Equipment for reloading

MuzzleBreak

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Joined
Sep 13, 2024
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19
Location
Corpus Christi Tx
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.
 
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!
Money is not an onject.

Let me know. Thanks.

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
Lots of reloading manuals
GRT when you get the Basics down
 
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.
This guy did a good job covering most of the reloading areas.

 
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.
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
 
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