Ok, I now have the dillon 550 press, 3 dies, powder scale, trickler, manual, cleaning machine and media, empty brass, powder, bullets, and primers. I'm wanting to load for the 460 S&W and will be shooting it out of a 14" Encore.

What other tools are REQUIRED before I can start reloading? I don't want the "nice to have's" right now. I just want to be able to start loading some rounds. One of the guys here that I work with used to do benchrest shooting. He said I need calipers, case trimmer, some sort of other gauge for "lands and grooves", bullet puller, digital scale, chronograph...

I gave up on getting "just the basics" out of him. So what else do I NEED before I can get this ball rollin??

Thanks.

Calipers and a case trimmer are next on the list. Your brass may not need triming right off but I like to make sure that each case is the same length. You will also need a chamfer/deburring tool to clean up the case mouth after trimming. Digital scales are a luxury, a quality powder measure gets the nod over a digital for me. I like the Lyman 55's. Hopefully you never have to pull any bullets and I would hold off on one of those until needed. A chrony is nice to have, but you can get by without one for a while. Straightwalls are easy to load for.

In my experience an inertia bullet puller would be the next item to add. I would likely need it before I needed calipers and case trimmers. Since you are beginning with a Dillon, I would bet that you will screw up a few. (At least I would ---- and have --- LOL)

you seem to have everything to start with,I would just get a trimmer and calipers after you've reloaded and shot the brass several times-the trimming isn't so critical for straight walled cases as it is for rifle/bottleneck cases.

for me personally, it may be MORE critical in order to have better consistency on the crimp.

This is precisely why I like all my cases to be the same length.

raptor...,

These are very good quality and very inexpensive. They will work for a "lifetime"; however, you won't have to work a "lifetime" to purchase them. Used 'em for years, no complaints.

http://leeprecision.com/powder-handling/lee-safety-powder-scale/
http://leeprecision.com/cutter-lock-stud.html
http://leeprecision.com/chamfer-tool.html
http://leeprecision.com/gage-holder-460-s-w.html ( with this tool, you will not need calipers because the stud is the correct trim to length, if it doesn't cut any brass, the case is within acceptable measurement )

Doc

To learn

I would start with a single stage press...

- Maybe a case gauge, although you can use the cylinder for that.
- For cleaning media I use walnut shell only, easily purchased from the pet store (lizard litter).
- Case lube is nice as your cartridge is rather long, although if you're using nitride dies I suspect they will work without too much drag.

Since you're using a Dillion I would suggest you read through the manual or watch the video twice before using it to make sure you know what's going on at each stage at the same time other operations are going on in the others. I would only load one case at a time and go through ALL the stages for a few rounds to get the hang of it. Learned from experience.

Get yourself a digital caliper, your going to need a trimmer, the brass is going to stretch some on those 460"s

I agree. Or a turret press used as a SS.

BTW, the your Dillon can be used as a Single Stage Press if you only remove the pins from the shellplate and do one operation at a time. Good way to learn the process and then move on to the progressive operation.

OK. Case trimmer and caliper it is. And yes, I only plan on doing one load at a time. Already took the automatic powder thingy off the top. Just need to figure out how to set the dies now...