That is an amazing system, I have a buddy that was a pretty big deal in IPSC and his Dillon setup was something else. As I’m sticking to rifles for the time being the single should work out🤔
@@theguywithbeardgunsandgear My brother has been reloading for years, as time went on and he got more experienced over time he's upgraded to the Dillon, especially since I was able to throw him some cash to offset the costs. Win Win for both of us, I reload 5.56 and 9 mil for my Kodiak rifles.
You're going to have fun. Just please take a large amount of care!! I've been reloading for more than fifty years, and it's definitely worth the effort and investment! I even cast my own bullets, which is another hobby in itself! Good luck!
I start with - normally kits are a waste of money because they sell you stuff that your just gonna end up replacing, whereby spent money on stuff that did not need. Other than that with Hornady's bullet thing going on it makes up for the money as if you bought bullets with it and they just through in cheap plastic stuff for free. So not bad for a start. Second the Hornady L-N-L quick change die bushings are great, as you stated it is like having a turret press that you never have to swop the turret out to change calibers. And they make it just too easy to swop out dies, whereby it is as good as having multiple presses in one! Did well there. And the Hornady press is far better than any Lee ones, and just about as good as an RCBS one, so still doing great with a press that will serve you all throughout your handloading career. The gen 3 1500 is a good one to trickle on. I have one and it does the job well. The only thing I will recommend is that you always tear/re-zero the scale before each powder charge as it can and will drift and there is no way of knowing when it does without a backup scale. Hence I recommend getting an Ohaus 5-0-5 beam scale (from Ohaus) to double check things out with. Actually I use one to trickle my charges on and use the gen 3 1500 to do the double checking on. So you did well here too. As far as the powder trickler that is one of the things that need to be thrown into the trash and don't look back. Get you a Lyman Brass Smith Powder Trickler and run with it. There is none other on the market better at this time. But hey, you got free bullets to make up for it, so be glad still. The powder funnel and loading block are also a waste of money and should be replace immediately with an aluminum powder funnel(s) and a wooden loading block(s) [more on this in another comment]. Again free bullet makes up for these also, so you are ahead of the game with a nice start. The Hornady loading Manual is nice to have but I will have to recommend that you ASAP get the Lyman manual next to get your load data from. As time goes on, as you can afford, continue collecting as many bullet manufacturers manuals. Also get powder manuals to boot as they will be a nice addition to the mix. But yes the Hornady manual will get you started with plinking rounds, so you are definitely on your way. Be sure and read and re-read the front of the manuals as you acquire them as here a little there a little one will gain more knowledge of the hobby. The Richard Lee manual is only good for the front half of the book, and the loading data is not worth having so buy it last just to round off your handloading library. OK, for the priming tool, I basically covered priming in another comment so I just say that a Lee Ram Prime die set is a nice and safe way to prime on the press. Nice because you seat the primer on the down stroke, and safe because you are handling one primer at a time [see comments below]. So IMHO you have decent tools thus far, and as you add or upgrade I would like to encourage you to always get good/decent tools from now on so as to negate needing to replace them ever again. Really all you should need to replace is the plastic stuff (reasons covered below). I will have to say that Lee's only tools worth having is the Ram Priming die set and their Factory Collet Style crimp dies. Be sure and stay away from their plastic dippers for reasons stated in another comment! Better to get brass ones made out of a trimmed to size bullet cases, or find meatal ones for sell if you can.
Thanks for the info, I realize that there is a lot to learn and I’m thankful for the advice/recommendations. Really enjoying the process so far, now that I’ve used everything im really not sure how I feel about the hand primer, it just feels bad when seating primers. Everything else seems to work and I’ve managed to kick out my first 50 .223 rounds. We’ll see how they match up on the range.
@@theguywithbeardgunsandgear So far I have made 67 live rounds and 1 dummy. Anyway I made them up late last year in cold weather because I cold and was tired of waiting. Have not shot any of them them yet because I am waiting for hot weather to test them in, so that they will be at their max. The defense rounds cost about $2 a cartridge so I want to do it one time and get it right the first time at that. The practice rounds cost about $1 a cartridge. I am starting with 45 Colt, yet have plains for 45 Auto, and the 460 S&W Magnum. And perhaps a 45 caliber wildcat, and maybe even a 45 caliber black powder pistol. I have been buying tools and manuals for four years now, and I still have some tools that I want to get (about $2,000 worth). I have spent approximately 5,000 so far trying to get decent tools gathered together and a boat load of manuals. I have about 3,500 primers, and 3 pounds of powder, 700 new * - * cases, but I only have 100 bullets so I still need to buy more bullets. Between getting tools, manuals, primers, powders, I have had very little money for bullets. But hopefully by the end of this year I will have it all. I could had bought cheap Lee tools and been loading years ago but I decided that I would buy quality tools so I will enjoy using them a whole lot more and a whole lot longer at that. I too have watched every RUclips video and bought every bodies latest manual, and every book on the subject, I could find (about 92 total to date). I also want to build me a portable 8"X16" Loading Room, with window on both long sides to be able to test shoot out of. Then I will be able to shot videos and guns from the room!
Now I’ll round out with a few horror stories - {these are not meant to scare you away from reloading but rather to encourage you to always follow all the safety precautions and heed the warnings in the manuals for a safe and long Handloading journey}. Any Shoot Will Do, The A-Square Handloading and Rifle Manual, page 16: Let’s start with guys who didn’t read the safety chapter. All of these are real incidents involving experienced reloaders. #1, A commercial handloader producing handgun cartridges in quantity used to begin his day by filling a coffee can with primers to pour into the machine. He would pull out each tray and, with a flick of the wrist, empty it into the can. One day he used too much flick: one primer went off, initiating a chain reaction that filled the air with shrapnel and cost him both his eyes." [a commercial reloader that thought about how many rounds he had loaded and never had a problem whereby he did not bother with safety or safety glasses, until one day he wished he had taken heed to the warnings, but it was too late by then.] The Complete Handloader, John Wootters, page 37: The Power of Primers Never under estimate the potency of priming compounds. ... a workman at a priming manufacturing facility was carrying a bucket of loose primers ... and the whole bucket detonated. ... they never found any part of the workman except his shoes. An acquaintance of mine had ... about a hundred rifle primers detonate in a plastic medicine vial in his left hand. He lost his hand and the sight in his left eye, and he underwent a series of operations for cosmetic repairs to his face, arm, and upper body, suffering a great deal of pain, a staggering financial setback, and the loss of part of his livelihood. He was a gunsmith. Primer Precautions Such tragedies illustrate the inherent explosive power of small-arms primers, but they can be avoided totally by understanding and adhering to a few simple precautions. The first is never store primers in any kind of container other than the original factory packaging. The second is go back and reread that last sentence several times. Do not keep live primers, however few, loose in any sort of miscellaneous container, and most especially not one made of glass. A fellow RUclipsr told a story of hand priming in his Lazyboy chair when one went off. They found the lid to the primer tray stuck in the ceiling above the chair. According to the story it had just missed his face. So be extra sure not to have it aimed at your face when hand priming with these tools. And safety glasses would be a very good idea as mentioned throughout all the reloading manual over and over again. And upon these notes I hope you have a blast, the good kind that is.
I did read the safety part of the manual and while there is a lot of repetition I’m sure it’s with good reason. The priming part is what makes me the most nervous and therefore very careful. I read about chain reactions and it scared me a bit. So I have my own story already, I loaded 10 primers into the tray and thought I had it set up correctly, started to apply pressure and “pop” off goes a primer in the casing. Luckily no chain reaction but I immediately took it apart and verified it was correct and then started priming without further incident. It is important to not hurry things and make sure you don’t overlook any safety steps. Thanks for the warnings I will stay on my toes.
@@theguywithbeardgunsandgear While the Hornady manual states that priming is the most dangerous step in handloading, the Lyman manual states that priming one primer at a time is a relatively safe operation. And both are true. That is to say yes even doing one at a time is the most dangerous step but still relatively safe, unless one primes in mass of which the danger level definitely goes up, while it can still be done safely if one takes their time and goes slow minding all the Ps and Qs. A lot of the manuals recommend not using automatic type primer tools that have either a tray or tube in which lots of primers are resting together. The Lee Ram Prime is a single prime unit of which you would place one primer at a time in it. I use the Lee Ram Prime and it is smooth and easy to feel the primer bottom out in the primer pocket. Far better than the ones that come on the press where you have to push up on the arm to prime the case. The Lee Ram Prime has you pulling down on the arm of which the press is not lifting and makes it easier to feel. Of coarse if on wants to use an auto style priming tool the Primal Right Prime All would be the safest design wise, but it cost $600- $700 US. Ouch! Anyway all the CCI and Remington primers, plus Winchester small pistol are the safest in auto style priming tools, but I like Federal for the performance. I also have some CCI just because that was all I could get at the time. I use them for plinking rounds and the Federal ones for my self defense and hunting rounds that need to be at their best when it counts. But hey now a days any primer is better than no primer at all! And the same goes for powders. Be sure and wear safety glasses which ever way you decide to go!
@@thetexasratyeah I wish I had the budget for the Gucci gear. You’re right that you’re pretty much limited to what you can find. Maybe things will improve soon.
Throw the hand primer, prime at the press and keep the primming away from your face and eyes, ALWAYS WEAR YOUR SAFETY GLASSES, watch your loading data for powder charge as too little can be as dangerous as too much, and have an experienced reloader give you a hand until you are comfortable, now go enjoy another aspect of a great and rewarding heritage!
I found the hand primer works great on large primers however, the small primers have a tendency of flipping over on their way to the cartridge. Not optimal.
I booted the spouse out about 6 years ago. No longer an issue 🤣🤣😇 My brother and I split the costs on a Dillon 750 👍
That is an amazing system, I have a buddy that was a pretty big deal in IPSC and his Dillon setup was something else.
As I’m sticking to rifles for the time being the single should work out🤔
@@theguywithbeardgunsandgear My brother has been reloading for years, as time went on and he got more experienced over time he's upgraded to the Dillon, especially since I was able to throw him some cash to offset the costs. Win Win for both of us, I reload 5.56 and 9 mil for my Kodiak rifles.
@@MrSkydiver604 those Dillons are fast and precise….maybe someday🙏
You're going to have fun. Just please take a large amount of care!! I've been reloading for more than fifty years, and it's definitely worth the effort and investment! I even cast my own bullets, which is another hobby in itself! Good luck!
Oh yes, I’m taking it very slow. I basically break it down into stages and check everything several times before actually moving the press.
I start with - normally kits are a waste of money because they sell you stuff that your just gonna end up replacing, whereby spent money on stuff that did not need. Other than that with Hornady's bullet thing going on it makes up for the money as if you bought bullets with it and they just through in cheap plastic stuff for free. So not bad for a start.
Second the Hornady L-N-L quick change die bushings are great, as you stated it is like having a turret press that you never have to swop the turret out to change calibers. And they make it just too easy to swop out dies, whereby it is as good as having multiple presses in one! Did well there. And the Hornady press is far better than any Lee ones, and just about as good as an RCBS one, so still doing great with a press that will serve you all throughout your handloading career.
The gen 3 1500 is a good one to trickle on. I have one and it does the job well. The only thing I will recommend is that you always tear/re-zero the scale before each powder charge as it can and will drift and there is no way of knowing when it does without a backup scale. Hence I recommend getting an Ohaus 5-0-5 beam scale (from Ohaus) to double check things out with. Actually I use one to trickle my charges on and use the gen 3 1500 to do the double checking on. So you did well here too.
As far as the powder trickler that is one of the things that need to be thrown into the trash and don't look back. Get you a Lyman Brass Smith Powder Trickler and run with it. There is none other on the market better at this time. But hey, you got free bullets to make up for it, so be glad still.
The powder funnel and loading block are also a waste of money and should be replace immediately with an aluminum powder funnel(s) and a wooden loading block(s) [more on this in another comment]. Again free bullet makes up for these also, so you are ahead of the game with a nice start.
The Hornady loading Manual is nice to have but I will have to recommend that you ASAP get the Lyman manual next to get your load data from. As time goes on, as you can afford, continue collecting as many bullet manufacturers manuals. Also get powder manuals to boot as they will be a nice addition to the mix. But yes the Hornady manual will get you started with plinking rounds, so you are definitely on your way. Be sure and read and re-read the front of the manuals as you acquire them as here a little there a little one will gain more knowledge of the hobby. The Richard Lee manual is only good for the front half of the book, and the loading data is not worth having so buy it last just to round off your handloading library.
OK, for the priming tool, I basically covered priming in another comment so I just say that a Lee Ram Prime die set is a nice and safe way to prime on the press. Nice because you seat the primer on the down stroke, and safe because you are handling one primer at a time [see comments below].
So IMHO you have decent tools thus far, and as you add or upgrade I would like to encourage you to always get good/decent tools from now on so as to negate needing to replace them ever again. Really all you should need to replace is the plastic stuff (reasons covered below).
I will have to say that Lee's only tools worth having is the Ram Priming die set and their Factory Collet Style crimp dies. Be sure and stay away from their plastic dippers for reasons stated in another comment! Better to get brass ones made out of a trimmed to size bullet cases, or find meatal ones for sell if you can.
Thanks for the info, I realize that there is a lot to learn and I’m thankful for the advice/recommendations.
Really enjoying the process so far, now that I’ve used everything im really not sure how I feel about the hand primer, it just feels bad when seating primers.
Everything else seems to work and I’ve managed to kick out my first 50 .223 rounds. We’ll see how they match up on the range.
@@theguywithbeardgunsandgear So far I have made 67 live rounds and 1 dummy. Anyway I made them up late last year in cold weather because I cold and was tired of waiting. Have not shot any of them them yet because I am waiting for hot weather to test them in, so that they will be at their max. The defense rounds cost about $2 a cartridge so I want to do it one time and get it right the first time at that. The practice rounds cost about $1 a cartridge. I am starting with 45 Colt, yet have plains for 45 Auto, and the 460 S&W Magnum. And perhaps a 45 caliber wildcat, and maybe even a 45 caliber black powder pistol.
I have been buying tools and manuals for four years now, and I still have some tools that I want to get (about $2,000 worth). I have spent approximately 5,000 so far trying to get decent tools gathered together and a boat load of manuals. I have about 3,500 primers, and 3 pounds of powder, 700 new * - * cases, but I only have 100 bullets so I still need to buy more bullets. Between getting tools, manuals, primers, powders, I have had very little money for bullets. But hopefully by the end of this year I will have it all. I could had bought cheap Lee tools and been loading years ago but I decided that I would buy quality tools so I will enjoy using them a whole lot more and a whole lot longer at that.
I too have watched every RUclips video and bought every bodies latest manual, and every book on the subject, I could find (about 92 total to date).
I also want to build me a portable 8"X16" Loading Room, with window on both long sides to be able to test shoot out of. Then I will be able to shot videos and guns from the room!
Have your kid put the sticker on his locker…
Haha yeah there you go, principles door lol.
lol
@@theguywithbeardgunsandgear
7000 grains in a pound. 23 grains on average per plinking round. Will give you about 300 rounds per lb.
@@robbysreloadingroommath in public….yeah I guess with those numbers I’m getting about 330 bullets. A good start 😊
Yup,,,,,,,Along with the Black Rifles M@tter sticker 🤣🤣🤣🤣🙂😂
Now I’ll round out with a few horror stories - {these are not meant to scare you away from reloading but rather to encourage you to always follow all the safety precautions and heed the warnings in the manuals for a safe and long Handloading journey}.
Any Shoot Will Do, The A-Square Handloading and Rifle Manual, page 16:
Let’s start with guys who didn’t read the safety chapter. All of these are real incidents involving experienced reloaders.
#1, A commercial handloader producing handgun cartridges in quantity used to begin his day by filling a coffee can with primers to pour into the machine. He would pull out each tray and, with a flick of the wrist, empty it into the can. One day he used too much flick: one primer went off, initiating a chain reaction that filled the air with shrapnel and cost him both his eyes." [a commercial reloader that thought about how many rounds he had loaded and never had a problem whereby he did not bother with safety or safety glasses, until one day he wished he had taken heed to the warnings, but it was too late by then.]
The Complete Handloader, John Wootters, page 37:
The Power of Primers
Never under estimate the potency of priming compounds. ... a workman at a priming manufacturing facility was carrying a bucket of loose primers ... and the whole bucket detonated. ... they never found any part of the workman except his shoes.
An acquaintance of mine had ... about a hundred rifle primers detonate in a plastic medicine vial in his left hand. He lost his hand and the sight in his left eye, and he underwent a series of operations for cosmetic repairs to his face, arm, and upper body, suffering a great deal of pain, a staggering financial setback, and the loss of part of his livelihood. He was a gunsmith.
Primer Precautions
Such tragedies illustrate the inherent explosive power of small-arms primers, but they can be avoided totally by understanding and adhering to a few simple precautions. The first is never store primers in any kind of container other than the original factory packaging. The second is go back and reread that last sentence several times. Do not keep live primers, however few, loose in any sort of miscellaneous container, and most especially not one made of glass.
A fellow RUclipsr told a story of hand priming in his Lazyboy chair when one went off. They found the lid to the primer tray stuck in the ceiling above the chair. According to the story it had just missed his face. So be extra sure not to have it aimed at your face when hand priming with these tools. And safety glasses would be a very good idea as mentioned throughout all the reloading manual over and over again.
And upon these notes I hope you have a blast, the good kind that is.
I did read the safety part of the manual and while there is a lot of repetition I’m sure it’s with good reason.
The priming part is what makes me the most nervous and therefore very careful. I read about chain reactions and it scared me a bit.
So I have my own story already, I loaded 10 primers into the tray and thought I had it set up correctly, started to apply pressure and “pop” off goes a primer in the casing. Luckily no chain reaction but I immediately took it apart and verified it was correct and then started priming without further incident.
It is important to not hurry things and make sure you don’t overlook any safety steps.
Thanks for the warnings I will stay on my toes.
@@theguywithbeardgunsandgear While the Hornady manual states that priming is the most dangerous step in handloading, the Lyman manual states that priming one primer at a time is a relatively safe operation. And both are true. That is to say yes even doing one at a time is the most dangerous step but still relatively safe, unless one primes in mass of which the danger level definitely goes up, while it can still be done safely if one takes their time and goes slow minding all the Ps and Qs.
A lot of the manuals recommend not using automatic type primer tools that have either a tray or tube in which lots of primers are resting together. The Lee Ram Prime is a single prime unit of which you would place one primer at a time in it. I use the Lee Ram Prime and it is smooth and easy to feel the primer bottom out in the primer pocket. Far better than the ones that come on the press where you have to push up on the arm to prime the case. The Lee Ram Prime has you pulling down on the arm of which the press is not lifting and makes it easier to feel. Of coarse if on wants to use an auto style priming tool the Primal Right Prime All would be the safest design wise, but it cost $600- $700 US. Ouch!
Anyway all the CCI and Remington primers, plus Winchester small pistol are the safest in auto style priming tools, but I like Federal for the performance. I also have some CCI just because that was all I could get at the time. I use them for plinking rounds and the Federal ones for my self defense and hunting rounds that need to be at their best when it counts. But hey now a days any primer is better than no primer at all! And the same goes for powders.
Be sure and wear safety glasses which ever way you decide to go!
@@thetexasratyeah I wish I had the budget for the Gucci gear.
You’re right that you’re pretty much limited to what you can find. Maybe things will improve soon.
Throw the hand primer, prime at the press and keep the primming away from your face and eyes, ALWAYS WEAR YOUR SAFETY GLASSES, watch your loading data for powder charge as too little can be as dangerous as too much, and have an experienced reloader give you a hand until you are comfortable, now go enjoy another aspect of a great and rewarding heritage!
I’m a very cautious primer lol.
Seriously it’s the step that causes the most anxiety.
I found the hand primer works great on large primers however, the small primers have a tendency of flipping over on their way to the cartridge. Not optimal.
Vivre le Quebec libre!
Oh for sure lol