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what is your reloading goal(s)? some reloading goals might be I want a source of my hunting ammo the right load for my gun so I am never without it again. or I want the most accurate round I can send for all my rifles I want to build a handload to exceed factory accuracy or I need ammo lots and lots of ammo and I want to get it done as cheap as possible or many many more and maybe more than one
what volume of ammo do you se yourself reloading and for what calibers?
Pete, great questions I hadn’t considered.
I honestly just want 50 rounds per year of each caliber I hunt with. Elk and coyotes.
I’m mainly looking at 7mm Rem Mag, 22-250, 6.5 Creed, and maybe a .243 and .270.
I’d say “I want the most accurate round I can send for all my rifles and I want to build a handload to exceed factory accuracy” best describes what I want to do. I’m not satisfied with most factory ammo. I don’t own any custom rifles but most of them hold in the 1 MOA range but I feel like I can do better. I hate not being able to find the ammo I want/need.
You want a rcbs rockchucker starter kit. It will have enough to get you started and you can add from there.
There comes a point liberalism has gone too far, we're past that point.
Lee and RCBS both have starter kits that have about everything but does. It's a cheap way to get started down that rabbit hole, you can always upgrade as necessary.
You may also be able to pick up enough from members on here to get started. I know I have extra stuff that I could and would part with.
You want a rcbs rockchucker starter kit. It will have enough to get you started and you can add from there.
Originally Posted by Golf ball
^^^^ this is the best answer ^^^^^ I wish I had started this way .
I agree , good answer. I went with the Dillon 550. The reason was I planned and still do a lot of rounds. Also the rockchucker is a good starting point , if it is not your cup of tea , plenty of demand to sell it used.
Yes single stage press Lee Lyman Rcbs sometimes a good deal on ebay pics will show if its had a little care or is a pile Check out Hodgdon loading data for your cartridge(s) of choice and see what you need. Primers and powder will be harder to find then a press
I'd definitely go join over on accurate shooter , can save a butt load buying off their classifieds , especially since most of them guys look at a RCBS rock chucker like something you give to you kid to mess up lol. These might be something to look at
I'm not big on the kits. You get some essential items of quality and that you will be happy with in the long term, and other stuff you either don't need or won't be happy with. In addition, there are several essential items not included
Examples:
Many folks can make their own case block from a scrap piece of wood An old 30-30 case makes a great trickler and only takes one hand to operate A rag can be used to apply case lube Inside necks can be lubed with powdered graphite A bench mounted primer seater is much prefered to the hand type A quality scale and a quality caliper are absolutely essential. A cheap electronic scale is not worth having. The RCBS inside and outside case mouth chamfer tool is hard to use, Lymans are much better A case trimmer is essential and will be needed after loading after just a couple of loadings as a minimum
For someone who already has some tools and skills, with a little help they can put together a much better set of reloading equip once their goals are communicated IMO.
i dont like digital scales. if your careful a balance beam will weigh more accurately than a 1/10th of a grain. zero your scale and drop a 1/4 inch by 1/4 inch piece of paper in the pan and it will move off zero a bit.
Those who would give up essential liberty, to purchase a little temporary safety, deserve neither liberty nor safety. Benjamin Franklin (1706-1790)
I highly recommend that you start out with a single stage press for your safety. I have been loading for a loooooooong time and still use the RCBS Rockchucker press.Get a beam scale and a set of dippers with the dipper chart. Get a dial caliper. Get a can of Imperial sizing die wax. Get a hammer type bullet puller for when you mess up and need to demill a round.GET A GOOD RELOADING MANUAL and obey its instructions. Later on, once you decide that you like reloading, you can get fancier stuff like a vibratory tumbler, hand primer, progressive press etc. Buy some components when you find them. Be safe and don't get inventive. Rickey
Last edited by doublesettrigger; 12/14/2310:19 PM.
Get your wife a second job first! I have way too much reloading stuff but I got it over alot of years. Look for good used stuff in ads or local gun clubs. It might be fun or a big pain working up loads for any guns!
We can be friends. I’ll let Rachel know to get out there and earn her keep but I’m blaming it on you. Lol.
Originally Posted by doublesettrigger
I highly recommend that you start out with a single stage press for your safety. I have been loading for a loooooooong time and still use the RCBS Rockchucker press.Get a beam scale and a set of dippers with the dipper chart. Get a dial caliper. Get a can of Imperial sizing die wax. Get a hammer type bullet puller for when you mess up and need to demill a round.GET A GOOD RELOADING MANUAL and obey its instructions. Later on, once you decide that you like reloading, you can get fancier stuff like a vibratory tumbler, hand primer, progressive press etc. Buy some components when you find them. Be safe and don't get inventive. Rickey
Man. I don’t know the first thing! I’m more scared of this now than I was in Fallujah!
The deadliest weapon in the world is a Marine and his rifle.
So I might get dragged for this but , man I'll be honest and say, a lot of people make reloading sound way more complicated, dangerous and difficult then it really is. Dont get me wrong you can get hurt yourself break guns ECT but honestly you gotta be doing some stupid crap 80% of the time for that to happen. Like I mean just really stupid.Like smoking next to a open can of powder or just saying YOLO and throwing random powder in a case ,filling it ,cramming in a bullet and touching it off. Don't put the boom boom powder where somthing could make it go boom, if the bullet dosent just slid in like a regular round don't try and force it. If you keep getting stuck cases ... Mabye your not using enough of the stuff that's supposed to keep that from happening .Common sense really helps with alot of this. Now if your doing some crazy wildcatting chasing crazy velocities or trying to get bench rest quality groups then yeah it's more complicated and more dangerous, but just making up some decent hunting ammo that can keep a fist sized group out to 2-300yd? Just follow the instructions in the manual and your good to go. Heck you can download most reloading manuals front eh company right to you phone now days. A few companies like Hornady even have free videos on YouTube with their guys showing you exactly what to do
If you can read and follow basic directions,you can reload, if you have. Common sense you can reload. If you can ask questions you can reload, if you can use Google you can reload, if you can read a scale and turn on a pair of calipers you can reload.
Heck you don't even need a massive set up, like I have a whole room but it's because it's a big hobby for me but heck there plenty of people making great ammo on their kitchen table with little set ups like this
check your local craigslist and marketplace. there was a lee press close to me for sale for $25, looked brand new but i never inquired about it. there was brand new hornady lock n load kit with a whole bunch of brand new extra stuff with it for $400. from what i could see in the pics i added up well over $600 worth of stuff but again i never inquired about it either. there was also a brand new redding big boss kit for $150. all good deals i just haven't decided to make that jump yet
Last edited by bluegrassman; 12/15/2312:27 AM.
Anyone that owns a gun and votes democrat deserves to have there gun taken, cause they truly are too stupid to own a gun.
Everyone has given some good advise so far. For someone who is just starting out and doesn't really know what they are doing or what they need, I always recommend to get a good loading manual. Or maybe 2 of them. You'll need them anyway and nearly all of them go over step by step about how to set up a press, prepare brass, critical measurements, etc. Once you read thru that you'll have a basic idea of what tools you need to start with. Even older, out of date manuals can be used for this even though the load data for powders might be out of date. You're just looking at the how to and what is needed part to begin with. For what you listed as wanting to load I would pick a good single stage press, die brand of choice, hammer type bullet puller, good scales, and a good set of steel calipers. At some point you'll need case trimmers, tumblers, and other items that will make things easier but to start with you can get by without them.
A single stage press is slow, but it forces you do one thing at a time. Less chance to mess up until you figure out the process and get comfortable doing everything. Follow the instructions on setting it up, read the books, and have fun. It's only as complicated as you want to make it.
As to OP's question, if anyone has rifles, and wants to keep them running hot, I would encourage them to at least have the ability to reload. We have all seen bare shelves. If that were to continue for a long, long time, the same guns we use and rely upon for hunting and other can quickly become useless clubs to wave around. The ability to reload keeps them running hot. Case in point, I'm currently loading for a 6mm Rem. Factory ammo has all but dried up. But as long as I have the brass, I can keep it going. Last factory ammo I've seen for the 6mm was running $45 to $50 per box when available. I can load it for around $15 per box of 20 all day long.
There is a fixed cost for the base equipment......the press, scales, calipers, etc. and a set of dies for each caliber. Lee dies run about $40 per set and work. And variable costs for the components. At least one 100 count box of bullets for each caliber. In OP's case, one 1,000 count brick of primers will load 50 boxes of ammo. And most of those he lists can be loaded with one pound each of only a couple powders. A pound of rifle powder will get you about 150 rounds per pound.
If one only follows the basic instructions, one can easily create factory level ammo. To improve on that only requires some very subtle changes to the basic operations.......little to no additional equipment.
Easy to vote your way into socialism, but impossible to vote your way out of it.
If I wasn't a reloader I would have had rifles I wouldn't have had ammo for a few years . Still to this day I haven't seen any .17 remington on the shelf. Just seen some .222 on the self in the last month .