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Casey, I won't get into the reloading part, however I'll pass along a couple of ideas for your equipment. I've been reloading for over 40 years now, the first press I got was a hand me down and I still have that lil' rock chucker. Finding a press; you can place an ad in the local craigslist in the wanted or sporting section asking for used reloading equipment. I do this a couple of times a year and find someone who inherited or found stuff in a relatives house. It may be just brass, old powder, or you may get some high end stuff. You can also run an ad in a local paper under sporting goods or firearms seeking to buy a reloading press.

Sometimes you can get a decent deal this way; but the best I've found is to locate a gun shop or two in your area that sells reloading components. If they have a community board place a want ad looking for a press, scale ect. I've gotten several pieces this way and again sometimes folks will upgrade and sell their used items at a decent price.

And finally, if you know of a couple of pawn brokers in your area get with them and see if they get these in, over the past couple of decades I've made some great contacts with pawn brokers and they know what I'm in the market for.

The only other suggestion I would make is to get yourself a manual, I know there's a lot of info online but it just doesn't compare to having a reference guide right there when you need it. Add to this having all the safety checks in black and white to refer to.

Good luck and once you get going you'll find reloading can be enjoyable and sometimes frustrating.

I would suggest the Lee Anniversary Breech Lock Challenger kit. It gives you everything you need to get started except the bullets, primers and powder. I always suggest that people new to handloading begin with a single-stage press. It helps you learn the process and it makes it much less likely that you will make a bad mistake. Most of the bad mistakes I have seen in the last 10 years have been by inexperienced handloaders who started with a progressive press but didn't really grasp all the details. The single-stage press is not a waste of money because it will be useful for working up loads, which means just a few rounds to test for safety, function and accuracy.

I see the kit is $176 MSRP on Lee's website, so it's probably less from the big online retailers such as MIdway and Natchez. Another $100 or a bit more should get you the components to get you started, so the whole bill should be around $300. Be sure to study the Lee loading manual BEFORE you purchase components so that you get a powder and a bullet that are correctly matched and suited to producing the type of load you want.

Good luck! Handloading will teach you a lot. You will become a more knowledgeable and better shooter, no question.

I started with the LEE Anniversary kit back in 1979 or 1980, and am still using the original press (altho I've added alot of other tools thru the years)...and I load for between 25 and 30 different cartridges today...and it has never given me any trouble... When I started reloading I was a young guy with a family, and I simply could not afford the "Big Bucks" reloading set ups some people had, so I bought what I could afford... The LEE Anniversary kit is a single stage set up, so takes longer to load with, but it's hands-on, and much easier to learn on while avoiding making mistakes with, than a progressive or even a turret press. And reloading to me is a relaxing pastime, and I'm not in any hurry anyway, but then I don't compete and/or go thru "mass quantities" of ammo, so a single stage press is fine with me, and allows me to personally oversee things every step of the way...... Were I starting all over again, I'd start with the same things.

I have had a Lee 1000 progressive since December and have been satisfied with it. It takes some tinkering to setup but once it's going, it'll crank out ammo fast (I did 450 rounds or 357 and 38 special on Monday morning in about 4 hours.) If you are mechanically inclined, keep it lubricated and learn how it works you should be fine. The 1000 will do 223 but no calibers larger than that.

I switch mine from 357/38 to 9mm with just the shellplate, but it is a little of a pain (probably an hour job) and I try to do that as little as possible. The priming system is a little finicky and I prime a lot of my brass off the press with a Lee hand priming tool (it gives a positive feel and ensures I don't waste primers due to being backwards or mangled. There is some good info and videos on the web on how to fine tune it (keep primer tray full and clean the primer chute with a q-tip and rubbing alcohol). I think I paid $175 online for my press, fsreloading.com has them cheaper yet.

I started with only a Lee hand press, Lee hand primer, Lee dies with the dippers and a bullet puller. Pretty basic setup (I maybe had $100 in it) that worked well but took a lot of time to do reloading in batches. I probably did over 2500 rounds with that setup. I still wash my brass with water and a little bit of tide laundry detergent, rinse then layout to dry for a week. (A process I learned online and then tried myself.) My brass could be more shiny but this has worked and saved me the time and cost of a tumbler and media.

Your biggest challenge starting reloading right now is likely fining primers that cost less that $50 per 1000.

I suggest sir, that you do some more reading and speaking with those who know,and have done this a long time.

Cheap will end in your dis-satisfaction. If you want to reload, and have bought low quality stuff, You WILL be disappointed with the results.

A reloading press for metallic cartridges must first be PRECISELY straight, and have no play, no mis matches. That is the fundamental per-requisite. Straight wall cases such as your .45 ACP and other handgun cartridges are the easiest. The " bottle " shaped high powered rifle cartridges, take another step forward of precision.

There are some fine turret presses on the market. However, for precision, personally, I only use a turret press for straight wall handgun cartridges. ALL rifle cases I have CUSTOM dies made for an arbor press. However, for most reloaders, a simple single ram cast iron press will do.

I have been reloading since the mid 1960s, You might even want to begin the process of learning with shotshells as they are very much more forgiving, and do not require the precision required for metallic cartridge loading. Though the results achievable by hand loading are often spectacular improvements in accuracy, it does take allot of knowledge to do it well. You might try to find a guy, such as Glacierwolf, or a gun shop that will help you get started.

Many begin as you are thinking, with the low cost " beginners " sets, but, these are designed to be very primitive and most soon are junk, and just thrown in the garbage. By buying a good set up you at least have something sellable if you find it is not your thing.

I hope this helps, and do suggest some further decisions, OK ? Reloading is really allot of fun. You shoot ammo you made yourself, and this is a very satisfying new dimension to enjoying your shooting.

I would go with the Challenger rather than the Anniversary kit. You can prime cases off of the press with the Challenger. With a turret press, especially when starting out, it is easy to get confused. My BIL was having trouble with his turret, and double charged a 9mm case. When he shot it in his Glock, the slide stayed back. He beat it back into place and disassembled it. The barrel was bulged.

I am a reloading instructor. Been doing 45 and 223 since 1975.

Lee makes OK cheap stuff. They are innovative - and it works. The only issue with Lee is later on when you start loading allot, or, doing heavier cartridges - here the Lee aluminum stuff can become a problem.

For you and these cals, Lee if fine. Turret press is nice if you are going to take the time to work up nice high accuracy loads for lots of different types of bullets, different calibers, etc etc like when doing long distance rifle or really high end competition with the 1911 - like service matches, League shooting and your state championships. If this doesnt sound like you - you want a single stage press.

With a single stage press you insert a die and then run 100 or more pieces of brass through it. Then run them though the next die, then the next. You sure do not wanna do it one at a time! Big upside to this - the finished 100 rounds are identical. Even if you made a slight flaw like having a tad less powder than you wanted or perhaps the round is just a tad shorter than expected - they are still all the same and maybe you just add a click or two in for elevation and its all good. (this is why I do my match ammo in batches of 1,000. Even if something is a tiny bit different then the last batch - I got 1,000 of them and once the gun is adjusted I am OK until I run out of this 1,000). Called 'lot' loading.

All dies fit all presses. For 45 you want a set that includes a 'taper crimp die' as a separte die or built into the seating die - a seating die with a built in roll crimp is no help with 45acp. You want the more expensive Carbide dies - they require no lube - and it saves you a ton of time lubing the cases, then cleaning the lube off the caes and your hands and bench.

For 223/5.56mm - here you need to think. If you are just gonna make cheapo 55 or 62 gr ammo - just about any die will work. HOWEVER - you want to use any of the really nice Barnes, Hornady, Sierra, Speer etc etc nice hunting bullets that do not have a cannulure on them (the little band) you need a die set that has a built in taper crimp die or a separtate taper crimp die. You cant use that built in roll crimp on a non-cannulre bullet. Next - if you are loading for acccuracy - you really want a RCBS Competition set - This is a huge help to get every round the identical length within .001".

If you shoot a semi-auto rifle - it must have a crimp on the ammo. If you shoot bolt gun - you can skip the crimp - and enjoy the added accuracy. However, the day that bolt gun ammo gets mixed into your semi-auto AR you can expect the bullet to sink back into case, and when it fires the bullet will be stuck in the barrel throat....... this makes the bolt blow out of the barrel and usually always destroys the lower. Best to buy the plain white boxes www.midwayusa.com sells and mark all the ammo you make really well.

A tumbler - is money well spent. Making ammo that looks dirty and crappy just doesnt make me happy.

I used a standard RCBS 5-0-5 scale for decades. I did drop the $300 for the digital scale and dispenser - this lets me make ammo 3x faster than using a regular scale and powder measure and it is more accurate than the human eye squinting at a scale all day long.

You can email me questions. I have extensive data on these two cals and others. I live and hunt in Alaska - ran a military national shooting team, and, certified Alaskan hunter safety instructor. I teach reloading classes that are sponsored by a local sporting goods store going on ten years now.

WOW! You know where to get small cal rifle primers? Please, tell me where. I have looked at Brownel Cabela lots of places. I have had to put myself on a list.