Questions from a loading neophyte

[joec]

As the title says when it comes to loading I'm a complete neophyte. I starting to get really interesting in doing this but for a bit more than just CA black powder shooting. Ammo I'm shoot are 9mm, 45 acp standard stuff for practice, for the CA stuff 45 Colt, 20 and 12 gauge all black powder or a substitute.

First question is the equipment needed to these ammos, costs, brands etc. Also keep in mind I want to keep it as simple as possible as well as inexpensive as possible. Self Defense loads in 9mm and 45 acp I will purchase factory ammo only for. Thanks for any input into this.

[wildman1]

I think a good place to start is with a loader like the Lee Challenger kit usually about $100 from Cabelas. With that you get press, hand primer, powder measure, scale, and a few other things. Lee dies seem to do a good job in whatever caliber you're going to reload. I don't think you need a tumbler right away but you will eventually get one. I just started reloading about a year ago and the folks here have been very helpful.  WM

[Driftwood Johnson]

Howdy

I am going to give you the same advice I always give to new reloaders who ask about equipment.

The very first thing you should buy before spending one red cent on any equipment is a loading manual. There are several on the market, Lee, Lyman, Hornady, and RCBS come to mind right off the bat. I learned to reload out of the Lyman Pistol and Revolver Handbook, I think it is in its third edition now.

Before you even start to try to decide what equipment to buy, sit down and read the chapter in one of those manuals explaining the reloading process. You don't have to read the whole book, just the chapter describing the process, and what actually happens when a case is shoved up inside a die.

Reading a manual should also give you a good idea of the different types and brands of equipment out there.

Once you have bought a manual and read it, then start thinking about what equipment to buy.

Any choices made before doing a little bit of reading are premature.

[joec]

Howdy

I am going to give you the same advice I always give to new reloaders who ask about equipment.

The very first thing you should buy before spending one red cent on any equipment is a loading manual. There are several on the market, Lee, Lyman, Hornady, and RCBS come to mind right off the bat. I learned to reload out of the Lyman Pistol and Revolver Handbook, I think it is in its third edition now.

Before you even start to try to decide what equipment to buy, sit down and read the chapter in one of those manuals explaining the reloading process. You don't have to read the whole book, just the chapter describing the process, and what actually happens when a case is shoved up inside a die.

Reading a manual should also give you a good idea of the different types and brands of equipment out there.

Once you have bought a manual and read it, then start thinking about what equipment to buy.

Any choices made before doing a little bit of reading are premature.

Thanks I have a book coming from Lee. I also got interested by looking at the 3 videos posted yesterday on loading shot shells which made that part of it look real easy especially with BP or a substitute. I will be using brass shells in both 20 and 12 gauge for this. I also found a good page on the internet for loading BP shot shells at
http://www.tbullock.com/bpsg.html.

I think a good place to start is with a loader like the Lee Challenger kit usually about $100 from Cabelas. With that you get press, hand primer, powder measure, scale, and a few other things. Lee dies seem to do a good job in whatever caliber you're going to reload. I don't think you need a tumbler right away but you will eventually get one. I just started reloading about a year ago and the folks here have been very helpful.  WM

The Lee Challenger Kit is the one of the two by them I was looking at.

Thanks both of you it has been very helpful.