BRAND NEW (kinda) and would appreciate advice

[Burkes the Nailer]

I haven't tried reloading since about 2008 when my friend and I bought a Lee single stage and did some .308 win. We got decent, for us, at producing small batches of custom loads to our rifles; my best grouping was 3 rounds at 100 yards you could cover with a dime. We did some longer range stuff, up to maybe 500, with milk jugs and were making hits.

I HAVE NO IDEA WHERE TO START NOW. All that equipment is now my friend's and I have nothing. I've gotten married, moved halfway across the county to Georgia, and had two fairly cute kids. After doing some research, I keep coming back to a single stage RCBS or maybe a Hornady.

I've been working on catching up on the reloading info I missed out on the past decade, but I know the hive mind here has more experience and expertise than I could hope to soak up.

What do you recommend? Press, components, dies, collars, calipers, power turrets, scales, ect. I only plan to reload my .308 win right now, eventually I'll wanna press 5.56x45, 9mm, and .40s&w. Thanks everyone for their time and advice

 

[spife7980]

The rcbs rock chucker is a great press. Forster co-ax and hornady are the other common names but there are lots of presses with few poor choices between them.

Redding or forster sizing and micrometer seater dies are my favorites. A bit more pricey than the lowest end offerings but also not the highest end and easy to use and dependable. Micrometer seater is a must have in my book. Sizer can be whatever.

A giraud triway or trimit2 which is a 3 way combo that trim/chamfer/deburrs all at the same time. Its a big time saver.

I would get a rcbs chargemaster/lite to start with, its electronic and will save you most of the time over manual scales etc but isnt so prohibitively expensive that you devote a week of your life to working to afford it like the autothrow.

Igauging calipers can be had for 50 bucks, much better than the cheap 20 bucks harbor freight/amazon knockoffs with the hornady headspace comparator bushings and bullet ogive comparators.

I like a lee hand priming tool with the square tray but they are discontinued and instead a circle tray now so I would recommend the frankford arsenal primer tool.

I get by just fine with my lyman 1200 vibratory tumbler.

I use a homeade 6.5 guys lanolin isopropyl alcohol mix for case lube, its easy, but one shot will do fine for a first timer who can worry about other things if you dont want to mix your own up.



If youll be loading more of that small stuff than 308 I would also look into a progressive. Its a bit more intensive and critical of set up but once you gett here its easy to crank out rounds twice as fast as you can on a single stage press. Expect to pay more for progressive too though, especially for precision rifle, but time savings will definitely add up if youre making 2k rounds of 9mm.

 

[spife7980]

This video series by elfster is a bit long but it is also very good. You dont need to do everything, such as annealing etc, that he does right away but its there so you can see it for a good refresher.

HOW TO RELOAD! RELOADING START TO FINISH! RELOADING 101

Enjoy the videos and music you love, upload original content, and share it all with friends, family, and the world on YouTube.

www.youtube.com

 

[Burkes the Nailer]

The rcbs rock chucker is a great press. Forster co-ax and hornady are the other common names but there are lots of presses with few poor choices between them.

Redding or forster sizing and micrometer seater dies are my favorites. A bit more pricey than the lowest end offerings but also not the highest end and easy to use and dependable. Micrometer seater is a must have in my book. Sizer can be whatever.

A giraud triway or trimit2 which is a 3 way combo that trim/chamfer/deburrs all at the same time. Its a big time saver.

I would get a rcbs chargemaster/lite to start with, its electronic and will save you most of the time over manual scales etc but isnt so prohibitively expensive that you devote a week of your life to working to afford it like the autothrow.

Igauging calipers can be had for 50 bucks, much better than the cheap 20 bucks harbor freight/amazon knockoffs with the hornady headspace comparator bushings and bullet ogive comparators.

I like a lee hand priming tool with the square tray but they are discontinued and instead a circle tray now so I would recommend the frankford arsenal primer tool.

I get by just fine with my lyman 1200 vibratory tumbler.

I use a homeade 6.5 guys lanolin isopropyl alcohol mix for case lube, its easy, but one shot will do fine for a first timer who can worry about other things if you dont want to mix your own up.



If youll be loading more of that small stuff than 308 I would also look into a progressive. Its a bit more intensive and critical of set up but once you gett here its easy to crank out rounds twice as fast as you can on a single stage press. Expect to pay more for progressive too though, especially for precision rifle, but time savings will definitely add up if youre making 2k rounds of 9mm.

Thank you for that reply! I'll probably read, and re-read it again and again as I start this back up.

 

[Burkes the Nailer]

This video series by elfster is a bit long but it is also very good. You dont need to do everything, such as annealing etc, that he does right away but its there so you can see it for a good refresher.

HOW TO RELOAD! RELOADING START TO FINISH! RELOADING 101

Enjoy the videos and music you love, upload original content, and share it all with friends, family, and the world on YouTube.

www.youtube.com

I've been watching them on repeat today

I've seen a lot of good stuff!

 

[Srikaleak]

How much money you've got?

I can send you my spreadsheet of all the tools I'm in the process of acquiring for a bitchin' reloading setup.

 

[Burkes the Nailer]

How much money you've got?

I can send you my spreadsheet of all the tools I'm in the process of acquiring for a bitchin' reloading setup.

We're a Military family with two kids ??? Nothing bitchin' here, although I love looking at perfect setups

 

[spife7980]

Thank you for that reply! I'll probably read, and re-read it again and again as I start this back up.

The giraud triway or the trim it2 index off of the cases shoulder and wont trim straight walled cases properly so youll need something else for those pistol cases. But for rifle brass I will never hand crank or trim and chamfer in separate steps again. Generally you want one of these style trimmers for each cartridge you load for since its a pain to set up but once it is set up you can run a case through every 3-5 seconds or so, much faster than the old ways.


For sizer dies. Generic sizer dies are made to size any piece of brass you try with them, that means for the most part they will over work your brass compared to some more custom style dies but that also means you should never have troubles with a piece of brass not sizing. I say that upgrading your sizer die is something to do in a few years once you figure out what you actually want out of your sizer die/rifle chamber combo.
If you want more then the forster can hone a dies neck diameter out for for 12 bucks plus shipping but thats a one time thing and there is no going back. You have them hone it too large and you cant put that metal back into the die.
You could also get with redding type s bushing die, that allows you to swap 20 dollar bushings to vary the neck tension to whatever you want.
Forster is like the more affordable version of reding imo, I like redding dies the most but Ive still been buying mostly forster recently.

For seater dies get a micrometer die, its worth it for the 60 buck increase or whatever it is over the non marked crude adjustment seater dies.
Or at least a standard seater die with the replaceable micrometer top add on. It just makes it so much easier to adjust it in known increments instead of guessing that this much of a turn equals this much of a change back and forth.

Seriously though, get the hornady headsapce comaprator and bullet ogive comparator to throw on the calipers. Its so much easier to get real measurments and know what effect your actions are having on the brass.

 

[Burkes the Nailer]

The giraud triway or the trim it2 index off of the cases shoulder and wont trim straight walled cases properly so youll need something else for those pistol cases. But for rifle brass I will never hand crank or trim and chamfer in separate steps again. Generally you want one of these style trimmers for each cartridge you load for since its a pain to set up but once it is set up you can run a case through every 3-5 seconds or so, much faster than the old ways.


For sizer dies. Generic sizer dies are made to size any piece of brass you try with them, that means for the most part they will over work your brass compared to some more custom style dies but that also means you should never have troubles with a piece of brass not sizing. I say that upgrading your sizer die is something to do in a few years once you figure out what you actually want out of your sizer die/rifle chamber combo.
If you want more then the forster can hone a dies neck diameter out for for 12 bucks plus shipping but thats a one time thing and there is no going back. You have them hone it too large and you cant put that metal back into the die.
You could also get with redding type s bushing die, that allows you to swap 20 dollar bushings to vary the neck tension to whatever you want.
Forster is like the more affordable version of reding imo, I like redding dies the most but Ive still been buying mostly forster recently.

For seater dies get a micrometer die, its worth it for the 60 buck increase or whatever it is over the non marked crude adjustment seater dies.
Or at least a standard seater die with the replaceable micrometer top add on. It just makes it so much easier to adjust it in known increments instead of guessing that this much of a turn equals this much of a change back and forth.

Seriously though, get the hornady headsapce comaprator and bullet ogive comparator to throw on the calipers. Its so much easier to get real measurments and know what effect your actions are having on the brass.

View attachment 7097907View attachment 7097911

I searched for the Giraud trimmer. That looks brilliant! I always thought a micrometer die was very worthwhile, but I just adjusted and hope it was the right amount. I will probably stick with a generic sizing die until it's a necessity to upgrade. I remember wanting a pair of the Hornady guages, as well as a length gauge.

 

[spife7980]

I searched for the Giraud trimmer. That looks brilliant! I always thought a micrometer die was very worthwhile, but I just adjusted and hope it was the right amount. I will probably stick with a generic sizing die until it's a necessity to upgrade. I remember wanting a pair of the Hornady guages, as well as a length gauge.

Yeah, the triway is like 100 bucks. The table top is 600. Dont bother even loking at the table top until you load up 4 different rifle calibers or more. Unless you need that many different calibers its more cost friendly to get the individual triways and just throw them in a drill. Even a traditional style lathe trimmer can usually get a drill attachment hooked up to it. Crank trimming by hand will wear you and your shoulder out quick.
https://www.giraudtool.com/giraud-tri-way-trimmer.html


Also, I set up everything I can so that I can sit on the couch comfortably in front of the tv via a good heavy top coffee table I tapped holes into for the press to come on and off quickly.
If I need to focus I turn the tv off and pay attention to the measurements but spending hours standing up or hunched over uncomfortably on a poor stool staring at a cinder block corner in the garage etc will make loading a chore.

 

[Burkes the Nailer]

Yeah, the triway is like 100 bucks. The table top is 600. Dont bother even loking at the table top until you load up 4 different rifle calibers or more. Unless you need that many different calibers its more cost friendly to get the individual triways and just throw them in a drill. https://www.giraudtool.com/giraud-tri-way-trimmer.html


Also, I set up everything I can so that I can sit on the couch comfortably in front of the tv via a good heavy top coffee table I tapped holes into for the press to come on and off quickly.
If I need to focus I turn the tv off and pay attention to the measurements but spending hours standing up or hunched over uncomfortably on a poor stool staring at a cinder block corner in the garage etc will make loading a chore.

I do audiobooks, I think I could watch some TV instead, though. Thank you so much for your insight!

 

[Sheldon N]

I only plan to reload my .308 win right now, eventually I'll wanna press 5.56x45, 9mm, and .40s&w.

If you're going to be doing the latter in any sort of real volume, I would skip straight to a Dillon 550. Bit more of a learning curve, but I'd rather take a sharp stick in the eye than load pistol on a single stage.

Lots of reading that you can do on the Dillon 550 workflows for rifle.

 

[Burkes the Nailer]

If you're going to be doing the latter in any sort of real volume, I would skip straight to a Dillon 550. Bit more of a learning curve, but I'd rather take a sharp stick in the eye than load pistol on a single stage.

Lots of reading that you can do on the Dillon 550 workflows for rifle.

I'll look into it, I remember us looking at a Dillon way back. Top of the line stuff!!

 

[spife7980]

I wish I had gone progressive from the beginning looking back now but I also never expected I would be loading thousands of precision rifle rounds instead of just a couple hundred and I dont regret getting my single stage co-ax. Id still hang onto it even if I did get a progressive.

If you are going to be shooting 100 rounds a month then the single stage is fine, if youll be shooting more seriously consider the progressive route as your family will pull at your available time more than anything.

 

[Srgt. Hulka]

Burke’s, all the stuff Spife is telling is good advice, but if you only listened to one piece of advice from him, if your going to be loading a lot of the same rounds, save up and get the Giraud. I have a tri-way Trimmer for .223, and IMO, that thing paid for itself the first night I sat down and used it. It turned a 3-4 evening job, into about a 2 1/2-3 hour job. It’s worth every penny if your loading a bunch of rounds.

 

[Steel head]

I’d totally look at a turret or Dillon.

The place you definitely don’t want to skimp is dies but Hornady match sizing dies are GTG as are lee collet dies ant they are reasonably priced.

 

[Snuby642]

I like the Hornady products I have.
Press, measuring tools powder, etc.
All functional.

That being said I will not buy another die set from them ever. Had problems with them every time.
IMHO if I ran Hornady I would fire the guys in charge of the dies asap for putting my name on those dies.

3 different caliber sets each with a different problem.

 

[Ryridesmotox]

I use lee presses. I find them to be adequate for my purposes and very reasonably priced. I have a loadmaster progressive for pistol stuff and a single stage breach lock for rifle... the cheap one, not the iron one. I think it's like 60 bux on Amazon. The loadmaster is sufficient for me, I load tons of 9mm on that thing. In used to burn 1500 rounds a month easily on that just for competitions.

For rifle stuff, I use a frankford arsenal dry tumbler with walnut and a cap full of nufinish car polish. I then deprime and resize with a full length die every time, as I have multiple guns that shoot the same caliber, and I wont be bothered to sort that much. I use the lanolin/alcohol lube mix. I'll throw them back in the tumbler for a bit to get the lube off, then I'll trim. I then prime with a frankford hand primer. The primer tray is meh, but you can also use the Lee primer trays that fold, and they work way better than the frankford tray. I throw my powder and measure every charge on my beam scale, a dillon scale if that matters. Then I'll seat bullets as I throw powder. I use Lee dies for now also, but I'm seriously considering a whidden gunworks die at least for seating.

Even with a Lee press and dies I'm getting .5-.7 inch groups at 100 yards. And for whatever reason my SD is about 10, ES is like 23 I think. Totally accidental, I dont anneal yet. But I have a large lot of brass I've been working through, 2nd firing for them.

If I had to buy my setup for precision stuff today, I would get either the forester coax or the new frankford coax. My press isnt a hindrance to me by any means, but I kinda wonder if upgrading would make any difference. I dunno, for me cost is a concern. I'm a single income LEO with 2 kids and a wife. I'll burn money on shit if my wife doesn't remind me we arent rich Haha. I conserve when I can.

 

[Burkes the Nailer]

Thank you all for your responses! Right now, I'm looking for a single stage since I only want to reload my .308 win, for now. I know I want a progressive press eventually.

I was internet searching and looking around the local gun stores. Right now, I'm torn between the Hornady Deluxe kit or the RCBS classic kit. I'll be doing more research to determine what is best for me. Thank you all!