No fear whatsoever about a redundant question. If we got mad at those, this place would dry up and die in a matter of weeks.
I've been doing this long enough to know what I can get by with, but where it simply makes sense to spend a little bit for a COLOSSAL return. Here's a small example, so you can see my thought process.
If you want SHOE STRING budget and even a dime more is not an option, I'm not going to give the best advice. But if you are willing to spend just a few dollars more for something that
really gives you a major upgrade in ease, speed, or uniformity -- I would think a rational person would say, "yes, that's likely the better idea."
Things you must have -- in my opinion, to get the most bang for your buck on a limited budget, for a small output of .223 Rem:
--press
--dies
--priming tool
--case trimming and chamfering
--caliper for COAL measuring
--scale
--powder measure
1) Press--you can "use" the Lee Reloader press that is an open "C" frame design and it would be the lowest dollar route you could take. However, at minimum, I'm suggesting the Challenger "O" frame press is the minimum I would buy. There are much better and more expensive presses that I'd certainly choose if I had the luxury of spending more. But whatever you do, I -beg- you to not buy anything, not one SINGLE item that is bright yellow and branded "Smart Reloader." Just...don't. Please.
2) Dies--anyone's dies will do a darn fine job of building .223, but I prefer Lee dies over all others simply because they do exactly what I want out of them. That they cost less is like a bonus. If you are talking semi-auto, you can shoestring it with the lowest cost, green box Lee RGB 2-die set, but you will need to also purchase a shell holder. In my opinion, a better purchase is the 3-die Deluxe set which gives you the shell holder and also the very useful Lee Collet Neck-Only size die. You'll see there is a fairly big jump in price between the two sets, but IMO, the Deluxe set is worth the extra $. Everyone else's dies are great, too, but they all cost more dough.
3) Priming tool--most single stage presses have some manner of a priming tool built in, but none of them work quickly or easily and you end up fingering a lot of primers which isn't a great idea. Spend a little bit and get a hand priming tool. Lee makes one, many others prefer to spend the extra money for the better tool from RCBS. Being that I don't own a hand primer, I'm out of my league a bit on this one.
4) Case trimming--this is a hassle and not enjoyable, but it truly is a must for SAFE rifle ammo. The more $ you spend, the easier and quicker it is. Problem is, the money here gets nutbar in a hurry. Want the best? Giraud trimmer, but that's over $400.
(probably worth every cent!
) Most folks go in the middle with a small purpose built hand-operated mini-lathe, built specifically for case trimming. Expect to spend between $50 and $100 by the time you are rolling here. Still hurts? Well, that's where Lee comes in again. They have designed an ultra low-buck system that so cheap it's hard to believe and it works very well, but it's horribly labor intensive. Case length Gauge/Shellholder is around $6, cutter is like $5-$10, little hand chamfer tool is like $2 and you are fully outfitted to trim in one caliber. You can even chuck it in to a drill and take some of the work out of it, but it's still a major chore. On a budget, though, it works brilliantly.
5) Caliper-- I used to believe this was a "good thing to have" but the truth is, it's a staple that no handloader should operate without. Don't have to spend a heap here, can even get a really low-buck one from Harbor Freight. Many like a digital, I prefer my dial caliper. I spent like $25 on mine and you can beat that price depending on what you pick.
6) Scale-- it's crazy, IMO, to handload without a scale. Cheapest scale on the market that is absolutely, positively accurate is the Lee Safety Scale. $20 and you are rolling. It's slow, it's difficult to use and it confounds and confuses some folks who can't figure it out.
But it's "bet your wallet" accurate. For similar money or a bit more, you can roll the dice with any of a hundred different ultra-cheap chinese small digital scales. These can go either way... many have had great experiences while others have been left frustrated. On a shoestring budget, I think one of EACH isn't a bad way to go. Use the Lee scale to keep the cheap digital honest, but work more easily & quickly with the cheap digital. Either way, I use a quality Ohaus/Dillon beam scale and you'd have to kill me to pry it from my hands. It'll run you closer to $80 or above. (I think?)
7) Powder Measure-- a misnomer, it does NOT "measure" your powder. Rather, it meters out a repeating charge. You set it for the charge weight you want, ensure it's correct with a scale, and you use this tool to give you a bunch of them repeatedly. Used properly, this device is the biggest blessing at a load bench. Here's a place where you need to spend a bit, but the return is, well (IMO, anyway), life altering. Sure, it's
possible to hand weigh each and every charge, but I can't accurately describe how quickly that will wear you out. You won't even want to handload anymore if you do that. Spend the money on a powder measure to do this for you.
Lee makes one called the "Perfect Powder Measure" and the reviews are mixed. It is made of cheaper materials and it doesn't like every single powder on the market, but it works awfully well for many folks. I'm a dedicated Lee tool user and I used mine a lot for a couple of years but still chose to upgrade. I wouldn't go back -- the measure I use now makes me MUCH happier and it's my favorite handloading tool of anything on my bench. I use the Lyman 55 and it costs like 4 times as much as the Lee Perfect.
These are my recommendations for the least amount of money I would spend to get started handloading .223. There are corners you could cut, but (again, IMO), it wouldn't be worth it. There are many places where you can do much better than the suggestions I've made, but all will cost more dough.