Where is the best deal on a reloading kit nowadays?

egmonster

egmonster

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Hey all!

Just thinking about getting into reloading. My reasons? Maybe 20% economy, 30% accuracy, and 50% sounds like fun!

I think I would like either an RCBS RockChucker Kit, a Lyman T-Mag II kit, or make my own with a Forster co-ax. Lots of folks like the Lee stuff but lots of folks appear to not like Lee stuff so I don't know.

The co-ax sounds like the best press from what I have read, but its also expensive.

I wan't to load high quality .308 for my precision rig, .308 cheap for my M305, and maybe .223 for my black beauties but it hardly seems worth it. Also my buddy has a 30-06 lever action I could load for.

I have been keeping and sorting all my brass for the .308's. Federal brass. All organised according to gun. Also kept a bunch of .223 but from what I have read, its hardly worth it.

Where can I get the best deal on a good kit to start with? Would I need a tumbler right off the bat?

Should I just bite the bullet (so to speak) and get the Cabelas RCBS kit with the ChargeMaster scale? Ouch! But at least it would be mostly done then.

I have some good books and did a bit of research. It all sounds like tons of fun.

Thanks guys!
Michael
 
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Check with Prophet River, they had an awesome deal on a rockchucker kit. As far as reloading .223 for black rifles, its up to you if its worth it but its a lot of work on a single stage. Bulk ammo is the way to go for anything other than precision work with a .223 semi. A tumbler is a good investment if you don't want to clean each and every piece of brass by hand.
 
I ordered a Lee 50th Anniversary kit from Cabelas for $140. I think I'll eventually upgrade the scale and I'll need to get a trimmer. I'm just reloading for 308 and 357. All my other guns will eat cheap bulk ammo.
 
Don't forget to look at message boards of gun clubs. Only the ee has people selling used at 150% of new. Lots of folks sell on old fashion boards for 50% of new. Good deals if you have the time.

P.s. I do .308, .223, .45acp, .357 and I love my rcbs rock chuker. The big upgrade for me included a gem pro scale for precision, a rcbs charge master for speed, Forster dies, and a Williams trimmer.
 
The loadmaster is fine and the changes to the priming system works well. It's not a great press to swap calibres as seating the priming depth is tricky, the rest of the swap is easy. If the Loadmaster would primer on the downstroke it would be a fantastic press.
 
Just jumped into reloading myself...308 at first then perhaps 223 for a bolt gun and perhaps some 40 S&W. I was torn between purchasing a Dillon 550 ot a Lee Classic Turret - extremes I know. The thing is that I'm not sure how much volume I'll be doing and was reluctant to commit too much capital up front.


Ended up with the Lee Classic Turret Press Kit which I got from Budget Shooter Supply. The Lee takes a few simple tweaks and some parts feel a little flimsy (safety prime apparatus, scale) but it all works quite well and is very affordable. I've now loaded 400 rounds of 308 and am looking for more powder and projectiles. Even using the turret as a single stage, I like the flexibility of having all the dies ready to use with a flip of the turret station. I can charge, seat and crimp a round in one series of operations, rather than having to process all of the rounds through one stage then change dies.


The only parts I'm thinking of upgrading are the scale (the Lee scale can get "stuck" at times - easy to detect and fix with a tap - but annoying) and the seating die (would like a precision die that seats from the bullet ogive rather than the tip so that I can get a repeatable distance from the lands). The ammo I'm currently turning out performs at least as well as the Hornady A-Max Commercial ammo that I used to like best (well I am using up a lot of AMax bullets). I am now working on laddering some charges and playing with seating depth.


At this point I've spent more on reloading supplies (brass, bullets and powder) than my kit cost me and I think that this was a great trade-off for me. YMMV.


P.s. you will want a tumbler or an ultrasound polisher immediately. Shiny bullets feel like such a better product than dull brass. Probably would shoot the same.
 
No one kit has all of the "best" equipment, so if you want the very best of the best, you have to piece it together yourself.
What constitutes the "best of the best" is very subjective, and a great way to get an internet fight started ;)

Lee stuff is the least expensive and will make great ammo. If you have a bit of mechanical aptitude, you'll have no problem making it run. Their kits are the most complete, but most folks will change out some pieces down the road.

RCBS has great build quality, generally well designed, and a fantastic warranty. You don't hear people coming in and ranting about how RCBS is #$%*ing junk and they wish they'd never bought it. Some will about Lee.
RCBS kits are great, but there are a bunch of things left out of all of them that you will need to get separately.

Lyman kits tend to be closer to complete, and pretty good stuff. A few guys have been less than impressed with the presses and their warranty, but those stories are few and far between.

Hornady I don't have any experience with, but I sure like their components :) The tools have a good reputation, but once they stop making a tool, they don't support it anymore. They tend to come out with new and improved stuff quite often, so what you buy today you may not be able to get parts for in a couple years.

Forster Co-Ax. I don't like rabid devotion to tool brands, and I didn't understand what the hype was about. Then I got one.
I'm not going to throw everything else away, but the Co-Ax does most of the work on my bench. It really is slick, changes dies as fast as a turret, spent primers have nowhere to go but into the jar, the automatic shellholder is neat and it works well, and is just a tool that is a joy to use. They aren't cheap, and are hard to find, but they are worth it.

Don't fall into any brand war stuff.
Almost everything made for reloading is a quality tool, that with some care should last several lifetimes.
No one brand makes all the best stuff, and most reloading benches have a little bit of everything on them.
Tools are acquired as the need arises, they come available for a deal, or are all the store has in stock.

Take care of the tools, learn how to use them properly, and you will make very good ammunition, regardless of the colour press it was assembled on.
 
Or do what I did! a family friend gave my dad her husband reloader and reloading dies (he passed away shortly after purchasing them back in 1983 so they sat in the box for 25+ years). They sat in my dad's garage before I decided to unpackage it and see what kind of a reloader it was. I had no idea what it was or what it was worth until I started Googling stuff. I inherited a free Bonanza Co-Ax! I ended up just buying parts to kits over time it's definitely more expensive that way but I figured I would buy what I think is the best I could afford. I use Forster dies as well.

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