Newbie... Need Help...

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jgcoastie

New member
I've been snooping around the forums here for quite a while, finally decided I needed to join...

I've been shooting all my life and I'm looking at getting into reloading, but I've never had anything to do with it before and I'm kinda nervous about it. It's a considerable amount of money to invest up-front (I know it'll pay off in the long run) and I don't want to make a mistake in what I order as the initial price + shipping to Alaska isn't cheap.

I'll mainly be loading 10mm auto (practice, I've got double tap speer gold dot for personal protection) and 30/06 spfd (practice and hunting loads). I may add a .45ACP, .300 win mag, and .223 at a later date, so a press that will accept all of the above would be best.

I looked at the 'all newbie's read here' post above and I just want to make sure I'm ordering what I'll need and what will work with the calibers I'll be loading.

I'm looking at the Lee 50th Anniversary Kit

http://www.leeprecision.com/cgi/catalog/browse.cgi?1234737554.1004=/html/catalog/anivers.html

With Lee carbide pistol 4-die 40s&w/10mm

and Lee deluxe rifle die for 30/06 spfd

But there are a lot of other rifle dies such as rifle neck sizing dies, crimp dies, rifle charging dies, universal case expanding dies, charging dies, recapping dies, etc. Do I need any of those?

I can get a good set of calipers here locally as well as storage bins and case holders, but as far as bullet pullers, brass trimmers, cartridge gauges? What do these tools do and what would be a good brand when weighing price vs quality.

If at all possible, I'd like to keep the budget for the initial costs under or around the $600 mark...

Any direction you more experienced loaders could offer would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.
 
C

ComradeBurg

New member
But there are a lot of other rifle dies such as rifle neck sizing dies, crimp dies, rifle charging dies, universal case expanding dies, charging dies, recapping dies, etc. Do I need any of those?
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For reloading rifle ammunition I just use a two die set for everything. One die is a full length resizing die and the other is for seating bullets. A full length resizing die simply resizes the entire case whereas a neck resize die only resizes the neck of the cartridge.

If you are using semi automatic rifles you'll want to do full length resizes on your brass every time. If you are using a bolt action doing neck only resizes will work most of the time and once in a while you'll still need to do a full length resize.

Doing neck only resizing helps the brass last longer though. But all you really need is a two die set with a full length resizer and a second die to seat bullets. Those two will work in almost every situation (I'm throwing in almost because there is probably a few cases where this won't work).

I can get a good set of calipers here locally as well as storage bins and case holders, but as far as bullet pullers, brass trimmers, cartridge gauges? What do these tools do and what would be a good brand when weighing price vs quality.
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A case holder is the part of the reload die that holds the case in place while you work on it. You need these and they have to be ones that fix the caliber you are reloading. The reloading press itself will not function without these.

A bullet puller is a device that allows you to pull apart assembled bullets. You should get one of these (I say just get the cheap hammer version, they do the exact same job as the die version but are cheaper and one hammer works for almost every bullet). If you ever make a mistake (let's say forget to put powder in the case before seating a bullet) you can pull apart the bullet and fix the mistake. Also if you seat a bullet, it goes in but damages the case in some manner you can pull apart the case and still salvage the powder and sometimes primer.

A case trimmer is generally only needed for rifle rounds. After use rifle brass tends to stretch and simply reloading it an throwing it back into the rifle may cause feed failures. A case trimmer allows you to trim down these cases to usable lengths again. You really only need these for rifle rounds (at least I've never had any stretching issues with my pistol calibers).

A cartridge gauge is used to size up a cartridge to make sure it's within specifications. Personally I just have a good caliper and use that for measuring rounds. You can go either way though (either way you'll want a caliper).

As for good brands. I mostly use RCBS stuff and have been happy. My friend uses Dillion and has been happy as well. I think most of the big name companies will make a good product that will do what you need. And luckily most dies will fit into most presses so if you have a Lee press and get RCBS dies it should work (should being the key word).
 
D

Don P

New member
Lee is the way to go when on a budget. I have all Lee equipment and am currently loading 38spl,357mag,9mm,40S&W and 45acp. All total I am into my complete set up for $319 and after 500 rounds of each of the above calibers I was $106 ahead of factory ammo prices. This was buying the anniversary kit, a Frankford Armory tumbler and seperator and the 5 sets of carbide dies and a 3 hole turrett press. My kit came with the single stage press. You can PM me if you have more questions
 
J

jgcoastie

New member
A case holder is the part of the reload die that holds the case in place while you work on it. You need these and they have to be ones that fix the caliber you are reloading. The reloading press itself will not function without these.
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Sorry, I meant something more along the lines of a plastic storage for the bullets, like an ammo box... Guess I used the wrong terminology.

Thanks for the guidance guys and I'll let you know how it turns out... Talked with a buddy of mine and he explained what the different types of presses were, I'm leaning toward the Lee Deluxe Turret Press Kit, I'm not wild about having to swap dies for each function, I also like the option of ordering multiple turrets for each caliber and being able to set an leave the dies in them without having to adjust everything every time.

Would it be wise to buy a chronograph to test velocity after loading?

Thanks again for your help.
 
C

CrustyFN

New member
I would recommend the Lee classic cast turret over the deluxe turret. It's a much better press for not much more money especially if you are going to be loading the larger rifle calibers.
Rusty
 
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T. O'Heir

New member
"...along the lines of a plastic storage for the bullets..." Just leave the bullets in the box they come it. For loaded ammo, MTM(et al) makes plastic ammo boxes for not a great deal of money. They come in 50 and 100 round boxes for handgun ammo. For example, a 100 round 10mm MTM plastic box runs $3.43 from Midway. The other option is cardboard boxes with a foam tray. $47.49 per 100, 50 round boxes at Midway. $15.99 for 25.
I'd just pop into your local gun shop and buy plastic boxes there. No shipping charges.
Mind you, if you bought factory ammo to gather brass, the boxes it came in will do nicely too.
 
A

abber

New member
The Lee kit looks like it doesn't include a manual. Make sure you buy and read a good manual before even starting to load. Speer makes a good manual. I used Speer #11 to get started many years ago. I read the whole thing, and reread some of it before beginning. Once I started, it all fell together quickly, and I was off and running.

The RCBS Rock Chucker Supreme Master Reloading Kit has everything you need, including the manual. It is also upgradeable to turret, using their piggyback system, if desired later on. Costs a little more, but a firmer foundation on which to build what is likely to be a lifetime undertaking.
 
J

jgcoastie

New member
The Lee kit looks like it doesn't include a manual. Make sure you buy and read a good manual before even starting to load.
Click to expand...

I've already ordered ABC's of Reloading, Metallic Cartridge Reloading, and Modern Reloading as recommended in the 'newbie read here first" thread.
 
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sserdlihc

New member
Save any old plastic peanut butter containers, mayonaise containers etc to store your cleaned tumbled brass in. They are already bought and paid for! :D
 
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