reloading kits

[Elk whack master]

Just starting. Any Suggestons on which brand kit and extra things i would need. I have nothing now. I want to be able to load quality rounds, not looking for mass production yet. Hornady,rcbs,lyman?     

[carpsniperg2]

You can build your own setup and get just what you want. I have a lot of mixed stuff. I use a lot of rcbs and redding stuff. I also have hornady,lyman,lee etc.

[rebal69972]

tagged 

[Mark Brenckle]

tagged 

  Me too!

[Fl0und3rz]

You can build your own setup and get just what you want. I have a lot of mixed stuff. I use a lot of rcbs and redding stuff. I also have hornady,lyman,lee etc.

Good suggestion.  For kits, the RCBS kits seem to be the standard.

But for putting together a reloading setup, check craigslist for deals on used presses (and other equipment).  My best craigslist score is an MEC sizemaster (shotshell reloading) with adjustable charge bar and tons of components for $80 (about a $400 value, new).

Presses don't wear out.  For new presses, Lee Classic Cast is a good deal.  RCBS makes some nice kits.  I'd stay away from the Lee kits, however, because of the included powder measures and scales (see below).  I started with a Lee hand press, with which I loaded thousands of rounds. Now I have a Lee Classic cast and Hornady LNL Progressive.  I have no regrets about any of these (Hand or Classic).  If you are space-limited, check out the hand press from Lee.  It takes standard dies, it works easily with most rifle as well as pistol brass, and you can perform many operations practically anywhere. Be cautioned that resizing milsurp or other difficult brass is not recommended with the hand press.  These are best done on a full press with the compound linkage.

For cheap trimming, check out the Lee cartridge specific trimmer set up. You can get a more expensive setup later if you continue to pursue the hobby. I prefer the Redding in the lathe-type trimmers, but other brands seem equivalent at the respective price points.

For powder measures and scales, I prefer Redding. But RCBS seems equivalent at the respective price points. Stay away from the Lee powder measures (poor performance,  complicated, frustration) and scales, but the Lee dipper set (set of sized scoops) is pretty useful, cheap, and can stand in for a powder measure, until you're ready to spend more.  You can get a powder trickler from any manufacturer, but you can also trickle from the dippers or from a spent case.

For priming, most press companies provide or make available parts to prime on the press.  I hand prime, and I am satisfied with my RCBS universal hand primer (no special priming shell holders needed).

Calipers at the quality a reloader needs are fungible; get a set.  In the same context, case-specific case length gages are invaluable to check length of sized cases and proper headspacing of loaded rounds. L.E. Wilson is a local company out of Cashmere, and they are your best bet.

For dies, Lee is a good value, and Lee provides some unique features not found in other die sets (Factory Crimp Die, full-length sizer priming pin collet, collet neck sizing die, and shell holder, dipper, and load data included).  Get the Lee deluxe sets that come with the Factory Crimp dies, if possible.  Otherwise, I prefer Hornady for their features, finish, and lock rings, but RCBS is also good, and local parts support for RCBS is often much better than for other brands.  All three have great customer service.

Many people like Dillon, but I find their gear to be priced beyond my ability to justify based on my needs.  The same goes for some of the other brands in terms of the cost of their dies and presses.

For case cleaning (tumblers, vibratory cleaners, etc.), I started with a liquid cleaning recipe in a rubbermaid sealable beverage container. That worked well for thousands of rounds, until I found a used Thumler's Tumbler for cheap (quiet, holds quite a few rounds, older model equivalent to their Model B, but much beefier, and $20 for a $200 value, new).  You can find the liquid cleaning recipe on the internet (salt, water, vinegar, and dishwasher detergent).  It works well, but it won't turn your cases into shiny trinkets that you gaze at longingly. It will also clean the primer pockets pretty well, but you will want a Lee Universal Decapping die to decap prior to liquid cleaning. Otherwise, I have no comment on the vibratory style or brands, other than the fact that they seem very loud.

Otherwise, you will need an assortment of hand case prep tools such as primer pocket tools, case mouth chamfer, etc.  Lyman and RCBS are good, but it comes down to preference. I like RCBS, and you can get them locally in retail stores. Often, some of these items come in kits.

Get at least one manual, and preferably the one from the manufacturer that you think you will be your primary brand of equipment, if possible. Lee and Lyman manuals are both good additionally for their extensive data. Otherwise, get the manual of the bullet manufacturer you will be using (but often, their load data is available online).

Have fun, and be safe.

[Elk whack master]

Nice info flound4rz. That will get me, and the others started. Whats some of your favorite gadgets you have gotten for reloading? The kind of stuff you don't need but you are glad you did.

[Jamieb]

I've been loading on a RCBS for years, most of the other gear on my bench in RCBS. Their customer service cant be beat. A great company that makes great equipment. I load 1000's of cartrides a year on my single stage rockchucker supreme.

[carpsniperg2]

One of my newer toys is a Lyman case prep tool!!! I have been doing all my case prep by hand. Let me tell you what this little 50.00 tool saves me a lot of work and time. Not to mention arthritis later down the road!!!

[Feanix]

If your going to be doing long range shooting get an OAL guage and comparator set. The difference in my groups was pretty amazing after i started loading for a specific "jump" rather than going by COAL from the manual.

[wraithen]

I bought the lyman tmag deluxe kit. I love the turret press. Went hunting and realized I didn't have ammo so I loaded 5 rounds in under a minute. The scale is decent. Ppl don't trust electronic scales but I learned mines querks. If it seems to be acting funny I double check it. Sometimes it does freak out though and then I wonder why I haven't bought a balance scale yet. I broke the lyman die ( bent into a funny shape the decapping rod.) The lee dies don't adjust enough for me. The lyman prime system broke after 1k rounds so that sucked. All in all I wish rcbs had a similar kit for one reason and one only. Those parts are everywhere! No shipping needed. Go to sportsmans or wha5ever and get what you broke. I don't use the lube pad. The spray is way too easy. I clean in the harbor freight ultrasonic. It is the lyman one only no badging and costs half as much. I believe it was 75ish. Reloading is easy. Just do it!

[Huntbear]

I started with an old Rockchucker press I found in a basement..  cleaned it up, then bought a balance beam scale, powder trickler, bullet puller, hand held case primer thing, and a tumbler...   Since I have added a trimmer, and a few other accessories... 

My next purchase will be a progressive, for handgun loads in bulk.. 

You do not need the "Master kit"  just start small, add pieces as you go.  You will have many hours of enjoyment from this..  Oh, and build a bench you can stand on and dance around.  So you are sure it will not bounce around when using the press..

[Fl0und3rz]

Nice info flound4rz. That will get me, and the others started. Whats some of your favorite gadgets you have gotten for reloading? The kind of stuff you don't need but you are glad you did.

Favorites include going from the liquid cleaner to the tumbler and from the Lee trimmers to a Redding 2400 trimmer.

A bullet puller is nice, and you can get by with the hammer-style kinetic puller.  But the RCBS collet puller is nice to have also.

Otherwise, all my case prep is by hand, and I look forward to the day when I can add an automated prep tool, and a Hornady LNL case feeder, and a bullet feeder, and . . . .

[AWS]

I've been at this for about 50yrs and have gone through a bunch of presses, Herter, Lee Lyman, RCBS, C&H, Pacifec, Hornady and even a couple that had no names on them.  The upper end models of each company are about the same in quality, I'm running a Lyman Crusher II and a Lee Cast Classic Turret.

Powder measures, again the better ones from most of the companies work well, I have ones by Hornady, Pacific, Midway, Redding, Lyman and Saeco on the bench right now.  All are micrometer adjustable, which is so much nicer than the sliding sleeve adjustment.  I really like the Lyman 55 for small cases cartridges like the 223 and 204.  None work well with long sick powders but will dump light and finish with a trickler.

Case trimmers, my favorites are the Wilson/C&H and the Lee, they are always spot on and hard to screw up.  I  dislike any that hold the case by the rim in a collet as variations of rim diameter or how hard you tighten them will change trim length.

Scales,  I like a balance beam scale, I tried am electronic but was not for me(old fart syndrome) even my old oil dampend scales seem better to me.  I have a RCBS 510, Lyman M-5 and a Redding oil dampenned on the bench.

Priming tools, I don't think you can beat the Lee hand tool, they are a third of the price of an RCBS and work very good I have two on the bench one set for LG primers and one for SM primers and will be getting another to dedicate for SM Magnum primes . 

This may sound  out of line to most but I've never had a case cleaner, I just wipe them off with a cloth if they've hit the dirt, otherwise just lube and size, never wrecked a die or stuck a case that was lubed correctly.

Good luck in your new pastime.  And remember a loading manual is your bible and loads off the internet that you can't verify in a manual are your enemy.

AWS

[wraithen]

I only clean my cases in the ultrasonic to ensure there's no case lube left and because I like shiny primer pockets. 

A gadget I won't do without anymore is the universal decapping die. Don't need clean cases at all. Just load the case and pop the primer out. I also have to have my primer pocket tools but only because my 30-30 brass hates to get primed.

Pay close attention when you're using a automatic prime on your press. Mine likes to flip small primers if it catches on anything on the way up.

[Jekemi]

Reloading is a great hobby. The amount of information you can gather from guys on this site is amazing. Let me also suggest you look at www.ultimatereloader.com. Tons of great information and video's on his site. Also spend some time reading a good reloading manual and watching YouTube video's of people reloading ammo. The best advice I have is find a fellow reloader and spend some time by his side watching the process. I put together a brief reloading guide that I'll attach. Good luck

[Elk whack master]

Got the rock chucker supreme. Loaded 50 new brass .300winmag with 180g nosler ballistic tips with 73g of reloader 22. One question i have is, do these need to be crimped or not. I have heard both ways. Would this load be good for bear or do i need a more solid bullet, the box says for deer and antilope. Looks like a wicked little mushroom of a bullet on the box. I need more brass to load and more dies. Reloading is so much fun, i should have started a long time ago!

[Huntbear]

Got the rock chucker supreme. Loaded 50 new brass .300winmag with 180g nosler ballistic tips with 73g of reloader 22. One question i have is, do these need to be crimped or not. I have heard both ways. Would this load be good for bear or do i need a more solid bullet, the box says for deer and antilope. Looks like a wicked little mushroom of a bullet on the box. I need more brass to load and more dies. Reloading is so much fun, i should have started a long time ago!

Sorry, but need to ask are you serious?  Not meaning any disrespect, but you just picked a load and loaded 50 of them??? 

[runamuk]

My setup is all gifts from people some older some newer a mixed bag of brands but at the end of the day I can load what I need for my rifle and handguns by adding dies so it works.  I cannot wait to set it all up had to store it for a bit but gonna have room for a relaoding area very soon and so excited...

[Elk whack master]

Yeah i know i should have done a few in case they didn't work well, but I'll going shooting with someone else who will be shooting it to so i decieded  to load em all. Just remember i'm new to this and have alot to learn. I'll take any tips and sugggestions you can throw my way.  Thanks

[wraithen]

How did you pick that load? I like to figure out what everyone else has trouble getting packed perfectly and sometimes have compressed loads. After that I take the max listed charge and back it down half a grain (this is just for 30-30 and .223, not sure how much I'd back off for the magnums.) I consider that my starting load and increase by .2 grains in groups of 5 rounds. I do ladder testing up to .5 over max published load. First sign I'm too hot and I omit that group entirely, time to pull bullets. So far though I am .5 over max pressure for my .223 and my 30-30 and I haven't been able to get better groups. I'm sure my barrel life is drastically shortened but I figure I'm almost half through my .223 anyway.

[Elk whack master]

I picked reloader 22 cause it works for lots of differnt weights of bullets. The load was from the speer book for my bulllet and weight. It was the lightest load for 180g with that powder. I picked those bullets cause they were the cheapest to pratice on. How do you work up a load? Whats your technique?

[wraithen]

In my experience the lighter loads are not even close to the most accurate. Working up loads is a bit of a chore for me since I can only fire weekends and those seem to get busy pretty fast. 50 rounds is a lot to fire if you are disappointed in your groups. And don't think a lighter load will hit just lower than a higher load. My lighter loads seem to hit low and left. Same goes for my lighter bullets too for some reason.

[JimmyHoffa]

In my experience the lighter loads are not even close to the most accurate. Working up loads is a bit of a chore for me since I can only fire weekends and those seem to get busy pretty fast. 50 rounds is a lot to fire if you are disappointed in your groups. And don't think a lighter load will hit just lower than a higher load. My lighter loads seem to hit low and left. Same goes for my lighter bullets too for some reason.

From my understanding, using lighter load with the same powder usually results in more unused case volume which is more variance---not always better grouping.  You can make a lighter load with a different powder that fills more case volume and *should* eliminate some of that variance to tighten up groups.  One of the nice things about reloading is you can keep mix-n-matching the components to find what works best.
As for where the bullet hits, I get similar results--thinking it is based off the barrel harmonics.  I've had some go low and then when lowered a bit more will go high--but that was a point floated bolt action.

[wraithen]

My preference is to invite them over to use my tools and let them load their own. Again it's a great hobby, be careful and have fun with it.

I've had buddies request me loading for them several times. I'm in no way comfortable doing that. Reloading is a science, but it has been perfected for you. Just take your time and enjoy the ride. As long as you know what to look for and aren't looking for the fastest loads you should be ok. It is dangerous, but not in the sense that you'll kill yourself if you follow the rules, and even then you'll probably survive the mistake. Start simple and you won't over buy like I did. It gets kind of addictive though. Just try convincing the wife that you want a lead furnace so you can even make your own bullets! 

[jaymark6655]

In my selection process, I look at which loads fill the most case space.  Usually that same load also produces the highest velocity listed in the manual I am using.  Then I load 5 rounds at the starting load listed in my manual and work up to the max load in 1 grain increments.  I then shoot them and stop at the first sign of pressure.  Then I look a the goupings to determine which load was the most accurate and that is what I use. 

Usually you cannot use one powder for sever different calibers and expect the best accuracy.  I do have a power that works for every caliber rifle that I shoot and is cheap, but only use it for fun shooting with kids were accuracy isnt as important as shooting a ton of rounds really cheap.

Plus side to using a powder that almost fills the case, if you accidently try to put in a double charge it over flows and you know you have messed up before its too late.

On bullet selection, the 180 Gr Nosler Ballistic Tip says that it was designed for thin skined game such as deer.  It might work on a bear, but it might not perform very well.  Nosler Accubounds are designed for Deer, Elk,  and Bear if you want a round for all types of game.

Those rounds do not need to be crimped.  In fact if you dont have the right die, crimping bullets without a crimp groove might be impossible.  Only time I think you have to crimp is if there are I crimp because it can lead to more consistant pressure, meaning more accurate or if I am shooting them through a semi-auto or something with a tube magizine.

[Huntbear]

I picked reloader 22 cause it works for lots of differnt weights of bullets. The load was from the speer book for my bulllet and weight. It was the lightest load for 180g with that powder. I picked those bullets cause they were the cheapest to pratice on. How do you work up a load? Whats your technique?

I pick a bullet that I want to use, for example in my .338 WM I used 225 gr. Accubonds by Nosler. 

I then do some research about what powder works best in the above mentioned .338 example.. I read a lot, ask even more.

I pick what brand of brass I want to use.

I start somewhere in the middle of the load data for that powder, and load 5 rounds, then I move up half a grain and load 5 more, etc.. until I get close to max...

I then go shoot these rounds in a very controlled environment, off a bench, no rush on time, etc...

I will usually find one load that shoots very well.   Next I go back to my reloading bench, and start "fine tuning" the load, moving up and down 1/10 of a grain (sometimes that means I am at max load, sometimes a bit less), playing with COAL until I have the load dialed in where I want it.   Then and only then do I get out a chronograph and see how fast it shoots....  usually I am very happy when it is all said and done.

My .338 WM handloads shoot 1/2 moa out to 500 yards all day long, provided I do my job behind the trigger.   That makes me a happy camper come elk season..

I do this no matter what gun, what caliber, what bullet, or what powder..  It is how I was taught 30 years ago, and it always works and I have never had an issue...

[Curly]

Got the rock chucker supreme. Loaded 50 new brass .300winmag with 180g nosler ballistic tips with 73g of reloader 22. One question i have is, do these need to be crimped or not. I have heard both ways. Would this load be good for bear or do i need a more solid bullet, the box says for deer and antilope. Looks like a wicked little mushroom of a bullet on the box. I need more brass to load and more dies. Reloading is so much fun, i should have started a long time ago!

Do what Huntbear says.

Reloader 22 is probably the most used powder for 300WM.  Myself, for my rifles and particular bullet, I found H1000 to be really good in 300WM, but I did get more velocity from R22.   I would never load up 50 cartridges with a load that is unproven in my rifle........might as well go buy a couple boxes of factory ammo.  Once you've gotten the load dialed in like Huntbear explained, then is the time to go and load up 50 rounds.

Anyway, if you like the BT performance, then go get some Accubonds and load them up.  They should be similar to the BT but they will hold together.  I wouldn't want to shoot bear with BT's (actually I wouldn't even want to shoot deer with BT's out of a 300WM either).

[wraithen]

While were on  this and not to hijack, but does anybody believe buying brass is a bad idea? I only ask because generally I can buy off the shelf ammo for cheaper than the brass. I'd prefer the extra trigger time over the virgin brass, but maybe I'm missing something. I know this isn't the best idea for loads that eat brass, but I don't have that issue with my current calibers.

[Huntbear]

I buy at least 100 new unfired brass when I start working up a load.  I buy up to 500you more once my load is worked up properly.

[jaymark6655]

I usually buy PMC Bronze for my .308.  It is unfired brass and a pretty accurate, very cheap round to shoot at the range for practice.  The bonus is then it is basically fire-formed for my rifle.

I get awesome accuracy out of that brass with my reloads (less than .25 MOA) so I haven't felt the need to buy brass.  I don't see any benifit to it, but tons of people seem to improve accuracy by buying certain brass (Lupua), having the brass last longer and some even weigh the empty casings and then sort them out into matching weights.  Guess I am lucky and dont have to do that.

[Huntbear]

I even weigh my bullets ...   

[JimmyHoffa]

I even weigh my bullets ...   

me too.....bullets sorted by weight.  Brass is sorted by weight and water volume and times fired.  Primers go through visual inspection.  Powder gets shaken for a while to use consistent density......  must be a little weird.

[wraithen]

I'm not nearly that ocd, but that may just be me. I do ensure all brass is separated by brand and times fired but I leave it at that. I'm using only lake city for my .223 anyway and only remington and hornady for my 30-30. My 30-30 isn't very accurate anyway, it's just good enough to hit a steel silhouette at 300 yards about 80% of the time.