Which kit to start off with?

P

patlap

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Hi Guys,
I'm planning on doing some precision shooting and long range shooting therefore I know that reloading is essential if I want to get the best out of my gun. I am new to all of this and I was wondering if you could tell me if there is a kit out there that has everything I need and is suitable for a beginner? I saw the Lee 50th anniversary kit that seems to have a lot of great reviews but I wanted to ask all of you before going out and buying anything. I don't want to spend a fortune on my first kit, in the long run if I get addicted to reloading I'll definately be upgrading it but I'm really looking for something that will permit me to reload without hurting the bank too much!
thanks for the help!
regards
Pat
 
Hi Pat,

Seems to me that you are on the right track. I started out with a Lee kit for pistol. I went with the Classic Turret Press kit. Though for rifle, I hear you'll want a nice strong SS press. My volume requirements pushed me out to the current press.

I think the kit you mention is very similar to the one I purchased. The other thing to note is that a nice single stage or Turret Press in my case will be a valuable part of your reloading equipment even in the future if/when you expand to a second press of some kind.

A kit is a nice way to start up and to then move up by experience. You'll find that you're overly particular about a scale perhaps or other part of the loading gig.
 
I started with a lee turret press. The turret part of it is nice, but not needed. Taking dies out and and screwing them back in is not that onerous!!!

Have a look on x-reload. They're close to you, and offer great products and service.

What caliber?? Lets not make this a discussion of his caliber choice!!!!

These are the things I'd spend on up front:

Brass. Get Lapua brass, period. (if they make your chosen caliber)
Neck inner and outer chamfer tool.
Hand neck length trimmer.
Hand Primer pocket uniformer.
Hand Primer pocket cleaner
Hand Flashhole uniformer/reamer.
Get Redding Case holders, not RCBS.
Some 25$ digital calipers from C-tire
Some royal case lube

As for dies - if you can afford it, spend once, cry once..... my choice is a Redding Full Length Bushing Die with a Forster Micrometer Seating Die, but that's just me.

I would NOT buy these until your addiction is bona fide (no particular order):

RCBS Chargemaster scale/powder thrower ($450)
Neck Turning setup and associated gauges - neck thickness and concentricity (Many hundred of dollars....)
A jewellers scale ($250)
A Stainless Media tumbler ($300 for kit)
An annealer (~$500)
Mitutoyu digital Calipers (150$)

There's nothing wrong with sharing these more expensive things with a trusted buddy.....

This is more or less how I've ramped up my stuff over the past 3 years. I've not made too many dumb/uneducated purchases.

Have fun!!

-J.
 
Gunneegoogoo said:
I started with a lee turret press. The turret part of it is nice, but not needed. Taking dies out and and screwing them back in is not that onerous!!!

Have a look on x-reload. They're close to you, and offer great products and service.

What caliber?? Lets not make this a discussion of his caliber choice!!!!

These are the things I'd spend on up front:

Brass. Get Lapua brass, period. (if they make your chosen caliber)
Neck inner and outer chamfer tool.
Hand neck length trimmer.
Hand Primer pocket uniformer.
Hand Primer pocket cleaner
Hand Flashhole uniformer/reamer.
Get Redding Case holders, not RCBS.
Some 25$ digital calipers from C-tire
Some royal case lube

As for dies - if you can afford it, spend once, cry once..... my choice is a Redding Full Length Bushing Die with a Forster Micrometer Seating Die, but that's just me.

I would NOT buy these until your addiction is bona fide (no particular order):

RCBS Chargemaster scale/powder thrower ($450)
Neck Turning setup and associated gauges - neck thickness and concentricity (Many hundred of dollars....)
A jewellers scale ($250)
A Stainless Media tumbler ($300 for kit)
An annealer (~$500)
Mitutoyu digital Calipers (150$)

There's nothing wrong with sharing these more expensive things with a trusted buddy.....

This is more or less how I've ramped up my stuff over the past 3 years. I've not made too many dumb/uneducated purchases.

Have fun!!

-J.
Click to expand...

Thanks for all the information guys!
For the moment I have two main calibers I'd be reloading. The gun I just bought for shooting is a savage 10TR in .308 and my hunting rifle is a sagave axis 30-06.
My friend has been reloading my 30-06 ammo for me and we have been getting some amazing results ( sub MOA at 100 yards easy and MOA at 200 yards), he has reloaded about 7 boxes for me with the load that we found worked best so I've got enought ammo for the next 10 years worth of hunting with the 30-06 haha.
As per the .308, he offered to reload them for me but I figured I may aswell invest in a kit and do it myself so I don't have to wait on anybody to be able to go to the range and test my loads.
I'm really looking forward to start reloading! My grandfather had a whole reloading kit that he was going to give me a a few years ago but for some reason my parents told him I didn't need it without asking me...at the time I wasnt reloading but he had a massive kit that he had put together for the past 20 years of reloading so it would have been nice to have it :( lol
thanks for the help guys!
regards
Pat
 
Yes, it's a great kit. All you'll really need are dies and shell holders. You'll probably also want a tumbler, a primer pocket cleaner and a case trimmer though. Other then that, you'll be well on your way.
 
I wouldn't bother with any other tumbler than a wet stainless. You wont regret waiting until you can afford, or just stepping up straight away. The Frankford Arsenal Kit is available from Cabelas.....

This is only my opinion and I'm not looking to start a caliber war, but if I was you I'd load your 30-06 for hunting with lower cost dies, and get precise with fancy equipment for your .308.

That is too bad about your Grandpa's stuff...!!! sorry dude!!
 
Those kits are good, but consider that with the info available online, the book may not ever get opened, and you may well end up buying single pieces that are better than what comes in the kit.

I'd suggest pricing out things singly on x-reload and see what the cost is for EXACTLY what you want. Part of reloading is being obsessive, and a tool that you're not happy with will result in "re-buying"......

Look on ebay and amazon and the EE on CGN too. You may well be able to get a good press used.
 
All above posts are good info and advice. Look around and see what you can find, I came across an RCBS Rockcrusher single stage with a tone f stuff a few years back for 300. I then sold off what I didn't want and got 500 back. This allowed me a "free" press and 200 towards what I really wanted for accessories. My word of advice is do not have buyers remorse, if ya need it get it. The fact is though that this is addictive and can get expensive, I now have around 6,000 invested in all my reloading gear. Everything from presses, to tumblers, to primer tube fillers to a #### tonne of dies. I never count the consumables like brass, powder, bullets or primers. On the bright side I haven't bought factory ammo in a leg time, so the savings are there in the end if you want to shoot a lot and accurately.
 
KellyP said:
All above posts are good info and advice. Look around and see what you can find, I came across an RCBS Rockcrusher single stage with a tone f stuff a few years back for 300. I then sold off what I didn't want and got 500 back. This allowed me a "free" press and 200 towards what I really wanted for accessories. My word of advice is do not have buyers remorse, if ya need it get it. The fact is though that this is addictive and can get expensive, I now have around 6,000 invested in all my reloading gear. Everything from presses, to tumblers, to primer tube fillers to a #### tonne of dies. I never count the consumables like brass, powder, bullets or primers. On the bright side I haven't bought factory ammo in a leg time, so the savings are there in the end if you want to shoot a lot and accurately.
Click to expand...

I think my choice as per my first press Has been made. I did a lot of research online and I have decided to get the lee classic turret press.
Although they sell it in a kit with a lot of équipement I beleive I'm better off buying just the press and getting all the rest separately. In the kit they include the autoloader which from what I gather if I want to have the most precise loads I need to load manually anyways so I don't need that. I have made myself a small list of things I need to get, could you let me know if I'm missing something other than the dies:
- lee turret press
- lee primer feed
- Frankford case tumbler
- case prep multi tool
- 308 win case length/ heads pace gauge
- Frankford impact bullet puller
- digital reloading scale
- powder trickler
- primer cleaner
- scale funnel pan
- lee precision funnel
- lee charging die ( to which the precision funnel can be attached for the loading step on the turret)
- quality set of dies ( I was told that carbon or carbide dies were best? )
Can you see anything that I am missing?
Thanks for the help everyone!
Regards
Pat
 
Pretty good list, and a good move to buy piecemeal...

Looks like you're doing it right!! Maybe you should consider an RCBS charge master and just get it over with?? It'll be about 450$...

When you see the extra turrets at the store - GRAB THEM!!! They're hard to find when you need one.

There's a real nice powder tray/funnel combo that RCBS makes. It's worth getting at least two so the charge master can work while you pour and place the bullet.

The ergonomics of things are important - well, at least they are to me. This is repetitive work, so you might as well be comfortable. Lyman hand tools have nice handles. I initially got the RCBS primer tool, but it hurt my lily-white hands, so I went with a Lee. Did I see a primer tool on the list?? Is there a reloading tray on there?? Don't forget a lube pad.

You could consider a case comparator instead of the headspace gauge kit.. I think mine was about 100$ from Larry Willis. It tells you how much you've bumped the shoulder back with the FL die. The neck gauges aren't really needed until you start neck turning.

Dies are dealers choice. My opinion is Redding type s FL, and a Forster seater. Will be about 220$ ish for the pair...I think the carbide dies are for high volume pistol reloading...I think. If you do go with the Redding type S i'd step up and get the titanium nitride expander ball and bushing.

-J.
 
Last edited:
Gunneegoogoo said:
Pretty good list, and a good move to buy piecemeal...

Looks like you're doing it right!! Maybe you should consider an RCBS charge master and just get it over with?? It'll be about 450$...

When you see the extra turrets at the store - GRAB THEM!!! They're hard to find when you need one.

There's a real nice powder tray/funnel combo that RCBS makes. It's worth getting at least two so the charge master can work while you pour and place the bullet.

The ergonomics of things are important - well, at least they are to me. This is repetitive work, so you might as well be comfortable. Lyman hand tools have nice handles. I initially got the RCBS primer tool, but it hurt my lily-white hands, so I went with a Lee. Did I see a primer tool on the list?? Is there a reloading tray on there?? Don't forget a lube pad.

You could consider a case comparator instead of the headspace gauge kit.. I think mine was about 100$ from Larry Willis. It tells you how much you've bumped the shoulder back with the FL die. The neck gauges aren't really needed until you start neck turning.

Dies are dealers choice. My opinion is Redding type s FL, and a Forster seater. Will be about 220$ ish for the pair...I think the carbide dies are for high volume pistol reloading...I think. If you do go with the Redding type S i'd step up and get the titanium nitride expander ball and bushing.

-J.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the good advise.
Yes there was a primer tool on there, the lee turret press deprimes and also has the little attachement that primes on the downstroke. I was planning on getting the accessory that mounts on the press and holds/inserts all your primers.
With regards to the extra turret disks I saw them in amazon and I will most definately buy some extra ones!
As for the reloading tray I dI'd not out it on this list but it is on my "official" list that I am putting together lol
I'll look into the case comparator for sure!
Thanks again for the help!
I'm looking forward to start reloading!!
 
It's fun. So much to learn. So much opinion to sort through!!

Be safe!! Load light and work up. Make yourself a system so there's no chance of a double charge. Wear glasses....

-J.
 
For precision work I had some issues with the Lee Turret press. For casual loading it would be an awesome way to start out for cheap. But your goals are to produce precision ammo. And that means you want a truly rigid and accurate alignment between the dies and the ram. And with the play in turret and the flex that can occur in the post rods of the Lee turret you've got sources of movement that can hurt you.

So my vote is for a closed frame style single.

To make die changes between steps easier buy and replace all the die lock nuts/lock rings with Hornady pinch style Sur-Loc rings or a similar product. Don't rely on the Lee style with the friction O ring and don't even consider the horrible ones that have a set screw that pokes through the ring and bites onto the threading. The pinch lock style like the Hornady rings is the one proper and right way to do this job.

The other option would be some manner of breech lock or bayonet lock bushing that goes onto each die. Lee makes a breech lock press with bushings that is fast and retains accuracy. And Hornady makes a single stage press with bayonet bushings that similarly makes die swaps between operations a cinch.

The RCBS kit would be a nice option if the dies are used with the Sur-Loc rings.

With the Sur-Loc rings, breech or bayonet bushings the advantage is that you can just spin or lock the dies in place secure that the dies are still in adjustment and ready to go. With anything other than these you need to check each time or you're ruining the threads on the dies when the set screw are rammed into the threading. Also the set screw in from the sides tend to #### the rings sideways and that can result in the die sitting cockeyed in the press by a slight angle. But for accuracy loading everything counts so why not get the proper stuff off the bat?

I believe that Lee has a Breech Lock press in a fully featured kit much like their 50th Anniversary kit. If so and for on a budget that would not be a bad starting point. On the other hand if you leap into the RCBS kit you'll never find any issues with that level of product. You may find you want a press with more features or that does something differently but it won't be a choice forced on you by improper alignment.

Lots of folks use Lee and love them. Me? I was given a bunch of Lee gear. The closed frame single stage proved to have a slight but important misalignment between the die mount and the ram. I was getting "bent" ammo as a result and when I realized where the issue lay the press went into the scrap metal bin without a second thought. So I'm a bit off on Lee presses even if I use a bunch of their dies and other products. A Hornady LnL single replaced the Lee for my rifle loading and I could not be happier with it.

A part of the gear given to me was a Lyman T-mag press. Again the times I used it the press was great. But only after I fixed a slight tilting back issue with a brass shim on the rear support runner. So here again I'm not a fan of any sort of turret if the goal is precision ammo. It's just simply better to eliminate any possible source of play or tilting. And the best way to eliminate it is to avoid having a press where it might occur. And that means single stage.
 
BCRider said:
For precision work I had some issues with the Lee Turret press. For casual loading it would be an awesome way to start out for cheap. But your goals are to produce precision ammo. And that means you want a truly rigid and accurate alignment between the dies and the ram. And with the play in turret and the flex that can occur in the post rods of the Lee turret you've got sources of movement that can hurt you.

So my vote is for a closed frame style single.

To make die changes between steps easier buy and replace all the die lock nuts/lock rings with Hornady pinch style Sur-Loc rings or a similar product. Don't rely on the Lee style with the friction O ring and don't even consider the horrible ones that have a set screw that pokes through the ring and bites onto the threading. The pinch lock style like the Hornady rings is the one proper and right way to do this job.

The other option would be some manner of breech lock or bayonet lock bushing that goes onto each die. Lee makes a breech lock press with bushings that is fast and retains accuracy. And Hornady makes a single stage press with bayonet bushings that similarly makes die swaps between operations a cinch.

The RCBS kit would be a nice option if the dies are used with the Sur-Loc rings.

With the Sur-Loc rings, breech or bayonet bushings the advantage is that you can just spin or lock the dies in place secure that the dies are still in adjustment and ready to go. With anything other than these you need to check each time or you're ruining the threads on the dies when the set screw are rammed into the threading. Also the set screw in from the sides tend to #### the rings sideways and that can result in the die sitting cockeyed in the press by a slight angle. But for accuracy loading everything counts so why not get the proper stuff off the bat?

I believe that Lee has a Breech Lock press in a fully featured kit much like their 50th Anniversary kit. If so and for on a budget that would not be a bad starting point. On the other hand if you leap into the RCBS kit you'll never find any issues with that level of product. You may find you want a press with more features or that does something differently but it won't be a choice forced on you by improper alignment.

Lots of folks use Lee and love them. Me? I was given a bunch of Lee gear. The closed frame single stage proved to have a slight but important misalignment between the die mount and the ram. I was getting "bent" ammo as a result and when I realized where the issue lay the press went into the scrap metal bin without a second thought. So I'm a bit off on Lee presses even if I use a bunch of their dies and other products. A Hornady LnL single replaced the Lee for my rifle loading and I could not be happier with it.

A part of the gear given to me was a Lyman T-mag press. Again the times I used it the press was great. But only after I fixed a slight tilting back issue with a brass shim on the rear support runner. So here again I'm not a fan of any sort of turret if the goal is precision ammo. It's just simply better to eliminate any possible source of play or tilting. And the best way to eliminate it is to avoid having a press where it might occur. And that means single stage.
Click to expand...

SO in other words I'd be better off buying the RCBS rock chucker supreme press and then all the accessories mentionned in my prior post plus the sur lock rings?
or how about this one:
http://www.x-reload.com/rcbs-press-partner-w-o-dies/

I don't think I'd buy the kit because I donc necessarily need everything in there. I was looking at the turret press because of the speed aspect of it but I guess you are right, to be the most precise possible means taking your time to do things right!
thanks
Pat
 
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