Beginner Reloader - Kit and/or parts?

[Brydawg512]

You might check the for sale section in reloading you would be surprised what you can find you can get by with used equipment if you're on a budget ,if money is no object I have plenty of recommendations for you ha ha.

Oh… it's a wee bit of an object LOL

I will need to give that a look. Thank you.

 

[OG10]

I feel your pain…

 

[Mike Matteson]

You'll need componments for reloading. Primers, Powder, Cases, Bullets. The Primers are going to be the hardest acquire. All the reloading equipment in the world doesn't do you any good unless you have the above mention items.
There all kinds of equipment to purchases. Most good and some better.
Rockchuckers are good a press. I have had one from almost from the time they started building them. it's a single stage press. If you break one you had to work very hard to do that.
What Dmagna said about equipment needed is right on. Those items are needed at the start, or that how I feel. I would look at a bushing die for sizing. You can measure up what the neck O.D. is after firing your case in your rifle. Will need to know what the I.D. is also. you'll want to size the neck to 2 to 3 thousand under you bullet size. Which should be 308 caliber. Under size the neck to .305 or 6 I.D. Being you probably won't be cutting necks for even thickness at this time. So I would get and expander mandrel setup that will work in your press. That will push all the irregulars to the outside of the neck. Need for better accuratic.
Back to the bushing die. You can change the size that the neck is being changing the bushing. So that will save down the road for another sizing die for bushing. A little more to start with, but in the long run it will be cheaper.
Some other equipment. Imperial Wax for lube, brushing for cleaning the necks. Primer pocket uniformer and cleaner. A decapping die only to deprimer the case to start with. It doesn't sizes the case but nocks out the primer so you clean them.
WARNING: You have now enter the rabbit hole. It's deep too!

 

[Tiny Tim]

Thank you!

Do you by chance have any specific recommendations on the above listed items?

I use a Frankfort arsenal priming tool that has an adjustable seating depth.

If you can swing it, a set of Redding dies with a micrometer seating depth adjuster ( although I have plenty of RCBS and Lee Dies and one Hornady custom). They're all good but the Redding competition dies give you alot of options.

I still use a balance beam scale, an old ohaus. It'll deflect on a single kernel. Butterbean knows how to tune them. Alot of videos as well. Alot of guys use the RCBS Chargemaster and the top of the line fx 120 (?).

Case prep centers don't matter. Hand tools work well if not doing large volume.

Alot more knowledgeable guys on here than I can give you more suggestions, probably enough to drive you crazy lol

 

[antelopedundee]

Unless he is loading hundreds of rounds I see no need for fancy scales. Even the cheap ones can be checked with a bullet for accuracy. My cheap 45 YO Bonanza is still right on the gnat's ***. The 300 Win Mag is hardly a benchrest cartridge so no need to be +/- .01 or whatever on powder weight. A decent cheap balance will be +/- 0.1 grain.

 

[cdherman]

If I could inquire, are you saying I need to set up resizing die to resize the minimal amount required each time?

Yes. And you need to do your homework based on the question. Any good reloading manual will have the usual "high school" text book entrance pages.

Headspace Comparator I would add that in my opinion, a Hornady Headspace Comparator or equivalent is needed for anyone desiring accuracy and long case life. And it will not be in any kit. This is the tool that helps you resize a minimal amount. Which applies to belted mags and all other cases AFAIK.

But a kit might save you some money and time. I'd never buy one now, but I bought one in 1981 or so from Cabella's, then in Sydney NE only.

 

[Koda_]

If I could inquire, are you saying I need to set up resizing die to resize the minimal amount required each time?

yes, I also agree with this. Learn to "shoulder bump". Annealing before sizing will really help, essential IMO. A Hornady (or equiv) gauge for case headspace is essential for this.

also piece your kit together. Get an analog (beam) scale over a cheap electronic scale.

 

[antelopedundee]

yes, I also agree with this. Learn to "shoulder bump". Annealing before sizing will really help, essential IMO. A Hornady (or equiv) gauge for case headspace is essential for this.

also piece your kit together. Get an analog (beam) scale over a cheap electronic scale.

My scale which I rarely use is battery operated. From what others have said it seems that some electronic scales/balances tend to drift and may require a warming up period. A useful thing is that these will usually involve a tare weight figure. Let's say your pan weighs 40 grains giving a -40 grain tare. Pop a 180 grain bullet on it and it should read as 140 grains. As long as this check weight stays at 140 grains your setup is stable.

 

[Koda_]

My scale which I rarely use is battery operated. From what others have said it seems that some electronic scales/balances tend to drift and may require a warming up period. A useful thing is that these will usually involve a tare weight figure. Let's say your pan weighs 40 grains giving a -40 grain tare. Pop a 180 grain bullet on it and it should read as 140 grains. As long as this check weight stays at 140 grains your setup is stable.

Bullet weight can vary by up to a grain depending on quality. The only way to calibrate a scale is with a calibration weight. Taring a scale doesn't mean its accurate, cheap digital scales can drift calibration during use. A beam scale cannot.

 

[Brydawg512]

Yes. And you need to do your homework based on the question. Any good reloading manual will have the usual "high school" text book entrance pages.

Headspace Comparator I would add that in my opinion, a Hornady Headspace Comparator or equivalent is needed for anyone desiring accuracy and long case life. And it will not be in any kit. This is the tool that helps you resize a minimal amount. Which applies to belted mags and all other cases AFAIK.

But a kit might save you some money and time. I'd never buy one now, but I bought one in 1981 or so from Cabella's, then in Sydney NE only.

Indeed. I do have a Nosler manual that I need to crack open and get busy with.

 

[Brydawg512]

yes, I also agree with this. Learn to "shoulder bump". Annealing before sizing will really help, essential IMO. A Hornady (or equiv) gauge for case headspace is essential for this.

also piece your kit together. Get an analog (beam) scale over a cheap electronic scale.

What are your thoughts on home made annealers? Or is this a product that is with spending the coin on?

 

[Dozer83]

When I started I bought a kit, and like most have said you'll get some stuff you don't use but most of it you will, you will also in time upgrade most of the stuff that came with the the kit. At the time I bought it I had no clue what i would upgrade to so by having the kit and being able to get started, it let me learn and get my process down and upgrade as I wanted too. There is no right or wrong answer, if you want to research and piece together thats great or if you want to get started and upgrade as you go, I like the kits. The kit I've recommended to my friends getting started is the lyman turret press kit, at the time it came with the most for your buck. While lyman doesn't get as much love as others I've been happy with them.

 

[epoletna]

About home made annealers:

I got one of these

<https://www.temu.com/1000w-handheld-flameless-magnetic-induction-heating-kit-3-pieces-coil-for-auto-use-bolt-remover-repair-machine-car-repair-tools-g-601099520919119.html?top_gallery_url=https://img.kwcdn.com/product/Fancyalgo/VirtualModelMatting/1607509808c7945aea0b1dcf0c786137.jpg&spec_gallery_id=2017177427&refer_page_sn=10009&refer_source=0&freesia_scene=2&_oak_freesia_scene=2&_oak_rec_ext_1=MTk4NDg&search_key=induction heating tool&refer_page_el_sn=200049&refer_page_name=search_result&refer_page_id=10009_1700997474308_cy606gzm27&_x_sessn_id=yjb78ppk37>

and I'm happy with it. (I hope you can follow that link -- I don't know how to embed them properly. Anyway, its an induction heater from Temu. $200. I did not wire a timer into it -- i just count seconds mentally. Depending on the size of the coil and the cartridge, it takes 2-4 seconds. I figure it is at least as accurate as the socket-in-a-drill-and-a-torch system, which people on this site use. Don't get your case necks glowing red -- just a hint of red in a dark room. And make your own coil with one of the ones supplied. It should have just a little space between the coil and the case.

As for other stuff, i would not get a kit. Too many things to clutter up your bench that you will not end up using. i would get a good set of dies, probably with neck bushings you can select to fit your case neck/chamber combination. Look online for a used one if you want to save a few bucks.

I bought a cheap ($5) electronic scale from Temu. I have a beam scale and an RCBS Chargemaster, and the electronic scale is more accurate as nearly as I can tell. It is battery powered, so you don't have to worry about power fluctuations. The Temu I got might be too small for ..300 mag loads, but you can probaby find a larger one that is fairly inexpensive.

I use either Hornady One-Shot spray lube or Imperial sizing wax. Again, given the small number of cases you'll be loading at a time, either one is adequate.

This will get you started. Once started, you'll find plenty of ways to burn through your money.

 

[antelopedundee]

Bullet weight can vary by up to a grain depending on quality. The only way to calibrate a scale is with a calibration weight. Taring a scale doesn't mean its accurate, cheap digital scales can drift calibration during use. A beam scale cannot.

Agree, but I was just pointing out a simple way to check if the scale is drifting. One could also see if the tare value is staying constant. Most cheap scales don't have a calibration feature that I'm aware of. I'll have to look and see if mine does. I wouldn't buy a calibration weight if I didn't need to. Not sure how you'd fix a beam balance that was off other than to add or subtract for it. I'm a low volume reloader so I get by with the beam version.