Reloading "Kits" - need advice

[Daveinjax]

Pretty much all the bullet makers have good manuals. I have Lyman, Sierra, Nosler, Barnes, Lyman cast, and hodgdon(both yearly and the old #26). If I were locked to one or two I'd go Sierra and Nosler. You can always get info from powder makers on the web too.

When I buy powder at the gun show they are almost always giving away small loading books from the powder makers. The gun shows down here have a booth where I can buy powder cheap. I got Varget and 2000 mr for $26.00 per pound total each , out the door .

 

[Daveinjax]

If you have an old vhs tape player I have an old copy of Precisioneered Reloading from RCBS . I will drop in the mail free to you if you would like. I'll never watch it again but you might find it very useful. If you want it send a pm with an address to mail it to.

 

[Shootin4fun]

When I buy powder at the gun show they are almost always giving away small loading books from the powder makers. The gun shows down here have a booth where I can buy powder cheap. I got Varget and 2000 mr for $26.00 per pound total each , out the door .

That seems to be the going price out West here in Calif/Nev. at the retail outlets as well. Haven't bought at shows so can't say if they're cheaper. And you don't get much of a break per lb. if you buy an 8 lb either! I buy powder from 3 places and their prices always seem to be within about $1.00 of each other. They also seem to track when prices fluctuate on specific items.

RCBS Rockchucker - in use for over 40 years on & off. Still produces very accurate ammo. RCBS grain scale; 1 kernel of Varget moves the beam!

Let me tell you now, to utilize the potiential accuracy of your .308, you will likely end up trickle charging every round. I started out by just dropping charges and weighing every 5th one to make sure there was no drift. But when I got a really serious about accuracy I realized I needed to weigh every round. Some fine grain powders like 760 or 780 Supreme will drop very consistently, but extruded powders like 4350 or Varget vary more when dropped from a charger. Consistency is the key.

After a while, you won't want to shoot factory ammo much anymore.

Have fun!

 

[Billy7]

Yup, just found out about the Haz-Mat fees... Ouch!
Unfortunately residing in MA it's difficult enough even trying to get ammo shipped. No gun shops sell powder or primers here, pretty ridiculous.

Thanks Dave for the VHS offer, that would be great. I'll gladly PayPal you shipping costs. When I get home to the PC I'll PM you my info. Using phone right now.

will definitely consider a trickle rig soon. Just want to get up and running but that's great to know. Saved me some frustration as I did order Varget powder!

Pretty sure the other tools I ordered are all removeable bits so can also use them on the prepping machines too..... When its affordable.

I appreciate everyone sharing their wisdom here, never imagined I'd get so much help. What an awesome forum!

 

[Lefty7mmstw]

Yup, just found out about the Haz-Mat fees... Ouch!
Unfortunately residing in MA it's difficult enough even trying to get ammo shipped. No gun shops sell powder or primers here, pretty ridiculous.

!

If I can't get locally, I make a big enough purchase online to amertize the shipping/hazmat. Another thing I've done for years is to hit gun-shops while on vacation, sometimes things are more available elsewhere and prices do fluctuate. Heck, I even bought my lh stw while in SD to see relatives.
Look around online also, some shops absorb a lot of the hazmat or charge less for shipping- Graf and Sons comes to mind on shipping, but they have hazmat.

 

[Trickymissfit]

Trickymissfits is probably right about learning on cheap brass when I think about it. I just got two bags of winchester 308 brass and it was terrible ! Try the remington brass. Range brass will have you all over the paper if you can't keep it seperatd by the box it came out of.

the reason I said range brass was because it will be all over the place. This will help a guy learn to setup his dies (size is not all that imprtant here), and how to make adjustments with them. Then when he feels comfortable, start out with five piece of virgin commercial brass, instead sizing 25 or 30 pieces.
gary

 

[Daveinjax]

Trickymissfit , that is good advise about learning to set up on range brass. I ruined a few learning . If it was lapua it would hurt!lightbulb

 

[Trickymissfit]

Trickymissfit , that is good advise about learning to set up on range brass. I ruined a few learning . If it was lapua it would hurt!lightbulb

That's exactly what I was trying to put forth. I once knew a guy that had one of the very best barrel builders build him a 6BR. He goes out and buys a couple hundred pieces of the best brass money could buy at the time. He ruins about twenty five cases before he finds out that the dies were bad. Had he been able to use pick up brass, it'd been a lot cheaper in the long run. In this case the shooter is going with a .308, and cases are easy to come by. So he sets the shoulders back .010" and learns what he can and cannot do with the die using junk brass. That brass is also the best way to learn neck turning and what works and dosn't work so well.
gary