Old reloading equipment??

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cayden

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Hi guys.

Looking for some advice on what some old equipment might be worth selling or even maybe keeping. I am going to start reloading this year .223 and 22-250. This equipment is approx 50 years old.

This is what I have:-

1. Speer manual 1960
2. Hornady manual 1960
3. RCBS die sets: .308 win, .330 mag, 30-06, .303 British, and 30-30, all with correct shell holders
4. Lyman Comet single stage press in great working condition
5. Redding powder scale
6. Primer crimp swager set
7. Powder measure
8. RCBS case lube pad
9. Lyman shell trimmer
10. Loading tray and funnel
11. Also have a bunch of lube, blueing, grease etc.

I would rather try to find out what this is worth $$$ wise as I am the type of guy that like the newer technology especially when it comes to this.

Please has anybody got any advice for me as it will be GREATLY appreciated as I just picked this up from my wife great uncle and had no idea what I was picking up.

Thanks guys

Paul
 
Heck, other then new dies, and a new reloading manual your good to go for 223. What are you loading for? Unless you want to crank out large quantities of plinking ammo you've got everything you need. All new stuff will give you is a new paint job and a big hole in your wallet. And probably won't be any better, if at all.
 
Everything you listed (with the exception of the manuals) is as good or better than any 'new technology' you're likely to buy today. You could probably sell it for $200 and replace it with new, but no better, stuff for three times that. Buy a few new manuals and you're good to go.
 
cayden said:
Hi guys.
1. Speer manual 1960
2. Hornady manual 1960
3. RCBS die sets: .308 win, .330 mag, 30-06, .303 British, and 30-30, all with correct shell holders
4. Lyman Comet single stage press in great working condition
5. Redding powder scale
6. Primer crimp swager set
7. Powder measure
8. RCBS case lube pad
9. Lyman shell trimmer
10. Loading tray and funnel
11. Also have a bunch of lube, blueing, grease et
Paul
Click to expand...

manuals 20 30 +, might find a colletor who wants em
die sets, depending on condition 20-30 a set
press, 50-70,
scale, redding, top of the line, 50-70 maybe..
don't know about swager, but again, probably better then what you get today
depends on brand of powder measure, assume you mean a drop, a lyman 55?
trimmer, 15 25 maybe
tray and funnel, couple of bucks,
lube ect, whatever you can get
 
Hang on to it all

.. Just because it's old doesn't mean it's not still useful ! If you are going to start Reloading yourself, I would strongly urge that you keep this stuff. At a later date, dies for example, can often be Traded for others that you want. Manuals are always useful ! ( Gun-shows they sell between $5.00 and $10 depending on condition ) The Press is still, assuming not abused, capable of re-loading just about any cartridge you choose. And so on ! Hang onto it and put it to use ! ... David K
 
Just check the dies for rust or other damage(scratches).All those are common calibers you may end up reloading for later anyways.
All you really need now are 223 and 22-250 dies ,shell holders and some newer manuals or check the powder manufactures websites for loading info.
 
Cayden, the only new technology in loading ammunition is happening in the component world, or, in the case of Hornady SuperperFormance, proprietary powder. The tools you have are the same as the tools on the market today, capable of ammunition of as high a quality as you are capable of loading.

Some new dies offer some perceived benefit. Frankly, they are mostly perceived. Progressive presses and electronic powder measures appeal to some, and a progressive press will certainly kick out more ammo of decent/good quality faster than will a single stage press. Electronic scales allow folks to take the entirely unnecessary step of weighing each charge (for a single stage press) but are no more accurate than a balance beam scale. A good set of check weights will validate your balance beam scale, and provide an informative comparison with regards to accuracy.

The old manuals will do an excellent job of describing "how to" but will have few modern powders or bullets, and the loads shown have subsequently been show to frequently exceed SAAMI pressure standards, but I sure wouldn't sell them. If nothing else, they provide a snapshot of shooting and handloading when it was still a noble activity conducted by respected members of society. (Just read Bart Skelton's account of taking his rifle to school on a school bus, to take part in mountain lion hunt over the weekend!)
 
If they photograph "as new" you'll get $30.00 x 5 = $150.00 for your dies. With shell holders, taxes and shipping it'll cost you that for the 2 sets you require.

I'd keep the rest of the stuff unless you don't mind loosing money.
 
Agreed with everything above. With the exception of a new book to allow you to take advantage of new propellants, with the exception of some bullets, powder and primers, you're ready to start now. (Oh, you'll need a sturdy bench and proper containers for the explosives.)

You can trade dies, either through your local dealer or at a gun show or else here on EE.

I would toss the lube pad however - as old as it is, it's probably pretty gummy. Get a tin of Imperial Die Wax instead - just tap your finger on it and roll the case between your fingers. Much cleaner.

Assuming that everything is in working order, you might - might - get $300 for what you have, $400 tops. And then you'd have to turn around and spend more than that to get a setup not one bit better.

Unless you want to turn out a lot of ammo, what you have is fine. There have not been substantial improvements in reloading technology WRT ammo accuracy, ammo efficiency, etc. It's all related to speed and ease of loading.

Lastly, your two manuals are collectors items, but the data in them is still valid. I would wager that they have loading info for cast bullets for almost every calibre - I would keep them in case you ever get interested in that end.

Jealous, I am.
 
I have an early 60's Speer manual, from what i understand pressure testing equip. now is much better than it was in the 60's. There are some scarry sounding loads in this old manual, relative to the data provided in up to date manuals. FS
 
Fassteel said:
I have an early 60's Speer manual, from what i understand pressure testing equip. now is much better than it was in the 60's. There are some scarry sounding loads in this old manual, relative to the data provided in up to date manuals. FS
Click to expand...

There has been very accurate pressure testing facilities, since long before 1960. And guess what? All the many reloaders of the day used the informatin from those loading charts,without harm to their rifles, or themselves.
Then, alas, the age of lawsuits began and another sector of the reloading business was decided by the lawyers.
There have been a lot of new powders introduced since the 1960s and the data for these will not be in those old manuals. But all the old powders, most of which are still being used, are in those manuals, so why not use the old manuals?
 
Fassteel said:
I have an early 60's Speer manual, from what i understand pressure testing equip. now is much better than it was in the 60's. There are some scarry sounding loads in this old manual, relative to the data provided in up to date manuals. FS
Click to expand...

Perhaps. Yet high-velocity loads with cast bullets is almost a contradiction in terms. More properly, the fairly recent introduction of jacketed bullets allowed velocities to be raised, with a consequent rise in chamber pressure.

Using the old books' data with lead bullets should be safe.
 
Other than getting some newer manuals, what you have is fine for single stage reloading. Functionally, most equipment hasn't really changed all that much in the past 50 years, other than the widespread availability of carbide dies and progressive presses, neither of which apply in this case.
 
Reply posted by ATOM -
"Perhaps. Yet high-velocity loads with cast bullets is almost a contradiction in terms. More properly, the fairly recent introduction of jacketed bullets allowed velocities to be raised, with a consequent rise in chamber pressure",
and -"Using the old books' data with lead bullets should be safe".

The Reloading Manuals referred to by cayden were from 1960, NOT 1860, and the "FAIRLY RECENT introduction of jacketed bullets" in fact occurred over a CENTURY ago, although I personally feel it to be just a passing fad, like smokeless powder.
Regards, DaveF.
 
WOW.

Thanks guys for all the great info. After reading all of you suggestions, I think they're all keepers. For sure I would like to get a hand priming tool, lube pad and manual for sure.

I love this site. Lots to learn.

Thanks again
 
DaveF - Yes, yes. Jacketed bullets were introduced a century ago. Yet a 1951 reloading handbook I have puts most attention on cast bullets. The introduction of swaging sets in the 1950s for pistol bullets was a wild success because until then, most people had had to use cast only. Speer got started immediately post-war by figuring out how to use .22LR cases for bullet jackets. All of that is a lot closer to the publication dates of those manuals (just 15 years after WW2 ended) than they are now.

My point was, and is, that the older books are more likely to have loading info for cast bullets than the modern ones do. Those loads would be reliable even now, even if the testing back then was in error, because the pressures with lead bullets are almost inevitably lower than jacketed ones. Happy now?

Over there is the pepper. Over there, the fly-poop.

Cayden - You've got a real find there. Good luck.
 
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