Buy once cry once, the quality reloading set for beginners

I got sick of hand primers and picked up an RCBS bench priming tool. You still get good feel through the handle, and it is so much nicer to work with.

Echoing the comments on Lee dies...they've made a ton of great ammo for me, and their Universal decapping die lives permanently in one of my press stations.

[edit]
Forgot to add, multiple loading manuals! Double check any data you are working with. A subscription to Loaddata is useful too if you are loading for many calibers.

If you can find a used copy of "metallic cartridge reloading" I think it gives a pretty good overview of the critical aspects of making good ammo. Combined with a couple of loading manuals, you'd be in good shape. Don't load with info you found on the web without verifying that it isn't bananas.
 
LEE makes decent stuff, I have a Loadmaster, a pro 1000 and about 5 single stage presses plus a 20 ga. press. All work decent but the only "quirk" that I've encountered is that the loadmaster and the pro 1000 need to be tweaked from time to time.
 
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C10 said:
Hey Gun Nutz,
I’m looking to get into reloading, the goal is precision. I’m looking to piece together a reloading kit that’s versatile and good quality. Id like to hear from you, if you were starting over and only wanted to buy the gear once what would you buy and where from? Here is the list that I’m looking at.
Frankford arsenal m-press
Frankford arsenal intellidropper
RCBS two die set for each calibre
Frankford arsenal priming tool
Frankford arsenal case trim and prep centre
Imperial sizing wax
Frankford arsenal funnel kit
Amazon callipers
Amazon reloading tray
Hornady oal gauge
Hornady modified cases
Hornady headspace gauge kit
Hornady bullet comparator kit
Amazon bullet puller

Any advice is appreciated!
Cheers,
C10
Click to expand...
The forster press is a bit better. Gavin on Ultimate Reloader does a great comparison of presses.

skip the intellidropper and go the M1000 beam scale. I buy dollar store small glass jars with lids and dump my powders from jar into them. Then use the lee dipper cups and get close on the scale, then trickle up to charges.

Case prep center is a huge expense to start off with. Put the savings into the forster press and go manual, or the forster hand crank system attached to drill.

get a good set of calipers like mitutoyu. You will thank me later. I tried several cheaper ones before I gave up on them.

You don't need modified cases or gauge to find your lands. Just take a fired case and slightly size it so the bullet has tension in neck. Seat long and load in your chamber. Quickly remove. Measure, and repeat a few times. https://ultimatereloader.com/2021/10/10/3-ways-to-find-the-lands/

Straight wall cartridges like for the levers you need a case gauge. Can't measure neck set back as there is no neck. You can get them for your specific caliber. Don't get them for the bottle neck rifle cartridges, that is what the hornady headspace kit is for. https://x-reload.com/hornady-357-mag-lock-n-load-cartridge-gauge.html

A decent manual, to physically have and read, and compare with.
 
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wallz said:
The forster press is a bit better. Gavin on Ultimate Reloader does a great comparison of presses.

skip the intellidropper and go the M1000 beam scale. I buy dollar store small glass jars with lids and dump my powders from jar into them. Then use the lee dipper cups and get close on the scale, then trickle up to charges.

Case prep center is a huge expense to start off with. Put the savings into the forster press and go manual, or the forster hand crank system attached to drill.

get a good set of calipers like mitutoyu. You will thank me later. I tried several cheaper ones before I gave up on them.

You don't need modified cases or gauge to find your lands. Just take a fired case and slightly size it so the bullet has tension in neck. Seat long and load in your chamber. Quickly remove. Measure, and repeat a few times. https://ultimatereloader.com/2021/10/10/3-ways-to-find-the-lands/

Straight wall cartridges like for the levers you need a case gauge. Can't measure neck set back as there is no neck. You can get them for your specific caliber. Don't get them for the bottle neck rifle cartridges, that is what the hornady headspace kit is for. https://x-reload.com/hornady-357-mag-lock-n-load-cartridge-gauge.html

A decent manual, to physically have and read, and compare with.
Click to expand...
Do ya figure the Forster press is worth double the money?
 
C10 said:
I would too if I had a million bucks!
Click to expand...
You said you wanted precision. Well precision costs money. 🤷‍♂️

If you are really after precision then the Lee and RCBS dies are not gonna do the trick. You will need some flavour of bushing type sizer and a micrometer chamber seating die. There is no other way to precision.

The calipers don't need to be mitutouyo but they do need to be metal. The cheapo plastic ones aren't worth what they cost.


C10 said:
Gotta be able to buy to buy once
Click to expand...
You said you wanted precision ............
 
If OP is new to reloading - you might want to add in a reloading manual or two - not so much for the recipes, but for the first third or so of the book that tells you "How to reload". For example, the Woodleigh manual lists a couple ways to find the lands in your rifle - and they suggest a jump of from .020" to .040" to do pressure series, then fine tune seating depth from that. No gauges or tools needed, other than a cleaning rod and a length of dowel that you probably already have in your shop. The Lyman manuals are pretty decent - I have #49 and #50 here - I have not yet got the newest #51.
 
LEE for me. I do a lot of reloading, not for precision shooting, though. My rifle loads are all done on either my dear old Lyman Spar-T or a newer Lyman turret. I have also loaded lots of 38 Special, 9mm, 45acp on LEE Progressives. My dies for rifle are a jumble, but I do prefer LEE. I decap all my rifle brass manually with a LEE punch and base.
 
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Forster co-ax instead of the Frankford arsenal m-press. It has a built in primer system that works pretty well.

Bullet seat die with micrometer.

Devent quality calipers and scale like hornady or frankford

If you want a manual powder trickler look at a heavier one like the lyman brass smith.

If you want to save some money instead of a powder scoop you can reuse a spent casing as a powder scoop.
 
Lee Classic cast press, with the priming on press attachment, RCBS case prep gang tool, I used that to ream and chamfer necks and primer pockets. Lee case trimmers in a drill or drill press for trimming unknown or first time brass. Lee case holders in same for annealing.

RCBS digital powder measure (IIRC?), Lee collet dies for neck sizing, some kind of micrometer seating die if making target ammo, otherwise usually any seater that would hold a good adjustment. I found every brand's FL sizers to be pretty good, Lyman spray lube is awesome. Hornady OAL gauge set for getting those seating lengths.

I never felt that different gear would have got me any more accurate ammo, nor easier to make. The legend who taught me explained that on day 1 of class, and he was right. I impressed the hell out of myself with some of those loads and groups LOOOOOL. It doesn't have to be hard unless you want it to be or are looking for .1's.

I had a Lee automatic press to reload 9 and 45, it worked fine for me. I was only loading hundreds, not thousands.

EDIT: I guess I should add that I always used CCI BR primers, and known good bullets. I made excellent loads from Sierra, Nosler, Hornady, Swift and Speer bullets at least.
 
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C10 said:
Do ya figure the Forster press is worth double the money?
Click to expand...

Buy once cry once, the quality reloading set for beginners...

Your mouth says one thing but your wallet's telling you another, lol. Sorry to "cut to the quick", but it's the truth. You have to decide what you're trying to achieve and buy the appropriate equipment, at the appropriate price point, to accomplish your desired goals.
 
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Redding Turret Press, a bit more money, but I'd have one if I didn't already have two decent single stages. Lyman's turret press should be quite a bit less than the Redding, but you did say buy once...

The gauges are not useless, it's less screwing about to measure distance to the rifling, and also helpful in adjusting your dies.

I like Hornady Seaters, so I buy Hornady die sets when I can, but I generally go with what's available at the time I'm buying, which could be Lee, RCBS, or Redding. For my precision 223 I have a Forester bushing bump, and a Forester Benchrest seater.
 
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OP. it's like everything else about shooting.

Buy the best you can afford at the time and if it causes hardships with family, don't buy it at all.

Most cast STEEL presses will produce consistently accurate ammunition if used properly. I'm not a fan of "ALUMINUM" bench presses, no matter who makes them.

Frankford Arsenal, Dillon, RCBS, REDDING, Hornady, Lyman, etc all produce excellent products.

Decide on how much you're going to reload, then purchase a "KIT" with everything you need in the box, which will load the cartridges you want to load with little effort.

On my bench, I presently have a Frankford and an RCBS Rock Chucker. They both load consistently accurate ammunition and you would be hard-pressed to tell which press produced it.

I've owned all of the above-mentioned presses and and several others and have an old Hollywood press, close to a century old for the difficult or really large cases.

If you're going to load large quantities, say 200+ at a time, look for a progressive style.

What most folks like about the Frankford is how open it is, which makes placing the bullet in the case mouth much easier if you have large hands.

Hornady's Iron Press is just as nice and priced accordingly if you can find one.

If possible, try a few and choose later. This isn't always possible but some gun shops have several different presses set up and you can see quickly which will suit your needs best.
 
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^^^ You forgot Lee in the list of excellent quality heh. I didn't like their alu press in the beginner kit I bought either, but their big cast iron one is a beaut for not a lot of maple pesos.

And Oh YEAH! this goose is frugal, don't be afraid to buy used. Some things at least.
 
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Silverado said:
^^^ You forgot Lee in the list of excellent quality heh. I didn't like their alu press in the beginner kit I bought either, but their big cast iron one is a beaut for not a lot of maple pesos.

And Oh YEAH! this goose is frugal, don't be afraid to buy used. Some things at least.
Click to expand...
If it has a STEEL frame fine. But many LEE presses are ALUMINUM and that's why I didn't mention them.
 
4n2t0 said:
Buy once cry once, the quality reloading set for beginners...

Your mouth says one thing but your wallet's telling you another, lol. Sorry to "cut to the quick", but it's the truth. You have to decide what you're trying to achieve and buy the appropriate equipment, at the appropriate price point, to accomplish your desired goals.
Click to expand...
I’m not opposed to spending money, I figured getting started will cost around $1000 I’d just like to make it go as far as I can
 
bearhunter said:
OP. it's like everything else about shooting.

Buy the best you can afford at the time and if it causes hardships with family, don't buy it at all.

Most cast STEEL presses will produce consistently accurate ammunition if used properly. I'm not a fan of "ALUMINUM" bench presses, no matter who makes them.

Frankford Arsenal, Dillon, RCBS, REDDING, Hornady, Lyman, etc all produce excellent products.

Decide on how much you're going to reload, then purchase a "KIT" with everything you need in the box, which will load the cartridges you want to load with little effort.

On my bench, I presently have a Frankford and an RCBS Rock Chucker. They both load consistently accurate ammunition and you would be hard-pressed to tell which press produced it.

I've owned all of the above-mentioned presses and and several others and have an old Hollywood press, close to a century old for the difficult or really large cases.

If you're going to load large quantities, say 200+ at a time, look for a progressive style.

What most folks like about the Frankford is how open it is, which makes placing the bullet in the case mouth much easier if you have large hands.

Hornady's Iron Press is just as nice and priced accordingly if you can find one.

If possible, try a few and choose later. This isn't always possible but some gun shops have several different presses set up and you can see quickly which will suit your needs best.
Click to expand...
I don’t think many gun shops around here even have a press let alone multiple lol. I’ll definitely keep that in mind! Thank you!
 
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