Reloading kits - Newbie Questions

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CD08

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So I am looking to buy a reloading kit to reload my 6.5x55 ammo but I dont know where to start. There are kits from 250 to over 1000$ and I dont really know the difference between them. I am on a budget and the goal in reloading is simply to save money and shoot more rather than for more precise shooting. I just like to go to the range and have some fun.

So what im looking for is advice on which is the cheapest kit i can buy that is decent quality. I dont want to buy a 250$ kit just to have to turn around and rebuy another kit a year later.

Thanks
 
Generally, from what I've seen over the years, the 2 budget rifle sets, which are good quality would be from RCBS and Lee.

Think of how much this whole venture will cost, including all required equipment, and consumables before jumping in with the
concept of *saving money*........depending on how much you really shoot, the payback may or may not make sense.

Many people reload rifle ammo for precision, and not necessarily "precision shooters", but to make ammo that shoots best in the
desired rifle. It's as much a hobby as the shooting is, so hopefully that's a motivator as well, it's time consuming, takes up some
space, costs money and can be very rewarding, just make sure you consider all the facts.

RCBS KIT --> http://store.prophetriver.com/rcbs-rock-chucker-supreme-master-single-stage-press-kit/

LEE KIT --> https://www.amazon.ca/Lee-Precision-Anniversary-Challenger-Kit/dp/B00162RM3E

I have the RCBS setup myself, excellent quality, many people have owned them many many years.
 
Over and above the kit price, you'll need bullets, powder, brass, primers, dies, powder trickler, caliper, workbench or the like and the space.
 
Get the Lee. It's decent enough that you'll use it for a long time. The most expensive piece of the kit is the press, and some on this board have been using Lee presses for multiple decades. The only thing I would add to it is a hand priming tool, I have the lyman and I like it: https://www.amazon.ca/gp/offer-listing/B00AU6CA8O/ref=dp_olp_new?ie=UTF8&condition=new Get the one from woodbury outfitters, 50$. Other models from rcbs and hornady seem ok too. The Lee hand primers uses different shellholders so it's an additional cost. The frankford arsenal is more expensive for no obvious reason, I'd steer clear of that one too.

If you decide to go with the rcbs kit, wait until prophet river has a sale. They go on sale regularly for about 100$ less than regular price.
 
an inescapable truth is that you will only truly know your gear preferences once you start loading. I had a hand-priming tool in my startup kit that I thought I was going to get a lot of use out of, but after using it a bit, I found that I preferred to do my priming on the press. one of the biggest drivers of price is convenience. a plain jane press is pretty cheap, but the Hornady lock and load system lets you change dies around without having to set them each time. Setting the dies isn't really a huge ordeal, but I really like being able to quickly change from powder charging to bullet seating and back again when I am running off a few cartridges here and a few there.
So the takeaway is that you can get equally good results with any setup in the price spectrum from min to max, you will mostly spend the money on time saving and convenience features.
 
You won’t touch the Lee for price. It’s not as pleasurable to use as some of the other equipment. They use more plastic too but it’s a good place to start. Only thing you need beyond the 50th anniversary kit is a set of dies plus cases, powder, primers and billets.

Keep in mind that the lower end rcbs packages don’t include everything you need. The rcbs premium should be a nice kit but also 5 times the price.
 
I bought an RCBS "O" press 35yrs ago still using it. RCBS Reloading kits are decent value for the money. Don't forget though you get what you pay for. Various kits contain different equipment. All depends on price point/budget. Some good info has been given above.
Some items for future consideration (again depends on what the kit contains)
Case trimmer
Magnifying glass
Stuck case remover
Universal decapping die small & large
Primer pocket reamer (if military crimp is present)
Primer pocket cleaner
nylon case neck brushes
Positive Ram Priming tool (RCBS)
Tumbler
Case block
Electronic scale (again depends on how much your going to reload)
Kinetic or collet style bullet puller
Fine sanding block (I use it to smooth off case mouths rims after using the reamer)
Get a good cross section of reloading manuals
 
I have zero experience with the Lee setup and know there are many happy owners, but FWIW:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r14wFpnpuR4

It's obvious when you you see them live in a store as to how much more robust and fewer parts are
used on the RCBS, but I guess it perhaps depends on your future aspirations and maybe even colour
choice, haha.

There are a few really neat lil mods avail here for the RCBS, have a few myself, toys are fun :)

https://inlinefabrication.com/collections/rcbs

Also some Lee add-ons as well:

https://inlinefabrication.com/collections/lee
 
Just something worth noting regarding Lee vs RCBS presses. If you're looking at something like the Lee challenger it's cast of a less than ideal aluminum alloy and if you spend any amount of time researching it there are tons of instances where presses have broken in half because of poor metallurgy.

However, a press like the Lee classic cast is cast in the USA and made of recycled rail road rails and are reviewed as every bit as robust as the cast in China RCBS rock chuckers for a lesser price.

If you're looking for a kit, I'd recommend anything from Lee (that includes the classic cast not challenger), a kit from RCBS or one from Lyman. I've been running my Lyman tmag 2 turret for awhile now and am quite happy with it.
Purchase whichever kit best fits your budget.
 
Reloading is a bit of a journey. If you're not sure if you'll enjoy it , or if you are on a budget buy an inexpensive kit give it a try. If you love it you can always upgrade, if you hate it you only loose a bit when you sell. You can create excellent Ammo with an inexpensive kit. Lee has and excellent reputation and has been around a long time. Thousands of people have made millions of rounds on Lee gear.

My Suggestion for you would be the lee turret press kit. Particularly if you want to build handgun rounds or volumes of rifle ammo.

Good luck
 
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I started with a Lee Turret Kit and although it worked fine, I wish I hadn't. In hindsight I'd rather buy the components individually. Much of the kit I never sued and as it is now I've replaced almost everything, including the rpess.
 
So are you looking for a single stage or progressive press? Either way I prefer Hornady. I have good experience with them from shot shell reloading into single stage rifle and now to a progressive. Buy them on sale though. Whatever you buy get the Lee reloading manual as plenty of good advice.
 
Thanks for all responses, lots to read over and check out. I know my local stores have several kits and I will have to go look at them and see if I can't get them to open up a few so i can have a look at them myself. For now i just wanted to start the ball rolling with a bit of homework online as there are so many kits avail that it is hard to distinguish what i actually need rather than just buying some really expensive kit just for the sake of it.

I suppose i could also mention that my buddy is interested to and we are considering splitting the cost and getting something so we can both reload. He mostly uses 308 but he has plenty of other calibers that he would want to reload to.

What dies do you recommend? Or does it matter?
 
Doesn't really matter unless you are looking to get into competition dies. Some have nice features that others do not. For basic plinking and hunting they all work. I dislike the o-ring lock ring assembly on Lee dies but they work just fine and are cheaper. RCBS are very common and most of my dies are from them. If you are looking at a universal decapping die I'd recommend the Lee. I have the RCBS universal decapper but on crimped primers it tends to break pins. The lee has a collet so the rod just pushes up without breaking the pin.
 
CD08 said:
Thanks for all responses, lots to read over and check out. I know my local stores have several kits and I will have to go look at them and see if I can't get them to open up a few so i can have a look at them myself. For now i just wanted to start the ball rolling with a bit of homework online as there are so many kits avail that it is hard to distinguish what i actually need rather than just buying some really expensive kit just for the sake of it.

I suppose i could also mention that my buddy is interested to and we are considering splitting the cost and getting something so we can both reload. He mostly uses 308 but he has plenty of other calibers that he would want to reload to.

What dies do you recommend? Or does it matter?
Click to expand...

Lee Dies are pretty decent when you get started..
 
I have Lee, RCBS & Hornady dies in different calibers, All three get the job done pretty good once you have the dies set up properly.
 
cdn1canhunt said:
Reloading is a bit of a journey. If you're not sure if you'll enjoy it , or if you are on a budget buy an inexpensive kit give it a try. If you love it you can always upgrade, if you hate it you only loose a bit when you sell. You can create excellent Ammo with an inexpensive kit. Lee has and excellent reputation and has been around a long time. Thousands of people have made millions of rounds on Lee gear.
Click to expand...

Best post to date.

To be sure, Lee isn't Cadillac gear, but it can certainly do the job.

I have, BTW, an Excel program giving equipment payoff times, costs per round and so forth for reloading. PM me your email address if you would like it.

I might add that there is another alternative to getting a press. Lee has long made its Lee Loader and many reloaders (myself included) got their start there. The 6.5 x 55 one is out of production, but you could probably find one on the net. The whole kit (less bullets, primers and powder) comes in a very small box and costs less than $50. It has no press at all; you substitute a bit of sweat and use a hammer. It's slow and noisy, but it can turn out perfectly good ammo. If you just want to see if reloading is something you might be interested in, think on it.
 
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