DFW area reloading suppliers

[Chadk]

could anyone reccomend a reloading supplier in the south DFW area? Grand Prairie, Arlington, Fort Worth??

[cutter]

Cheaper Than Dirt is a large supplier. You will have to look in phone book for address or thier website. www.cheaperthandirt.com

[Chadk]

Originally Posted by cutter

Cheaper Than Dirt is a large supplier. You will have to look in phone book for address or thier website. www.cheaperthandirt.com

i know exactly where they are and are fairly convienent. So they sell everything needed? Presses, Die's, Primers, Powder ect???

[cutter]

They have enough to make your pockets empty!

[Clipper]

Yep, and they even sell to us out here in the wilderness of the High Plains! You might try Midway USA for other items such as dies, presses and such. Fortunately, we have a local store that caters to the reloader, so I can buy primers and powder locally and very reasonably.

[Chadk]

well the Cheaper Than Dirt soulds perfect. That will be great not to have to ship primers and powder

I was looking at the Lee 1000 Pro Progressive Kit. Is this too much for a beginner? It looks like the Dies come with it. I see 9mm, but is .380 a differend Die set that would have to be additionally purchased?


So in addition to the press kit, I'd just need the powder, brass, projectile, and primers???? any other necessitites?

[ozo]

Do you already have Reloading Manuals ??

[ozo]

I suggest at least the Lyman 49th edition manual and
'The ABC's of Reloading by C. Rodney James'

[ozo]

Too much machine for a beginner ?........No
Whatever you choose, just go slow as you learn....
BUT READ and RE-READ your books before you start charging any rounds.
Most people usually say a progressive press is not good for a beginner...
but , hey, it all depends on the beginner, and only you can make that call.
Although this press advances automatically[which I don't like] it DOES HAVE
an alternate function to load one round at a time, which I suggest you start
out doing.
[some seasoned reloaders don't even like progressive presses]
Again, read, read, read......

[carver]

Originally Posted by ozo

Too much machine for a beginner ?........No
Whatever you choose, just go slow as you learn....
BUT READ and RE-READ your books before you start charging any rounds.
Most people usually say a progressive press is not good for a beginner...
but , hey, it all depends on the beginner, and only you can make that call.
Although this press advances automatically[which I don't like] it DOES HAVE
an alternate function to load one round at a time, which I suggest you start
out doing.
[some seasoned reloaders don't even like progressive presses]
Again, read, read, read......

Good advice! You will find that you need 3, 4, 5, and even more reloading manuals, you can't have too many. The reason is simple, no manual can list every load available! You will make some mistakes while reloading. If you do it right, you will catch them right away. For those times you will need a kinetic bullet puller.

[Chadk]

ok, assuming I "pull the trigger" on reloading, the Manuals are a must. Understood!

A certainly am not that opposed to a single stage press, but it just seems that the PRO1000 kit would actually save money with the dies that are included over purchasing the 50th anniversary Kit, or just the single stage press itself. True??? Money is certainly a factor so I'm not looking to get something bigger than I need. And to that point, I keep reading about how this is such an addictive habbit and you keep buying more and more equipment. Obviously the only reason Im interested in reloading is to make casual range trips less of a pain on the wallet. I'm assuming i will be able to save money?

I would be reloading handgun rounds. 9, .380, and possibly 357 sig. to start with.

[oldgunfan]

Originally Posted by Chadk

ok, assuming I "pull the trigger" on reloading, the Manuals are a must. Understood!

A certainly am not that opposed to a single stage press, but it just seems that the PRO1000 kit would actually save money with the dies that are included over purchasing the 50th anniversary Kit, or just the single stage press itself. True??? Money is certainly a factor so I'm not looking to get something bigger than I need. And to that point, I keep reading about how this is such an addictive habbit and you keep buying more and more equipment. Obviously the only reason Im interested in reloading is to make casual range trips less of a pain on the wallet. I'm assuming i will be able to save money?

I would be reloading handgun rounds. 9, .380, and possibly 357 sig. to start with.

One thing I too remember is a progressive press is a pain in the butt to setup, so much so that most people get them dialed in on one load and they stay that way for some times years. if you start with a single stage and you get the reloading bug ,then get a progressive press. that way you can keep it set up on say 9mm and do 380's on the single. also I have an old RCBS rockchuker that I started with, I do all my decaping and resizing on it.

[Deacon_Man]

I have never heard of a reloading press that comes with the loading dies. How would they know what you want to load?

[oldgunfan]

Originally Posted by Deacon_Man

I have never heard of a reloading press that comes with the loading dies. How would they know what you want to load?

If you look at midway or graf & sons most progressive press come with a set of die's mostly set up for you. you will have to make some adjustments though. You can get them without die's too. some press it can take day's to get them dialed in after you change to a different caliber.

[TheGunClinger]

Originally Posted by Deacon_Man

I have never heard of a reloading press that comes with the loading dies. How would they know what you want to load?

The Pro 1000 comes with a set of dies, you just have to tell them what caliber you want it in.

[Chadk]

ok, so looking at some pricing this is what I'm seeing.

If you look at the Lee Progressive 1000 kit for 9MM that is 174 + $14 for shipping = $188 (includes 3 pc die set)

If you look at the Lee 50th aniversary kit thats $109 + $ 42 (9mm 4pc die set) + $14 for shipping = $165.

this makes the progressive kit $20 more. doesnt that seem like a huge upside for $20 more or am I missing something?


Those quick lock bushings sure seem like the way to go regardless of the set up???

[woolleyworm]

While bushings seem like a great way to go, they're not for everyone. I don't have a problem with them making good ammo; I personally don't like the "slop" in them. Anytime you take one solid chunk of reloading press and create a "drop-in" piece, there has got to be some machining tolerance. Many many posts about the bushing not locking in tight and just as many posts about simple fixes too.

As far as press goes, I personally got enough of an intro to the Pro1000 that I will never have enough patience to tinker with one that I have had to pay for. They are not bad presses by any means, just not what I term economical for the long haul. It may seem less expensive, but I want less headaches too.

Originally Posted by Chadk

ok, so looking at some pricing this is what I'm seeing.

If you look at the Lee Progressive 1000 kit for 9MM that is 174 + $14 for shipping = $188 (includes 3 pc die set)

If you look at the Lee 50th aniversary kit thats $109 + $ 42 (9mm 4pc die set) + $14 for shipping = $165.

this makes the progressive kit $20 more. doesnt that seem like a huge upside for $20 more or am I missing something?


Those quick lock bushings sure seem like the way to go regardless of the set up???

[JLA]

Cheaper than dirt doesnt sell reloading components. the occasionally sell once fired or demilled military brass, mostly in 5.56/.223 (Lake City)

The nearest supplier is Elk Castle off I30 in west Ft. Worth, but they do-not sell presses and accessories. Only powder, primers, some bullets and shotshell components.

Alpine on the east side of Everman has a good selection of powder and primers, but they gear mostly toward Shotshells, and they do sell some presses.

Cabelas North of Ft. Worth (Exit 65 of I35) is your best bet. they sell it all, but they arent the most competitively priced..

Lone Star out in Weatherford off I20 also has a wonderful selection and they carry 4 and 8 pound containers of powder.

I recommend you order most of what you need online, sans powder and primers (Hazmat) and muy those locally at Elk Castle or Alpine..

[Chadk]

Originally Posted by JLA

Cheaper than dirt doesnt sell reloading components. the occasionally sell once fired or demilled military brass, mostly in 5.56/.223 (Lake City)

The nearest supplier is Elk Castle off I30 in west Ft. Worth, but they do-not sell presses and accessories. Only powder, primers, some bullets and shotshell components.

Alpine on the east side of Everman has a good selection of powder and primers, but they gear mostly toward Shotshells, and they do sell some presses.

Cabelas North of Ft. Worth (Exit 65 of I35) is your best bet. they sell it all, but they arent the most competitively priced..

Lone Star out in Weatherford off I20 also has a wonderful selection and they carry 4 and 8 pound containers of powder.

I recommend you order most of what you need online, sans powder and primers (Hazmat) and muy those locally at Elk Castle or Alpine..

Great info for me. Ok cheaper than dirt is basically no help then. I actually recently bought a gun from Alpine so I know where that is. Elk Castle is also probably doable. Hopefully between those I can get the hazmat stuff at a good price. I guess bullet and casings online and the tooling/equipment online. Thanks so much for the info!!!!

[JLA]

yessir. I too live in the area. So Im pretty keen on who has what..

Also i forgot to mention that Military Gun Supply over off the east loop in Arlington also does carry primers. They dont always have a variety but they almost always have some. usually Winchester. So keep that one in the back of your mind..

And CTD can be of some help. They do carry a good selection of MTM ammo boxes and they are a little cheaper than cabelas. So dont hesitate to stop in if youre up on the north loop.

[Chadk]

Wow, I drive right by Military Gun Supply on my way to and from work every day. Never really knew it was there. That would be great if they can handle some items for me that would save me trips to Alpine or Elk Castle.

[JLA]

YEah if youre headn south on 820 exit berry and go back under the highway to the northbound service road and merge onto S Cravens just past the Ramey exit ramp. and if youre headn north just exit Ramey and quickly merge right onto Cravens. MGS is the giant metal building with the AR15 banner on it.