just starting out reloading

[sgtgrinche]

i'm just starting out reloading and would like to know what is the best equipment i need to get going i'll be reloading 30/30. best pots die ect. any help would greatly be appreciated. I have looked at some and not sure what to get don't want to waste my money on junk stuff. i figured with all the knowledge out here this is the best place to start.
john ne ohio

[jnyork]

You will not go wrong with RCBS equipment, it is top-notch, my Rockchucker press has loaded hundreds of thousands of rounds over the last 30 years and still going strong, ditto for the powder measure, dies etc. There are other good brands as well, but RCBS works for me.

[Ray Newman]

Redding!

[Ysabel Kid]

Best? Probably Dillon Precision.

Best overall value? Lee Precision.

[RSY]

If you want to buy a kit, go with a single-stage one from Redding or RCBS. If you are inclined to build a set-up from different manufacturers, do so around a Forster Co-Ax press.

[runfiverun]

if you want as good as your gun will shoot
rcbs will do the job and last forever.
if you ever buy a palma rifle then you will know by then what you need to get it to shoot.
don't think just cause you reload the stuff it will automatically beat factory ammo, there is a learning curve.

the very first piece of equipment you should be buying is a reloading manual,and reading it from front to back........

if you can understand that you will do fine
it is your face right there behind the bolt....

[Jay Bird]

I just started out few months ago w/ RCBS. They are guaranteed for life and they have a kit. ($250ish) Sometimes I see stuff for sale on craigslist, check you never know. I bought a digital scale, digital caliper, tumbler, and better trays. It is not cheaper to reload because you will shoot alot more.
Reloading is a hobby and gives the guns you already own a new life. The guys on this board are awesome and love to answer question.
GOOD LUCK and have fun.

[Jay Bird]

ps.there is a learning curve but it's not brain surgery. Take your time, and don't double charge. I picked it right up.

[CowboyTutt]

Sgt, I respect my friend opinions but would like to offer something different. I have a Dillon 550 B progressive press and was then given a Lyman turret press as a gift. The progressive press is great for pistol and some rifle stuff, but proper set-up is a pain. I find myself more and more using the turret press as it is easier to change parts on. Also, I hang out with two Shootists who are friends of mine, and I find myself using set-up's similar to theirs and I'm starting to understand why. So, that being said, here is my recommendation for a versitile and very accurate set-up:

Redding turret press. Others will work too.
RCBS Chargemaster electronic scale and powder measure. Well worth the money.
Hand held priming tool. Inexpensive, and has much more sensitivity and accuracy than any other set-up. RCBS makes good ones.
Redding or Hornady case-trimmer. There are other good one's too.

There is a bunch more small stuff to get, and you can substitute a single-stage press, but the turret presses are far more flexible.

Anyhow, thats what I would recommend and it is the same recommendation I have given my best friend based upon my experiences. Take it for what it is worth, but guys far more talented than me use a similar set-up.

-Tutt

[JReed]

As the others have said the multi stage presses are nice for doing large volume and the Lyman turret is a slick set up.
For me I have been reloading for years using a Rock Chucker. About a year ago I picked up a Lee Precison Aniversary kit from Midway and have been just as happy it sits right next to my RCBS and they both get used about equally. I dont reload as much as some of these guys but knocking out 100 rounds is not a hard task with what I have. Alot depends on the amount of volume you are trying to do.

[CowboyTutt]

Sgt, I would also have to agree with JReed that how much volume you need is a very important consideration. One other tool that I need to add as a necessity is a chronograph. While you can reload without it, you are pretty limited. I was doing without it for over a year, but when I could chronograph my loads and see what was happening, it turned reloading from a chore to a thrill! You can get chronographs now for a little over $100, and its just a plain necessity! Without one, your just shooting blind. Please factor one into your budget!

-Tutt

[El Chivo]

One thing I did that worked well for me was I got on Midway and read all the customer reviews for each piece of equipment I was considering. I then bought the ones that had four or five stars. You get to hear how the items really work when it's real people rating them. Better than reading manufacturers' boilerplate descriptions.

I ended up with a turret press (Lee Classic Cast) because in real life you don't want to change dies in and out for each operation. It's great. It's like four single stages in one. I drop in a disk for one caliber, then click over from one die to the other. This is great for just loading five or ten rounds. Size, click, flare, click, seat, click, crimp, click.

My turret press has a linkage which advances to the next die with each lever pull. I disabled this because I wanted to perform one operation on all rounds at one time, then move on to the next die. As opposed to doing one round at a time. Makes it hard to double-check yourself properly.

For beginners like us I think the progressive press is a little confusing, there's a lot going on at once. It's best to be very aware of what's happening. For example I have heard of progressive presses dropping an extra bullet into the case (because two bullets can stick together) and this might be hard to notice (except at the range when your gun blows up). If you work in single-stage mode, and you stop and look down all your cases before seating any bullets, you'll never get a double charge. If you pick up your bullets by hand and seat them, you'll never seat two.

Here's something I splurged on - loading blocks. At first I had a universal loading block from RCBS, but it's shallow and the holes are large and long cases tip over. I tried setting the cases in an ammo box, but then I ran across these nice wood blocks from Sinclair International. They are specific to a cartridge and the cases fit exactly. They're heavy and stable and the holes are deep. So I splurged on them last week, I'm glad I did.

[gon2shoot]

Well, as you can see, "the best" is whatever you prefer.
Reloading is like guns, just depends on what works for you. You can spend a ton of cash or a few bucks and still end up with loaded ammo.

I have some high-dollar stuff but still use the single stage or even a hand press a lot.
I prefer RCBS dies because that's what I'm used to using, there are other good ones out there.

[TedH]

Another vote for the RCBS Rockchucker kit. Has everything you need except dies.

[jdad]

Another vote for the RCBS kit.

[Leverdude]

Dont think you can really go wrong with any of the major makers.
I'v only been making my own ammo for 3 years or so but I started with the Lee Anniversary kit. At the time I think it was $75 or $80 & has everything save for dies & components that you need to start loading. Theres other stuff you will find you need or want but it comes with all the basics & a great manual.
The other makers kits are just as good or maybe better I imagine but alot more $. To me that mattered alot.
I supplimented the kit later with a second single stage press, another Lee but a classic cast this time. Its rock solid & between it & the challeger press that came with the kit theres not much I couldn't do. I use them at the same time, resize & expand, charge & then seat & crimp. Dont set no speed records but I can make a few hundred in an evening or two to shoot on Sun afternoon easy enough. Also got another scale so I could weight bullets & things over 100 grains, an RCBS trimmer & a chronograph.

[jnyork]

+1 for what Cowboy Tutt said concerning chronographs. This discussion of what reloading equipment to buy comes up frequently in these forums, but that is the first time I have seen someone make this very common sense suggestion. Having a chronograph certainly takes the guesswork out of the equation, and you will find yourself using it more and more.

[Old Time Hunter]

Lee all the way! I've got an RCBS, I've got a Dillon 550, and they sit under the bench...the Lee Classic Turret gets 90% of the work and an old Anniversary sitting next to it gets the rest. I have some fifteen different dies set up in the Lee four hole turrets and all I do to change calibers is drop in a pre loaded turret. It don't get any simpler than that!

For the money, you can not go wrong with Lee.

[J Miller]

i'm just starting out reloading and would like to know what is the best equipment i need to get going i'll be reloading 30/30. best pots die ect. any help would greatly be appreciated. I have looked at some and not sure what to get don't want to waste my money on junk stuff. i figured with all the knowledge out here this is the best place to start.
john ne ohio

Sgt,

My suggestions are basically the same as every one elses. Stay with the major brands of quality tools. Forster, RCBS, Lyman, Redding, Hornady, C-H, and only the higher end cast iron presses from Lee.

I've used my RCBS tools for decades and only recently learned a valuable lesson about the presses.
Most of them have a design flaw that can cause undue wear. When you decap the cases the primers are supposed to fall into a catch tray. But the grit from the fired primes always seems to collect at the bottom of the ram on the press body. This grit, mixed with the oils on the ram will create an abrasive media and wear your press out. Simply put, you must keep this area clean.
I just sent both my RCBS presses back to RCBS early this year for play in the ram. It was caused by this grit and my not realizing it's wear causing potential.
Both my presses are back now, actually one was replaced with a newer model, and the RC II was overhauled. But they are still in their shipping boxes untouched. I have converted over to Bonanza / Forster Co-Ax presses. I believe they are superior in every way to the Rock Chucker press or any of that design. One feature is a blessing and that is the fired primer drop tube. All the fired primers and their grit simply fall into a catch cup. Clean and neat.

Anyway, stay with the top major brands and by all means buy reloading manuals. Speer, Lyman, Hornady, are the best for information.

Joe

[shawn_c992001]

I use the Lee 50 BMG press, it's pretty robust with plenty of leverage for sizing and forming cases. It also has a primer drop tube which simply drops the old primers straight through the ram, down a tube, and into a bucket under the press.

The size of the press is pretty handy for the larger cases like 9.3x74R and Ultra Mag style/length cases.

[Chuck 100 yd]

I like my Rockchucker and have no NEED for a turret press to speed things up. I subscribe to the K.I.S.S. way of thinking, and feel that you get what you pay for in most cases. My dies are RCBS or better,
Thank you!

Casting can be a different problem. With furnaces costing anywhere from $39.00 on up to several hundreds, a new caster needs to think about learning the hobby at a reasonable cost before diving in head first. After giving it a try, many find it is not for them. As for me I enjoy and look forward to my casting sessions.
Enjoy!

[sgtgrinche]

thank you gentleman for all your advise, it is much needed and appreciated. It will take a while
to get things going hopefully by january i will have my stuff together so i can work throough the winter blues instead of vegging out looking at the idiot box .

[RSY]

Some final thoughts:

Buy the best you can afford, even to the extent that you re-channel some funds from nice-to-have reloading "toys" to acquiring the best press possible (read: Forster Co-Ax). If the turret route looks good to you, get the Redding.

That is how I approached it, and have never had any regrets. Here's my set-up:

Forster Co-Ax
Redding powder measure
Forster trimmer
Hornady beam scale

I have never come across anyone that was interested in this hobby and did not find it the cat's pajamas. Thus, (with apologies to mis amigos who like Lee stuff) don't buy equipment with the thought in mind that you're gonna save some dinero and just test the waters. Get the BEST you can. You can usually get almost all your money back if you so desire (perish the thought).

[Griff]

i'm just starting out reloading and would like to know what is the best equipment i need to get going i'll be reloading 30/30. best pots die ect. any help would greatly be appreciated. I have looked at some and not sure what to get don't want to waste my money on junk stuff. i figured with all the knowledge out here this is the best place to start.
john ne ohio

The VERY best equipment you can start with are reloading manuals. Several in fact. Especially important in the biginning, & sometimes later for references, are the sections on "how to". While the basics remain pretty constant for each type of machine, (single-stage, progressive, trimmer, scale, etc.) both the specifics and how they may describe the operation. The Lyman books are top-notch.

As far as equipment goes, I gotta recommend RCBS fir single stage stuff, Dillon for progressives and MEC for shotshells. Either Lyman or RCBS for casting. That's my not so unbiased opinion.

[ceb]

I just realized I've been loading for something like 30yrs. I stated with a RCBS Jr. outfit. I used to shoot a lot of competitive handgun matches so went to Dillon Progressives, a 550 and then added a 550B, to produce the volume I needed. I even gave my old Jr. press to my nephew to get him started. Now that I no longer shoot competitions I find I like the simpler ways best. I plan to sell both Dillons and go back to RCBS, this time the Rockchucker kit. I think every reloader needs a single stage or at most a turret.

[Old Time Hunter]

The best that money can buy...is Lee! All the rest are just overpriced and hyped.

[Old Savage]

I started with a Dillon RL550B and have always been happy I did.

[stretch]

I'd start out like the other guys say - buy the best you can afford.
Lyman's Crusher, RCBS, and the Lee Classic (the cast iron one) are
all first-rate presses that will last a lifetime. I started out with a used
Dillon Square Deal because I got a helluva deal on a used one. In your
shoes I'd aim for the following:

1. A good manual or two. Lee is the one to have if you can afford only one.
2. A single-stage press as mentioned above.
3. A powder measure - I'm partial to the Lyman.
4. A scale - the Lee will do if your budget is tight. I have a Lyman I like.
5. Dies: RCBS are good, as are Lee. I like the Lee factory crimp dies -
some folks here don't care for them.
6. A set of dial calipers. The Chinese ones are good enough and priced reasonably.
7. A little bit of case lube.

Time and patience. Read the Lee manual (or whichever one you get) cover to cover,
at least all of the theory and "how-to". I personally like reload almost as much as
shoot. I wish I had more time for both!

Don't be afraid to ask questions here - lots and lots of knowledge
and folks willing to share it - and their opinions!

[CowboyTutt]

O.S., that is funny. I started with a Dillon 550 B too! Its one heck of a learning curve to start on a progressive press! Funny that we have that in common.

Griff is right, loading manuals are a must.

Chronograph is still a must.

Like Sobenk mentioned above, the turret presses are very handy at times. The quick release Hornady Lock 'n Load bushings are a nice upgrade, particularly if you go with a single stage press. Hornady makes very fine presses although they have not been mentioned here. Hornady has "gone to school" by studying their competitors products, and they are innovative and well built.

Also, the suggestion to study Midway's customer reviews was a pretty good one. I did the same when I was starting. There are many ways to set-up a bench and different ways to combine functions like trimming, chamfering etc. Its best to have a plan before you start if possible.

Lots to consider and many good opinions here.

-Tutt

[Old Savage]

You know Tutt, you are OK! Are you down here yet?

[CowboyTutt]

Had to delay my departure another day. Coming down tomorow night late, or early Tuesday. Can you go shooting on Thursday with Prof. Boomer, another Andy and myself? Its the only way the other Andy can go, and he's a super neat ol' guy. It will be an all day event as I have 3 Mauser loads to try, one BLR Barnes load, and many 375 H&H loads to fire-form to A.I. Bring lunch if you can make it all day, or just come for what you can. Maybe we can still arrange a dinner or something.

-Tutt