Reloading equipment setup for a beginner?

[Mosquito]

I bought my starter kit off craigslist. For 180.00 with a tumblr been added pieces for years . I really think thats the cheepest way . Utube has an endless supply of knowledge and always double check with a reloading book

 

[Happy Myles]

Ben Lambs advice on RCBS Rockchucker is good. RCBC customer service is also excellent.

 

[The Hedgehog]

You could go RCBS kit and do fine. It wouldn't be much more expensive to piecemeal just way better equipment. I'd get a forster coax press, and do some research on scale, powder charge thrower, dies, trimmer, etc.. I have the RCBS kit also. I use it only to deprime my shells though. the coax is a better press.

 

[Deleted member 16014]

...Set up your workspace where you can limit interruptions to your process. Like running power tools, distractions make mistakes, and mistakes can cause injuries.

If you have small children good luck with this one, pretty much gotta wait till they're asleep.

 

[AlaskaHunter]

I like Eric Cortina (champion benchrest shooter)

,
Panhandle Precision (shot close to 14,000 rounds last year)

,
and Extreme Reloading https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL_KBTsQIm0U4_Ae0z9BY09hnDtiT6aKUk on youtube:

 

[MeatyWapiti]

It took me about 2 months to find powder and still cant find primers so unless you already have them I would wait until availability is better.

I got the lee turret press and use it as single stage and it works great.

 

[nordicStalk]

Hello fellow shooters and hunters,

I am considering investing in a simple, small scale set up so that I can reload .284 Winchester and .300 Win Mag for my hunting rifles. I am done paying $55 atleast for a 20 round box of .284 Winchester, and that is if I can even find it...

I just recently started loading myself as well (well, it's been a year now, but it's a slow process). I basically tried to go for something that was cheap and simple, but still "a lot of value for the money". After reading a bunch of tests and comparisons I went for the 'Lee 50th anniversary kit'.

So far I'm really happy with it. Some parts of the kit is weak plastic but it works. The only part of it that I decided to replace are the scales. And some parts, like the primer feeder, I had too look at a youtube video to understand how I was supposed to use it. But other than that I'm very happy with the purchase.

If I were to give myself 1 year ago some tips, it'd be this:

- Find a mentor (like someone already said). If you, like me, are into the details and concerned about safety: learning from scratch on your own is veeery time consuming.
- Start with 1 caliber.
- Keep order amongst all the equipment, cartridges etc.
- Establish and develop your process/system, refine it over time.
- Document everything. Bare minimum should be what I do, I use a spreadsheet where I insert a new entry for every new batch I load.

 

[Millsworks]

Hands down, the Lee turret press kits are a great way to go.
Good value and easy to change our calibers with the turret system.
I bought one over 25yrs ago after learning on a single stage press.
Now I have four presses and they are all turrets. One six hole Lyman, and three Lee's.
One three hole, two four holes.
The three I use for pistol calibers mostly.
I love them, and they produce as accurate ammo as any press out there.

 

[Brian in Montana]

Lots of good advice on this thread. There are a lot of different tools and systems out there that will do what you want. Whatever you decide to go with, be ready to do lots of experimentation. You'll want to try different things and modify as you go along. I started handloading 3 years ago with a Lee Challenger kit. The only things I still use out of the kit are the press and priming tool.

 

[WVmike]

Anyone have experience with Frankford Arsenal reloading equipment, specifically the M-press they have?

 

[Wyohunt]

Read the front of the Hornady manual a few times.

 

[Mule man]

Hornady or Lee makes great starter kits for the budget and will produce fine loads. Get on the net as there is a wealth of information on here. You will be fine

 

[Badger_55]

Jumping into this conversation as I would like to entertain reloading. My grandpa used to reload and as a kid I was amazed by the process. Years and years later after transitioning from midwest whitetail hunting to heading west and chasing game at longer distances I have began to really enjoy lengthening my kill range. With a long range platform in my case now and improving that I would like to improve my loads. I currently buy custom handloads from Choice Ammo which is good but its expensive. I am at a point where I would like to find a load that my gun loves more than any without spending a bunch of money and time on factory loads or expensive custom loads. After reading I will start looking to acquire components as I can for my 300 win mag and then start getting equipment. Now I have talked to 2 buddys who have told me to save my money and buy the best that is out there... on here I have seen plenty of you guys saying the kits from Hornady, Lee and RCBS are more than adequate. Im not looking to due high volume, Im just looking for quality w/ custom accuracy and enough for hunting. Maybe down the road when I feel confident I could see myself loading for my father, brother, wife, and daughter but thats about it.
Overall looking for advice from you guys on here... Best route to go at starting to reload without needing to upgrade anytime soon. Is getting a press from any of these guys good and then concentrating more on high dollar die sets the way to go????
Thanks for your time.

 

[AlaskaHunter]

I still use an RCBS single stage press I purchased at a garage sale (1972 RCBS JR2).

A relatively inexpensive improvement is to remove the decapper stem/expander ball in the sizing die.
De-prime using a Lee Universal Decapping Die and after resizing, neck size with an expander mandrel.

 

[schmalts]

Just stay away from cheapo ebay and amazon no name scales. I have tried 2 in the past and they both suck. One will not hold a zero worth a crap and the other the stain gauge is too sticky and you cannot trickle into it and get a noticeable change in the weight unless you remove the whole pan and set it back down. I have an assortment of Die brands and I really cannot say any suck. I do like the Lee Collet neck sizers. I also like Lee because they are 15 miles from my house....

 

[schmalts]

If you think finding all the components is easier than finding 1 $55 a box factory ammo these days you have a lesson to learn my advice would be find all the components 1st then buy the reloader..

Tell me about it.... I have 2 cases of 6.5PRC I bought just to shoot up for fun so I have brass to reload!! But I don't have any bullets either!

 

[chav0_12]

I’d assume that you’ve got this figured out a while ago, but maybe you haven’t. A real simple setup such as the RCBS Master reloading kit is really a great starter setup. It has ALMOST everything you’d need to get going. Add a powder trickler, calipers, trimmer and dies and you’ll be on your way to a setup to get very accurate ammo. That’s what I started on and I still routinely use my Rockchucker now, for the price and accuracy the Rockchucker is really hard to beat.

 

[coloradoguy]

I started with the Hornady LNL single stage kit. Got it from sportsman's warehouse and came with a vibratory tumbler and case trimmer on top of the standard package. Just about everything to get started beyond the caliber/case specific components. All the basics from cleaning, prep and load in one kit. I've now taken the dive into progressive bulk reloading and casting bullets from wheel weights. Ill always have my single stage for my precision rifles. Maybe one day Ill see if I can dial my progressive in for precision.

There is a good youtube video on Harbor Freight Items for reloading, great tools to cheaply improve your new set up.

Now beyond reading manuals, this sight is a great resource for reloading, but Len Backus Long Range Hunting Forum has tons of experience reloaders willing to share load and ballistic data. Great Resource. Overall, pick a kit and get the starter tools and dies and you can quickly become dangerous at the bench.

And to finish.... I highly second the Erik Cortina videos on youtube as mentioned by DamascusSteel!

 

[Don Fischer]

If you have small children good luck with this one, pretty much gotta wait till they're asleep.

When my son was 2 yrs old he'd sit on my lap and help. He'll be 49 this year and has been doing it alone for quite a while!