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so im so new to reloading ive never done it ;) anyhow i tryed searching to answer some of my questions and didnt come up with too much. so im looking at starting to reload. i dont shoot a ton right now but hopefully with reloading as it becomes cheaper i will be able to more. ive been looking at the LEE BREECH LOCK PRESS 50th ANNIVERSARY KIT and it seems to pretty much be what im looking for. are there things that i should get in additon to this? i will be relading for rifle's. the plan is to get a set of 7.62 dies. this will let me reload for 7.62x54 as well as 7.62x39 right? will i be able to go to other calibers with out too much trouble. (7mm rem mag) and i wont be able to relad shotgun shells with this correct? i think im going to buy a crate of 7.62x54 ammo and pull bullets and even out powder loads (i read in a thread here that it helps eliminate flyers) this way giving me a bunch of brass to then reload as well as a little bit of experiance with the press. having never done this any info would be great. any tip's or other advice?

thanks in advance
 
You will need a different set of dies for each caliber. 7.62x39 can NOT use the same dies as 7.62x51 OR 7.62x54R. Shotgun shells use a completely different press than rifle and pistol ammo.

IMO, pulling bullets on your ammo is a waste of time. Just shoot it, then reload. Remember this is NOT a precision rifle. Don't try to make it something that it isn't. Shoot it and have fun!
 
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OP, can you chamber a x54mm round in a x39mm gun? No. Therefore, as has been stated, you need a different die set for each cartridge.

As to pulling the bullets, absolutely. But only do it if you are going to use it for hunting. Don't bother if you are only going to plink with it. I have been doing this for years and can squeeze excellent results out of a "non-precision" rifle. Most of the reasons they are "non-precision" are due to maintenance issues. Cleaning rods being dragged on the muzzle for years deform the mouth and cause inaccuracies. Easy fixes actually if you want to do it. I have taken two 4" SKSs andturned them into hunting rifles that shoot 2" or under by cleaning up the muzzle and standardizing my milsurp charges. With a 150gn bullet in the case, those SKSs are 200yd deer rifles. And most deer are taken at ranges far less than that.
On the same note, my 91/30 (again cleaning up the muzzle) will send doctored 180gn bullets worked up in a mil surp case into just over a 1" group using the original powder. This is easily a 300yd deer rifle and a 200yd moose getter.

OP, that one other thing mentioned earlier? Get a reloading manual and read it, twice. It will show you the difference between the cartridge sizes, it will tell you why you can't use one die, it will give you lots of info you need to do this.
One thing of great importance - PATIENCE - I just started out a young man in Rloading. NOT a patient man! Everything needed to be FASTER! Anyway, about a week after I had set him up with all of the gear he needed to reload military 7.62x51mm cases, a mutual buddy, another experienced reloader, drops in to see how he is doing, and finds the guy seating primers WITH A HAMMER instead of the Lee Ram-Prime I had given him, because that took too long. So, my buddy takes a primer, puts it on the floor and hits it with the hammer to show him how dangerous that was. Then he goes back and looks at the cases already primed and most are cocked off and none are seated to the right depth.
No more advice will be given to this young man until he smartens up. He even shoved a bullet into a case neck off centre and crushed the neck so that it won't chamber. He probably will not reload long. He was quite upset that it took 2 hours to completely process and reload 50 military brass complete.
He decided to reload because someone gave him 800 spent mil cases. He doesn't even have a rifle yet.
 
The lee setup is allrite exept the scale, spend an extra $100 and get a digital, way faster and more accurate.
Take you time picking your powder, you dont want 5 differant jugs on your shelf that won't shoot worth a sh#t.
 
Dont you hate how everyone tells you to read the manual?
Try to find someone who reloads that can show you. Learning it from seeing someone go through all the steps will be better for you than reading a manual. The manual is very important, but it still comes down to "books smarts" and "practical experience".
After someone showed me, I got a manual, then went back and had them show me some more and answer lots of my questions. There are lots of little tips n tricks you can learn from someone that may not be in the book.
I started reloading 10 years ago and could still probably learn something new.
 
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