Help me make a decision...

[Harry Callahan]

Good morning,
I am in a quandary. I have been saving for reloading equipment for a few months now with the intention of picking up a Dillon XL650. However, I'm wondering if I do enough shooting to warrant the investment. I live in the Chicagoland area, have 2 kids which take up alot of my time, and probably go to the range once a month, 2-3 times/mo occasionally. Is this enough to warrant the time and effort to get into reloading? Or I could use the money to get my first Sig(P239?). Any input is appreciated. Thanks.

 

[Mal H]

I'll be honest with you. Getting an XL650 as your very first reloading press seems ambitious to me. With the amount of shooting you do, you might consider a Lee Classic or an RCBS Rockchucker instead.

One of your implied questions is, "will I save money reloading?" Probably not. Only those who shoot very frequently would need the output of a press like the 650, but even if you buy one of the single stage presses or a small turret Like the Lee, it's still hard to recoop the expenditure in a short amount of time with the way powders, primers, bullets, etc. are going up in price.

But, should you get into reloading? My opinion is - absolutely! It's a very satisfying pastime and you get to experiment with many different powders and bullets instead of being limited to what the commercial manufacturers market.

Should you use the money you've been saving for a big press for a P239? Again - absolutely! That is one of the finest mid-sized pistols made and is extremely reliable.