Have never done this before and am wanting a new hobby. 9mm. Will you provide a list of basic begginer equipment/tools needed to start with. Also, need to know list of products needed and tips on good generic resources for making them. Thanks

Hi benchmark welcome... Can you let us know a bit more about your shooting goals? Occasional plinking vs high volume shooting/competition? This helps to know what kind of ammunition volume you're eventually planning to go through which will help to drive equipment selection, particularly which general type of reloading press.

I think the very first purchase(s) recommended are good reloading manuals: the Hornady reloading manual is a great place to start. Read through all the introductory sections for sure. There's a lot of information in there for safe reloading practices as well as the how-to. We can help fill in the gaps and answer all the inevitable questions.

Great thanks, yes it would just be for target practice.

To be honest and this is coming from a staunch NON reloader.

To reload 9mm for plinking is truly a waste of time and money.

The prices of commercially made Ammo is at its lowest in almost a decade.

With that said... if you wanted to reload for competition and or self defense it can be a bit more advantageous.

And with all that said. It you want to put in the time and money to reload and make your own (knowing it’ll cost you more in money, effort and time). Then go right ahead.

Reloading is a great hobby as you dive into equipment, powder and if one likes to “play” with loads that will function to your given needs. It may appear simple but there are quite a few things you need to know.

Best approach is find someone with a setup and learn from their mistakes so you don’t have to learn the hard way.

There are a few members here that have offered in the past. They may not be close but they are out there.

Just have to ask. Good luck

Cool. Typically folks get into reloading for a couple distinct reasons:
- Cost savings. This is only true if reloading high volumes where you can eventually recoup the cost of initial equipment plus the cost of expendable components
- Obscure/Wildcat calibers. For some calibers reloading is the only practical options if you want to shoot a gun chambered for an obscure cartridge
- Improved accuracy. This is particularly applicable for precision rifle shooting where ammunition can be custom tailored for components that work especially well in a particular firearm

In addition, a lot of shooters find reloading a relaxing and enjoyable hobby to supplement their range time.

One topic bound to come up is reloading economics for 9mm Luger. This particular cartridge is the most widely available and cheapest pistol caliber cartridge available. It's going to be extremely difficult to save any money reloading 9mm, particularly when factoring in the cost of initial equipment. So you'll need to answer for yourself whether you're getting into this primarily for cost savings or for other reasons as well.

Are you currently thinking only to reload 9mm or are you thinking of other chamberings as well?

Opinions are not being requested, thanks though oldkim. As mentioned for hobby purposes not monetary. That bring said, feedback on the question is appreciated.

Yes, I have other calibers. .38, .380, .38 super, .357, 5.56/223.

That's good news that you have a variety of calibers. I'm working up a basic equipment list at the moment. My background is reloading handgun cartridges (38 Special and 9mm) as well as several calibers used in single shot competition handguns (22 Hornet, 7mm TCU, 7mm Remington Benchrest). I'll tailor the basic equipment list towards straight wall pistol caliber reloading for volume production. The same equipment can also be used for 223 rounds though I'll defer to others on 223 reloading.

Couple minutes and I'll have some more info for you.

Opinions... everyone has one. Like I said good luck. The advice was free. I could give more but it’ll include more opinions.

Thanks Geek, cheers!

I'll just wait for GWG to post his list, then I'll vehemently disagree with it. Though I might stray into the opinion category....

BTW, I'm a big fan of reloading as a hobby. I hope you enjoy getting into it.

OK here's my first swag. At a high level I would recommend a progressive press for any kind of volume reloading. Many folks recommend starting on a single stage press as it is a bit easier to learn on. However, for volume/plinking production you'll eventually wind up with a progressive press anyways. My recommendation would be to learn by inserting a single case and cycling it through all stations, only inserting another case to restart the process once the finished round is ejected into your finished ammo bin. This way you can keep a close eye on all the individual operations as the case is indexed from station to station.

The choice of reloading press will be a big debate with everyone having a different opinion. The Hornady LnL AP is a great starter press. Lee offers a solid option with great value. RCBS also makes good progressive options. And the ultimate in progressive presses is the Dillon. My recommendation would be to buy once, cry once and go with the LnL AP or Dillon. One option would be to lurk for awhile and see if someone offers a used press up for sale. Marcususp frequently sells used presses and he is great to work with.

Please keep in mind each one of these pieces of equipment can support a separate thread in it's own right.

Reloading Manuals (Hornady, Speer, Sierra)
Reloading Bench: A deep topic in it's own right. Mine is bolted to the garage wall studs to minimize bench movement and vibration.
Reloading Press: Good choices for progressive presses are Hornady LnL AP, RCBS, Lee, and Dillon progressives.
Dies: For handgun plan on carbide dies which eliminate the need for case lubing operations. Lee, RCBS, Hornady for good value. Redding also makes great dies as well as Forster.
Powder measure: Largely dictated by your choice of progressive press
Powder Cop/Lockout Die: RCBS and Hornady make good options. I really recommend one of these right off the bat to eliminate dangerous squibs (no or light powder charge) or double powder charge, learn how to adjust the die properly, test it against both conditions, and calibrate/re-check regularly.
Powder scale: You'll need this to spot check and audit the charges thrown by your progressive press powder measure. I can recommend the RCBS Rangemaster for electronic or you can also go mechanical/balance beam if you like (Ohaus makes good mechanical scales).
Primer tray to orient your primers so you can pick them up into the primer tubes (MTM primer turning tray is a good choice)
Primer tubes (Dillon primer tubes are awesome) used to fill up your progressive press priming magazine
Calipers (I prefer mechanical vs electronic, Mitutoyo and Starrett are tops but really expensive, plenty of other options available for good value)
Bullet puller (for the inevitable mistakes I really like the Hornady Cam-Lock with appropriate collets for the cartridges you're reloading)

This brings us to case tumbling & cleaning. A lot of folks like corncob tumbling media and will have differing opinions. I'm a big fan of stainless steel media. More expensive to tool up initially but your long term costs are cheaper. This can be a huge debate in itself.

Case tumbler (Thumlers tumbler is expensive but great way to go)
Tumbling media (Stainless steel pins)
Case polish (Armour All Ultra Shine Wash & Wax)
Hard water treatment (Lemishine)
Detergent (Partial to Dove detergent)
Media separator (Franklin Armory makes some great options here)

Let the debates begin!!!

You can not go wrong with Wes’s set up and method. Lee 4 hole turret press, rcbs uniflow and a decent scale. I miss that dude
Just come down again and ill walk you through it and take you shopping. Like Wes did for me, just try it a few times to be sure with my stuff then get your own if you still want. It’s an expensive habit but a lot of fun because you can tailor a load for anything.

Those who say its not worth it financially are wrong. It’s more accurate custom ammo for less money than factory target stuff no matter the deals.

Dammit, GWG. You didn't give me much to argue with . . . .

Start with a progressive press: I agree!

Hornady or Dillon: I agree! I have a Hornady LNL and I'm very happy with it. You can get into some contentious discussions about Lee progressive presses; I've never owned one, but on the whole I've heard bad things about them, and I would avoid them. (I'm a fan of must of Lee's other equipment, though, so I'm not bashing the company in general.)

Calipers: I've used various cheap electronic calipers and they've all treated me okay. I currently use electronic SPI calipers that are MUCH nicer, and I love them. They're a lot more expensive too, but I found a decent deal on eBay.

Bullet puller: Agreed, you WILL need one. Or two. I have the Hornady Cam-Lock puller and I'm a big fan, but that's mostly for rifle bullets. For something like 9mm I think a hammer-type puller will be needed.

Tumbling: I use both a vibratory (with corncob) tumbler and a Thumler's wet tumbler. The wet tumbler is my go-to for most situations, but it is definitely more expensive and more labor-intensive. It does give you beautiful brass, though! If you don't care about having the cleanest brass in the county, though, a vibratory tumbler with corncob will do just fine.

Media separator: A life-saver regardless of which tumbler type you use.