Good gear for a beginner?

[j741]

With only having a 6.5 CM and it liking factory ammo I haven't felt a need to reload. But I'm going to be adding on a 300WM or a 7MM Mag shortly and thinking I will want to get in to reloading for those. I read up on the sticky here for beginners and figure that I will need/get the Forster Micrometer Seating Die and the Forster Full Length Sizing die. I do also see some other suggested tools & accessories in the thread.

Where I'm stuck is in deciding on a press. Is there a good 'starter' press? Will that be able to work well for me for the future or is it more of a get up to speed and then get something else? I like the idea of a progressive press and just doing 1 round at a time. Do those have issues with precision and usability for trying to get repeatable accurate loads?

How is the Hornady Lock N Load? I found a NIB one for sale on craigslist for a pretty good price.

 

[Marksman10x]

Dillon 550. You could easily go the rest of your life with only this one press and be perfectly content. Why buy a single stage now and a progressive later?

If you can set up a sizing and seating dies on a SS, you can set them up on a progressive.

 

[Marksman10x]

And accuracy doesnt suffer any using the Dillon. In fact, I would bet floating dies on a Dillon actually produce straighter (less runout) ammo than fixed dies on a single stage. I have no data to back this claim--Just a shooter's prediction based on a fair amount of experience

 

[Fursniper]

A progressive press doesn't just "do" one round at a time, it normally does several steps on several cartridges at a time. A single stage completes one step on one cartridge at a time. It's not that precision ammo can't be loaded on a progressive but unless you're loading for a high volume gun (like an AR for example) and being a beginner to boot, I would start with a single stage. A low cost and competent press would be like an RCBS rockchucker. Millions of rounds by thousands of people have loaded excellent ammo on a rockchucker and even as tbey became experts years down the road it will always have a place in your reload room. Or you could go the buy once cry once route & get a Forster Coax press, a very sweet machine. Yes, you could do it on a "big red" lock & load but IMO a Forster would be my suggestion. We're talking less than $300 here so not a big deal as costs go in this game.

 

[JoeBUtah]

I'm with Fursniper ; a progressive press is more than capable for producing precision ammo, but there are an awful lot of moving parts to deal with, both figuratively and literally. Handloading is a "touchy-feely" sort of thing and when starting out, developing a "feel' for things is (imho) better served with a single stage. As he mentions, a single stage will always be a good tool to have in your reloading room.

 

[flashhole]

Don't buy anything Hornady. Plenty of good equipment out there. The Lee Classic Turret is great value in a very versatile press. Allows you to do single stage or auto-indexing turret.

 

[j741]

Thanks all for the information. Much appreciated.

My thought was the buy once, cry once with getting a progressive press and at first just running one case through at a time. My worry was getting a single stage press and then it being relegated to the back of the bench and not really used again. I also don't have a whole lot of space to dedicate to reloading so I'm not sure I'd be able to setup 2 presses without taking all my bench space.

Didn't realize Hornady wasn't a good option for presses. That Lee Precision does seem pretty inexpensive and may be a good way to get started since its not a big outlay.

Is this kit from brownells' a good start?

 

[Milo 2.5]

Thanks all for the information. Much appreciated.

My thought was the buy once, cry once with getting a progressive press and at first just running one case through at a time. My worry was getting a single stage press and then it being relegated to the back of the bench and not really used again. I also don't have a whole lot of space to dedicate to reloading so I'm not sure I'd be able to setup 2 presses without taking all my bench space.

Didn't realize Hornady wasn't a good option for presses. That Lee Precision does seem pretty inexpensive and may be a good way to get started since its not a big outlay.

Is this kit from brownells' a good start?

I'd shy away from a kit, yeah, it will get you going but in 1 yr you'll be replacing items in it. I agree, start single stage, you'll always want a single stage around to decap, or pull some bullets etc...

 

[padom]

Least expensive option, you cant ever go wrong with a RCBS Rock Chucker. If money is no issue 100% get a Forster Co-Ax. The dies dont get screwed down, they actually float in the press. As a beginner, I would say get one of these options depending on your budget. Your right on track with grabbing Forster Ultra Micrometer seating die and FL sizing die. You will want to grab a good set of calipers and Hornady's Case Headspace gauge and bullet comparator. These 2 tools are key to making safe, accurate, quality ammo. Get yourself a Chargemaster, ARea419 Powder funnel kit if you plan to reload all those calibers and a good case prep station.

 

[supercorndogs]

Dillon 550. You could easily go the rest of your life with only this one press and be perfectly content. Why buy a single stage now and a progressive later?

If you can set up a sizing and seating dies on a SS, you can set them up on a progressive.

You ever use a LW collet die to size the area right above the belt on a magnum cartridge on a 550?

If you are going to reload look at the the 30 and 7mm nosler, no belt. I love my 300wm but the belt sucks.

 

[Beneviolence]

I personally don't see the point in a progressive press for all of the prep stages you need to do for precision reloading. You'll decap, tumble, anneal (possibly), neck size, prime, powder, seat. Several points of having the case out of the press, and you're probably going to want to use a digital powder thrower. I would get a Redding T7 turret press, two RCBS Chargemaster 1500's, dies, Lyman trimmer, Frankford rotary tumbler. On the flip side, I wouldn't do a single stage because it's unnecessarily slow. You don't "learn more" by screwing and unscrewing dies all the time.

 

[Fursniper]

I personally don't see the point in a progressive press for all of the prep stages you need to do for precision reloading. You'll decap, tumble, anneal (possibly), neck size, prime, powder, seat. Several points of having the case out of the press, and you're probably going to want to use a digital powder thrower. I would get a Redding T7 turret press, two RCBS Chargemaster 1500's, dies, Lyman trimmer, Frankford rotary tumbler. On the flip side, I wouldn't do a single stage because it's unnecessarily slow. You don't "learn more" by screwing and unscrewing dies all the time.

You're obviously unfamiliar with the the FORSTER COAX press or the quick change bushings available for other single stage presses. There is no need anymore to screwing around (literally) screwing & unscrewing dies into presses anymore.

 

[Marksman10x]

1. Both my single stage presses, Rockchucker and Big Boss 2 have been relegated to the back of the reloading room, they are virtually never used. The Dillon 550 is a simple machine, I've watched many people who have never reloaded a single round in their lives buy a 550 and set it up just fine--if you can follow instructions you can set one up, it's actually very easy--The OP shouldn't let people without experience influence his decision.

2. A progressive can easily do one round at a time. Just insert only one round at a time!

3. A progressive gives you the ability to sanely load bulk ammo, both pistol and rifle. A single stage does not.

4. My Dillon seats primers more consistently than my Sinclair hand held priming tool, so you wouldn't have to buy a separate priming tool, you would with a single stage.

5. A dillon powder dispenser can be used like a standard powder dispenser, drop the powder, weigh, trickle up to desired weight, seat bullet. This saves you from having to buy a separate powder dispenser.


Whichever way you go, welcome to the wonderfully addicting world of reloading!

 

[The King]

I have both the 550 and the Forster coax. If I could only have one it would be the coax. Why?

The ammo I shoot is grouped into profitablilty ranges.

I load my big gun ammo on the coax and small gun on the 550. The 550 loads great 556 match mk262 clone ammo.

But - mk262 is .70 a round. CBC Magtech. It’s been an excellent shooter. So 28.7c a bullet, 3.5c a primer, 10c a Case, and 10c powder. It costs me about .50 to load one. ROI .20 a round.

6.5 short action ultra mag? $3.80 a round. $1.00 Case. $.20 powder, $.054 primer, $.36 bullet. $1.60 to load each. ROI $2.00.

So, I’ll load all damn day for $2.00 a minute. And I want that ammo to be fantastic.

For $.20 a minute, i usually just buy it these days. $12.00 an hr. And even 30 seconds all told to spit out a round isn’t much better on a Dillon. $24 an hour. I’ll go shooting instead for that.


Even more fun is I have $4000 in reloading crap probably. So it takes me loading 2000 rounds of 6.5 or 338 to recoup that cost.


Back to your question:
Forster Coax press
RCBS Chargemaster
Franklin stainless tumbler kit or similar, cheap
RCBS trim pro with 3 way head and a hand drill
calipers
comparator set
lyman spray Case lube
redding imperial Case neck lube
RCBS hand prime tool
loading blocks for lubed and unlubed ammo
redding dies, full length bushing type and comp seater
integrated powder funnel and weight tray
nice set of hex keys from Wiha

 

[rduckwor]

Don't buy anything Hornady. Plenty of good equipment out there. The Lee Classic Turret is great value in a very versatile press. Allows you to do single stage or auto-indexing turret.

This. Lee products are poo-poo'ed by the big shot shooters, but they flat out work without busting your budget., Loading precision rifle is a very different game and may not be your cup of tea. You're going to need more that just a press, dies, bullets and powder. Annealing systems, case trimmers, scales, powder funnels; it all adds up. If you planned to load pistol as well, a Dillon 550B would be the cat's pajamas. Good luck to you and I hope you discover that you love this form of reloading.

RMD

 

[j741]

Glad I asked about this. I didn't realize all that was involved. I think I'll start with trying out some factory ammo as it seems it would take me a while to even recover 1/2 the cost of reloading. Also realizing it will take time and with a toddler at home that may be a bit scare for a bit. I may have to put this on hold and try to find factory ammo that works for a bit.

 

[The King]

Some of the lee dies are as good as it gets...the lee powder measure is well liked it seems. I do thoroughly despise their presses.

This. Lee products are poo-poo'ed by the big shot shooters, but they flat out work without busting your budget., Loading precision rifle is a very different game and may not be your cup of tea. You're going to need more that just a press, dies, bullets and powder. Annealing systems, case trimmers, scales, powder funnels; it all adds up. If you planned to load pistol as well, a Dillon 550B would be the cat's pajamas. Good luck to you and I hope you discover that you love this form of reloading.

RMD

 

[Greg Langelius *]

I was that guy who had never loaded a single round in their life back around 1995, and I bought a complete used RL550B setup for $250, the same I paid DCM for my Garand right about the same time (it is a rack grade SA, 5-digit 75xxx serial, made in October 1940, 1953 Winchester barrel arsenal refurb. I've turned down $5K for it.).

The RL550B is all I have ever used, first for handgun, then as a team press for a pistol, later rifle and pistol team. Eventually I got into NRA National Match Rifle, and for there went on to precision rifle, and 1000yd F Class. It does it all. I never check for runout, it doesn't seem to matter; I just accept whatever it is and concentrate on teh basics, like powder charge and COAL. Right now, I'm working a Varmint AR seeking .5 MOA, and I'm not far from it and gaining.

The RL550B is a progressive press; but seen from another angle, it's four single stage presses, set up in a circular arrangement. Remove the spacer buttons and work any single station just like a single stage press. I do use it progressive in mode for projects like bulk fabbing Garand or AR FMJ ammo, but use it more often in hybrid mode for precision stuff. It's all about how you use it.

I've never been sorry I got the Dillon RL550B, and I seriously doubt I'll really get interested in anything else.

Greg

 

[alfack]

I started off on a Dillon 550B for everything. Now, I added a Forster co-ax and use the 550 for mainly handgun ammo or 5.56. I use the Forster for all my low volume, high precision stuff. You come to realize that a progressive doesn't save you any time, if you are going for high precision/low velocity SD spreads. You end up trickling a lot of powder.

 

[Marksman10x]

@alfack,

Do you have any reasons or evidence to support those opinions? My reason for asking is, I completely disagree, my experiences don't at all match your opinions. I've found my reloading speed to actually increase using a Dillon over a single stage. Further, since I have both the FL and seater die floating, the ammo is crazy straight and shows downrange through group size and on the chrono with lower single digit SD's (20 shot groups). The Dillon powder dispensers can be used to drop most of the powder, causing me to have to add approximately 0.1 to 0.2 grains of powder. When taking my time and going slowly, it takes approximately 45 seconds to size, prime, powder, and seat a bullet. I currently have this setup for 6BR, 6.5x47, and .308.

A couple months ago, I got bored one night and re-setup a single stage and loaded some 6.5 rounds. It sucked, I couldn't wait to go back to the progressive!!

 

[alfack]

Yes. Mostly revolving around the powder throw. I can never get the Dillon set up to drop a consistent charge for larger rifle calibers. Also, there is more variance, depending on if the powder is extruded or ball. It seems to have an easier time with ball powders. I end up setting it to throw consistantly under the desired weight and hand trickling the rest. It's a pain in the ass. I need to get one of the RCBS powder machines, I guess. The Dillon works great for my pistols. Also, when precision loading there are steps where you are back and forth between the press and the tumbler/case trimmer etc., where a progressive doesn't make as much sense. It's been my experience that the shell plate holders on the Dillon can cause some variance in col, as well. Not enough to be an issue, but more than what I get with the Forster.

 

[nexusfire]

550 for brass prep and co AX for primer and bullet seating. Powder dispensing is where you can go cheap or high end. I started with the charge master and went to the Autotrickler

 

[wapiti16b]

Since the dies you mention are Forester why not get the Coax and call it a day ? ( pretty much all I use now ) , get a good beam scale and spend some time measuring powder and listening to some tunes while pursuing your passion !

 

[SND]

Dillon 550 all the way. I single load for precision rifle and load progressively for .223 and 9mm. Did some very simple mods to improve runout and seating length. Also bought a Scott Parker tuned 10-10 and love it. Tried the charge master and found it to be waaaay too slow. To each their own of course ...

 

[TripleBull]

Even more fun is I have $4000 in reloading crap probably. So it takes me loading 2000 rounds of 6.5 or 338 to recoup that cost.

I read that comment and was nodding my head, then started to do the math for my (small) setup. Holy crap, I've spent over $5K and still NEED even more dies, another press, etc.

The thing is, if you want to shoot as accurately as possible or want to shoot ELR, etc., handloading provides a significant advantage. If you shoot many rounds, you will pay one way or the other so it really gets down to whether you have the time, space and patience to handload. I find it therapeutic and want the lowest possible extreme spread and concentricity, so it's a no brainer.

 

[300ATT]

J741 you have stepped onto a very slippery slope my friend ... albeit a really fun one ...

 

[300ATT]

Go either the Dillon 550 or the Co-Ax ... if you end up really liking reloading you will end up with both anyway.

Safe path, get the Co-Ax first as you don't yet know if you are going to be better off with the Dillon 550, 650 or even the 1050 ...

 

[300ATT]

Note the learning curve on the Co-Ax is less steep than the Dillon ... especially if you go with the 650, 1050 ...

 

[ilmonster]

I have been reloading precision rifle rounds for only two years now. I chose a Lee Classic Cast single stage press (with Forster dies). Like some others have said, there are so many off and on press operations that take place loading bottle necked rifle rounds that a single stage isn't crazy slow if precision is your goal. I have nothing against progressives as I load handgun rounds (4 different calibers) on a Dillon SDB progressive press and shot shells on a MEC 9000 progressive. The Lee (and most other single stage presses) are also quite a value if dollars are a concern. Also, don't discount buying a used press. The cast iron ones appear to last forever. I am happy with my choice of the Lee for precision rifle rounds.

 

[JeffLebowski]

Note the learning curve on the Co-Ax is less steep than the Dillon ... especially if you go with the 650, 1050 ...

Except that no one is recommending anything other than a 550, so you didn’t make a point.

The 550 is quite capable of loading match grade ammo and has been proven to do so. Powder choice regarding the Dillon powder measure should be considered. The turret presses are a nice compromise of speed and precision.

 

[j741]

I had thought I was going to be staying away from reloading but now I'm considering a 300 NM rifle and seeing its high cost/round. I found an online calculator to plug in powder/bullet/primer/brass costs to determine cost savings per round and it seems to conservatively save me $1.75/round (assuming 4 uses of each case) to reload.

Can't find any lee dies for 300 NM. No 300NM listed for the RL550C caliber kits either.

So my initial equipment list is this:
Forster Coax Press
RCBS Chargemaster
RCBS Trim Pro
RCBS Trim Pro 3-Way Cutter
Forster Ultra Micrometer Seating Die
Forster Full Length Sizing Die
RCBS Universal Hand Priming Tool
Frankford Arsenal Platinum Series Rotary Tumbler 7L

I realize there are some other items required not in the list but I wanted to capture the bigger cost ones.

Comes in a hair under $1.1k and puts break-even under 600 rounds on 300NM. And if I decide to reload my 6.5CM as well then that's just bonus. Will soon have 450 once fired Hornady brass for 6.5CM so may as well use it.

Any recommendations on good calipers?

 

[alfack]

Looks like a good list to me. I have a standard dial caliper and just picked up the Lyman digital. I like the Lyman. Can usually get them for around $40 from places like Sportsmans Warehouse, or online.

 

[eddahenry]

i was looking at the CoAx as im coming from a Rockchucker , but i went with the MEC marksman , as its 200 cheaper than the coax here in AUS ,
Im liking it
the floating shell holder seems to be producing less runout ,, its built like a tank and its the smoothest ram ive used on a Press
I also use the cheap as Lee perfect powder measure , its cheap and i throw short and trickel anyway