Looking to get into reloading-need help please

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savage M110 BAS

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Reloading has intrigued me for the last while, and I would like to know what I would need to be proficient in reloading my own brass and what I would need to buy.
I am more interested in the high precision/accuracy side of reloading than “saving” money and reloading in bulk just to shoot at the range if that makes any difference.
If you could even give me a ballpark estimate on total cost for a good reloading setup that would be very helpful.
Much appreciated, thanks guys.
 
I've been reloading for about 6 months now with the lee anniversary kit. I only load for 223 and 303 right now, but I find the lee kit to be great. I added a cabela's tumbler and the auto prime hand primer to the kit. The only thing I'm not crazy about is the trimming tool from lee. Make sure you get the cutter with the ball on the end and you will save yourself some frustration i use my cordless drill). All told I'm probably in for about 280 in reloading equipment and I'm pretty happy about it.
 
To answer the cost to your original question, most good kits will run you around the $350-$400 range. Then you have dies which if your only reloading 2 calibers will be about $100-150 if you like Redding Dies. Then the tumbler ($100), a nice scale (GemPro 250 ($175)), Bench ? etc, etc. My set up which is;

http://www.canadiangunnutz.com/forum/showthread.php?t=779648&page=4

ran me about $1000 all said and done.

Good luck with finding what you need, it is a rewarding hobby!
 
Get yourself a book on benchrest shooting that covers reloading for this type of sport. Also check out the Benchrest Central site. Sinclair International sells a lot of the necessary equipment.
Assuming you have an accurate rifle with a high power scope and decent trigger you can get good results using a quality standard single stage press and adopting some of the benchtest techniques such as neck sizing and turning case necks, adjusting seating depth, using bench rest priners etc. I followed an article in my 1974 Speer Reloading Manual and got good results and I am sure there is a lot more recent publications than this. Start with a reloading manual that provides the information you want as well as the basics. Buy a steel single stage press, learn how to produce good reloads and then start fine tuning as your knowledge and equipment increases. If you have a book on bench rest shooting this will give you something to strive for while you learn the basics since a lot of making precision ammo is fine tuning the basics.
 
white dog said:
Get yourself a book on benchrest shooting that covers reloading for this type of sport. Also check out the Benchrest Central site. Sinclair International sells a lot of the necessary equipment.
Assuming you have an accurate rifle with a high power scope and decent trigger you can get good results using a quality standard single stage press and adopting some of the benchtest techniques such as neck sizing and turning case necks, adjusting seating depth, using bench rest priners etc. I followed an article in my 1974 Speer Reloading Manual and got good results and I am sure there is a lot more recent publications than this. Start with a reloading manual that provides the information you want as well as the basics. Buy a steel single stage press, learn how to produce good reloads and then start fine tuning as your knowledge and equipment increases. If you have a book on bench rest shooting this will give you something to strive for while you learn the basics since a lot of making precision ammo is fine tuning the basics.
Click to expand...

Any suggestions as to a good benchrest book?

I just got into reloading myself. Got a lee hand press and a set of 308 dies. Case trimmer, reloading manuals, scale (cheapo $60 electronic that checks out perfectly against dads expensive beam scale) and some other fixings and I think Iam all in for under $200 so far. I've put together a 308 125gn Speer TNT load that shoots .6-.8 on a regular basis if I do my part right.

Hope that kind of put some light on the non-$1000+ end of the spectrum for you.

Cheers,

Karl
 
I would pick up a reloading manual like Lyman 49th ed to start. Somewhere between $200-1000 will give you a basic to very complex set of tools to reload very accurate rifle ammo.
 
savage M110 BAS said:
Reloading has intrigued me for the last while, and I would like to know what I would need to be proficient in reloading my own brass and what I would need to buy.
I am more interested in the high precision/accuracy side of reloading than “saving” money and reloading in bulk just to shoot at the range if that makes any difference.
If you could even give me a ballpark estimate on total cost for a good reloading setup that would be very helpful.
Much appreciated, thanks guys.
Click to expand...

If you live close to Burlington Ontario I could help you out.
 
if it was me buy new tools i would buy quality and buy it once rather than realizing later on that i bought crap.

the rcbs starter kit comes with lots of good stuff its $369 at cabellas, you get alot of stuff, press, scale, funnel, loading manual, deburring tool

you would still need shell holders for what you want to load, dies, case trimmer, primer pocket cleaner, priming tool


then bullets and powder and primers and brass

i think it would be less than $750


edit, there is also a $50 mail in rebate if you buy more then 300 buck of rcbs stuff, http://www.cabelas.ca/resource/File/12RCBSrebate.pdf
 
Savage, I don't know of any current books on benchrest as it has been 20 years since I was looking at that stuff. If you are in Surrey check out the usual gun stores: Wholesale Sports, Reliable, Italian etc. The only single stage press I ever bought was an RCBS Rock Chucker back in the early 70's. I still use it today. However if you really want to go cheap get a Lee Reloader. Mine cost $10.00. I think they are up to $30.00 or $40.00 now. Very labour intensive but they produce serviceable ammo. When the guys say $1000.00 that is probably the total cost of most of the stuff they have accumulated over a couple of years.
 
1)Here is a web site that looks good - Speedys Guide to Benchrest/Svenska Bankskytteforbandet. The Swedish association name is in there because they posted it on their site. This site was best (article in English) because it has good color pictures. This should give you an idea of what precision reloading is all about.

2) After reading this have a look at the standard loading manuals. Check them out in the gun shops and you can decide where you want to go. It is best to start slow and learn the basics.
 
I started with a Lee press. I switched to a Forster Co_ax after a few months. Same with dies Redding are fine as are RCBS ...my experience is that Lee dies are lower quality.
Buy good stuff in the beginning and you'll save a lot of frustration....also the RCBS Chargemaster 1500 is where i ended up for measurement and it is where I should have started.
 
If you think you are going to loading in large volume get a progressive press. If you plan to load for more that 2 or 3 cartridges get a turret press.(if you go with a turret. Get a good one. The cheap ones flex too much for precision loading.) If you plan to go about it slowly and make precise consistant loads, get a single stage press. You will also need a really good scale. Don't go cheap. Lee will do in a pinch but RCBS is better Redding is better yet. You can do it for $2-300 but I would recomend spending much more. By quality now and avoid kicking yourself in the butt later.
 
savage M110 BAS said:
I am more interested in the high precision/accuracy side of reloading than “saving” money
Click to expand...


My comments go to the ^ parameters ^.

40+ years at the loading pursuit, and here is where I'm currently at, the kit I use to build my own sub 1/2 MOA reloads.
Plenty of discarded tools/equip. lays about, dusty and unused, on the long path to the list below.

Hornady 007 press.
Rcbs 10/10 scale.
Ohaus Dou-o-measure powder measure.
Trickeler.
6" drop funnel.
Case trays.
Rcbs primer pocket uniformer(also cleans).
Lapua brass wherever possible.
Fed. GM215M, or CCI BR2 primers.(rifle)
Lyman decap die.(separate step)
Vinegar and dish soap case cleaning.
No expander button pulling out of the case neck on a die stem .... ever.

Dies really do matter ... only straight(little or no runout)ammo shoots straightest.
Three dies do it all for me:

Redding body die, will size a case to fit snug in your chamber, even if 1'nce fired in another firearm. Only needed occasionally.

Lee collet neck die. Tricky to set up, but absolutely straight necks result. Works best for me if the stem is polished down to give 2 thousanths neck tension, and the die is adjusted to close "over center" of the press ram handle, for consistency. Be very carefull at set-up, not much ram resistance needed to close those collet fingers.

Redding or Forster Benchrest seater die. The key to truly accurate reloads.
Normal dies can't hold a candle to the above combo.

Runout becomes visible as bullet tip wobble at about 3 thousanths or so.
Roll your finished rounds across a piece of glass .... loaded with the dies above, you won't see much.
 
Some good advice given so far. My 2 cents is to get your hands on a few reloading manuals. You will find the great majority of your answers there. Once you get a hold of the basic principals, you will be able to understand the more advance stuff that result in the precision reloads you seek.
 
I bought the Lee breech lock challenger kit a couple years ago to get started and I would advise you against it....... (preparing for a good flaming)

First off, the press is serviceable - the accessories I got were plastic crap.
-The "perfect" powder measure wouldn't throw a consistent charge with any powder and leaked ball powder all over the place no matter how much I messed with it (now replaced with a RCBS uniflow powder measure).
-The scale worked fairly well actually, however, it had a nasty habit of the blade sticking to the dampening magnets and it was very slow to use (replaced with a RCBS Rangemaster 750 electronic scale)
-The Lee hand priming tool that came with the kit never fed small primers right and the plastic tray lids both broke within 6 months (replaced with RCBS Universal hand priming tool)
-The press itself has loaded about 3-4000 rds and now is sloppy enough that it will not seat rifle bullets consistently (replaced with a Lyman T-mag turret press). And yes I did lube the moving parts and ram every session with white lithium grease - stamped metal and aluminum just don't hold up the same as actual steel parts.

The only thing I am still using out of the kit less than 2 years later is the powder funnel. People will tell you to buy a Lee kit because they are a cheap way to get into reloading, and that is true, they will get you started. The problem is that the components are not made to last as long as other brands and are cheap enough that it is pointless to try to resell them and upgrade.

If you really want to be smart with your cash, buy a high quality press, scale, and powder measure (figure on about 4-600 for a single stage setup + dies, shellholders, and accessories), and it will last you a lot longer. And if you figure out that you hate reloading, the equipment can be sold used for a lot more than any of the Lee stuff. You will get more for your money either way.
 
It might be helpful to know what cartridge and type of shooting you are looking at. Nowadays, factory ammo can be quite good and improvments, if any can come at a great cost in components and equipment. Don't get me wrong, there is great satisfaction to "rolling your own" but the rewards might not be worth the investment in time and cash.

Just a thought.

tbhupe
 
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