Hi, new to loading in need of some advice

how much are you planning to load?
what's your budget like?
are you handy with tools, etc?
what's the biggest cal you plan to reload?

that's a good kit with some crappy stuff in it (powder scale mainly) but you can get by if your on a super tight budget.

if your new to reloading i would get some manuals and start reading to get an idea on what tools you need instead of being told what you need.
 
A lot of us started reloading with that exact kit, myself included.

If your looking to just give it a try and see if it's for you and learn as you go then don't hesitate as it is the cheapest way to jump into the hobby, if at all possible tho find a mentor and do some reloading with him/her first then come back and ask that same question again and you will get a whole different opinion albeit a much more costly one...

And to the nay Sayers who will chime in shortly on the "crappy lee plastic junk", my 50th kit has been bolted to several benches now over the last 10+yrs and I still use it frequently on everything from 9mm to most recently the .416 rigby... While it is not "the best" it is very capable of making high quality ammo... Unlike there progressive presses wich are "plastic junk".
 
Hotwheels81 said:
A lot of us started reloading with that exact kit, myself included.

If your looking to just give it a try and see if it's for you and learn as you go then don't hesitate as it is the cheapest way to jump into the hobby, if at all possible tho find a mentor and do some reloading with him/her first then come back and ask that same question again and you will get a whole different opinion albeit a much more costly one...

And to the nay Sayers who will chime in shortly on the "crappy lee plastic junk", my 50th kit has been bolted to several benches now over the last 10+yrs and I still use it frequently on everything from 9mm to most recently the .416 rigby... While it is not "the best" it is very capable of making high quality ammo... Unlike there progressive presses wich are "plastic junk".
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Lee's presses are just as tough as the bigger brands, especially the classic cast, it's just the stuff like the powder measure, primer feeds, etc that you get what you pay for. they are still plenty usable pending on how much you want to load for.
 
I bought the same kit. It served me very well and I'm still using the press for everything until I get a progressive for pistol ammo. The scale is finicky and it takes some time getting used to it as it isn't very well dampened so it bobs a bit. You can control this bye light placing a finger over the balance arm and gently removing it away. The powder measure works well and mine was pretty accurate. Unfortunately it isn't the smoothest to operate. For fine grain powders like H110 or Titegroup etc, it's a bit of a #####. Eventually you will upgrade the scale and powder measure. I really like the quick change feature of the press. It makes changing out dies a breeze. The priming system, though pretty simple, works really well.

Hard to go wrong for $150 to get you going.
 
the lee presses have a tendency to break the linkage arms..... were not talking your awesome 30 or even 10 year old lee.... the ones made now. I broke mine....
I chucked the powder thrower because it was dangerous, it would throw +-3 grains.... and that's with ball powder let alone a stick type.
My primer broke the clip on the side so i had to hold the lid on with tape (surprising its works much better then an RCBS hand primer tool).It eventual died... the pin wore out on the handle... pressing hard with military cases....
The scale.. i took it out and shot it.... it made just as ####ty a target as it did a scale though.
that leaves the funnel.... the funnel made 2 years before it broke... just taping the funnel to make sure all the powder got inthe case took its toll and the baffle broke out... alas, it was the best part of the entire kit....

Save your money, get an RCBS kit.... there is nothing in that box you will throw out or easy break... the whole kit is just better thought out and include more useful items. those rock chuckers are an awesome press to boot, and you won't break the linkage on them.... if you buy the kit with the electronic powder measure from cabelas,your ahead of the game over $500 then if you buy it all separately.
 
LordEvilPepper said:
the lee presses have a tendency to break the linkage arms..... were not talking your awesome 30 or even 10 year old lee.... the ones made now. I broke mine....
I chucked the powder thrower because it was dangerous, it would throw +-3 grains.... and that's with ball powder let alone a stick type.
My primer broke the clip on the side so i had to hold the lid on with tape (surprising its works much better then an RCBS hand primer tool).It eventual died... the pin wore out on the handle... pressing hard with military cases....
The scale.. i took it out and shot it.... it made just as ####ty a target as it did a scale though.
that leaves the funnel.... the funnel made 2 years before it broke... just taping the funnel to make sure all the powder got inthe case took its toll and the baffle broke out... alas, it was the best part of the entire kit....

Save your money, get an RCBS kit.... there is nothing in that box you will throw out or easy break... the whole kit is just better thought out and include more useful items. those rock chuckers are an awesome press to boot, and you won't break the linkage on them.... if you buy the kit with the electronic powder measure from cabelas,your ahead of the game over $500 then if you buy it all separately.
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Same turret press for the past 30 year's also.
Do a little research, the LEE Perfect powder measure is probably the most accurate to use out there.
Same priming tool also,30 year's.In any and all case's I can/do use it on.
Scale, see above.
Funnel, 30 year's.

Sound's like your just hard on your equipment.
Don't forget, most of the rcbs line is now made in china. Just look under your digital scale.
My rcbs digital scale was made in the good ol'USA, 20 year's ago, and it's spent the past 17 year's sitting in the original box because the POS stopped working one day, so out came the good old LEE scale.

Carry on now.:dancingbanana:
 
Humm, my Lee (non-cast) press is still going strong and I have run a lot of brass through it. How much force are you putting on that press to break the linkage? If you can squeeze oil out of your dies and shell plates from pressing brass, you're doing it wrong. Lee will replace parts for free and turnaround time is approx 2wks to your door, just like RCBS.

My Lee Perfect Measure was solid with H4895, Varget etc. Zero problems and the drops have mostly been on the mark with the odd +/- 0.2gr. I found that the Lee measure doesn't like being tapped like the RCBS Powder measure. Consistency on your powder drop technique is key.

Hey Zuke, call RCBS for that scale, they'll replace it with a current model for free.
 
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Thank you for all the input guys, it surely is appreciated.

I am planning on reloading mostly 3 calibers: .45 ACP, 6.5mm Swedish and 8mm Mauser.

I have been reading and watching videos to get started on reloading but sadly I don't know anyone that could mentor me. I am pretty handy with tools and know my way around the bench so hopefully with practice I can become half decent at it.

Budget wise I can actually got about $400 at the moment and I see these two kits in that bracket:

http://www.cabelas.ca/product/19436/hornady-lock-n-load-classic-reloading-kit

http://www.cabelas.ca/product/4573/rcbs-reloading-starter-kit


But is it wise to spend the extra cash as a starter?
 
If your budget is in the $400. range, I would definitely go for the RCBS kit as the scale and powder measure are much nicer to work with. I'm not familiar with that Hornady kit so I'll leave that up to someone else to chime in.
 
No matter what kit you buy you will upgrade certain items over time... The difference is if you buy the $150 Lee kit you will have $250 to buy the important items you need to get going with such as a good caliper, dies, trimmer pilots, good case lube such as imperial sizing wax, powder, projectiles, something to clean cases with.... Starting to get the picture?
 
Hotwheels81 said:
No matter what kit you buy you will upgrade certain items over time... The difference is if you buy the $150 Lee kit you will have $250 to buy the important items you need to get going with such as a good caliper, dies, trimmer pilots, good case lube such as imperial sizing wax, powder, projectiles, something to clean cases with.... Starting to get the picture?
Click to expand...

+1. Get the lee and spend some time looking on the EE for better stuff to upgrade the powder scale and smaller stuff. The lee powder measure works great, accept with very fine powders like h110, accurate no2, etc.
 
zuke said:
Same turret press for the past 30 year's also.
Do a little research, the LEE Perfect powder measure is probably the most accurate to use out there.
Same priming tool also,30 year's.In any and all case's I can/do use it on.
Scale, see above.
Funnel, 30 year's.

Sound's like your just hard on your equipment.
Don't forget, most of the rcbs line is now made in china. Just look under your digital scale.
My rcbs digital scale was made in the good ol'USA, 20 year's ago, and it's spent the past 17 year's sitting in the original box because the POS stopped working one day, so out came the good old LEE scale.

Carry on now.:dancingbanana:
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I do a lot of reloading... like 500 to 1000 shells a go of 308. I use a lot of LC and IVI brass. My lee press broke the linkage FL sizing LC brass. The Lee press barely made 2 months. My RCBS has been going for years no issues.
And that power thrower has nothing on a redding one. People put herry rigged baffles in the lee ones to try to even them out
 
Basically if you are going to reload 200-300 rounds every 2-3 weeks, a Lee will probably do it, IMO
The hardcore folks like the RCBS and the higher end units, might be a reason. But it is also a fact that some folks are hard on equipment; perhaps if your cars die a horrible death every two years, then the Lee might not be your best choice.
Go with the Lee still you ascertain whether or not you require a more expensive ( and durable?) unit.
I've a Lee 50th, it's done well by me.
But I'm not a 1000 rds at a time fella, more like 100-150 rds at a sitting. Lee is fine for me.
 
LordEvilPepper said:
I do a lot of reloading... like 500 to 1000 shells a go of 308. I use a lot of LC and IVI brass. My lee press broke the linkage FL sizing LC brass. The Lee press barely made 2 months. My RCBS has been going for years no issues.
And that power thrower has nothing on a redding one. People put herry rigged baffles in the lee ones to try to even them out
Click to expand...


Odd you would say the redding is better then the Lee for fine powder's, I throw a lot of ball powder and it is very consistent and I still have all 10 fingers to prove it... The "other" throwers excel with longer stick powders due to them coming with a baffle as well as a slightly longer drop into the metering section to orient the sticks better much the same way a powder drop tube functions for compressed and BPCR loading... Either way regarding stick powders is irrelevant to me as I thro low and trickle to weight on every case that receives stick powder...


As for a broken linkage... Chit happens, there was a fellow on here a while ago that broke an RCBS press in half so obviously RCBS is all crap because of what happend to him... I think not. In fact my only gripe with RCBS is they over value there equipment and the starter kits are horribly incomplete for the money you spend, at least with the Lee 50th kit you get darn near everything for $150 to start rolling your own... And Richards book is pretty easy to follow for a new hobbyist.
 
Hotwheels81 said:
Odd you would say the redding is better then the Lee for fine powder's, I throw a lot of ball powder and it is very consistent and I still have all 10 fingers to prove it... The "other" throwers excel with longer stick powders due to them coming with a baffle as well as a slightly longer drop into the metering section to orient the sticks better much the same way a powder drop tube functions for compressed and BPCR loading... Either way regarding stick powders is irrelevant to me as I thro low and trickle to weight on every case that receives stick powder...
Click to expand...

ball powders like tightgroup, w231, universal, etc etc work just fine, even stick powders and trailboss work fine in the lee measure when you tap it every time. but you will not meter h110 without spilling any unless you wrench it so tight you can't move it.
 
my lee powder measure was +-3 grains( full grains not tenths) on BLC-2..... that's a pretty fine powder.
as for the broken linkage, im not the only one, most people I know who bought a lee press ended up buying a new press after they broke the linkage a few times (you get a free replacement from lee but you have to wait a few weeks), or the bolts, or got sick of the pressed on ball on the handle coming off....even if it didn't break the ram gets sloppy within a short time when reforming military brass. Then your run out gets bad and your bullets shoot like #### if you don't sit there and fix every damn casing after seating.
$150 and your still short a lot of the stuff you need to reload safely.... calipers, case trimmer, a reloading block, powder trickler, ... a scale that doesn't lose zero every 2 seconds except when the moon happens to waning in Sagittarius and the chi of the earth keeps it in line like the lee one.

The $300 rcbs kit gives you all the same stuff... but in forms that don't break, drive you nuts, or wear out. the $600 kit gives you everything but calipers....and that $900 kits that comes with the $450 automatic dispenser, $140 case trimmer, $230 press, $175 prep station $60 primer and about another $100 worth of goodies... it covers all you bases, add a few specialty tools and your set for some precision loading.
the only lee reloading product i think is worth buying is the lee loaders, because they are stupid simple, work, and are portable... i just wish i could find one in .338 lapua...
 
I have put many pounds of wc735 and w748 and H414 and trailboss etc thru my Lee thrower and it leaks less then my Dillon and drops charges consistently to .01 of a grain as measured by my Lee scale that not only will zero but actually holds zero for a long long time... As for your issues with military cases wearing out the ram and linkage... I resize IVI and LC .308 cases too... Lots of em... As well as .303 cases and .223 and 30-06 and 45/70 and .416 rigby and on and on... To me it sounds as if your having issues with how your cases are lubed... If you can't resize a case with finger tip pressure into the die and withdraw it without something falling off your bench then it is not the presses fault...

Also Runout is introduced into cases severely apon withdrawing an improperly lubed case neck over the button, this runout allmost completely dissapears when you clean and lube the neck properly... You will also find your brass requires far less trimming when you properly lube inside the neck... But obviously you new fellas who break the linkages on presses shortly after stepping into the hobby do everything correctly from the start... And it's all the equipments fault :snicker: (sorry for being sarcastic!.. It's in my nature).

I guess we will just have to agree to disagree on equipment here...

Oh and about that $230 RCBS press... Is that really what they cost now? Wow... The classic cast is $160 and three times the press :eek:

Now if you want to see me do a 180* turn at this point just mention a loadmaster... Yup JUNK... Pure crap... Waste of money all around... But I'm sticking to my guns on the 50th kit, it's still the best value out there.
 
With respect to the Lee press I think the Classic Cast is tough to beat for a clean, strong press.
I have loaded lots of 50 BMG on mine, try that with your Rockchucker.
Nothing against RCBS presses, I used a Rockchucker for decades, but there are better and cleaner presses out there...
 
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