I reload with the Dillon 550b, I can turn out about 100 9mm in 12 minutes or so, I also have an RCBS Rochchucker for my precision stuff like my creedmoor. It takes me about 6 hours to load 50 rounds that way, but that’s bench shooting. For my pistol stuff, I use range brass and blue bullets, I use tightgroup for my 9mm. If anyone needs any info, let me know.
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Those would be the ones.
You’ll find that with bullet manufacturers reloading info they will favor their bullets with a variety of powders.
Where as with powder companies loading data they will favor their powder with a variety of bullets.
Having the hornady book can’t hurt. Probably find some recipes you can use in there as well.
My reference materials are from Lyman, Speer, Hornady (which are books I bought only or in store), and alliant powder, which they will send you a free copy of their reloading data every year.
Just order it from their website.
Happy loading folks.
Mike
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Hodgdon has a great online reloading data site, just Google Hodgdon reloading/Home and follow the prompts, you can print the info off and hang it right over your bench. I have several books, the info in each book seems to be different from each other, sometimes by just a little, sometimes by a lot. So be careful, a lot of guys don’t like to share their recipes with anyone for safety reasons, especially if they’re riding that maximum load line. I’m not like that, so if you have questions, please ask, if I know, I’ll tell you, if I don’t know, I’ll find out for you. I like the Lyman book and the Hornady book, the Lyman always seems to be a bit lighter than all the rest, but you can always find a recipe by working up to it. Always watch for the signs of a hot load, flattened out primers, case bulge, ejection issues, and chronoing everything never hurts, follow the safety guidelines and you can usually be pretty safe. Loading for pistol and for bench rifles are a very different technique, if your not sure about something, please ask questions. God bless. 
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Luke, the hornady book is great, I use it a lot, and you can call them and speak with one of the guys about working up a load, they won’t tell you what to do, but will suggest where you should maybe start with the powder and bullets your using, great guys over there. You can use almost any book to reload anything. Books like the Nosler book and the Berger book, references their own product for the most part, they will give you a lot of information about their product like the G-1 and the G-7 BC (ballistic coefficient), this will be more useful for bench shooting, but is great info to have for everything. Hope this answers your question.
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Luke, it depends on what state you live in, check your local laws, if your comfortable with it, go right down to the police station and speak with the firearms sergeant, they will tell you everything, even the town rules that may supersede the state laws.
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I reload multiple calibers, it certainly helps with range expenses. First suggestion find a local reloaded and make time to learn.
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A basic set up, there are many, powder scale, dies, primer tool and a press. There are many brands, RCBS, Lee, Hornady juat to mention a few. Im not going to lie, it can be a bit expensive to get set up. You can find whole benches online for sale. I would suggest finding someone localy to learn from. I teach folks in my area.
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Thank you, I’m dorky going to look into it
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We all had to start somewhere.
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When I picked up my Dillon 550b, I paid almost $1200.00 shipped, now they’re going for $800.00 bucks, the thing I like about the Dillon is that you can buy extra quick change assemblies. Comes with a powder measure and die, tool head, and a cool tool head stand, if I want to switch from .40 cal to 9mm, I remove 2 pins and the whole thing pops out and put the desired caliber in, pop the pins in and your done, (with the exception of primer size, that’s another procedure), each quick change is all set up with desired powder, dies are all adjusted and set, ready to go in minutes. Love it, and getting another for lg and small primer.
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Awesome, little pricey for me. I have a single stage Rockchucker.
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I do as well Mike, I use it mostly for loading bench gun ammo, 6.5 creedmoor, 30-06, 7mm rem mag, and some .223 for my savage #12 bolt gun, I guess I also use the RCBS for swaging my .223 range brass.
I want another 550b so I have one set up for large primer and one for small primer, it’s a pain in the arse to change that out a lot. It sounds excessive, but I reload a lot so it would be great for me.
I just started reloading a couple years ago so it was my first press. Love the precision I get on my 300 wm
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This is something I also want to do. I’ve been looking at different reloaders, dies, Shellholders and primer tools.
Im probably going to sign up for a class on reloading from the same group I got my concealed carry class from.
When the ammo shortage began, I invested in a major amount of reloading supplies
I learned how to reload 9mm and I converted 5.56 brass to 300 Blackout,
If we ever have another shortage - there are things to consider like I mentioned above.
- Commonize. - Like the military, the way to keep the expense and complexity down is to commonize caliber, magazines and platforms in your family’s reserve. . This is why I changed to 9mm after decades with 45ACP. I.e. wanted same caliber as wife and kids.
- Limit the calibers you keep on hand- Limit yourself to 5 or six calibers. .22lr, 9mm, 308, 300 black and 12 ga give you about as much versatility that you need.
- Buy used brass NOW While it’s cheap. You can use it to reload later or use it like gold when the ammo prices go up.
- 300 Blk, .308 and 30-06 and 300 Winchester all use the same bullets. (.30 in diameter) 300 black can use the same powder as pistol loads and is good for hogs, white tail, coyotes, etc. There is a ton of inter-relationships that is worth exploring.
- 300 Blk brass is simply necked down 5,56 brass. opened up to handle a .30 dia bullet.
- (Did I mention 300 Blk??) lol
- READ, READ, READ and understand the process. Don’t be a risk taker,
ONE VERY IMPORTANT POINT. Reloaded ammo can be RISKY. Squib loads can ruin your gun and possibly be dangerous or deadly. WEIGH YOUR AMMO to ensure they all are the same weight and therefor have the same amount of powder. Measure the high to make sure the bullet/cartridge is the right height. Otherwise it could explode.
Enjoy!
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Great point, @Emory! It can be a great hobby, but it can also be a dangerous one!
Education and attention to detail are so important!
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I’m going to start doing this, and I’m going to a reloading class early next month.
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As a competitive shooter (1800 rounds or more a week at the peak of his competition training) my hubby reloads. He’s a big fan of the Dillon presses, although he’s got other brands. He reloads pistol, rifle, shotgun.
on cost: if you reuse your brass, or have access to used brass (say at your local club range, or a police range where the brass will all be fired-only-one-time) it can save you a BUNCH. everyone we know saves us their used brass if they aren’t reloaders. component prices vary over time, some things are more expensive lately, but we watch for deals.
on utility: for competition shooters, you better have buckets of money, or learn to reload. for our range practice, we like to know we’re getting optimumally-tuned-rounds for what we shoot - the power and the bullet type in the combination we like. for unusual or hard to find cartridges, it can be the only option for a ready supply, although you have to keep an eye out for components and get them when you can. if everything goes to **** in a handbasket, the utility value goes way up, but is still limited by your component stockpile on hand.
on popularity of the art: I think this art waxes and wanes along with the political climate. we were living in So.Cal during the last big ammo shortage, and that coincidentally lined up with some very powerful political maneuvering that threatened to make many kinds of ammo unavailable or require a permit to buy. I was pretty active with a CA pro-firearms-rights group at the time, and organized reloading training classes all over the state. At one point we probably had 40 people who were teaching regular events and a hundred or so who would mentor folks individually. My hubby taught a number of classes in our area.
on safety: yep, you have to have your head on and pay attention. learn from someone who really knows their stuff. inspect your components. check your work. treat it with the respect it deserves. Both my husband and I have had cartridge failures - his resulted in a breech explosion, and mine in a squib round… but both of those were with factory ammo.
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