New to reloading. Two questions.

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Stormwind

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First off I have decided to resist the temptation of going straight for a progressive press and begin with a single stage press. I have been told multiple times it's better for a new reloader to learn and gain experience on the single stage press as opposed to a progressive press. But being new I also have a few questions to get started.
First

1) RCBS is offering a starting 'kit' which the following
-Rock Chucker Supreme Single Stage press
-505 scale
-Uniflow Powder Measure
-Speer Reloading Manual
-Hand priming tool with small and large primer plugs
-Folding Hex Key Set with 0.050", 1/16", 5/64", 3/32", 7/64", 1/8", 9/64" and 5/32" keys
-Universal Case Loading Block, which holds 40 cases in most rifle and pistol calibers
-Case Lube Kit, which includes a 2 oz bottle of Case Lube-2, a case lube pad, 2 case neck brushes for .22 through .30 calibers and an accessory handle
-Powder Funnel for .22 to .45 caliber, including the Winchester Short Magnum calibers
-Chamfer and deburring tool for .17 through .45 caliber.

All this for roughly $300, Is this a good buy for a first time reloader?

Second

Are Dies and shellholders company specific or universal? For example if I get the RCBS kit. Will dies from Lee or Dillon also fit? Or do I have to buy dies and shell holders from RCBS as well?
 
Welcome to reloading!

In hindsight I would have got the kit that you got, everything done in one shot for the basics, you can add what it does not have later on as your needs require.

Dies and shellholders are pretty much universal, look for 7/8-14 thread and you are good to go, lyman 310 tool ones and some heavy calibers may have different threads.

Lee has three different shellholders, one for zip trim, one for hand primer tools and one for presses, the press ones interchange with most other big names.

I am sure others will add in, this is what pops into my head at the moment
 
$300 is an excellent deal for that kit, and RCBS makes top notch gear. That with a set of the right dies and shellholder and you have everything you need to start loading. Only thing you will need to add fairly quick is a brass trimmer.

Dies, and most shell holders are completely interchangable, You can use Lee, RCBS, Redding, Honrady etc dies on your RCBS or any other press. Thread size is universal.
 
HI. Yes I think that is a decent deal, that is more or less what I got 30 years ago, then added a few things here and there.....

There is one for sale on EE with out the manual, which is needed.

Here's a tip - go slow, read the book, pay attention to what you are doing.
Reloading is a safe and satisfying hobbie, just not something to do when you are in a hurry or from memory. That's when things go wrong.
 
Oh worry not, I intend to be very careful. I have been faced with my own mortality before so I don't scoff at safty. And besides the whole point of a hobby is to pass the time so being in a hurry defeats the purpose :)

I want to do this right so even if it takes me hours to get my first round out. I'll make sure it's done right. Thanks for your input guys :)
 
I think you will need the case holders for the press and case holders for the priming tool. I have Lee holders, there are maybe 10 different ones for most calibers. I have about 6 reloading books, covering different loads, different calibers, different style (and brand) bullets, and different powers. You will need a caliper to measure finished bullets, and brass. There are the electronic ones, the direct readoff ones and ones with a circular dial. I like the circular dial the best but have all three. You may want to buy a test weight set to test the scale's accurcy. Kind of a peace of mind thing. I would recommend buying new brass. I have thousands of used brass and it can be a bad idea. Causes you a lot of trouble with bad brass. Just one more thing to go wrong. New brass can be fairly reasonable cost wise. A couple of site sponsers sell it for a reasonable cost. I would recommend good safety eye glasses while handling primers. Make sure you get carbide dies. Lee dies are the least expensive and they are good dies. Most of the dies I have are used but I am replacing them with new dies. I have the 2x Lee turrett presses and have a set of dies(for example) for .38 Special and .357 mag so I don't have to mess with setting up each time (the same die will do .38 and .357M). The turretts have these disks that you just set the dies into and turn them as required, a good feature. This is not a cheap hobby to get into but makes shooting a lot less expensive. Be prepared to spend a lot of time building your bullets, amazing how long it takes really. I use cast lead bullets for .38 special, .40 S&W, .45 ACP and 9mm l but use full metal jacket for .357 Mag, 10mm and .44 Mag due to higher velocity in the higher power bullets. I want to avoid the leading problem with higher velocity loads. I just bought a Crony, chronograph that tells you your bullet speed, nice thing for $130 cost. I am new to reloading and have learned a lot but have a lot to learn. I have made a few errors and will make more in the future.

Just a few ideas sent your way on a slow rainy day.

JimmieA.
 
Hornady and lee also have kits like this. Lee also has a smaller handpress that looks like it might be a good starter kit. I'm just having an issue spending 350 on a kit when the Hornady Lnl progressive is only 460:(. Of course you have to buy all the other stuff that comes with the kit but I doubt that all comes to 300.

When I watch these progressive presses on you tube don't see anyone lubing cases. I know with carbide dies you don't need to lube the outsides but don't you still have to lube the necks?
 
voxdei said:
Hornady and lee also have kits like this. Lee also has a smaller handpress that looks like it might be a good starter kit. I'm just having an issue spending 350 on a kit when the Hornady Lnl progressive is only 460:(. Of course you have to buy all the other stuff that comes with the kit but I doubt that all comes to 300.

When I watch these progressive presses on you tube don't see anyone lubing cases. I know with carbide dies you don't need to lube the outsides but don't you still have to lube the necks?
Click to expand...

Progressive presses very good for high volume pistol loading and if you really know what you are doing, high volume rifle loading too. You can use carbide pistol dies and not need lube. For rifle, if you full length size you MUST lube no matter whether carbide or steel dies are used. If you just neck size, no llube is required.

Not the best press to learn to load on though. You want to be able to go slowly, and do one step at a time till you are very conmfortable withthe process. Auto indexing progressives are fast but you really need to know what you are doing, from adjusting the dies right, to get the thrower to consistnetly put out the right weight of powder, to seating and crimping of the bullets.

I still use both my single stage presses and my progressives, just depends on what I am doing. Small test load batches are much easier to do on a single stage as is learning how to load. If you are going to move to a progressive I suggest you find someoone who has one and get them to let you try it out. You will find the setup on them is quite a bit more involved than setting up a single stage.

As to kit price, ignoring the press, the first four items will cost you the price of the kit.

-505 scale $120
-Uniflow Powder Measure $80
-Speer Reloading Manual $40
-Hand priming tool with small and large primer plugs $50
-Folding Hex Key Set with 0.050", 1/16", 5/64", 3/32", 7/64", 1/8", 9/64" and 5/32" keys
-Universal Case Loading Block, which holds 40 cases in most rifle and pistol calibers
-Case Lube Kit, which includes a 2 oz bottle of Case Lube-2, a case lube pad, 2 case neck brushes for .22 through .30 calibers and an accessory handle
-Powder Funnel for .22 to .45 caliber, including the Winchester Short Magnum calibers
-Chamfer and deburring tool for .17 through .45 caliber.
 
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