Help me through my reloading journey! advice please!

ACCEPTING DONATIONS! Rofl!

For this i kinda wanna buy what I need. I don't want to try to upgrade, for this, I don't want to mess around.
OP, just buy one of the "complete" kits, which have everything you need already in the box.

I would suggest a :steek" RCBS, Dillon and depending on your likes or dislikes, stay away from the lighter LEE or other Aluminum framed press.

The press in Okay Shooter's picture may be an exception.

I'm not saying the aluminum presses won't assemble accurate ammunition, they will, the steel presses are just smoother and feel better to most people.

Most folks I know who start out with a light, low end aluminum press end up switching to a steel press later.

I would also look for a kit with a "digital" scale. They're accurate and fast to read.

Beam scales are fine but slower, not much if any cheaper, and it's easy to make a mistake by not having them properly leveled and zeroed.

Most good, local gun shops carry the kits as does Cabela's, Canadian Tire and a few others.

Look at what the banner advertiser/supporters have to offer.

Unless it's aluminum with a light frame, it's just about impossible to wear out a press, or set of dies.

Most kits will have a relatively recent reloading manual full of recipes. Often they are bullet manufacturer specific or even oney manufacturer of powder type specific.

If you're just starting, you will need a newly published manual. A good choice would be the Lyman #51, which has a good selection of appropriate loads for a range of different powder manufacturers. This is important, because the powders on the shelf today, which are mostly very good may not be listed in older manuals and many of the powders in older manuals are no longer available, no matter how good they were.

If you don't comprehend written instructions well, most kits come with videos to help.

There are also several Youtube videos.

If possible, get a mentor.

As for those ''magnum'' primers, many hand loaders use magnum primers for all of our loads and load accordingly.

Using starting loads in a new to you rifle is always prudent.

Just because a load is a tack driver in someone else's rifle, doesn't mean it will be in your rifle.

Many here, including myself have had rifles showing "pressure" issues beginning with starting loads.

Slightly flattened primers are normal for most loads, when they start having "ridged craters" where the firing pin strikes, your loads are getting hot. Maybe not Kaboom hot but approaching the upper limits of your equipment.
 
I mean, i am new to this, so to say I am going to load more or less than a thousand rounds, well, who knows.

I do like doing prep work and such though, so I know I will enjoy the reloading process, and I am really looking forward to it
I started off loading 6.5CM on a single stage many moons ago and evolved into other calibers (6BR / 223 / 9MM).

Some I only use the single stage (6BR & 6.5CM), some I only use my progressive (9MM) and some I do on either (223) depending on what my specifics are (bulk or ultimate accuracy).

Some days I load 3000+ rounds now. Reloading is quite the journey. Like others have said it is therapeutic.
 
Last edited:
My mentality has always been lots of research / homework up front to get the item(s) that work best for me. I tend to buy things and use / keep them for a long time. I learned the hard way that when I didnt do that I ended up feeling short changed and upgrading in short order.

I say all this because I am probably going a little against the tide in that I feel you should do some homework and figure out whats important to you so you get the equipment which is the best fit and that you will be happy with for however long you own it as opposed to a generic kit that may have compromises. Note - this doesn't always mean the most expensive equipment on the market (but sometimes it does) and maybe the cheapest gear is the main priority (nothing wrong with that - I have been there).

Some food for thought, I chose a Forester Coax press - why? It certainly want the cheapest (more mid range I'd say) but it does have a built in priming system, it doesn't need case holders for each specific caliber and the main reason was how fast / easy it is to change dies (literally seconds with no adjustments).

I don't see me buying another press - this one ticks all the boxes for me. Had I bought another press without the quick change die feature I would probably have sold it by this point (more hassle and would most likely have lost some cash along the way).

Food for thought, with the advent of forums like this and youtube etc there is a wealth of info out there so take your time and choose wisely.
 
Also another thing people don't look at is press ergonomics. There is alot of rotating and dropping your shoulder to load. I loaded 300 9mm on my Turret press and even with the roller upgrade my arm was hurting. There are no arm upgrades to push handle further in, so don't have to do the whole pull torwards rotate and push down to load.
 
Well I did a thing. I went out to check something unrelated, and ended up at Cabela’s.

5B8spin.jpeg


Cabela's had it on sale. Regular price $1,000 down to $800. They had a complete kit in their "Bargain Cave" for $719. I asked if it could have a sale too on that one, and they reduced it to $649.

I feel like I cam out ahead at $649 for a complete kit of everything, and what seems to have pretty good reviews online and from a friend who also reloads in BC. So I took a chance.

BTW, the doggo is for scale.
 
OkayShooter, one reason your arm got sore and you are doing a lot of excess movement is that you're making the same mistake I did, when I first started reloading sixty years ago and it was still considered to be alchemy, is that your equipment is mounted to low.

Most folks load off a normal height bench, which is fine if you're working on the bench surface.

This isn't the case with hand loading and it's much easier if the press is mounted higher, say 15-20 cm above the normal bench level.

RCBS makes a special bench mount to alleviate this issue.

I mount my powder dispenser on a large aluminum block, which elevates it 15cm above the bench surface, makes life much easier.

I don't weigh handgun ammo, unless it's for the 357 mag chambered lever action, but everything from 17rem, 22Hornet up to 338-06 gets every charge thrown, then weighed and a trickle charger is used to top up each load on a Dillon digital scale, which is at bench top level.

The arthritis in my thumb will often make it difficult to use my preferred hand press, so I use either a Lee bench primer press or an RCBS strip press which utilizes reusable strips with 20 primers each. Both work well for the amounts of ammo I load these days.

Small rifle primers are exclusively loaded with a hand press.


I agree with Sniffer about the Forester presses, IMHO, they are the Cadillac single load presses for all sorts of good reasons.

However, if a person is only loading a couple of different cartridges, up to four or five, there isn't much need to spend the extra money.

RCBS presses and some others such as the old orange painted, steel Lyman presses can be fitted with semi auto priming arms and silos, which hold up to 50 primers and you prime the case during the sizing procedure. This is a very good and positive system but you have to loo each primer as it comes out of the silo, to make sure it hasn't turned upside down. Not a big deal at all, once you're used to it.
 
Now spend some time and read all the chapters up to the actual load data tables, the lyman manuals run through things well. Buy a couple other manuals as well, the Lee book is nice to have. There’s some good east to understand YouTube videos out there as well, I’m a visual learner so videos helped make all the reading make sense.
 
Well I did a thing. I went out to check something unrelated, and ended up at Cabela’s.

5B8spin.jpeg


Cabela's had it on sale. Regular price $1,000 down to $800. They had a complete kit in their "Bargain Cave" for $719. I asked if it could have a sale too on that one, and they reduced it to $649.

I feel like I cam out ahead at $649 for a complete kit of everything, and what seems to have pretty good reviews online and from a friend who also reloads in BC. So I took a chance.

BTW, the doggo is for scale.
That is an excellent kit and the press is as good as they come.

I have never had one of them where there was excessive play or run out on the mandrels and they assemble ammunition which is very straight to the axis of the case.

That kit will last a lifetime and it uses the same RCBS or standard 7/8 NC thread dies commonly seen everywhere.

Good on you

I like your dog too
 
OK, so last night I pulled everything out of boxes and packaging. There is a lot going on here...

But now, I need to find more things... I discovered that I need something to push out primers on the press. And apparently something for the hand press that holds on to the shell? I don't know what I don't know, so I am looking for recommendations for that...

Also, obviously, I am going to need dies for 6.5 Creedmoor. What dies do I need? I see there are 2, 3 and 4 piece sets...again, I have no clue...looking for recommendations there again
 
OK, so last night I pulled everything out of boxes and packaging. There is a lot going on here...

But now, I need to find more things... I discovered that I need something to push out primers on the press. And apparently something for the hand press that holds on to the shell? I don't know what I don't know, so I am looking for recommendations for that...

Also, obviously, I am going to need dies for 6.5 Creedmoor. What dies do I need? I see there are 2, 3 and 4 piece sets...again, I have no clue...looking for recommendations there again
Your dies will have a decapping pin on the FL sizing die.. or you can get a Lee universal depriming die. So can deprime and clean before cleaning. Saving excess grime getting into your dies. It works for any caliber you would get. So it's a one and done.

You need shell plate holder. Appears the lyman one uses the same as what the press uses. Personally I like RCBS shell holders better.


Dies are normally Full length, neck sizer, seater/crimp and factory crimp die.
Or FL or Neck die, seater/crimp.
Or FL, neck and seater with built in crimp.
 
Last edited:
OK, so last night I pulled everything out of boxes and packaging. There is a lot going on here...

But now, I need to find more things... I discovered that I need something to push out primers on the press. And apparently something for the hand press that holds on to the shell? I don't know what I don't know, so I am looking for recommendations for that...

Also, obviously, I am going to need dies for 6.5 Creedmoor. What dies do I need? I see there are 2, 3 and 4 piece sets...again, I have no clue...looking for recommendations there again
EDIT
OKay Shooter beat me to it
What he said.....

When you buy the dies, the full length sizer die will have the "decapper" built in. Or you can buy a special Universal decapper die that will work on almost all cases.
The die set you buy should come with a shell holder for the press. If not, you will need to buy a separate one.

By "hand press" I assume you mean the hand primer
This will require a shell holder as well. In the Lee set (not familiar with Lyman) the shell holder for the press won't work with the hand primer

Shell holders are cheap (5~10 dollars) and are readily available at places like Higginsons
 
Not sure what size of group you want your load to be and how many rounds you would fire every year.
In general target shooting, to start with I would get:
1. RCBS Rock Chucker press
2. Redding Type S Bushing Full Die Set (One Full Length Sizing die and one Micrometer Seating die, #36446)
3. Redding Shell Holder #1
4. RCBS Charge Master Lite powder dispenser
5. Lyman Case Prep Xpress center for chamfer, debur, pocket primer clean/uniform and neck brass
6. Lyman Precision Funnel Set
7. Lyman Case Trim Xpress (can leave it for later to add, depends how fast your case grow)
8. Frankford Arsenal Hand Primer
9. Frankford Arsenal Rotary Tumbler Lite
10. Hornady Lock-N-Load Bullet Comparator with inserts
11. Hornady Lock-N-Load Headspace Comparator with bushing set
12 Mitutoyo digital caliper
13. Case lube, redding sizing lube or hornady one shot would do the work
14. Old food dehydrator for drying the brass after wet tumbling

It would leave some room for you to upgrade in the future depends on your needs.
 
OK, so last night I pulled everything out of boxes and packaging. There is a lot going on here...

But now, I need to find more things... I discovered that I need something to push out primers on the press. And apparently something for the hand press that holds on to the shell? I don't know what I don't know, so I am looking for recommendations for that...

Also, obviously, I am going to need dies for 6.5 Creedmoor. What dies do I need? I see there are 2, 3 and 4 piece sets...again, I have no clue...looking for recommendations there again
Your loading manual has all the answers to the things you don’t know yet. šŸ˜‰
 
OK, so last night I pulled everything out of boxes and packaging. There is a lot going on here...

But now, I need to find more things... I discovered that I need something to push out primers on the press. And apparently something for the hand press that holds on to the shell? I don't know what I don't know, so I am looking for recommendations for that...

Also, obviously, I am going to need dies for 6.5 Creedmoor. What dies do I need? I see there are 2, 3 and 4 piece sets...again, I have no clue...looking for recommendations there again
I deprime my cases as a separate action away from the press. I use a small hammer, a Lee universal decapping pin, and a shell holder for the case at hand.
That way, I can feel when the grip is too light and the primer pocket is worn out.
Most of my case retirements are by this criterion.
It should take at least 2-3 light taps to release the spent primer.
If it "shloops" out, frag it.
 
https://www.westernmetal.ca/product/lee-precision-6-5-creed-ultimate-rfl-dies-lp-90939/

Will this die set have everything I would want to reload 6.5 Creedmoor and is it compatible with the press I just bought?

I don't know what I don't know yet. worst part is, what I am searching is not showing me what I am trying to figure out lol
Check out Higgison they normally have better prices for Lee.

Yes it will work with your press. I got Lee Press and run, lyman, herters, Pacific, rcbs, Lee dies.
 
Check out Higgison they normally have better prices for Lee.

Yes it will work with your press. I got Lee Press and run, lyman, herters, Pacific, rcbs, Lee dies.
Awesome!

That is a neat site, I am going to explore it more, but I still went with western metal as I can do local pickup and save myself the $20 shipping
 
Back
Top Bottom