wanting to get into handloading 308 win

That's what your most important purchase is for. A reloading manual. The Lee manual in your kit is a great teaching tool as is most reloading manuals. Read it before you start, the book starts from the very basic concept of how metallic cartridges work and walks you through everything you need to know. It's also a sales brochure so keep that in mind with all the shameless plugs for Lee tools haha. Just read through the first few sections pertaining to getting started, set up the equipment with the provided instructions and you'll be confidently making safe, hopefully reliable (;)) ammo in no time. Touching off your first reloads is always a nerve racking experience but if you followed the instructions thdn the gun will do what it does and you'll leave the range with a whole new sense of enjoyment. I guaruntee it. Unless you blow yourself up. Hehe. Have fun :)

bsand said:
I think our rifles have alot in common, make, 5r, b and c a3 stock, Timney 510

I will when I get started, until then anyone know where a Noob can learn what he needs to buy and how to reload? I get the basics, de primer, cleaning, sizing, powder measure/drop, projectile seated. But the how to is hazy, I'm not entirely confident doing new things with expensive mistakes, without seeing it done either via video (YouTube ftw) or in person.
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awesome! You won't regret it, but you may if you don't get a manual and take it slow. Personally I don't like the Lee challenger press as much as the classic cast one, but they work well enough to get started. The breech lock system is neat- I don't have it, but I can see how it would be something I would easily get used to.

For reloading precision rifle, the press gets all the attention, but IMHO it is how well you can use everything else that makes the difference.

My personal starting recommendation would be (in addition to what is in the kit):

1) a good beam scale and trickler. It is slower than electronic but relatively fool proof. The Lee one you get in the kit may or may not get you where you need to be. I personally wouldn't rely on the powder measure for precision loads- set it a few tenths short and then trickle up to your load.
2) a GOOD caliper (not necessarily expensive). I use a cheapo chinese caliper, but I routined it against some precision tools at work and I have confidence in it. If you can't do that I don't know if I would trust a cheapo. You will use it a LOT so make sure you can trust it.
3) Dies of choice- I like the Lee collet neck sizer for the "in between" full size loadings. IMHO you don't need the fancy micrometer seating dies- yet... Henry of Budget shooter supply is on hiatus for the moment, but he's a good spot to get dies and other reloading supplies.
4) some sort of case cleaning process. Some use tumblers, some vibratory bowls, some ultrasonics. Gotta clean those cases!

Always keep in mind when you are loading that you are putting together an explosive device that will ignite a few inches from your face. Keep it safe! Find someone to walk you through it if you aren't confident- better safe than sorry because you can kill yourself or someone around you... but you won't if you are careful, read the reloading manual and follow recipes and pay attention to what you are doing. Do not vary from the published loads- start at the minimums and don't go below them as weird and dangerous things can occur.

Another option for you would be to find some trailboss powder to start with- it is virtually impossible to get into trouble with it. You could practice the process and get some confidence with some subsonic .308 loads.
 
WetCoast said:
Wow, thanks for including that Harris bipod link! Damn good deal and I needed one.
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Did you get an e-mail saying that they screwed up on your bipod purchase? It seems it was the same seller as the press I had purchased as well....

Apparently they don't know how to double check before posting listings and had their listings incorrectly priced (Cost VS Sell price i'd asssume)
 
bsand said:
Oh snap! Press has shipped, delivery time next month no tracking. I'll forget all about it by the time it arrives haha
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Oh wow now I'm even more pissed. They marked as shipped then cancelled, completely unprofessional. They took my money when marked as shipped, so now I can't even cancel or claim until October 17th.
 
Holy crap dude that sucks. Leave a bad review for that loser. A true businessman would take the loss as a mistake, not almost pull a bait n switch. But like I said, that kit is still a bargain at twice that price.

bsand said:
Oh wow now I'm even more pissed. They marked as shipped then cancelled, completely unprofessional. They took my money when marked as shipped, so now I can't even cancel or claim until October 17th.
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Yeah I've sent emails to Amazon they are investigating.

However I picked up another Lee breach lock challenger kit for 150 at cabela's with free shipping. Then since the Lee collet dies were back ordered I went with rcbs two die set, then got the pilot for case trimmer, and 5 de capping rods, bullet puller. I think i should also get a stuck case puller, but figured I'd wait until I started to reload (spent too much money last week).
 
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