I'm gonna buy a reloading kit

[SARuger]

I asked for the same advice here and the response was awesome and spot on! The best advice is to buy your books now and read, read and read some more!

After I learned a lot from reading, I started buying.

I ordered the LEE Classic Turret Press kit from Midway for $164.

It was complete and really all I needed to get started. But I went a little further and picked up some convenience items, mostly for case prep.

The Frankford Arsenal case cleaner is a nice item to have as well as their scales and calipers.

I recommend replacing the Lee Auto Disc with the Lee Auto Drum. I still use the Auto Disc with the charge bar for my small rifle/large handgun loads, but the Auto Drum is a better set up for small handgun/large rifle. I plan on buying more Auto Drums so that each of my turrets will have its own measure. At $30 each, its a good investment for convenience and fast set up.

What I like the most about the turret press is how easy it is to change over. Most of my loading is 100 rounds or less of each caliber and some only 20 rounds. I don't use it like a progressive, I rotate the turret by hand and I check my powder loads every 5-10 rounds.

I use the LEE safety scales primarily and the digital scales for spot checks. The digital scales are very accurate so far.

Anyway, here are some pics of my set-up. I'm still buying supplies but I'm really enjoying this new to me hobby. Its fun and challenging. It requires the use of your brain. I know guys my age, 50, actually sit around and play video games on the weekends. Not for me!

 

[flashhole]

Ditto on the Autodrum instead of the Autodisc.

I like to mount the press over the vertical upright on the table. Much more stable.

 

[Uncle Chan]

I, too, recommend the Lee Autodrum. However, I TRIED to use it with some incredibly fine ball powder (Ramshot X-Terminator). It was a horrible terrible mess all over the place. It literally flowed like water through it.

I will buy more Autodrums, just will be very discriminating as to which powder I will use with them.

Uncle Chan

 

[Colten519]

Cabelas has a deal on hornady and rcbs kits. I bought the hornady lock n load classic kit and his ready has an offer where you send in a paper and get 500 free bullets

 

[54 guns]

Let me see if I can help.

And Ive read the following are useful but not mandatory.
- Tumbler?

Not necessary but you will most likely want one soon. They will make your brass look good and that will make you proud of your ammo. Emotion is important even to us guys.

- Loading blocks? I don't really know what these are really for.

Handy to have if you are batch loading. Running all the brass through each die before advancing to the next die. You might not do this much with the Lee turret press.

- A balance scale?

Good to have one to check accuracy of an electronic scale. They are not affected by electrical interference or weak batteries.

As for loading manuals I've picked up 3 books as the library.
-The Beginners Guide to Reloading Ammunition
-Handloaders Digest 18th Edition
-The ABCs of Reloading

I don’t think any of these have much reloading data in them. They are more or less “How To” books.

And I've been recommended these:

All good choices. Take a look at Speer #14 also.

And finally, for my set up, if I can mount my turret press to a 2x6 board, would I be able to C-Clamp the board and mounted press to my desk/table/counter

This is going to be a what works best for you type of thing. Just make it as stable and sturdy as possible.

 

[SARuger]

Uncle Chan posted;

I, too, recommend the Lee Autodrum. However, I TRIED to use it with some incredibly fine ball powder (Ramshot X-Terminator). It was a horrible terrible mess all over the place. It literally flowed like water through it.

I have trouble with Unique, no matter which one I use. I have found that I just have to tighten the drum a little more on the Auto Drum and on the Auto Disc, I took a file to the two sides of the base plate mounting areas and took a thousand or two of material out. That allowed the elastomer of the Auto Disc to fit tighter to the disc's or charge bar.

I still have some leakage. Never a problem with my other powders

 

[Xfire68]

Another +1 for the Lee Classic Turret. I own a Hornady LNL AP, Lee 50th Single stage, Dillon Super 1050 and the Lee CTP and I would sell any of these presses other than the Classic Turret if I could only have one.

It is a great durable press that produces quality ammo time after time. I just finished cleaning and lubing mine and it runs like it was new after loading 10 of thousands of rounds.

 

[Lee6113]

I should buy some manuals before purchasing components, correct? Or should I just buy some powder, bullets, and primers and the buy manuals?

Also, I thought I got the auto drum. Guess it's too late to switch it..

 

[PaulNYC]

Get the manual first. Then you'll know which powder to get.

 

[Xfire68]

I should buy some manuals before purchasing components, correct?

It is always recommended to get the manuals first so you can get a better idea of the list of tools that may come in your kit and what they do. You may want to add other tools that may not be included as well. It also helps with selecting components for the loads your looking to do.

I personally like Lyman's 49th for the detailed instructions and the "Good" list of bullets and powders for most calibers. There is a ton of solid manufactures load data available online as well so Lyman's 49th and online data to cross reference would be a good start.

 

[Road_Clam]

Problem is with loading pistol is the substantial conflicting reference data. It can be a scary ordeal for the new pistol handoaded to logically establish a start and a max load . I have the benefit of using a chronograph to help me track velocities . I've learned that my Glock in 40 S&W likes 165 gr bullets at about 900 fps with WST powder. This was a charge of about 5.6. I also observed that my velocities peaked at 980 fps with 5.8 gr and thereafter loading 6.0 I actually lost some velocity. So sometimes things don't play out "in theory" this is when a chronograph is a great aid.

 

[Lee6113]

Quick update:

Got the box from Kempf today, I get to open it when I get home! Anyways, I purchased Lyman's 49th Edition and it should be here soon. Do I need a second book if I'm going to follow the loads provided in there for 38special? I don't intend to vary at all from the data.

Thanks,

Lee

 

[Rangerrich99]

Do I need a second book if I'm going to follow the loads provided in there for 38special?

In all likelihood, no. Unless you decide to use a specialty bullet or powder (meaning not commonly used) you'll just look up a bullet that's close to the weight and construction of the you're using and go with that data.

 

[SARuger]

I use either the Sierra or Hornady load data, depending on which manufacturers bullet I'm using.

 

[Lee6113]

Alright, next:

I'm preparing to setup my portable station and am most likely to go with mounting my press to a board and clapping the board to the desk. However, I am considering purchasing a portable stand of some sort. Specifically a Black and Decker portable work bench.

I would have my desk and table as extra space available while reloading.

But here's my question.

There are two options. Standard or Heavy duty?

http://m.lowes.com/pd/BLACK--DECKER-6-75-in-W-x-30-125-in-H-Wood-Work-Bench/50076731

http://m.lowes.com/pd/BLACK--DECKER-7-in-W-x-30-in-H-Adjustable-Wood-Work-Bench/999947882

I don't really want to spend an extra $50 if I don't have to. Do I need the heavy duty or is the standard strong enough for my purposes?

Are there any other similar alternatives that I've overlooked?


Also my wife and I went to the range today and we burned up 100 rounds of factory .38 special So now I have some brass too work with! I'm excited to rock n roll. Thanks again for all the help and guidance.


Lee

 

[briandg]

Here are a few questions.

Will you be willing to spend $300-400 buying a top grade set that will cover you for the rest of your life, or are you the short Sighted guy who buys a $200 set just because you will save 2cents a day, or maybe 25 cents per loading session, or even a tiny fraction of a cent per load?

In case you don't know, I'm suggesting that you spend a few hundred dollars more up front on the kit, spend an extra $20 on a set of dies, and so on. Extra cost buying better equipment is small, and the money becomes insignificant as time passes and it is used.

Are you going to be loading ultra ma's, elephant rounds, 50 big, etc? If not, do you need a press built for massive cartridges? Not at all. A medium duty cast iron/solid alloy D ring press with well machined parts will last forever, and your rifle and pistol. Rounds will work just as well as if you used a half ton hydraulic arbor press

Right now you can get an rcbs rock chucker with scale, measure, manual, hand priming tool, all of the absolute necessary items and a bit more, for $279. There are many other offers and kits, this is a great kit at a great sale price.

Forget brand. Look at the stuff, find what will make good ammo, and will LAST FOREVER. What good is a warranty if you use it every few years replacing equipment that would have lasted for an eternity if you'd spent a little more?

Last thing.

How much did you spend on your last firearm? Did you buy a high point, or some other rock bottom quality, or did you spend$4-500 and get one that had some quality? Keep that in mind when you are shopping for a press that you should NEVER have to replace.

RE a bench, you said that you have a table? Get a 2x8 board that's about six feet long. Mount press to one end and use c clamps on both ends to lock it to bench or table. Done.

 

[TailGator]

My LCT is mounted on a tool stand from Harbor Freight. I have to hold it down for the up-stroke to seat the primers, but other than that it works fine, and like you my space is limited. A good heavy bench holds the press still the best, but folks like you and I make other stuff work.

Also my wife and I went to the range today and we burned up 100 rounds of factory .38 special So now I have some brass too work with! I'm excited to rock n roll.

You are a dedicated reloader when you start to refer to going shooting as "emptying brass." Have fun.

 

[Lee6113]

Thanks for your comments Briandg. I've already decided I press- Lee Classic Turret. As I add 9mm, 45acp and others I will buy the dies and possible an extra turret or two for them for quicker caliber changes. My latest purchase was my Smith model 10 for about 250ish after taxes and fees. Next pistol will be a SA 1911 mil spec. You can see my other guns under my posts - you can decide whether in cheap or not, haha.
I probably will start off by mounting the press to a board (thank you for dimension rexommmeations) and c clamping it to the desk, but I still like the idea for the harbor freight platform.
I will upgrade my equipment as I need to and I'm not worried about that. For now I want to start up with a good setup I'm comfortable with.


Tailgator- out of the two stands I posted, which would you recommend? Would adding weight to the bottom somehow help with that? I figure it's probably not a big deal if it's just on the up-stroke.

 

[flashhole]

You would be better off buying an appropriate length of 6" x 6", affixing it to a wall and mount your press on top. Table tops just hold stuff in convenient places and you can use any table for that. You want a rock solid mount under your press.

 

[flashhole]

This is how I mounted mine.