Reloading .308, .223, 10mm, .357 sig

[precision_shooter]

Hey everyone, I need some help picking a good reloading set up that will allow me to reload .308 Win, .223/5.56, 10mm, and .357 Sig.

The are the main 4 calibers I own right now, but in the future I plan to add more in no certain order...

9x19
.45ACP
.357 Magnum
.38 Special
.380 ACP
.204 Ruger
.243
.45-70

What do you all suggest for reloading what I already have and that will allow me to reload the ones I plan to add in the future?

I've looked at RCBS, Hornady, and Dillan...Just don't know which one would be the most modular and work for everything. Should I buy 2 presses? 1 for rifel and 1 for pistol?

Any help is greatly appreciated.

 

[Brian Pfleuger]

How many rounds do you think you'll average per month?

I think the Lee Classic turret is the absolute best thing for (1) a beginning reloader and (2) almost anyone who will use less than maybe 800 or 1000 rounds a month.

It can be operated in single stage, manual turret or auto-indexing turret. It can produce rounds capable of sub-1/2 MOA accuracy and 200+ rounds an hour, depending on how you use it.

I currently use mine to load .204Ruger, .22-250, 7mm-08, 10mm and .357sig.

 

[Ike666]

Precision

Looking at your two lists, I am currently reloading everything on your list except 204 Ruger. 243 & 45-70; on your "gonna" list I load everything except 10mm - and load .40 S&W instead.

My first loader was a Dillon 550, then after about 6 months I got an RCBS Rock Chucker. Those two held me for about 20 years. This past Christmas, I got a Co-Ax and I'm in hog heaven.

In retrospect, I would have learned more about hand loading with a turret style press rather than jumping in with a 550. For a long time I did a lot of re-loading, chunking out mostly 9x19 and .45 Auto. When I started with the .308 (reason I got the RCBS) I was still reloading - for an M1A.

I've only just begun to hand load ammunition in this past year. I've probably hand loaded about 3000 rounds total. In years past I've reloaded more than 20 times that.

My set up worked for me and what I was doing at the time. I didn't learn some things I now wished I had. But I got to shoot a helluva lot along the way. Now I'm making up for lost time and learning the art of precision hand loading.

 

[precision_shooter]

Thanks for the replies!!!

peetzakilla,

How many rounds do you think you'll average per month?

I think the Lee Classic turret is the absolute best thing for (1) a beginning reloader and (2) almost anyone who will use less than maybe 800 or 1000 rounds a month.

It can be operated in single stage, manual turret or auto-indexing turret. It can produce rounds capable of sub-1/2 MOA accuracy and 200+ rounds an hour, depending on how you use it.

I currently use mine to load .204Ruger, .22-250, 7mm-08, 10mm and .357sig

This sounds about like what I need.

What do you use to weigh powders? Digital or Analog scales?

What primers do you like the best for pistol and rifle?

What powders have you found work the best in 10mm and .357 Sig?

I plan on buying a reloading manual, just looking to see what you have found to work best from experience?

Thanks for all the help!

 

[Brian Pfleuger]

^^^^

Now you've got me confused with someone who knows what they're doing!

I don't have a long history in this game so my choice of components has been limited so far. I use all CCI primers, rifle and handgun. The only others I tried were Federal in handgun and they were ridiculously soft, they flatten and mushroom with even the lightest loads in 357sig.

For weighing powder in my rifle loads I use an RCBS 1500 combo, for handgun I use the RCBS for loads near max and a Lee Auto-Disk dispenser for mid-range or light loads.

For 10mm, I have used Power Pistol and 800x. For 357sig I have only used Power Pistol. Accurate #9 is popular for 357sig because max loads are near compressed and help prevent bullet setback, which can be a real problem with the Sig. 800x is popular in 10mm for loaders who like to push performance limits. It's behavior at high-psi levels is a bit uncertain though, as far as I'm concerned, so I don't push it. (It's actually a shotgun powder.)

 

[m&p45acp10+1]

My recomendation would be a Lee Turret, it is a great press not just for the money. It is a great press for anymoney. I have the single stage Breeh Lock Challenger cuz I got the kit from a trade for a lot of brass. If I were to have to purchase a press today the turret would be my choice. I would recomend a more operator friendly scale though. I bought a digital to upgrade mine with. I still use the Lee to confirm that the digital is acurate enough.

I load for .223 and would recomend Varget for it. Varget can also be used in .308 I am not sure how it performs for that caliber though.

 

[rc]

Starter kits

While the turret press might be ok, the best deals are single stage kits by RCBS, Hornady and Lyman. I personally like RCBS lifetime warranty and cast iron rockchuker master kit with the uniflow powder measure. You can get by with cheap lee stuff and it will last and work, but I don't like the rubber O ring adjustments that don't stay set and the aluminum frames that start to creek afer a lot of reloading. I used the lee anniversary kit with RCBS dies to start reloading. Still have the RCBS dies and don't regret starting with lee, but moved up to some used RCBS stuff and haven't looked back. If I was to start all over today I'd be hard pressed to not get the Hornady lock and load progressive. That's a fine looking piece of equiptment. Quality dies are the most important ingredient to use in reloading. Presses and powder measures are much more easily changed as they are "universal" for all calibers. You can skimp on everything, but if you buy quality dies you can always upgrade to better presses later on. rc

 

[jeepster11]

well for beginners i would say lee turret

and then move up but i love my progressive i have a dillon rl 550b and i load 223,460smith,308,454,45colt,45auto,and soon 44mag. and the dillon works great i wish i wouldnt have gotten rid of my lee 4 hole turret because it worked great for 45-70 which i havent tried it on the dillon so i dont know how it would work on it. i use varget in 308,223,460and 454 casull and it works great. good luck and have fun loading

 

[Brian Pfleuger]

While the turret press might be ok, the best deals are single stage kits by RCBS, Hornady and Lyman. I personally like RCBS lifetime warranty and cast iron rockchuker master kit with the uniflow powder measure. You can get by with cheap lee stuff and it will last and work, but I don't like the rubber O ring adjustments that don't stay set and the aluminum frames that start to creek afer a lot of reloading.

The Classic turret press is not aluminum. The Lee lock rings do not lose adjustment if you use them right and they are designed so your dies can flex slightly when locked down.... this is a good thing, not a bad thing.