Getting into reloading and need opinions....

GreenBob said:
A very good advice.

I also got some PDF reloading books that I can share with you to save you few pennies.

PM me your email.

Cheers,
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A few pennies? A fine compendium you're sharing with only a "pay it forward" cost is priceless.

OP: The equipment you get should reflect the actual shooting you do. If I shot 1000's of pistol rounds I would have to get a progressive. For the kind of shooting I do, a single stage was a fine start. I have 2 turrets now (old Lee and even older Lyman tru-line Jr), but only because of th'kind of shooting I do. The turret saves me no time. Because I can be called away at any moment, loading one complete round at a time is how I go. If called I can finish the single round I'm working on before racing away. Laugh if you like, but the easiest way for me to lose track of what's happening on my bench is to leave it for a single second...
 
When you buy a kit you could end up upgrading some items. Its a balance between getting in at an affordable price or buying more expensive items only to find out later you don't like reloading.

Ellwood Epps have a decent lyman scale for only $20.

http://www.lymanproducts.com/lyman/scales-measures/pro-500.php

Pick up this RCBS powder funnel with the scale for $5:
https://ellwoodepps.com/hunting/accessories/rcbs-powder-funnel.html


The Lee Classic cast press is a very sturdy press that you won't outgrow. Its great value.
This is not the Challenger press (which is in itself OK for 308 and 223)

Although you will get priming arms large and small when purchasing a lee press invidiually you still have to purchase the plastic primer feeds.

This little priming tool looks really convenient.
http://www.westernmetal.ca/shooting/lee-precision-auto-bench-prime-lp-90700

Then pick up dies of your choice in 223 and 308 and a couple of cheap Lee trimmers in the same and your pretty much good to go.
 
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Just start with the cheap lee kit and lee dies. It works. Then you can see if you like reloading or not. Imo its not worth spending a lot at first.

You will see for yourself what you like or not with the lee kit, then upgrade as you want and with what your budget allows.
 
I would start out cheap as it is not for everybody and you will see what you like. Some people do case prep for 50 casings and then get right turned off to never touch their reloading gear ever again. While a single stage is great, I can't even imagine making 100 rounds with it anymore. When I first started out, I did it with a single stage and it was painful therefore I went out and bought a turret and basically 50% of the money I spent on the single stage was lost.

If your loading lets say 5 or 10 rounds a week, sure a single stage works great. If your shooting therefore loading alot more then that, a single stage is going to take hours to make even 100 rounds.
 
target-guy said:
Hey all.
I'm making the switch from smallbore to fullbore and would like to start reloading (for accuracy mostly, but also budget).
Will be shooting strictly .308 (with a slight possibility of .223 or 9mm) in the future.
Everyone I ask gives me a different opinion on a start up set-up.
I have a sturdy bench and a place to store ammo and components.
What is a good (budgetish) system that I won't out grow (too soon?)?
Thanks again.
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There is a reason we have dozens of items in the reloading world. All serve a purpose with varying degrees of performance and value. Some will buy because of brand/reputation, some because of function, some because of cost.

Ask your question to shooters from different disciplines of precision/accuracy shooting and you will also get a range of answers. However, experienced shooters/reloaders all have similar goals even if their tooling and process may vary slightly.

I think the question you need to ask is value vs performance (more importantly, you budget). Cheap that doesn't work is very expensive. Some tools for certain jobs can cost very little dollars... some tools will simply cost what it costs to get that task done.

My first suggestion is get a reloading manual... yes a book with real paper in it. If accuracy is the main goal, consider the Berger and Sierra manuals. Now read and understand the reloading process and the goal of each step... when you understand the steps, the tooling become much easier to understand and what are better at performing certain jobs.

Shooter opinions make more sense when you understand their frame of reference and the possible "why" behind their choice.

I offer ALL the stuff from all major brands yet I am very selective on the tools I use. For my reloading, I have gear from pretty much every major brand where I pick and choose the best tooling to do each task.

There are starter kits but ultimately if true accuracy is the goal, false economy. No one company makes all the tooling to do every step well. In fact, sometimes you have to look outside the reloading world to get the better tools.

Decide on what accuracy means to you and the performance you want to strive for (where you want to start and then the level you want to reach), then the platforms you want to shoot and then your budget.

It doesn't have to cost a huge amount of money but you will certainly be spending "enough".

email if you want my gear list.

YMMV

Jerry
 
cereal83 said:
If your loading lets say 5 or 10 rounds a week, sure a single stage works great. If your shooting therefore loading alot more then that, a single stage is going to take hours to make even 100 rounds.
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I wouldnt be saving any time reloading my match 308 ammo on a turret vs a single stage.
 
H4831 said:
One fault with a turret type is that it doesn't have the built in strength of a single stage press.
That is, the die on a turret is always hanging out in space, without solid support holding it.
This may work OK for pistol and other small cartridges, but is not very good with rifle cases that require more power on the ram handle, because it quickly springs out of line.
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Not anymore Bruce.
LEE 4 Hole Classic Turret Press, loads my 338 lapua magnum with ease. And that is my recommendation for rifle and pistol reloading.
 
The lee kits are good starters for cheap and they work until you figure out what you want, because it might not be an rcbs rockchucker or a lee turret in the end

I personally went xl650 and a forster coax
I still use my cheap lee press to decap and size lead
I bought a loadmaster a few years ago, but I should have bought a dillon in the first place instead as it's now pretty much collecting dust, will sell eventually.
 
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