Looking at getting into reloading... not sure what to look for.

[H4831]

Some good information given there, Ed. And damn it, I can't find anything to argue with you about it!
We have a lot in common. I watched and helped some others reload, but in 1964 I bought my outfit and went at it with a vengeance. I bought a heavy C-H press and a set of 30-06 C-H dies, both of which have been used ever since and the press is still bolted to my reloading bench, the only large press I have ever had. My instructional manual was Norma's "GunBug Guide," twenty five pages of great information, including the reloading charts!
I too have preached full length resizing, unless your rifle really requires that the die is the correct distance from the shell holder, to prevent case stretching.
And, for as long as I can remember, I have set the expander plug by having it loose and the decapping pin in the primmer firing hole of a case, when I tightened the lock nut.
There is no end of little tricks, or differences in the way to do things and many of these will not be found in any manual.

 

[bigedp51]

Some good information given there, Ed. And damn it, I can't find anything to argue with you about it!
We have a lot in common. I watched and helped some others reload, but in 1964 I bought my outfit and went at it with a vengeance. I bought a heavy C-H press and a set of 30-06 C-H dies, both of which have been used ever since and the press is still bolted to my reloading bench, the only large press I have ever had. My instructional manual was Norma's "GunBug Guide," twenty five pages of great information, including the reloading charts!
I too have preached full length resizing, unless your rifle really requires that the die is the correct distance from the shell holder, to prevent case stretching.
And, for as long as I can remember, I have set the expander plug by having it loose and the decapping pin in the primmer firing hole of a case, when I tightened the lock nut.
There is no end of little tricks, or differences in the way to do things and many of these will not be found in any manual.

Right now I'm using a 1976 RCBS 30-06 FL die and I'm afraid to touch it, I set it up using the tricks in my first post and I have a hard time believing this die is resizing the cases with so little runout.

I too have preached full length resizing, unless your rifle really requires that the die is the correct distance from the shell holder, to prevent case stretching.

H4831, the Redding Competition Shell Holders allow you to adjust the shoulder bump and still make hard contact with the bottom of the die. There are five shell holders marked +.002 through +.010 meaning they are like putting feeler gauges between the shell holder and the die "BUT" the top of the shell holder always contacts the base of the die. The best part about this is the die itself does not need to be touched and adjusted up or down and all you do is change shell holders. All that happens when changing shell holders is the deck height of the shell moves up and down and the top of the shell holder remains at the same height.

This allows the press to cam over and all the slop is taken up, by using these shell holders you could have a worn out press that was 100 years old and have NO effect on the resized case due to the flex of the press. Between the rubber o-rings on the dies and the Redding shell holders any press misalignment and flex is eliminated. And if the reloaders "read" all the articles and information at the two websites I posted and the front of there manuals they will expand their minds.

In the Speer #9 reloading manual there is a section called "Modern Benchrest Reloading Techniques" and it tells you how to reduce runout with some very simple die setup methods on standard dies. And by reading my front part of the manual I gained valuable information, which too many people today fail to do today.

 

[rookie wildcat]

Ya know, Ed, that there reading takes a lot of time. Isn't it much quicker and easier to just join a web forum and post silly questions and have experts teach you in minutes?
I mean, they have already done it, why should I repeat that if they'll just tell me?
When, as a youngster, I started this, there was no internet and the guys I asked for help LED me to a conclusion. They had enormous amounts of knowledge, but I had to work to get it most times. Especially if what I was considering was not dangerous.
As here, I feel most are too free with advice and many young reloaders do not get the full benefit of research and thought.
I was a broke-a$$ kid, playing with a Lee Loader and an old Lee Enfield Calvary Carbine. Learned some valuable lessons on twist rates, bullet weight, bullet length, chamber slop, etc., but no one just TOLD me. Loaned me books, showed me that heavier bullets grouped better, then MADE me figure out why, only correcting or agreeing with me once I had a basic understanding and could discuss it more like I was informed.

But, that's just my opinion,

Ted