broke on me 3 times before I junked it.

The RCBS also comes with a Reloading Manual, case lube kit, and a loading block (worth about $55), and a better hand priming tool ($40). If you add the price of a decent scale you are in the same ballpark as the RCBS kit. The RCBS also has a better warranty.

Only other things you will need that are not in the RCBS kit are dies, and you may want a tumbler.

I do like Lee Collet dies for bolt guns, primarily for accuracy, but also because I hate lubing cases to resize them. I also like the Lee trimming tools, they are simple, effective and cheap.

The only Lee products I own and can recommend are their dies. Everything else they make seems to be cheap junk, save for possibly some of their presses.

I stick with RCBS for most of my reloading tools. I have some Lyman stuff as well, like a couple of their #55 powder measures and their lubri-sizer. Most of my molds are RCBS, followed closely by Lymann, with Saeco a distant third. I have several custom molds from Veral Smith, Paul Jones, Dave Farmer, and Fred Leeth.

I have some oddball, specialized tools from Forster and others, some of it custom made by hobbyists trying to fill a small niche need. All in all, though, most of my stuff is RCBS. It's great quality, reasonably priced, readily available, and wonderfully usefull. You just can't go wrong with it.

Yep, I like Lee dies, but I do not like their hand primer. I use the RCBS hand primer and RCBS stands behind their products, as well as Lee does. The Lyman turbo tumbler rocks, too!

Wow this is really a good thread for me as I think I want to get started on reloading as a hobby this winter. The Dillon 650 is definitely the Porsche of the industry, but I will never do enough reloading to justify the cost. That RCBS kit looks like it may be the way to go for me. So as I understand it you order the kit and then you have to order individual dies for each caliber? And will it do both rifle and pistol?

Kurt,

Keep your eyes open on Ebay and Craigs List. Good friend of mine just picked up a complete Dillon 650 on Craigslist for $240! The lifetime warranty follows the press so he just sent it in to have it completely overhauled for free.

Hard to beat a deal like that, or even look for a 550 model.

I have used both the Lee and RCBS. I did like the Lee, but like I mentioned, I broke the lever 3 times on the Lee before I junked it.

The upside of the Lee design is that the feedback is better. I had a better feel for what the primer was doing with my thumb on the Lee than using my whole hand on the RCBS. The downside of this is if you are priming a lot of cases, your thumb can get really stiff/sore. Another downside is (or was at the time anyway) that you needed a special shell holder, where the RCBS uses the standard shell holder from the die.

In my personal opinion, Lee is the Harbor Freight of reloading tools. They work for the job they are built for, but there is certainly better stuff out there. Some of the stuff is really good for the price, some of it is garbage, and will not last very long. Their dies are good, and I have heard from several folks that their powder measure is also pretty good, and just as accurate as more expensive models (but have no personal experience with it).

Yep. The threads are standard between brands, so you can use any make of die in the press.

For straight walled pistol cases, make sure you get carbide dies, so you won't need to lube the cases. Can you even buy pistol dies that aren't carbide any more?

For bottle-necked rifle cases, you will need to lube the cases if you full length resize, but neck sizing (either with a standard neck size die, or the Lee Collet dies) is preferable from an accuracy and case life standpoint.

Be aware though, neck sizing is generally only possible for bolt action guns, and as the case fireforms to the chamber it is only sure to work in the rifle they were fired in. In other words, if you have 2 rifles of the same caliber, neck-sized reloads made on fireformed cases from one may not chamber in the other.

Tom

I have 3 Lyman Spar-T turret presses that are at least 40 years old and I'm very happy with the results I've had. I've loaded more than 15k rounds of pistol/rifle. Lee dies have served me well, but you need to keep them clean and check their adjustment frequently. I like the Lyman electronic scale, digital micrometer and Turbo Tumbler. I have an old Hollywood Gun Co powder measurer that is only good for ball powders, not rod powders. I have 2 Lyman T55 powder measurers that I DO NOT like and I cannot recommend them. My RCBS hand primer is great and I REALLY like the RCBS products! If I jumped to a progressive, I'd buy the Dillon 650!!