I've never reloaded before but I plan to only reload pistol ammo for the time being in 9mm and 45acp. Hopefully in at least 2 more calibers by the end of this year 
I don't shoot a lot but that's partly because I don't want to spend so much on ammo only to shoot for a short amount of time. Even then I still don't really see a downside to having a good stock pile of ammo, especially when relatives come to visit or friends want to do some shooting.


Here's where I'm looking for some opinions. I've made my decisions but they can always change for a better one.
Looking at different presses I've decided to go with a Dillon SDB for my handgun ammo needs. When I decide to get a rifle, I'll shoot around a bit, collect my own brass, feel the hurt of the ammo prices and get a single press to help me concentrate more on this type of reload as it seems a lot more tedious and specific (brass trimming etc.). I don't have much brass so my plan is to just buy clean brass and load those then save and stock up on them after I've fired them once. Then clean and reload them and as far as a cleaner I've also decided on a wet brass cleaner, I won't need a huge one so the $100's range should fit me nicely.
At the moment I don't care too much for spit shinny brass, I just want to make sure it's clean and doesn't let out any dust in to the air for me or my family to breathe in as I'm reading what can happen with dry tumbling and I'd rather deal with the dirty water and SS material than the other stuff.


One thing confuses me a bit though:
I see some vids of individuals using their reloader to resize and deprime their brass. Have they cleaned it with a primer still intact or are they just reload dirty/spent casings?

I clean the brass before depriming and resizing. Don't want to damage or dirty my dies..... 9mm doesn't need to have the primer pockets clean but if you want it clean you can get a universal hand depriming tool from Lee for cheap and deprime one by one. I suggest just tumbling the brass (wet or dry) before depriming and resizing.
Everyone has their own techniques....

Another more expensive hand deprimer is the Harvey Deprimer...

http://www.harveydeprimer.com/Specs__orders_and_FAQS.html

I haven't used it but my friend swears by it as all the dust and burnt carbon drops directly in the rubbish can.

Cheap wet cleaning....

Harbor-freight-dual-drum-rotary-tumbler

http://2ahawaii.com/index.php?topic=10784

Have you purchased or do you own a reloading manual yet? Or have you read any reliable sources on reloading somewhere on the Internet? Most will tell you to clean your brass prior to running them through your dies. Depending on the type of dirt and your dies you can either scratch your brass cases and/or you can scratch the inside of your dies. Scratched dies can causes scratch marks on your cases. At the very least most reloading manuals will recommend that you wipe each case with a clean cloth before sending them through your resizing die. But if you are like me and you are looking at 100+ cases to work on, wiping each one off is quite a boring and monotonous task. So I run them through my tumbler first for a short period to clean off the dirt. After the cases have been fully prepped (Sized/Deprimed/Trimmed/Belled/Primer Pockets Cleaned/etc) I will tumble them for at least a couple of hours to get them nice and shiny.

Clean the brass before sizing. You don't want grit inside your dies.
RE the Dillon SDB. It is a wonderful machine, but changing between 9 and 45 is a pain because you also have to change the priming system, in addition to the dies, shell plate etc.

The SDB is a great "one-caliber" solution. Pick your favorite pistol and focus on that caliber. When you get really proficient with that one caliber, then try a caliber conversion.
When these machines were cheap, I bought 2 of them. One for small primers and one for large primers. The price has doubled since then.

I prefer dry tumbling.

Depending on your needs and desires you might want to rethink your purchasing strategy.
I saw somebody had a new single stage kit on craigslist the other day.

What I found works great and is efficient is to buy the lee universal depriming die. I got mine for something Iike $10. I take my old brass, run it through the deprimer (doesn't matter if it's dirty because it doesn't contact the walls) and straight into my wet tumbler drum. Let the tumbler do its job, dry, lube, resize, etc. 

Ask people for brass at the range so you don't have to buy.  Or go around the rifle rage or actions bays at closing time for leftover brass.

I've never reloaded before but I plan to only reload pistol ammo for the time being in 9mm and 45acp. Hopefully in at least 2 more calibers by the end of this year 
I don't shoot a lot but that's partly because I don't want to spend so much on ammo only to shoot for a short amount of time. Even then I still don't really see a downside to having a good stock pile of ammo, especially when relatives come to visit or friends want to do some shooting.


Here's where I'm looking for some opinions. I've made my decisions but they can always change for a better one.
Looking at different presses I've decided to go with a Dillon SDB for my handgun ammo needs. When I decide to get a rifle, I'll shoot around a bit, collect my own brass, feel the hurt of the ammo prices and get a single press to help me concentrate more on this type of reload as it seems a lot more tedious and specific (brass trimming etc.). I don't have much brass so my plan is to just buy clean brass and load those then save and stock up on them after I've fired them once. Then clean and reload them and as far as a cleaner I've also decided on a wet brass cleaner, I won't need a huge one so the $100's range should fit me nicely.
At the moment I don't care too much for spit shinny brass, I just want to make sure it's clean and doesn't let out any dust in to the air for me or my family to breathe in as I'm reading what can happen with dry tumbling and I'd rather deal with the dirty water and SS material than the other stuff.


One thing confuses me a bit though:
I see some vids of individuals using their reloader to resize and deprime their brass. Have they cleaned it with a primer still intact or are they just reload dirty/spent casings?

Dillon makes excellent presses and their customer service is second to none.  The SDB is a good press if you're only loading pistol, however, another thing to remember is that it uses proprietary dies.  Unless they've changed it recently, you can only use Dillon dies made for the SDB in that press.  It may not seem really critical if you're mainly going to dedicate it to one caliber (perhaps using it only for LPP like 45 ACP as was mentioned earlier). 

However, Dillon dies tend to cost a little more than others so if you're loading multiple calipers, the cost could climb quickly.  Also, some calibers, especially when shot from pistols with tighter than usual tolerances can benefit from using more "specialized" dies made by other companies.  For example, .45 ACP is the only caliber that I use all Dillon in the tool head.  I run an EGW "U" die for 9, 40, and .38 super.  In addition, I run a FCD in the crimp station for .38 super.  This would not be possible in the SDB.

You might want to take a look at the 550.  It costs more than the SDB, but there are some advantages, though I'm not sure what other calibers besides 9 and 45 you're considering loading.

Ask people for brass at the range so you don't have to buy.  Or go around the rifle rage or actions bays at closing time for leftover brass.

Agree completely, free brass shot from a known source is a bonus.  Just a heads up though, be careful picking up 9mm brass from the action bays.  Some of it has been shot out of Open Division guns designed to handle the pressures of 9mm loaded to major power factor.  The guns handle 9 major easily, not quite so sure that factory 9mm brass is up to multiple loadings at those pressures.  Inspect them carefully to avoid potential issues.  A lot of the guys shoot 9 major for the very reason that the brass is cheap and they don't mind leaving it instead of having to search for their brass like those shooting super or supercomp.

Cheap wet cleaning....

Harbor-freight-dual-drum-rotary-tumbler

http://2ahawaii.com/index.php?topic=10784

I clean the brass before depriming and resizing. Don't want to damage or dirty my dies..... 9mm doesn't need to have the primer pockets clean but if you want it clean you can get a universal hand depriming tool from Lee for cheap and deprime one by one. I suggest just tumbling the brass (wet or dry) before depriming and resizing.
Everyone has their own techniques....

Another more expensive hand deprimer is the Harvey Deprimer...

http://www.harveydeprimer.com/Specs__orders_and_FAQS.html

I haven't used it but my friend swears by it as all the dust and burnt carbon drops directly in the rubbish can.

Awesome, thank you! You reminded me of something I forgot to ask in my original post. I was wondering with the Dillon SDB if I could use it to just size and deprime and stop it there so I can wet clean it.

Have you purchased or do you own a reloading manual yet? Or have you read any reliable sources on reloading somewhere on the Internet? Most will tell you to clean your brass prior to running them through your dies. Depending on the type of dirt and your dies you can either scratch your brass cases and/or you can scratch the inside of your dies. Scratched dies can causes scratch marks on your cases. At the very least most reloading manuals will recommend that you wipe each case with a clean cloth before sending them through your resizing die. But if you are like me and you are looking at 100+ cases to work on, wiping each one off is quite a boring and monotonous task. So I run them through my tumbler first for a short period to clean off the dirt. After the cases have been fully prepped (Sized/Deprimed/Trimmed/Belled/Primer Pockets Cleaned/etc) I will tumble them for at least a couple of hours to get them nice and shiny.

Yes I have, just Hornady's Reloading for Handguns by a Patrick something and yes I've read that and but I was just curious if 'those guys' who do deprime and go right to loading cleaned it before the rest of the reloading process, the book I have or any sticky I've read clarifies that little part....or maybe it did and I just didn't understand it as just by my judgment it would be best to deprime and be able to clean everything.
Oh and I'm definitely planning on loading 100+ so no wiping one by one for me lol. Thanks for your post!

Clean the brass before sizing. You don't want grit inside your dies.
RE the Dillon SDB. It is a wonderful machine, but changing between 9 and 45 is a pain because you also have to change the priming system, in addition to the dies, shell plate etc.

The SDB is a great "one-caliber" solution. Pick your favorite pistol and focus on that caliber. When you get really proficient with that one caliber, then try a caliber conversion.
When these machines were cheap, I bought 2 of them. One for small primers and one for large primers. The price has doubled since then.

I prefer dry tumbling.

Depending on your needs and desires you might want to rethink your purchasing strategy.
I saw somebody had a new single stage kit on craigslist the other day.

I wanted to use hornady dies and make use of that quick change design they have, I read that they're all the same dimensions and all die brands are interchangeable with different press brands. Without asking I was hoping it would work and make things a bit easier. What do you think?

SDB for half the price sounds mighty fine! You're lucky!

So far with switching to use a single stage instead I'm seeing that where it would help me is make things a bit cheaper, slow things down for me to get to know the process and patience of reloading, learn and create good habits that will help keep me safe. What else am I missing?

What I found works great and is efficient is to buy the lee universal depriming die. I got mine for something Iike $10. I take my old brass, run it through the deprimer (doesn't matter if it's dirty because it doesn't contact the walls) and straight into my wet tumbler drum. Let the tumbler do its job, dry, lube, resize, etc. 

Nice, thanks for the input.

Ask people for brass at the range so you don't have to buy.  Or go around the rifle rage or actions bays at closing time for leftover brass.

I'm too embarrassed to ask plus I don't want to seem like too much of a moocher lol. I just sweep up around me an collect anything what I need.

Dillon makes excellent presses and their customer service is second to none.  The SDB is a good press if you're only loading pistol, however, another thing to remember is that it uses proprietary dies.  Unless they've changed it recently, you can only use Dillon dies made for the SDB in that press.  It may not seem really critical if you're mainly going to dedicate it to one caliber (perhaps using it only for LPP like 45 ACP as was mentioned earlier). 

However, Dillon dies tend to cost a little more than others so if you're loading multiple calipers, the cost could climb quickly.  Also, some calibers, especially when shot from pistols with tighter than usual tolerances can benefit from using more "specialized" dies made by other companies.  For example, .45 ACP is the only caliber that I use all Dillon in the tool head.  I run an EGW "U" die for 9, 40, and .38 super.  In addition, I run a FCD in the crimp station for .38 super.  This would not be possible in the SDB.

You might want to take a look at the 550.  It costs more than the SDB, but there are some advantages, though I'm not sure what other calibers besides 9 and 45 you're considering loading.

Interesting, this goes against what I've read. I'll have to research more on this, thanks for mentioning. It would save me a lot of headache if you're right about using proprietary dies.

Also interesting I didn't think it would come down to specific brands per calibers. Initially I wanted the 550 but I didn't like that fact that it's manually driven.

Agree completely, free brass shot from a known source is a bonus.  Just a heads up though, be careful picking up 9mm brass from the action bays.  Some of it has been shot out of Open Division guns designed to handle the pressures of 9mm loaded to major power factor.  The guns handle 9 major easily, not quite so sure that factory 9mm brass is up to multiple loadings at those pressures.  Inspect them carefully to avoid potential issues.  A lot of the guys shoot 9 major for the very reason that the brass is cheap and they don't mind leaving it instead of having to search for their brass like those shooting super or supercomp.

Cool, thanks for the tip, I'll have to check on the brass I have now. I remember shooting next to some of them in the past.

I actually just wet tumble brass with primers in, got lazy washing drying depriming wet tumbling drying again... If you are OCD wash brass in water/soap, let dry, deprime/resize, wet tumble, dry and then load.

I save $160 per 1000 rounds 9mm, so the square deal paid for itself after 2000 rounds...

Just remember not to load the rounds heavy and short as the pressure maybe high. Lots of info on the net of guys recipes based on bullet head, powder and COAL. The deeper u seat, the more you crimp and the more powder used increases high pressure rounds which are dangerous...

You can always upgrade to a 650 when you have the funds.... This will do handgun and rifle rounds and use any dies of your choice. Even has a powder check station. And maybe keep the square deal for 9mm only which is another good option if you have the funds...

Just my opinion but I didn't get the 550b cause if I forgot to manually index the next station I could have a double load. Auto index moved the cases to the next station and you can visually inspect case charge....

A single stage to load handgun rounds is good to learn technique and safety but it does take significantly longer to reload a couple hundred rounds.... If you go with single stage u might as well hand prime each case... I do this for my rifle rounds only as I want everything to be exactly the same for accuracy...

Shop around for presses and see what kinds of deals are out there... WGS usually has presses in stock, so give them a call... joe at WGS will actually show you how to reload with the different machines in his store...

Some guys leave the primers in while tumbling because the media (pins/cobs/walnut shells) sometimes get stuck in the primer hole... Sucks to toothpick out each speck...

Good luck as 2a is the place to get opinions and knowledge on reloading!!! Great bunch of guys on this forum....

I actually just wet tumble brass with primers in, got lazy washing drying depriming wet tumbling drying again... If you are OCD wash brass in water/soap, let dry, deprime/resize, wet tumble, dry and then load.

I save $160 per 1000 rounds 9mm, so the square deal paid for itself after 2000 rounds...

Just remember not to load the rounds heavy and short as the pressure maybe high. Lots of info on the net of guys recipes based on bullet head, powder and COAL. The deeper u seat, the more you crimp and the more powder used increases high pressure rounds which are dangerous...

You can always upgrade to a 650 when you have the funds.... This will do handgun and rifle rounds and use any dies of your choice. Even has a powder check station. And maybe keep the square deal for 9mm only which is another good option if you have the funds...

Just my opinion but I didn't get the 550b cause if I forgot to manually index the next station I could have a double load. Auto index moved the cases to the next station and you can visually inspect case charge....

A single stage to load handgun rounds is good to learn technique and safety but it does take significantly longer to reload a couple hundred rounds.... If you go with single stage u might as well hand prime each case... I do this for my rifle rounds only as I want everything to be exactly the same for accuracy...

Shop around for presses and see what kinds of deals are out there... WGS usually has presses in stock, so give them a call... joe at WGS will actually show you how to reload with the different machines in his store...

Some guys leave the primers in while tumbling because the media (pins/cobs/walnut shells) sometimes get stuck in the primer hole... Sucks to toothpick out each speck...

Good luck as 2a is the place to get opinions and knowledge on reloading!!! Great bunch of guys on this forum....

I tend to get a bit OCD when it comes to cleaning, I'll take note of this and try it out.

That's a good number, I need to keep track of my loadings so I can let my wife know that it's paying for itself so I can stop feeling her eyes burning me when I do finally make a purchase   

Upgrading will definitely be something I'll do some where down the line and like you I don't like the manual indexing of the 550, I'm pretty sure my first mistake would be forgetting to turning the plate.

Rifle loads intimidate me at the moment which is part of the reason why I'd pick up a single stage so that I can make sure each and every single aspect of loading a rifle round is correct. It seems like a lot could go wrong a lot quicker with rifle rounds. Not that handgun loads are a walk in the park and any 2nd grader could do it.... 
 
I'm now looking at the Hornady Lock n Load AP. Someone at WGS showed me a demo on  a progressive press, I'm not sure if it was a Hornady or Lee but he kept referring to me as "my friend" which was funny, he seemed like a really cool guy though.


Thanks Dolomite, I really appreciate it.

Numbertwo, have you already checked out the benos.com forum?  It's a forum geared strictly towards competition shooting.  You will find more helpful info regarding reloading than you could ever imagine.  The reloading section is huge and the info ranges from tips and hints on setting up various presses, to more load data than anyone would ever need, to comparisons, reviews and common issues that plague the various presses.  You will find that most there are pro-Dillon, but you can find info on the other presses as well.  Actually, the fact that a large percentage of the shooters there prefer Dillon says a lot about the quality and reliability of their presses. The number of rounds some of those shooters go through (and subsequently have to reload) is just staggering.

On a side-note, getting the press that best suits one's needs and wants while not breaking the bank does take some work.  For me, the 550 fit my needs perfectly, however I'll be the first to admit that I do not enjoy reloading.  The ease and efficiency of the 550 just makes it bearable for me.  For me, reloading is kinda like cleaning guns after shooting, something I view as a chore.

Numbertwo, have you already checked out the benos.com forum?  It's a forum geared strictly towards competition shooting.  You will find more helpful info regarding reloading than you could ever imagine.  The reloading section is huge and the info ranges from tips and hints on setting up various presses, to more load data than anyone would ever need, to comparisons, reviews and common issues that plague the various presses.  You will find that most there are pro-Dillon, but you can find info on the other presses as well.  Actually, the fact that a large percentage of the shooters there prefer Dillon says a lot about the quality and reliability of their presses. The number of rounds some of those shooters go through (and subsequently have to reload) is just staggering.

On a side-note, getting the press that best suits one's needs and wants while not breaking the bank does take some work.  For me, the 550 fit my needs perfectly, however I'll be the first to admit that I do not enjoy reloading.  The ease and efficiency of the 550 just makes it bearable for me.  For me, reloading is kinda like cleaning guns after shooting, something I view as a chore.

No I have not, this is the first time hearing about that site, I will make it a point to check it out.

Lol, that funny you say that, I have a friend whose dad used to reload but didn't enjoy it either. I think I will but partly because I don't necessarily have to and if it helps, I do enjoy cleaning my guns. Thanks mnp.

What kind of brass are you guys using for .45acp? I'm seeing good review with Starline, Remington, Hornady  and Magtech. Is starline any good?

I am using Starline for .357 Magnum and .223/5.56. It is excellent brass and I have reloaded cases multiple times. And cases are still going strong.

I am using Starline for .357 Magnum and .223/5.56. It is excellent brass and I have reloaded cases multiple times. And cases are still going strong.

That's good to hear, thank you.


Btw. I'll be goin to Las Vegas for the weekend next week. Are brass prices any good there? I'm thinking about shopping around a bit while I'm up there. Anything in particular I should look for as far a prices go?

What kind of brass are you guys using for .45acp? I'm seeing good review with Starline, Remington, Hornady  and Magtech. Is starline any good?

==============
Winchester is good.
Federal is good, but beware of some Federal brass that used small primers. You might accidentally pick up some brass with the small primers and try to stuff a large primer into a small hole.
That would be unfortunate. There are some other brands that used small primers.

Military brass is good too but it might be crimped.

The good thing about 45 acp is that it is very forgiving and does not operate at high pressure. If you keep your reloads at low-medium velocity, the brass can last a very long time. Maybe more than 10 reloads before the rim gets all bashed up..

What kind of brass are you guys using for .45acp? I'm seeing good review with Starline, Remington, Hornady  and Magtech. Is starline any good?

Starline is excellent brass and typically lasts a long, long time, especially in the relatively lower pressure loadings normally associated with 45 ACP.  The downside is that it can be costly, especially when compared to once-fired brass.  Another thing I've found with the Starline brass is that the first couple loadings tend to be a little sticky when coming off the powder funnel.  Took a few loadings to smooth out in 45 ACP, however in .38 super they smoothed out completely after one load /fire cycle.  With Starline, I usually lose the brass before it becomes unusable.

My favorite once fired brass for 9, .40, and .45 is definitely Federal.  However in .45 ACP, like Oldfart posted, some of the Federal .45 ACP ammo uses SPP. CCI also makes .45 with SPP and if you run into this brass while reloading on a progressive they will at the very least mess up your rhythm, and at the worst, may possibly cause the primer to light off if you unknowingly try hard enough to stuff a LPP into a SPP cup. 

The brass that I absolutely avoid for all calibers has a RWS head stamp.  Some have good luck with it, however I've had nothing but problems when RWS cases hit the resize/deprime die.  So much so that along with the current load data I have written on my dry erase board hanging above my press, I have written as a reminder, "NO RWS CASES".