I am ready to start Reloading!!!

[xJPxHatchet]

Well after weeks of research and reading my abc's. I have finally decided to place my orders for all my equipment. I am only reloading 40 s&w At the moment but plan to move to other calibers when the time comes And i acquire a different caliber pistol. But for now just sticking with the .40. My local wally world sells Rcbs equipment, I was planning to go the single stage route cause i am a noob to reloading but i am a little inpatient and my job makes me work weird ours so i don't want reloading to become a chore. So i went With the Dillon Square Deal B. the difference between getting the basic RCBS SS form wally and getting almost the same from Dillon was $30.00 including shipping. I do have a list of things to get from midway and Cabelas anyway, such as a few more books,tumbler, and you all know the rest. So with everything that i have gotten including components to start making 1000rds. I was able to keep my costs down below $1,000.00. Not to bad if you ask me. and its all tax refund money so even better. look forward to reloading soon

[iCreek]

Just take your time, 40 S&W might not be the best round (high pressure) to start with, but sure many have done it. Start light with your powder charges, check your OAL (Over All Length) and load 5 or 10 at a time and test. Worst thing you could do is load 100 and find out you have a problem. So take your time and be safe. Congrats on taking the dive, you won't regret it.

[xJPxHatchet]

Thanks you for the words of wisdom.

[GiddyUpGone2]

Congratulations! I'm reloading .40 as I speak. Well, I took a break to check the forums... you will enjoy. Back to the press....

[Keltyke]

I started reloading with .40 S&W. The guys are right, it's a high pressure round, and care must be taken when charging. I started in the middle of the recommended charge, and had no problems. Cycle your press/charger until you're SURE it's 100% accurate EVERY TIME. At first, measure the charge and OAL every ten rounds. Get a bullet puller!

Your WW sells reloading equipment?!?! Geez! Some people have it all!!! I've heard the RCBS is a good press. Dillon is supposed to be the Kiing. I reload using a 3-hole Lee turret, and I'm a happy camper. I prime off-press and deprime with a single stage and universal deprimer. Not fast and not efficient - but reloading is fun for me and I'm not after 1000's of rounds a month.

[fredj338]

COngrats, you are now into a great hobby that returns you cheap ammo. The SDB would not have been my choice, to limiting, one never know where their shooting will take them. I started reloadinf the 357mag, now & reload 26 diff calibers, many not SDB capable.
The 40 is fine to start with. Your powder choice will be crucial though for safety as a noob. Resist the "experts" opinions to use something like TightGroup. You want a solid medium burner that fills the case at least half full. So Unique, WSF, Universal, PowerPistol, HS6, all good powder choices for the high pressures/small volume rds. Stick to jacketed bullets to start, not plated, not lead, they all load diff & you'll find more data w/ jacketed bullets. Go slow, resist the erge to run the press as a progressive, load single rounds to start until you understand what the process is & how the press runs. ENJOY!

[xJPxHatchet]

well things have changed went to go order my Dilion this morning and the Girlfriend came in and said the car would not start. YAY!!! ME!!!!. so i changed some things around on my list of equipment to buy and i am going with my second choice which is a Lee 4 Hole Turret Press with Auto Index Deluxe Kit. Powder choice yes i have decided to go with three different types of powder Tightgroup ( LGS gives me a discount on it when he buys his order to save on shipping) Power pistol and No. 5. Now bullets this is were i am having a tuff time deciding about. I hear the Hornaday 10mm HP xtp 180g ($19.99/100 at Cabelas in Wheeling WV) work awesome but a little pricey for large quantities. IMO. I am using all CCI primers cause there only 24.99 at Cabelas or 3.17/100 at Wally World. but i mainly want rds that i can go to the range and just shoot and practice. I thought about the Rainier LeadSafe Bullets 40 S&W, 10mm Auto (400 Diameter) 180 Grain Plated Flat Nose. Cause they are only 65/500 at Cabelas. I might try using berry's they seam to be somewhat cost effective 36.00/250rds 122.25/1000 off of there website plus free shipping. Still researching though for others that are cost effective. brass is no issue since i started shooting i policed my brass plus its only 22.50/500 for OFB at the indoor range i go to that is right up the street. lots of decisions left to make some easier then others but soon i will find out.

oh by the way start up cost is now below $600.00 equipment books and components so far. a bulk order of bullets when I decide which ones to go with will put me over $700.00

[fredj338]

Do yourself a huge favor & do NOT buy TG to learn on. IT is a powder tha can & does get 40 reloaders into all kinds of trouble. Why worry about powder cost, you save about 1/5 of a penny over something like Unique or PP, & then shoot exspensive bullets like Hornady? Makes no sense. I also would buy only one # of powder & try it, a bargain on 8# is only a bargain if you like it.
Berry's are fine, but pricey. Go look @ Precision Delta. Real jacketed for less than Berry's or other plated. The Lee CT is a good press, far better than their so called progressives. Simple & a little more robust, it will serve you well. The scale in the kit is crap, I would opt for a better one like the Dillon beam. The measure is marginal w/o an adjustable bar, too limiting for proper load workups. The Lee manual is also marginal. SO I would probably buy the press separate & get better access as noted along w/ the Lyman #49 & Speer #14 manuals.

[xJPxHatchet]

Thanks your input has been invaluable i will look at the site for bullets and i planned on using power pistol well before tight group and my dad got a 45 yesterday so now i will be reloading 45 as well for him and i hear TG is better for 45. But will still see what works best for what i am loading.

[fredj338]

Originally Posted by xJPxHatchet

Thanks your input has been invaluable i will look at the site for bullets and i planned on using power pistol well before tight group and my dad got a 45 yesterday so now i will be reloading 45 as well for him and i hear TG is better for 45. But will still see what works best for what i am loading.

IMO, worse. The powder charge is so small that it is easy to miss. It is less pressures sensative in the larger case, but just not a TG fan due to it's very small volume per charge wt. The only good thing I can really say about it is it' cost effective, but since powder is the cheapest part of any handgun reload, you save about 1/5 of a penny/rd, cost is waaaaaay down the list. If you want a fast powder for light 40 loads & the 45acp, WST works better. Soft recoil & 1.4-1.5x the loft of TG per grain. Did I mention I am not a TG fan?
PowerPistol has a large following. The powder is a good one, but I do not like the larger blast/report it offers. WSF runs just a bit faster, good volume & meteres well, a better choice IMO. Proper powder selection & the importance of OAL are probably the two things noobs just don't grasp right away.