To kit or not to kit?

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canoetrpr

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After a fair amount of bugging you guys here and asking questions to club members I had decided to hold off on reloading gear till I could save for exactly what I wanted.

I had decided to get a Redding Turrent press, Chargemaster, and other accessories separately - trimming lathe, a power deburring setup perhaps etc. All this adds up to a lot of coin - thus the need to save up.

Figured I didnt need a powder thrower with the Chargemaster so why pay for both.

Figured I'm the kind of guy that really wants to do things in the most efficient way possible so might as well not have to mess with changing dies out and so on.

Now comes this RCBS RockChucker Master kit from Prophet River which seems like an AWESOME deal. A lathe and RockChucker could easily be added (maybe at a later date for the RockChucker anyway). I happen to have just come upon $400 or so - rather timely.

I only plan to reload for rifle for accuracy and a bit for cost. Doubt is do more than 50 in a shot.

Of course the $400 bucks could go towards a CZ shadow as well :).

What would you do in my place?
1. Wait - get Exactly what I want
2. Dive in to the deal sans the extras and start reloadinf
3. Admit that I'm won't really be shooting my only centerfire rifle much anyway and put the dough towards a future CZ?
 
If you are loading rifle only get a single stage press. A kit is good idea as you can determine what extras you need more accurately after you have reloaded for a while. The chargemaster would be nice for volume loading ,but for low volume a thrower and a good scale would be nearly as fast. I find reloading relaxing and not a chore so saving a few minutes here or there is not important to me but may be to others.
 
^^ Agree. Single stage press for your needs. Get a Lee single kit and a digital scale.
It's robust and does a fantastic job.
Still have mine which I use for rifle.
 
The RCBS kits are good equipment. The RockChucker is a very robust peice of steel and will last a very long time. Depending on the kit, you should get most everything you need to get some reloads made. I quite like RCBS product, and therefore my reloading room is full of green with a little Lyman orange thrown in. Like others, I enjoy the process, so time saved here and there is not really a big deal to me. However, regardless of what you get you will find yourself always wanting the extra little tools, gizmos, etc. that just make the job easier, especially if you are reloading for accuracy purposes.

You would do well to buy a kit and add in the other little things as you find that you need them.
 
TACTICAL111 said:
^^ Agree. Single stage press for your needs. Get a Lee single kit and a digital scale.
It's robust and does a fantastic job.
Still have mine which I use for rifle.
Click to expand...

Any particular digital scale you recommend? Maybe the scale portion of the Chargemaster is the ticket so that I can add the other piece of it later. Maybe I could just go balance beam for now and live with it.

Guessing minimally I ought to add a:
- Powder trickler
- Lathe for trimming

to the RockChucker kit

In addition to dies, shell holder and a block or two for holding shells while reloading.

Anything else?
 
+1 for a single stage kit, id say jump in and get a lee breech lock kit to start, got mine for $119+tx and about $45 for dies and $100 for a digital scale. Cheap enough way and i get moa accuracy or better depends on my skill, ive cloverleafed at 100 yrds and shoot accurate out to 3-400M
 
Rockchucker kit, a trimmer, calipres and a few other small tools will do fine for rifle loading, or slow pistol loading.
 
canoetrpr said:
Are items like a powder thrower, beam scale etc useful at all if I get a Chargemaster?
Click to expand...

Nope. After I upgraded to a chargemaster, I almost threw out my scale and powder thrower. You could use the beam scale to double check, but the chargemaster comes with its own test weights. The chargemaster is just awesome. The best way to use it is as follows.

Take measured powder charge from CM and deposit in case
Return powder tray to CM (where it automatically gets filled with the proper charge again)
As it is dispensing the powder, take that case you charged to your press and seat the bullet.
By the time you have the bullet seated, and the round put back in the box, the next powder charge is ready.
Way faster than using a scale, and trickling up from a thrown charge.

And don't get me started on throwing different powder weights, for load testing. If you want a different charge, just type it in on the keypad and press 'DISP'
 
I would not buy a turret press for rifle loading. If your only doing 50 rounds at a time you certainly don't need one.

If I was starting again I'd buy the pieces seperately. But you have to get your feet wet to figure out what equipment you like. I have kit from Lee, Hornady, RCBS, Redding etc. Some stuff I would not buy again and some stuff I would.

The two things I really like in my kit is the Lee classic cast (large "O" frame) single stage press and my RCBS 10-10 scale. Although I weigh mainly on a digital I still value that RCBS scale for its reliability and capacity as a backup.

Good luck in your new hobby.
 
Personally, if I were starting out all over again, I would start with one of the kits offered by any of the manufacturers that offer cast iron presses. The rest of the stuff really doesn't matter.

As far as buying it in pieces, well that's a big toss up all by itself. For one thing how long will it take you to accumulate all of the pieces???

For another thing are you going to drive all over the place looking for the stuff or have it shipped in????

The added costs of buying bits and pieces is high and in the end, usually more than you can save by just buying a complete kit in the first place.

The kits come with everything you need to start out. Everything in them is at the very least adequate to produce high quality ammunition, if you do your part.

Procrastinators usually pay two to three times the amount of what a good set up will cost them in the first place, if they had just started out with a decent quality kit in the first place.

Digital scales, can be had very cheaply these days. Hornady makes one for under $20 and they work just fine. You have to trickle the powder in by hand but so what.

If you are actually going to load mass quantities, go directly to the progressive and forget the turret press.

Over the years, I have accumulated 7 presses, a Hornady progressive, two RCBS Rock Chuckers, an RCBS Junior (my first, 41 years ago and still straight and true after thousands of rounds), a Hornady Turret Press, a Hornaday hand held press and a Wilson Arbor press.

All have their uses and all are accurate enough to make up match grade ammunition if required.

There is a lot to hand loading that novices need to know, before they start putting components together.

You say you belong to a club, where you can query members on the subject.

My suggestion to you is to ask a couple of them with different units to let you try out or at least observe their units in action.

IMHO, even though they initially produce decent ammunition, I would stay away from any system that uses light, cast aluminum frames. That includes the Hornady hand held press as well. Especially if you are going to make up a lot of ammunition. They are just fine for the occasional hand loader that likes to tinker and make up his/her own hunting ammunition but they just don't stand up well to mass production.

I've seen a lot of, IMHO, worn out LEE aluminum presses at gun shows. They look OK at first, because the original users, like most hand loaders took very good care of them. Upon close inspection, they were loose and sloppy. Rarely, do you see a worn out cast iron unit.

On the other hand, Lee dies and other components are as good as anyone elses and in the end, most commercial cartridge manufacturers use Lee dies for their production lines.

Just get a kit, get your feet wet and get some bullets down the range, hopefully on the paper. It isn't rocket science. Like everything else about shooting and firearms, it's mostly common sense and meticulous care.

Procrastination will just make you nervous and put wild thoughts of disaster in your head.

Follow the instructions in the manuals, go online and Google hand loading videos. There are lots of good ones out there for free that are easily followed, if and only if you can't find a nearby mentor.

The mentor option is by far the best if you are a hands on need to be seen person.
 
Reloading is a great hobby, for better accuracy and about half the cost of factory rounds, depending on what you are shooting of coarse.

You will own way more than one rifle in youre life, especially if you browse through the EE :runaway: so just go for it, you wont be dissapointed.:)
 
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