Equipment for reloading

May have been posted elsewhere but I am interested in starting to reload. Money is not an onject. What are you guys using and what is every item needed? I have a few friends that have reloaded my .300 RUM with great success, but now I am also shooting a .300 WinMag also and want to start reloading. We will also reload .45 acp

I want a progressive reloader and an ultrasonic brass cleaner for sure.

Let me know. Thanks.

Dillon XL750 for the 45 and a A419 Zero press for the rifle rounds.

Get a Auto Trickler V4 setup for powder management.

DILLON

A progressive press might not be the best place to start as a new reloader. I use and would recommend RCBS, Redding is another brand I trust. The Area 419 Zero is a fine piece of equipment as well. I have at least 3 or maybe 4 Rockchucker presses along with a couple of Harrell's portables and a few Lee hand presses. I also have 2 Dillon 550 setups, one for .45 ACP and the other for .45 Long Colt. I use the old style Lee hand priming tool but there are several good ones.

The V4 Auto trickler is a great set up and will weigh powder charges to the single kernel but so will a 50 year old Ohaus M5 scale tuned by Scott Parker. I personally use an RCBS Chargemaster Lite and a good beam scale to verify my charges.

Unless you are loading in very high volume for serious competition there is really no need for automated equipment. For serious accuracy work a stout single stage press for a resize die and an inline seater such as the Wilson with an arbor press are used. The most accurate rifles in the world are typically loaded at the range with the simplest equipment you can use.

As a general rule, if it uses batteries then it's worthless to me as far as reloading is concerned, the one exception I make is a Brown & Sharpe digital caliper, I use it with the appropriate attachments to check case lengths before and after sizing.

You will also need some sort of case trimmer, I like the Wilson but there are a lot of good ones and they all do basically the same thing.

Ultrasonic cleaners will make brass look new and I like them personally but you have to be careful if you use them and leave ammo loaded for long periods of time, neck welding can be an issue. I like shiny ammo but in reality it does nothing for accuracy, a lot of benchrest shooters just lightly brush the inside of the case neck, and wipe the carbon off the outside of the case neck with a piece of steel wool and call it good.

By far the best investment you can make is a good reloading manual, invest the time it takes to read it, especially the warnings!

MuzzleBreak said:

Money is not an onject.

Let me know. Thanks.

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This statement scares me a little, I don't really know how you mean it but I'll just say that you can spend thousands of dollars on the ultimate reloading set up and if you don't take the time to learn to use it it's still dangerous.

I hope I didn't give the impression that I'm being condescending, that is not my intention. Reloading is a great hobby in my opinion and a large part of the enjoyment I get from shooting/hunting.


This is a good place to start IMHO.

Best of luck!

I use a Dillon 550 for all pistol loads and a RCBS Rock Chucker for rifle cartridges. I have found the drum type tumblers with stainless steel media to clean with outstanding results. Practice safety in a clean, well lit area.

If you really mean money is no object, and you want to reload for Long Range precision rifle, then take a look at SAC new Nexus Press and the dies they have, if that is really to rich, then check out Forster Press or maybe a MEC. The press is going to be the foundation, so spend once cry once.

Dillion 550c for your pistol/223 cartridges
Area419 or SAC Nexus press for your precision loads
AMP annealer
Forget sonic cleaner…vibrating tumbler with short grain rice
SAC modular dies
21st century mandrels
CPS primer /digital prime where
Henderson trimmer
Mititoyo caliper/dials
Lots of reloading manuals
GRT when you get the Basics down

MuzzleBreak said:

May have been posted elsewhere but I am interested in starting to reload. Money is not an onject. What are you guys using and what is every item needed? I have a few friends that have reloaded my .300 RUM with great success, but now I am also shooting a .300 WinMag also and want to start reloading. We will also reload .45 acp

I want a progressive reloader and an ultrasonic brass cleaner for sure.

Let me know. Thanks.

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This guy did a good job covering most of the reloading areas.

MuzzleBreak said:

May have been posted elsewhere but I am interested in starting to reload. Money is not an onject. What are you guys using and what is every item needed? I have a few friends that have reloaded my .300 RUM with great success, but now I am also shooting a .300 WinMag also and want to start reloading. We will also reload .45 acp

I want a progressive reloader and an ultrasonic brass cleaner for sure.

Let me know. Thanks.

Click to expand...

Just a thought here, so you're new to reloading, well... I think I would learn the game a little with a single stage and then move up to a progressive. Figure out how things work and why, along with your mistakes that you can correct much easier on a single stage press. You've got the money you can always buy something like a high-end Dillion later when you understand more about reloading and the pros and cons that progressive systems bring to the table you can pick one up. As I said making mistakes is much easier to correct one at a time., and you're going to make quite a few mistakes as you start you just need to know the reason(s) you made the mistakes. Just my 0.2 Cheers

First buy a few loading manuals like Hornady, Sierra, Nosler, ect. and read them and understand what you have read, then watch a lot of Utube videos on reloading and equipment. there are many comprehensive reloading kits on the market. I started with a Lyman turret kit 45 years or so ago and have added to it I also have a Harlson turret, mostly RCBS dies some Wilson, Hornady, and a few others. I shoot even shot range benchrest and see not reason to spend money on real high end equipment, quality works fine and being very consistent with powder charge and seating depth and load testing goes a long ways towards great loads and overall shooting enjiyment.

Are you planning to use the progressive for loading rifle ammo as well? It can be done but it will quickly become a pain with all of the parts that have to be changed out between cartridges.

I recommend you start with single stage loading with a Forster Co-Ax press and once you are comfortable with that, move up to the progressive for pistol and maybe high volume .223/556.

For other equipment, I much prefer the AutoTrickler V4 kit with scale. There's a member on here that makes a really nice riser and funnel kit for it as well.

As you get more experience you may want to move a way from traditional seating dies to in-line dies and an arbor press.

AMP annealer is by far the best I've used. You'll need a way to trim, chamfer and debur; Henderson is the gold standard but really an RCBS or Frankford Arsenal case prep station will work too.

Forester Coax, Primal Rights Primer seater and digital primer seating depth gauge, Annealing Made Perfect annealer, Hornady Ultrasonic cleaner, Frankford Arsenal stainless pin tumbler, AutoTrickler V4 and scale Lyman media tumbler.

I have four presses now (Redding T7, two RCBS Rockchuckers, Forester Coax) plus the K&M Arbor Press for when I am loading for accuracy.

I mainly shoot rifle and like accuracy so there is no need for a progressive. I may pick up an Area 419 Zero press in the future.

If you ever come to the Houston area, I'd sell the Rockchucker and T7 (I think I had three heads for it. I have some other misc stuff (tumbler, cheap digital Hornady scale etc.).

I know the OP said money is no object, but I am surprised that no one has provided the costs associated with their recommendations.

FEENIX said:

I know the OP said money is no object, but I am surprised that no one has provided the costs associated with their recommendations.

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Yep, taken me about 20 years and some $$$ to get to this point.