Th3DAN wrote:Thanks for the feedback. I'm considering the hornady die set and a hornady press. Any issues you foresee with that?
Dan-
The Hornady die set, as TSD mentioned, is a fine die set. CH4D is the only other maker of which I'm aware, but a 4-die set from them will run you $150. (If you have enough cash RCBS will build most anything.)
There are genuine issues with the instructions furnished with the Hornady set. Some experienced reloaders have encountered some real problems with using the dies as a result. Let us know when and if you obtain the Hornday dies, and we can walk you past some pitfalls.
The Hornady press is a good quality press. Whether it is the "best" or "proper" press for your circumstances depends on what those circumstances might be, of course. If you have minimal budget constraints, more expensive presses are available. It's also possible to spend rather less, if your budget is tight.
Judging from your question about presses, it appears that you are a novice reloader. Here's some further advice much like I wrote a couple of years ago to another novice posting inquiries. You'll find the internet and catalogs filled with tons of equipment. Realize at the outset that the MOST IMPORTANT part of your equipment lies between your ears, and it's necessary to have that equipment functioning properly before beginning to use any other equipment.
Begin with a manual that has a good instructional how-to-do-it section. Some that are preferred by experienced persons here are the Lyman Reloading Handbook (47th, 48th, or 49th edition), the Nosler manual (5th, 6th, or 7th edition), or the Hornady manual (7th, 8th, or 9th edition). You can usually find the older editions at considerable discounts.
The manual can be supplemented by a good DVD, like the RCBS DVD titled "Precisioneered Handloading". The DVDs are the product of several minds each dedicated to seeing that the viewer does things right. (The manufacturers really want you to survive and enjoy reloading, so that you might continue to buy reloading equipment and supplies.) This form of instruction in fact might be better than having local old-timers personally show how it's done; us geezers tend to pass along our errors. Some of the "instructional" reloading videos that have been posted on youtube and similar outlets contain grave technical errors.
A couple of additional points that others on the board may modify:
1) If you're like 95% of persons who start to reload, you'll find you won't save any money. You will get to shoot a bit more for the same or likely greater expenditure of funds. If you attach a dollar amount to your time spent, you will very quickly fall behind compared to buying factory ammo.
2) If you don't buy a start-up reloading kit, then you need to acquire two essential measuring devices: a good 6" caliper, and a reliable balance, preferably with some check weights. You cannot reload good 450B cartridges without them.
I'll try write a blurb on unleaded bullets soon, if somebody doesn't do so first.
--Bob