All about reloading

I know that you'll need 2 presses 1 for the 50 BMG and one for all the rest

The size of the dies and the round for the 50 are too big for the standard press I think RCBS makes a 50 BMG press

For everything else, get a Dillon press, preferably a 650 but a 550 is more than adequate
Books I use are the Lyman reloading Manual and Any Shot You Want by A-Squared with Lyman as my "Bible"

Depending on the volumes you want to load you can spend a lot of money, and 50's use an awful lot of powder--buy it in 8 lb kegs

re: The Dillon--It is not cheap, but IMHO they are the best you can get, with a no hassle lifetime warranty(life of the machine--your grandson could send it back for repairs and they'd do it free) on all of their machines and just about everyone who owns a Dillon has great things to say about them and their customer service.


Theres lots of good gear out there and lots of info

Good luck with whatever you choose

Aloha SV:

Reloading... yeah! It's fun and a way to get max potential out of your bullets...

There are a couple of presses out now (single stage) that may be able to handle all those calibers but as Big Choad said, usually one for the .50 and one for the rest... :lol: If you got one for all, it might have some unnecessary "arm" swing when reloading smaller calibers... :lol:

But single stage or progressive is mostly dependent on the quantity of bullets you are intending on producing... I use a Redding T7 for single stage reloading, a Forster Co-Ax for specialty duty and Dillon's for the "BULK" bullets... A Dillon 650 with case feeder for centerfire rifle (although it can do pistol and rifle) and a SDB for my .45 pistols.

Do you need all of this stuff? NO... not at all. A single stage can do almost everything you need done, but a bit slower and one at a time. A progressive does multiple tasks simultaniously and way faster (still maintaining tight bullet/case tolerances).

There are a "ton" of small accessories to buy as well, if you want to start making quality reloaded bullets... some is "hype" and some are necessary.

Case trimmers - necessary...
Neck turners - NOT necessary for plinking ammo...
etc. etc. etc.

One piece of advice I could lend would be to research well and buy "GOOD" quality from the beginning. IT will last you a life time in service and then some. My Forster Co-Ax is about 30+ years old now and still working... this would apply to everything, presses, dies, tools, supplies.

Much like scopes, sometimes you might be tempted to buy the $65 scope, later to find out that it is inadequate for you needs and end up having to respend that money (and then some) for what you really need...

I think you are right on with reloading and asking the right questions... BigChoad has always steered me straight.

BTW: I reload, .223, .243, .308 and .30-06 centerfire rifle and .45 for pistol.

Good Luck and Best Wishes...

Aloha,

Tom O.