Get me started! Reloading Gear. New Guy.

pcweidman

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My buddy and I want to go into together and build a reloading bench out. We realized all the brass we have wasted and how much we shoot it is only feasible. We make good money so don't wanna go cheap but I don't need my basement to look like a Hornady factory either. We want to be able to be very accurate because of the nature of our hobbie with LR Hunting and friendly LR competitions.

Can someone give me a check list of what I need and brand specifics? I figured I coul call Midway and they could set me up but I don't want to get ripped off or pushed to a certain manufacturer by their salesman.

Thanks!
 
Re: Get me started! Reloading Gear. New Guy.

One man's opinion...

Immediate needs:

Press: buy a Forster if you're shooting for accuracy, think about Dillon if you need super high volume

Dies: Redding or Forster are generally very good, RCBS, Hornady, etc. are OK too

Powder Measure: Buy a RCBS Chargemaster or you will likely eventually replace what you do buy with one

Case Prep: I like the RCBS prep center, but there are several available. My setup is very similar to:

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Primer: Can prime on the Forster press, but I prefer the RCBS hand primer for efficiency/feel

You'll eventually need more stuff (e.g. a tumbler and media after your first firing of new brass), but this will certainly get you going.

John
 
Re: Get me started! Reloading Gear. New Guy.

RCBS Rock Chucker Supreme Master Single Stage Press Kit:

I used it as a starting point. It gets the job done, and done well... It covers the basics, then once you start loading you'll find out other things to add.

Calipers. A Comparator body with inserts for your calibers are nice. They allow you to measure brass at the shoulder to ensure proper sizing. They also allow you to measure bullet seating depth from the ogive instead of the bullet tip, which tends to have variations.

A case cleaning set up. Tumbler and corn cob/walnut, ultrasonic or tumbler with stainless steal media. Stainless seems to be pretty popular.

An electronic scale is nice for weighing/sorting cases or bullets, but the 5-0-5 balance scale (in the kit) tends to be more reliable for measuring powder loads.

A bullet puller is nice to have on hand. The simple inerta hammer style ones work just fine.

I have also found that you cannot have too many loading manuals.

Dan Newberry's OCW Overview webpage has a few "Tools of the Trade" pages that offer some information on whats needed.

I'm sure I have left off some important items, but others will fill in the blanks.
 
Re: Get me started! Reloading Gear. New Guy.

1) give out a list of calabers you guys plan to shoot

When I started out I just bought a RCBS kit and build up from their.But it sounds like you want to go all out on this.

I would go with a dillon 550b press because you can use it as a pergessive press and as a single stage press.With extra tool heads.That what finally ended up with after 10yr of reloading

With dies I would look in to match dies like redding or others.
I would look into a www.giraudtool.com/ it is a power trimmer this will save alot of TIME!!!For a scale I would get a RCBS 10-10 scale along with this type of scale
http://youtu.be/byikXIrLlFM
I would look in to a very good chronograph also.Buy in bulk as far as as bullets,primers,cases,and powder.You need to buy poweder on 8lb in the same lot # when you settle on a powder.Because when you find a load your gun likes and when you run out of powder and buy new powder with a new lot # youll find that.Thr burn rate of the new powder will be different from the last lot of powder.It could be off buy as much as 1.0gn of powder.When you use the chrongraph make a note of your speed your rifle likes and groups.When you run out of powder you can work up a load faster to find the sweet spot with the notes from before.You guys will become addicted to this fast.
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Re: Get me started! Reloading Gear. New Guy.

Press: forster Co-ax , Redding T7 for your match loads, Hornady Lock-N-Load® Ammo Plant for all non-match loads. (You can start with Forster Co-ax or Redding T7 move to progressive when you are ready)

DIEs: Redding and Forster set for all your match loads. Lee universal decapper and collect dies a must (don't cheep on dies) (Neck die go Redding, because they offer Titanium Nitride bushings)

RCBS charge master and a lab quality electric scale for double check powder weight.

Dillon Swager tool if you shoot military ammo with primer crimp.

Tumbler: Wet or dry it doesn't matter. You have to have one or both.

Priming tool: Forster Co-Ax Primer Seater, (Safer compare to handheld tools)

Case trimmer: Forster trimmer with 3-in-1 Carbide cutter. (save time, works great)

misc: ammo try, case lube, dry neck lube, Powder Funnel, and etc...
 
Re: Get me started! Reloading Gear. New Guy.

RCBS Rock Chucker sumpreme kit
Giraud Trimmer
Good set of calipers
RCBS dies and RCBS shell holders
Sierra 5th edition reloading manual
 
Re: Get me started! Reloading Gear. New Guy.

You guys jumped all over this! I appreciate it!

Are one of these devices a digital powder measurer/scale? I hear that accuracy comes from a device I saw on TV that completes the powder portion of the process the most accurately.

C
 
Re: Get me started! Reloading Gear. New Guy.

Many good opinions here. The best one I read was that you should consider your needs. Precision shooting with a bolt action, whether it be for punching paper or critters will require a bit more hands on type of equipment than a gas gun that you anticipate putting hundreds of rounds down range at a session.

A progressive press is almost a necessity if you plan on loading for 3-gun practice using an AR type rifle; it also comes in handy if you ever intend to reload handgun cartridges. (The Dillon 550 is a great press, just be sure that it will accomodate the caliber rifle rounds you wish to load.)

For precision rifle loads, I prefer more basic fare. I rarely load more than 50 rds at a sitting and it often takes me several hours to do so.

If long range precision is your game rather than "SHTF" rates of fire, consider the following equipment.

- A basic press, the RCBS Rockchucker has been around forever and continues to be the mainstay of a good many experienced reloaders bench. Used ones can be found on Ebay for cheap if a person keeps his eyes open. I keep two set up on my bench. (The co-ax is nice but I don't have one yet, too much money for a toy I don't really need.)

- A brass tumbler. I purchased the big blue one that Dillon sells about 15 years ago. It has literally cleaned tons of brass during that time and it is still going strong. I like the large capacity which saves me time.

- A scale. I personally stay away from electronic scales. First, I don't need one, second, I don't trust them and third, well, I just don't like them. Yeah, I know that there are one or two good ones out there. I have a pair of the better RCBS balance beam type and have never saw the need to change. I have changed out the agate bearings a time or two but RCBS will send them to you free if you ask.

- A brass trimmer. Yep, you'll need one of these asap. This is just about as important as your press so plan on getting a decent one. I use a Forster brand. Just make sure that whichever one you get is large enough to accomodate the largest/longest case you plan on reloading. Failure to make this distinction could cost you down the road. I know, I made this mistake and found out when I went to reload some 7mmSTW brass. (All brass, some new and certainly all used brass WILL need to be trimmed at some point. Don't fail to recognize the importance of keeping on top of the uniform OAL of your brass.)

Dies are an especially controversial subject when it comes to loading. I have and use all different brands, types and calibers. The price of reloading equipment has doubled and tripled over the years since I started. Were I to start over, I think I would begin by purchasing Redding brand, precision dies. They cost a bit more but they are about as good as it gets. Their precision seating dies would be a "must have" in my book. I have gotten away from neck sizing over the years. I still thing there is a place for it but I pretty much full length resize everything now and it works for me. Were I still into neck sizing, a person cannot beat the price or the quality of the Lee Collet die. I have used a bunch of them over the years and have always been impressed with the quality of the rounds produced while using them.

I guess my last suggestion would be to stay away from gimmicks. There are quite a few additional odds and ends you will need, a bullet puller, trays, boxes, runout guages, etc. Do your research, find out what others have had success with and go with it other than the newest whizbang gizmo that is going to crap out on you when you need it most.

Good luck and enjoy the process. It has been both theraputic and cost saving for me these last thirty years.
 
Re: Get me started! Reloading Gear. New Guy.

This thread has been helpful...I am sitting in pcweidman's shoes right now and have learned a great deal over the last several days. With that being said, does anyone have any photos of how they set up their reloading area?? Thanks!
 
Re: Get me started! Reloading Gear. New Guy.

Pharm this is my bench. I store my crap underneath and get stuff out as I need it. It gets cluttered sometimes, but I made it before I started realoading so I didn't know exactly how much space I would need.

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Re: Get me started! Reloading Gear. New Guy.

Some good thoughts here so far. I really like the Forster Co-Ax for a single stage press. Despite what many may say, I like the RCBS universal hand primer. The feel is fine, and it DOES NOT require shellholders for each different caliber. A couple of things which are little but are nice are Satern powder funnels, they are caliber spedific-which I like in a powder funnnel--and I like the heavy duty loading blocks from Sinclair--they are case family specific, i.e. same block for 308, 30-06-.270, .280. etc. I would also go ahead and get a good set of calipers/mics. I think it is best to buy good stuff one time, like measuring tools. Case cleaning is something that you will evolve into, - I loaded 5-600 rounds using just a crazy cloth. But I have since gone through typical dry media tumbling, and a seperator, and then ultrasonic, and ended up with wet tumbling and the stainless steel media. I like the stainless best since it gets primer pockets clean, and the other methods don't so much, like sort-of with ultrsonic and not at all with corn cob or walnut.

I actually think a concentricity gauge is a useful tool, I like the sincliar tool. A primer pocket uniformer for the size primers you'll be reloading for, again I like the Sinclair stuff there. As far as dies I have all types, and if I was doing it all from scratch I would buy Forster dies with the Micrometer Seating die in the kit. As to case lube, I was an original Imperial die wax fan, but now I use Hornady Unique case lube.

Good luck with getting going, it is in fact addictive!