[captdecoy]

The care and feeding of my .357 sig is starting to get a little steep. I was thinking of taking up reloading. Can anyone recommend a good(but under $250) all in one package/setup?

 

[ichy_trigger]

You wont want to reload with a single stage press for very long if your planning on shooting alot of ammo. I bought a Dillon to reload .45 and .357 but found that .357 Dillon dies cost $108.00!!! Now im going to buy a .40 gun to target shoot and save my .357 for defense.

I dont know if you will find a progressive reloader setup for $250.00 complete.
You will need a good powder scale, loading manuals, calipers, press, dies, etc...
Check out Lee reloading products, they are relatively inexpensive.

 

[SteveW1958]

I load .357 SIG as well as other cals on a Dillon 550. Yes it way more than $250 but worth every penny. My sig rounds with jacketed bullets cost me about $8.50 to $9.00 per hundered to reload. Compare this with the cost of the cheepest factory round and you will easily save enough to pay for a press in short time.
Just my opinion.

ichy_trigger
There are other 357 SIG dies avail for much less than the Dillon. They are not carbide but will work. I use the Dillon dies set up on a seperate quick change kit (as all my cals are) so change over takes less than 5 min. The time savings is well worth the $$.

 

[Snake-eater 1]

You wont want to reload with a single stage press for very long if your planning on shooting alot of ammo. I bought a Dillon to reload .45 and .357 but found that .357 Dillon dies cost $108.00!!! Now im going to buy a .40 gun to target shoot and save my .357 for defense.

I dont know if you will find a progressive reloader setup for $250.00 complete.
You will need a good powder scale, loading manuals, calipers, press, dies, etc...
Check out Lee reloading products, they are relatively inexpensive.

I don't like Lee presses, but I LOVE Lee dies. I expect a set for .357 sig should run around $30. Unless you have the Dillon press that requires the use of the Dillon dies (the AT?), you can use any standard size dies in a Dillon press. You might have to fit the locking rings on the bottom of the tool head instead of the top, but they'll work.

 

[Hydraulicman]

I load 357 sig on my 550 with lee dies. use some hornaday one shot case lube and just load as normal.

I use the 3 die set. it works fine and i have not found a need for a crimp . Use truncated bullets (no nato style ) and you will be just fine. make sure to bell the case just enough to accept a bullet.

happy loading and enjoy those little bottleneck rounds.

 

[Mad Pick]

Do you need to trim the cases for .357 Sig, like you do for bottleneck rifle rounds?

 

[tialloydragon]

Buy a Lee Pro 1000 Progressive for the .40cal or a Loadmaster, and swap out the dies with .357sig. Setup cost=less than 250.

 

[Mercmar]

Buy a Lee Pro 1000 Progressive for the .40cal or a Loadmaster, and swap out the dies with .357sig. Setup cost=less than 250.

Rather than waiting for one of those "splendid" Lee progressives to arrive, just wake every morning for a week and poke yourself in the eye with a sharp stick.

Then order ANY OTHER MANUFACTURER'S progressive!!

 

[fredj338]

Buy a Lee Pro 1000 Progressive for the .40cal or a Loadmaster, and swap out the dies with .357sig. Setup cost=less than 250.

Not unless you are extremely patient & mechanically inclined, the Lee progressives are crap IMO. The Lee Classic Turret is a better machine, a bit more than $250 for the press, dies, scale & powder measure w/ some small access, but well worth it. Don't go cheap IMO, good equip last forever. I have been reloading for 35yrs now, still have my first single stage press.
Get Tha ABCs of Reloading & a Lyman #49 manual, read them both, then read them again. You'll have a better idea what you need vs what you want. I would say 90% of the reloaders buy more press than they really need.
The 357sig is NOT the best caliber to start with, but can be safely reloaded for less than the cost of cheap factory 9mm. It's very bullet specific & bullet setback is a big issue. The only carbide dies are the expensive Dillon, but you can use Lee dies & size in a 40 carbide sizer for a lot less. Consider a reloading class for this one. The NRA offers them.

 

[Keltyke]

I second the Lee Pro 1000. Yes, it does take some fiddling with. There are better presses around, but Lee has excellent CS. I threw away the junky primer feed and use a hand primer off the press. Three die sets work great with most handgun loads. Unless you're cranking out ammo for the whole block, you don't really need the speed (or cost) of a big Dillon.