Starting out rolling my own ammo...

Silverado

Silverado

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I'm sure this has been re-hashed a million times, and should possibly be made a sticky, however...

I'm ready to start re-loading. Like most things, I'm not one to start out halfway. My rifle collection will be growing rapidly over the next few months, and I think re-loading will compliment fly tying as a way to keep the TV off over the winter.

I'll want to reload the following, (plus more in the future I'm sure...)

30-30 (maybe A.I.)
30-06
300 W.M.
.223
45-70
.260
etc...

What kind of equipment would you all recommend? If I understand the process, I think I need:

Press
Dies
Scale
Powder measure
Priming tool
Case trimmer
A couple manuals
And???

Thanks for the input. I'm sure I'll have more questions soon enough...
 
Welcome to the wonderfull world of reloading :D

All my rifle reloading is done on a RCBS Rockchucker... I got their master kit ( http://www.midwayusa.com/eproductpage.exe/showproduct?saleitemid=646599 ) couldn't be happier!

Lee also make decent stuff, a whole lot cheaper! All my dies are Lee carbide. If you want to go that route, give a call to Andrew at Higgenson powder...

Safe shooting,

Mike.
 
Rockchucker is the way to go for a single station press. I like my Lee deluxe dies and I also recomment a factory crimp die. An electronic scale, I use a Pact BBK and Lee powder dippers rather than a powder measurer. It works for me as I like to weigh every charge. A cross section of Manuals, one from your bullets of choice , one from your powder of choice and one independant like the Lyman manual. Start small and buy the best you can afford. It is a great hobby and you can shoot more and cheaper than buying factory ammo. I am just starting to get into casting my own bullets and I am having a blast.
Befor you know it when you tidy up you equipment you find that you have two full sets of stuff. Now if I could just rember when I bought the third press??

257Roberts
 
sillymike said:
Welcome to the wonderfull world of reloading :D

All my rifle reloading is done on a RCBS Rockchucker... I got their master kit ( http://www.midwayusa.com/eproductpage.exe/showproduct?saleitemid=646599 ) couldn't be happier!

Lee also make decent stuff, a whole lot cheaper! All my dies are Lee carbide. If you want to go that route, give a call to Andrew at Higgenson powder...

Safe shooting,

Mike.
Click to expand...

One of these kirs is a good start, then you just need calipers and a tumbler.
 
I like to use a powder dribbler in case nobody mentioned one.Gives you as near
as you can get to the same load every time.Some guys don't bother but I like all of my loads to be exactly the same.
 
for measuring powder i've always used a rcbs uniflow and then i just check every tenth round on the scales. while i don't have anything against digital scales i think i will stick with my rcbs 10-10, something about the mechanical that i just feel more comfortable on.
 
I like to use a powder dribbler in case nobody mentioned one.Gives you as near
as you can get to the same load every time.Some guys don't bother but I like all of my loads to be exactly the same.
Click to expand...

Yes I use one as well and weigh every charge with my electronic scale which has proven to be every bit as accurate as my old 10-10 but is much quicker to use.
 
A great place to start is the Lee Anniversary Kit. It's way cheaper than teh RCBS one, it comes with everything you need but the calibrespecific stuff and the calipers. I have replaced most of the stuff, but it all worked as planned. I am still using the autoprime, the chamfer tool, the press, the powder measure.
It's a great way to find how serious you are without laying out 3-400 bucks. I bought my anniversary kit on ebay for $48.00 US.
 
Silverado said:
I'll want to reload the following, (plus more in the future I'm sure...)

30-30 (maybe A.I.)
30-06
300 W.M.
.223
45-70
.260
etc...

What kind of equipment would you all recommend? If I understand the process, I think I need:

Press Lee Classic Cast, Rockchuker, Forster Co-Ax
Dies Forster, RCBS, Redding
Scale Redding
Powder measure Redding
Priming tool Press mounted
Case trimmer Redding
A couple manualsHornady, Sierra, Hodgdon(lots for free on the net
And??? Case Tumbler, RCBS Case prep Center

Thanks for the input. I'm sure I'll have more questions soon enough...
Click to expand...
 
For a beginner,Lymans #48.The Lee powder measure works for me. A Ohaus 5-0-5 is easier to use than the Lee.I think they all sell that scale,only in different colours.
 
To a connisuer that is not willing to start out halfway, I would not recomend starting with Lee equipment, it does the job with a thrifty price tag, but can be lacking in finnished quality, consistency and longevity compared to the top line products. Brand quality in descending order as follows: Redding, RCBS, Lyman, Hornady.........Lee. They ALL do the job; pick your price and pride level. I currently run with a mix of Redding, RCBS and Lyman. Thirty five years ago my first kit was a Lee, still have it, but havent used it for a couple of decades.
 
For my 2 cents,RCBS is hard to beat.Great quality,and the company really stand behind the product.I particularly like the `ask the experts' feature on the website.
It has saved my arse a few times.
 
thecollector said:
To a connisuer that is not willing to start out halfway, I would not recomend starting with Lee equipment, it does the job with a thrifty price tag, but can be lacking in finnished quality, consistency and longevity compared to the top line products. Brand quality in descending order as follows: Redding, RCBS, Lyman, Hornady.........Lee. They ALL do the job; pick your price and pride level. I currently run with a mix of Redding, RCBS and Lyman. Thirty five years ago my first kit was a Lee, still have it, but havent used it for a couple of decades.
Click to expand...

I'm a fellow new guy who went Redding all the way. I was considering Forster at the time as well but learned that the Redding dies accomplish all the accuracy/allignment functions that the Forster Co-ax is noted for. It is noteworthy that not all Redding dies will fit into the Forster press.

http://www.redding-reloading.com/

Redding isn't the cheapest whore on the block but like most other mfgr's they sell packages that will save $$ over buying piecemeal.

BTW, all my gear works fine, its new!
 
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