Thinking

[tman]

Every manaul is different. Decide what equipment will be best for your kind of reloading. Here are some of the things I like to do every time I reload.
1. Wear safety glasses while sizing/depriming.
2. Don't get distracted especially when dropping powder in the case.
3. Visually inspect the powder depth in each case before seating the bullet
4. Know when to roll crimp, taper crimp or not to crimp at all.

 

[jre308]

You can learn alot on YouTube. Also Dillonpecision.com had some good videos. If you are buying a progressive freeloader get the Dillon - really good for handguns. The progressive/multi stage press are good for small handgun calibers - can do a lot of ammunition quickly. It is harder to resize rifle brass. Single stage press is better for large rifle brass. Single stage press is slow. It depends on what cofounders you will be reloading.

 

[Phadrian]

What kind of reloading are you planning to do?
1. Are you going to load 50 rounds or 500 rounds at a time?
2. Are you looking for the highest quality ammo one where you measure each and every powder charge individually.

The answers to these questions may help you decide what kind of equipment to buy. If you want to load lots of rounds you should look at a progressive press. Reloading is all about making adjustments to your equipment sometimes small changes make a big difference.

 

[Dr_Mitch]

I'll tell you what came to my attention fairly recently. Some reloading manuals have typos. Get at least two manuals, or if you get one then cross-check it to make sure the data is good. My Lee book says the case length of .223/5.56 is 1.700". That is not true. It is 1.760". Things like that may not be dangerous, or they may end up destroying something valuable.

 

[ZMan762x51]

Watch someone that has done it first. Then buy a reloading book and read all you can before you start. Watching first helps reading the book make sense. The process is fairly straight forward when you see it but you can get a false sense of security unless you know of the small things that could cause problems. I know people that have just watched you tube or observed someone and they don't know what to look for regarding problems with a cartridge case or the need to full size or neck size or trim the case to length.

You also don't need to get the most expensive set. I bought a Lee set which is less expensive than others and I have been very happy with it. Have loaded a couple thousand 9mm, .45 ACP, .223, 30-06. Have saved a lot of money.

 

[criticalbass]

Do a self assessment.

Are you an orderly person who will not become "artistic" when assembling loads?

Do you have a safe, secure area you can dedicate to reloading? Doesn't have to be very big, but set-up/tear down will kill the hobby.

Do you have time? It takes some, and some folks just don't have it.

As said above, read, read, read. Ask questions at the slightest doubt. Reloading won't save you a dime, but it will enable you to shoot a lot more on the same money, and it will let you customize your loads to your weapons.