Hunting Washington Forum

Equipment & Gear => Guns and Ammo => Topic started by: willipa on March 10, 2011, 10:19:11 PM

Title: reloading
Post by: willipa on March 10, 2011, 10:19:11 PM: I'm looking at getting into reloading and not sure what kind of reloader is good. I mostly will be doing rifle shells and some pistol and don't want to break the bank doing it. Any ideas?
Title: Re: reloading
Post by: Mossy on March 10, 2011, 10:31:03 PM: Might want to use the search function in this forum. I asked the same question last year, lots of good info here.
Title: Re: reloading
Post by: JackOfAllTrades on March 10, 2011, 10:35:44 PM: I like Dillon progressive and RCBS single stage, but if you choose any of the heavier D shaped single stage presses, 'RCBS, Hornady, Lyman, Lee', you'll be fine. Get with a buddy that reloads to walk you through some basics. Don't scrimp on a scale. RCBS 10-10 is a good one. Dies? You can use standard Lee dies in an RCBS or other brand press. Buy a few of the reloading manuals, Sierra, Nosler, Speer. Read them. They all say the same thing, but they each say things a bit differently so you get the whole jist of the steps of reloading safely.

-Steve
Title: Re: reloading
Post by: KillBilly on March 11, 2011, 05:22:03 AM: I prefer the Lyman T-Mag turret press. I order extra turrets and can keep all of my dies set as needed and just change turrets for the different calibers. Extra turrets are not that costly and it sure makes it handy to go from caliber to another. Most of my set up is Lyman including (2) 1200 DPS 3 Digital Powder Systems. Ya I know, most folks won't go that far but when I get rolling I like to keep the production smooth without a lot of wait time.

Just my :twocents:
Title: Re: reloading
Post by: BlackRidge on March 11, 2011, 12:20:33 PM: Quote from: KillBilly on March 11, 2011, 05:22:03 AM
I prefer the Lyman T-Mag turret press. I order extra turrets and can keep all of my dies set as needed and just change turrets for the different calibers. Extra turrets are not that costly and it sure makes it handy to go from caliber to another. Most of my set up is Lyman including (2) 1200 DPS 3 Digital Powder Systems. Ya I know, most folks won't go that far but when I get rolling I like to keep the production smooth without a lot of wait time.

Just my :twocents:

Geez KB, I'd say overkill... but only because I'm jealous!

Gotta agree with those who said to check out what others have posted regarding reloading here, quite a lot of insight in those threads. Also with teaming up with someone who has reloaded for a while, it can definitely help get you on track a whole lot sooner than it would take researching everything yourself.

Start gathering info: Collect reloading manuals, as many as you can. each provides a ton of reload data, but none has a completed set of data. Since it is a dangerous past-time, one thing you should always keep in mind is that you want to have the most complete load-data possible, or at least data that goes along with the components you're loading with.

It applies to websites too. There are quite a few that collect the data and make it readily available online. Add em' to your favorites. The few I frequent are
-Hodgdons (http://data.hodgdon.com/cartridge_load.asp)
-Stevespages (http://stevespages.com/page8.htm)
Title: Re: reloading
Post by: KillBilly on March 11, 2011, 02:32:46 PM: here is how my main work area is set up. It is a little messy now but I am doing some re-organizing.
(https://hunting-washington.com/smf/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi289.photobucket.com%2Falbums%2Fll238%2FHannibal47%2FIMG_5366.jpg&hash=9dea32c06574dceee11661335f8e925ec6b768b1)
(https://hunting-washington.com/smf/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi289.photobucket.com%2Falbums%2Fll238%2FHannibal47%2FIMG_5368.jpg&hash=a08e31facc220dc68ac0fd391519d182d171e321)
Title: Re: reloading
Post by: BK on March 11, 2011, 06:58:03 PM: Judging by your handle you're close to me. Give me a PM and I'll be glad to walk you through the initial steps.
BK
Title: Re: reloading
Post by: Schwag173 on March 13, 2011, 09:09:50 PM: Quote from: willipa on March 10, 2011, 10:19:11 PM
I'm looking at getting into reloading and not sure what kind of reloader is good. I mostly will be doing rifle shells and some pistol and don't want to break the bank doing it. Any ideas?

Been doing it for 25 years and started with an RCBS single-stage press. I currently have a Hornady "Lock-N-Load" (LNL) progressive but don't use it much. The only reason I still have it is because I like to occasionally mass-produce a few hundred pistol or .45-70 cartridges. It CAN be used for almost any pistol or rifle cartridge, but if you want good rifle accuracy go with a single-stage press. Automatic powder measures (on a progressive press) are fine for pistols but will give you so-so accuracy in your rifles. If you want better accuracy, you have to measure each load, defeating the purpose of the progressive press.

What I use most these days is a Hornady LNL single-stage press. I HIGHLY RECOMMEND the LNL feature and if I was starting out again this is the press I would buy.
Title: Re: reloading
Post by: bhylton on March 13, 2011, 10:02:36 PM: my family shares a RCBS reloading set. its really simple and probibly didnt cost more that 300 bucks. just a simple singe stage press like everyones been talking about, an simple counter weight style powder measure. an RCBS manual powder charger and all RCBS dies. some little odds and ends for case prep and such but thats about it. works well and its simple and easy. like was mentioned earlier i would get a couple reloading manuals or if your only loading for a couple guns, the caliber spacific manuals are awsome. i got mine at sportsmans wearhouse. has only info for one caliber copied out of all the major realoading manuals for like $6. choose a few powders to buy based on the info you find in the book