Press, dies and deburing tool

TheCanuck

TheCanuck

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Hi!

i'm looking at buying reloading equiment for my .308, and having never reloaded before, i want to know what i should get. Regarding the dies and press, i have decided to get RCBS stuff, because of the great comments i heard about their customer support, but i do not know what to get or how much to expect to have to dish out because they have such a good variety of products. This is going te be used mainly for precision shooting, but also for hunting.

So, what model press and dies should i get?How much will it hurt me?And what about a deburring tool?

Thx for your help
 
You can buy an RCBS Rochchuker Supreme reloading kit for $389 here in Calgary (mailorder) and it comes with almost everything you need to get started except for the dies and components. You'll probably want to add a few tools (like a case trimmer and tumbler), but you won't need to until a later date. The RCBS dies are about $40, although a bench rest shooter might choose different dies than someone wanting to load for hunting.

This kit includes the Rochchucker press, scale, powder measure, Speer reloading manual, hand priming tool, hex key set, case loading block, case lube kit, powder funnel, and deburring tool. You really don't need anything else to start loading except for dies, bullets, brass, powder and primers.
 
I would start with buying cartridge load books, a good vernier calipers and a decent powder scale. It’s a great hobby, but it does get a little pricey. All the name brand reloaders have certain qualities depending upon the shooters wants and needs. Your budget will thank-you by doing lots of research.
Driller
 
i already have a digital caliper and an rcbs powder scaler, along with a powder drop and a powder funnel, a tray that can hold 100 cartridges, a case lubing pad and lube.So that leaves me with not alot to get, and alot of what i have is already in the rockchucker supreme reloading kit. Regarding dies, it IS going to be used mainly for precision and long range shooting
 
You should be able to pick up a Rochchucker Supreme press for about $170 or so new, or even find a used one for a bit less. A deburring tool will cost less than $20, as will a lot of the little tools and gadgets that you will want to pick up eventually.

There are lots of choices for dies. If you plan on sticking with RCBS, they have the standard full length resizing dies, neck sizer die, or their x-dies, which I believe eliminate the need for regular case trimming. You could also use dies from another manufacturer, but honestly, any of them will produce accurate ammo. Since you're just getting started at reloading, learning some of the techniques for precision reloading will probably make more of a difference in your group size than the equipment you choose. I personally like to full length size my hunting ammo, so I just use the full length resizing dies. These can also be adjusted so that only the neck is sized, which is better for accuracy. I use the standard full length RCBS dies for a heavy barrel .222 that I have, and while I wouldn't win a bench rest compitition, it's no trick to get 1/4 inch - 5 shot groups at 100 yards with it.

It sounds like you've almost got most of the tools that you'll need. There isn't a huge difference in price for dies... the standard ones start at about $38 and go to about $100 or so. I'm not a competative shooter, so I can't say how much better your results would be with one set of dies over another, but a standard set of dies is probably not a bad place to start.
 
Would help to figure out what is a normal set of dies if RCBS actually prosted m.s.r.p.

I fugured i'd dump about 60-80$ for dies(set of 3)

If someone has a press for sale, i'll buy it
 
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