Recommend Set Up For Precision Reloading?

Max Owner

Max Owner

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Hey all.

Know this is not the Reloading Section, but want to ask the guys who are into precision reloading....................

After a frustrating range trip today with 3 different types of factory rounds, I am going to get started at reloading.

Gonna go single stage press.

What do you guys recommend for brand and model of press? Dies? Reloading books, scale and anything else that I am gonna need.

Will be reloading from the smallest center fire up to the biggest someday, so the press (except 50 BMG) should be able to handle most lengths of cartridges.

What kind of start up costs would I be looking at? Ballpark.............
 
Max Owner said:
Hey all.

Know this is not the Reloading Section, but want to ask the guys who are into precision reloading....................

After a frustrating range trip today with 3 different types of factory rounds, I am going to get started at reloading.

Gonna go single stage press.

What do you guys recommend for brand and model of press? Dies? Reloading books, scale and anything else that I am gonna need.

Will be reloading from the smallest center fire up to the biggest someday, so the press (except 50 BMG) should be able to handle most lengths of cartridges.

What kind of start up costs would I be looking at? Ballpark.............
Click to expand...

Look at the RCBS Rockchucler Master kit, or for up to .50 Cal, look at the RCBS Ammomaster press.

The Rockchucker kit gives you pretty much everything to start reloading except for dies.



RC-Supreme-Bench.jpg





[FONT=Arial, Helvetica][SIZE=+1]Rock Chucker® Supreme Master Reloading Kit [/SIZE][/FONT]
[FONT=Arial, Helvetica]We've taken the new benchmark of single stage presses and surrounded it with everything you need (except for dies and shell holders) to start reloading like a pro. A simple solution for beginner and pro alike, it's easily upgraded to progressive operation with the optional Piggyback 4. The Rock Chucker Supreme Master Reloading Kit includes:
  • New Rock Chucker Supreme press with larger window opening to accommodate large magnum cartridges. New Toggle Block with ambidextrous handle. Improved spent primer containment to eliminate spent primers on floor.
  • Ohaus 5-0-5 scale
  • Hand Priming Tool for fast safe & convenient priming.
  • Uniflow Powder Measure
  • Speer #13 reloading manual
  • Case loading block
  • Case Lube Kit
  • Primer Tray
  • Powder Funnel
  • Deburring tool
[/FONT]09357 RC Supreme Master Reloading Kit
Click to expand...

Wholesale Sports has them for $389.99 +tax/shipping.


SKBY.
 
Max Owner said:
Hey all.

Know this is not the Reloading Section, but want to ask the guys who are into precision reloading....................

After a frustrating range trip today with 3 different types of factory rounds, I am going to get started at reloading.

Gonna go single stage press.

What do you guys recommend for brand and model of press? Dies? Reloading books, scale and anything else that I am gonna need.

Will be reloading from the smallest center fire up to the biggest someday, so the press (except 50 BMG) should be able to handle most lengths of cartridges.

What kind of start up costs would I be looking at? Ballpark.............
Click to expand...

For press Redding or RCBS you can not go wrong with I have both and have had them for over 40 years , still going strong.
Dies, well that depends on how serious you want to be in the accuracy department. Standard dies from Redding or RCBS will get the job done for most needs, but if you want to go for all out accuracy, then the Redding Type S Match bushing dies are about the best, NOT cheap though.
Scales again are what you feel your accuracy demands are. A balance beam scale is for the most part as accurate as a digital, but slower , and harder for old guys like me to see. I have gone to digitals mostly for the 3/4" numbers that are easy to see, the new Acculab scale is about as high end as it gets , they weigh to the 100/th of a grain , where most scales only do 10ths.
The great part about reloading is that you can keep growing with it, upgrades and more gizmos are a constant.
Buying cheap is not a good investment as it is hard to resell something you may have outgrown where quality like Redding, or RCBS always holds it's value.
I would suggest that it would not be unreasonable to spend $700.00 for the basics, and over time that will double.
There is alot of info for free on the assorted makers websites as far as loading data.
Nosler, and Hornady both publish great maunals that have step by step reloading instructions a chimp could follow and reload safely. Other books are good but I found these 2 to be the easiest to work with.
I would not recommend getting stuck in the 1 brand rut, each maker has some really good stuff and some so so stuff as well as plain old garbage, don't be afraid to have different colors of gear. My bench has 2 shades of green, some red, some orange , some blue, some gold and some grey equipment .
Alot of what you end up buying will be on recommendations, either of others or sales clerks.
Ask some of the better shooters in you locale what they use and why. The correct answer is the detailed logical 1, the wrong answer is because it is the best, which means they got sucked into it by someone who did not know better.
KK
 
Airborn_69 said:
Redding comp dies..
Click to expand...

Redding Competition Seater & Sizing Dies are very nice if you have the extra cash to splurge on them.They are not cheap.

I use a Redding Competition Seating Die for .308Win. IIRC, I paid $69.99 U.S. for it in the U.S. 10 years ago on one of my many Kesselring Gunshop trips.

It is the Cats hind quarters for seating bullets.;)

SKBY.
 
Reloading

check out www.sinclairintl.com
sinclair has something for everyone, they have simple stuff or some really specific high end equipment as well. Even electronic scales that claim accuracy to 1/200th of a gr. Even stuff for the 50 BMG shooters.
Sinclair international.
 
Been using a Lee Anniversary set and seems to work just fine for me.

The biggest part of reloading is minimizing runout of your ammo (nice and straight) and tuning your powder to that barrel/bullet.

I use the Lee collet neck sizing die whenever I can. Nothing better for neck sizing your brass. It will not put any runout in your brass and doesn't have the donut issues of the bushing dies.

I have used dies from RCBS, Hornady, Redding, Forster, Lyman and Lee. All do the job just fine. I measure the runout after each step with a Sinclair runout guage just to make sure no die is out of whack.

I have found the Lee dies to work as well as any other.

The only things I didn't like in the Lee kit was the primer pocket cleaner. Now using a Dewey tool. The neck deburr tool is from RCBS. The trimmer and neck turner is a Forster unit.

Simple, inexpensive and a great way to start. The Lee Challenger press handles anything up to the RUM. The cast lever parts do break but are replaced by Lee. The rest of the press will stand up to alot of reloading without issue.

Jerry
 
A bit of a hijack, but the info should help out Max Owner as well.

I have been looking at the RCBS Partner press, one of their cheaper ones. Anyone had experience with this one?
 
I'm in the same situation as you, except for now I'm only going to be loading .308.

mysticplayer: I think you recommended the Lee anniversary kit to me before. Any idea as to where to buy these, and how much they go for?

Thanks,
-Rohann
 
I have several presses including lee's and RCBS's, Lyman's , etc.
How a press is set up iis far more important than how good it is or how expensive, IMHO.
A Lee aniverseray ket will give you everything you need for quality handloads at a price you can afford to start with.
This hobby can get real expensive real fast for those starting out, and learning how to care for and use a cheaper piece of gear will not be handicapped .
If you wish to upgrade in the future, you can still use the other stuff at the same time.
Decapping with a universal die and a cheap press worth $40 will be the same for instance , as using one worth close to $200.
If you are not careful on setup , a press and dies worth three or four times as much will do you no better.

Lee dies are good quality and the company stands behind their products.
Cat
 
There is a lot of good advice here concerning presses, so I won't repeat it here. A word about some other stuff.

I would try to use Redding shell holders, in my experience they are more uniform than some of the others. I've had issues with shell holders being out of spec resulting in headspacing issues.

Let me say that excellent ammo can be made with standard dies. . Neck run-out can usually be contributed back to the expander ball, so Some care should be taken to ensure the expander ball is centered in the resizing die. With an RCBS or standard series Redding die this can be accomplished by putting a small "O" ring between the lock nut and top of the die body. I also got rid of the spring shell holder retainer, and replaced it with an"O" ring so the shellholder can slide back and forth in it's recess and find it's own center. At some point a runout indicater might be a wise investment.

Certainly an option is to eliminate the expander button all together. Redding, and a few others make bushing dies, which allow you to choose the neck diameter you prefer. What I intend to do in the near future for my target rifle dies, is to have a gunsmith make me a resizing die by rechambering an older die I have. By doing this, I can get the precise neck diameter I want, (neck thickness X 2 + bullet diameter) and have exact shoulder set back I want as well. Neck sizing dies do not bump back the shoulder, so eventually you end up having to full length resize because it is too difficult to chamber the round.

Which brings us to case trimming. I have had little luck with the standard trimmers. I either end up with inconsistent case necks, or necks that are out of round. A pal of mine swears by his Forster trimmer, and he has had good luck with it. The trimmer I bought is the powdered Giraud Case Trimmer. This trimmer uses a threaded shell holder which looks like a resizing die. You insert the case neck first, and the case head spaces on the case neck making the case to case length very uniform. A replaceable carbide cutting head spins at high speed and trims and chamfers the case neck at an angle which will not end up with scraping the bullet jacket when the bullet is seated.

I uniform all my primer pockets and flash holes. Sinclair sells excellent tools for this purpose. When uniforming new brass, touching the cutter into dry graphite powder prevents the cutter from sticking or galling the brass, particularly if you do this step with a tool chucked in a drill.

Imperial sizing wax, and Imperial dry neck lube are two products which should be on your bench.

I believe that electronic scales are superior to beam scales. The fact that some people find them difficult to use proves the point. Most claim the same accuracy as the beam type scales, but Sinclair sells one which claims 1/200th of a grain rather than 1/10th.

There are many "accuracy" enabling tools available to the hand loader. We haven't even considered neck turning, bullet uniforming, or match quality powder throwers yet. Unless you are very tall when you stand on your wallet, you will have to do like the rest of us and add tools to your system as you go along.
 
:eek:


But this is what I am looking for.

Thanx guys. If there is more, than please let it fly. If there are any more specific points to mention, than please do so.

I will be going for the accuracy for sure. Not just trying to cut shooting cost down. I have a 308 that I want to hit 1,000 yards with. And there will be others calibers that I hope to take out quite far. Only other caiber that I have to shoot longer ranges right now it 22-250.

Also a list of the "nice to have" stuff would be good aswell as "what is needed" would be great.

Thanx again guys.

Sean.
 
Rohann, I started with the Lee kit about 9yrs ago and most are still going strong. I got my kit from Higginson and I feel they offer great price and support. Tell Andy I sent you.

Pick up a set of Lee Delux collet neck die set. Nothing better at ANY price. Really, it works.

As Cat has said, press set up is critical. You want a gonzo rigid table. You are going to be leaning on this tool and a bench/table that moves is going to drive you crazy. Think 1" plywood top as a min. Better 1 1/2 to 2". Nice and level helps too if using a balance beam scale.

Personally, I have never seen any rifle 'see' a difference in powder lower then a tenth so a scale that is more accurate may not offer much.

If you read any of my posts, you know that I am an accuracy nut and have no issue with spending the bucks to get it. What I have found over the years is that so much of the 'must haves' really don't do anything more then 'lesser' products if anything at all.

At the end of the day, I am looking for groups like this. Whether it took $5 or $500 to get it doesn't matter to me. I would prefer to spend the $5 as I am inherently cheap but would not blink at the $500 if required.

This is my hummer group shot with my 6.5 Mystic at 300m on a dead calm day. All my ammo is loaded using that lee anniversary kit, collet neck die and seater. Works for me.




As for the shell holders, just use the standard Lee or RCBS. Look at the enormous slop that is in every shell holder. That slop must be there. This allows the case to center in the die.

The die is where the alignment is critical. The press just gives you the mechanical leverage to push and pull the case out of the die. Nothing more, nothing less.

Jerry
 
Knock knock has it right! Get good stuff right from the start.

I am just getting into reloading myself. I have the Acculab scale that Sinclair sells. A brand new RCBS RockChucker and I am also looking at a Redding Big Boss II. I have Redding Type S Match Dies and a whole bunch of other bells and whistles. If you are reloading just to save some $$$ then cheap stuff will do just fine. If you are going for Precision then go big or go home. It doesn't make sense to buy semi-good stuff because semi-good precision will not be acceptable to you. It won't be long until you start wondering what better equipment will do and then you'll spend the money and buy the higher end stuff anyway.
 
I started off with a Lee aniversary kit when I started reloading and it is a good kit to start on. I had a few issues with the press, the first one when the cast handle broke when depriming....but the lee kit did do a consistant load just took a little more time and dedication to checking. You can definatly feel a difference in the stroke, and how smooth de-priming, necksizing and seating functions are between the Lee and the RCBS/Redding products. Lee has an very good waranty program although I didn't use it with my kit. I am currently set up as Knock Knock has laid out for my regular calibers with a Redding Press and S type Dies, and use a RCBS for my .50BMG, With the exception of the fancy scale. I use a Cabella's digital which works great. IMHO I would not go back to a Lee for precision loading after going RCBS and Redding. Money well spent in my books.
 
JasonYuke said:
Look at a sinclair arbor with willson dies, you just cant go wrong with this set up!! for target loader
Click to expand...
Maybe for a BR shooter, but for an acrooss the ccourse shooter, TR, Palma, etc.
the Wilson arbor and Wilson dies are wway too slow.Plus, a new shooter would have to save for over a yeear deepeending on their buudget.
let's get real folks.
BTW, I use Wilson as well a Dillon, RCBS, Lyman, Lee and Herters.
So I am not talking from a personal; preferance but form an unbiased point of view.
Some p[eole don't like a particular brand of anything, it's a Ford /Chevy thing IMHO.
get what you can affford, bbut don't go overboard because you THINK you have to....
Cat
 
mysticplayer said:
Rohann, I started with the Lee kit about 9yrs ago and most are still going strong. I got my kit from Higginson and I feel they offer great price and support. Tell Andy I sent you.

Pick up a set of Lee Delux collet neck die set. Nothing better at ANY price. Really, it works.

As Cat has said, press set up is critical. You want a gonzo rigid table. You are going to be leaning on this tool and a bench/table that moves is going to drive you crazy. Think 1" plywood top as a min. Better 1 1/2 to 2". Nice and level helps too if using a balance beam scale.

Personally, I have never seen any rifle 'see' a difference in powder lower then a tenth so a scale that is more accurate may not offer much.

If you read any of my posts, you know that I am an accuracy nut and have no issue with spending the bucks to get it. What I have found over the years is that so much of the 'must haves' really don't do anything more then 'lesser' products if anything at all.

At the end of the day, I am looking for groups like this. Whether it took $5 or $500 to get it doesn't matter to me. I would prefer to spend the $5 as I am inherently cheap but would not blink at the $500 if required.

This is my hummer group shot with my 6.5 Mystic at 300m on a dead calm day. All my ammo is loaded using that lee anniversary kit, collet neck die and seater. Works for me.




As for the shell holders, just use the standard Lee or RCBS. Look at the enormous slop that is in every shell holder. That slop must be there. This allows the case to center in the die.

The die is where the alignment is critical. The press just gives you the mechanical leverage to push and pull the case out of the die. Nothing more, nothing less.

Jerry
Click to expand...
Thanks for the reply; very informative.
Holy crap, that's a helluva grouping!
Well I'm thinking I'll start out in the "$5 grouping" category. I really need to get up and running quickly, and I'm definately convinced, so I think I'll order this gear sometime today. So what exactly do I need? The Lee anniversary kit and Lee delux dies? Does the anniversary kit come with a scale, etc.? I'm looking for everything I need to start loading, minus powder, primers and bullets.

And the Lee kit will work well for a newbie starting out? I'll hopefully get some direction from some of the local guys here when I actually start loading.

I have a pretty sturdy workbench here that's anchored into the wall, so setup won't be a problem.

Thanks a lot, you guys are a really big, needed help.

Oh and can we get this stickied?

-Rohann
 
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