Ready to start reloading

[Pgohil]

I am ready to start reloading. I've been kicking around the idea for several years but now I have decided I am completely committed to doing it over the winter and coming spring.

I plan to reload for precision as my number one reasoning. I will be reloading 44 Magnum, 6.5 creedmoor, 308, 243, 223, and 300blk. Not in that order, nor all at once.
I've been saving my brass for years so that's not a problem. I have a Lyman reloading manual and have read through it some, and understand the information provided .

I want to buy once/cry once. For my press and accessories, however I don't want to buy a bunch of stuff I don't need.
Originally I was set on a progressive press, for speed as I do like to shoot a lot of 45, 38 special and . 223 in volume. However the precision that I want for my rifle rounds outweigh that. I next decided on a turent press. Once again my desire for precision has kick that out. So now I'm back to a single stage. I'd like to have everyone's recommendations about which press, and also things I may need that I have not listed below.

Needed:

Tumbler
Media
Case trimmer
Deburring/chamfer tool
Priming tool
Primer pocket uniforming tool
Case lube
Press
Shell plate
Powder measurer /station
Dies
Hornady oal guage
comparator (caliber specific
Precision scale)
Precise caliper set

Thanks all!!!

PGohil
WV



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[Sykes]

For a press- RCBS rock chucker supreme (inexpensive and solid as they get) or forester coax, probably the best out there (pricy and hard to find sometimes) - MidwayUSA has the forester currently.

Tumbler- any vibratory tumbler works but is slow and kinda dirty. I use a Frankford arsenal rotary with the stainless media pins, water, dawn dish soap and lemishine. Super cleans your brass to look as new but can cause some peening of the brass if tumbled too long or too often. I really don't clean my brass anymore but if I was collecting brass or picking it up from the range I'd want to clean it up first

Case trimmer- the Lee case trimmer and lock stud along with the case specific case length gauge works well with a drill and is rather inexpensive but with that said you cannot adjust trim length with that system. The Little Crow Gunworks WFT2 is a sweet set up to use with a drill also. With the WFT2 you can adjust case trim to length. Like the Lee it does require case specific inserts. Check out their web page

Debur/chamfer - depending on your volume the hand tools work well enough. I like the Lyman Case prep kit. You can always get a case prep center such as the Lyman or RCBS if you prefer an electric set up. Everybody seems to make one

Priming tool - a simple hand primer such as the Lee auto prime or RCBS hand tool will give you the best feel. Some are universal and some use shell holders that work with your press if you use one like the RCBS.

Case lube - Redding imperial wax on the outside of the case, just rub it on with your fingers. Redding dry neck lube for the neck, inside and out. Just dip it in the container and shake off excess. Wish I knew about these two years ago.

Powder measure - Lots of options here but for precision rifle shooting I use the RCBS chargemaster to dispense the powder .2 grs below my target weight then I re weigh on a RCBD 10-10 beam scale and use a Hornady quick trickle to get the exact charge weight I'm after. You get a lot of control this way but takes time and patience. Since I started this method the accuracy and consistency of my handloads have improved a ton!

Dies - For rifle it's hard to beat Redding dies especially the master hunter sets. They are expensive though. For handgun or lever gun the Lee sets are great.

Shell holder - Depends on the press you choose and the method of priming. For example the Lee shell holders work with my RCBS press but not with the RCBS hand priming tool, they don't fit over the plastic insert the priming tool uses. Redding shell holders work with my press and priming tool so that's what I use. The forester coax uses its own way to hold the case

The Hornady bullet comparators and modified case gauges are very good to have. If you Shoot bullets that like to be close to the lands such as berger you'll need those tools so you can measure where you bullet touches the lands.

I was never confident in the digital calipers being consistent so I switched to a dial caliper and am much happier.

You'll need a reloading tray to hold your cases. Lyman make a nice bleacher block reloading tray

Get a good powder funnel, I like the aluminum caliber specific ones made by Saturn. They sit on the case really well

Reloading is a great hobby and very rewarding when you see the accuracy you achieve when you get really technical about it. There are so many options out there and good tools to use I'm sure you'll get tons of suggestions. Good luck and don't get overwhelmed with all the choices, they all get the job done it be end

 

[Beararms]

A great video to show you the different presses out there.

 

[cmahoney]

If I was rich I would buy the coax. I’m not so I’m really considering the MEC marksman to replace my old RCBS rockchucker that I purchased second hand years ago. Not a lot of bad reviews out there about that press, I like that the shell holder floats a little to ensure the case is centered on the die.


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[Deplorable77]

@Sykes
Holy crap that Forster is expensive. Is there any real benefit to a regular schmuck buying one?

 

[Sykes]

@Sykes
Holy crap that Forster is expensive. Is there any real benefit to a regular schmuck buying one?

All depends on what your trying to accomplish I guess and the features your after. My rock chucker loads some pretty dang accurate ammo at 1/2 the cost of the forester coax

 

[Deplorable77]

If an experienced loader pressed out 50 identical rounds each on a rockchucker and forester, mixed the loaded ammo in bag, then fired them randomly through the same rifle would there be any discernable difference ?

 

[Pgohil]

Great info guys. Please keep it coming. I'm learning a ton!

 

[Sykes]

If an experienced loader pressed out 50 identical rounds each on a rockchucker and forester, mixed the loaded ammo in bag, then fired them randomly through the same rifle would there be any discernable difference ?

I kind of doubt you would see a difference. The main thing to loading quality ammo is consistency. Do everything the same everytime and you will have repeatable results

 

[muddydogs]

Progressive press or turret press doesn't necessarily mean a lack of accuracy and you will find out real quick that its a lot of work to keep an auto loading rifle or pistol feed with a single stage press. Most serious reloaders are using both a progressive press for there high volume loads and a single stage or turret press for the low volume rounds. I don't think you will be able to tell any difference in accuracy with pistol rounds or AR rounds with either type of press.

I load hunting rounds for my rifles and pistols on a single stage and anything else on the progressive.

While there is some good info on this site I would point you to The High Road or AR15.com, check out there reloading forums. They contain a wealth of information with a lot less opinions and a lot more facts.

 

[tdot]

My take on the CoAx. I'm glad I bought it. I learned on a borrows RCBS Rockchucker.

My best ammo off of each is probably the same. However it is significantly easier to obtain consistent results from the CoAx. It's also significantly faster. All of my dies are set with their own lock ring. I can move from one cartridge to the next very quickly. I can switch dies out quickly, without any messing around. Switch to a decapping die, bullet puller, neck mandrel die all quickly, repeatably and accurately.

I also like not having different case holders. Seems trivial, but my reloading style results in small runs of different cartridges and bullets. So all these small efficiencies add up.

Now when I bought mine the MEC and the Frankford Arsenal had not been released. I would be seriously looking at them as well as the CoAx. As they have many of the same benefits.

I am also considering going to an Arbor Press and Wilson Seater dies, arguably better, but for me, I can reload in different places (range) and that may trump everything. And they seem to have less problems with VLD tips.

 

[tdot]

I was super lucky. I was able to spend 2 years reloading on borrowed equipment. So when I bought everything I was well versed on what I liked and what worked/didnt work for me.

I am not a high volume shooter, but I have extremely limited time, and I like to work on load development, that's atleast half the fun for me. So my system does revolve around that.

Press - CoAx, fast, repeatable accurate, lock rings essentially make it as fast or faster then a turret press. Primer seating is not awesome. I'd hoped to use it and it worked on all my Lapua brass, it routinely gave me consistent crush on the primer, moved to a brass with a deeper pocket and a primer that was shallower. No crush. No way to adjust. Loads sucked. I wasted the cost of a decent hand primer on wasted components.

Hand primer - 21st Century overall faster then the RCBD bench primer I'd borrowed and more consistent. Almost as fast as a hand primer with a tray. Very fast, it's easy to load one primer at a time in the tool. It was my biggest hesitation and it wasnt worth worrying about.

Case Trimmer - this is my one regret. I bought a Wilson, it's awesome and repeatable. But I should have invested in one of the systems, that trim and inside/outside chamfer at the same time. I currently do that by hand, and it is slow and I dont feel consistent. Nor are the machines with individual spinning tools consistent, they arent cheaper either.

SST tumbler - whatever, they all seem to work.

Annealer- Annie induction annealer, for the price, I figured it was the fastest most repeatable system. I've been happy with it.

Powder dispenser - RCBS Chargemaster Lite, wouldnt do this again. The 1500 was better. The lite is absolutely sufficient for hunting and even precision shooting. But it takes alot of messing with every load to keep the repeatability high. So too much time wasted for me.

Trays. - rcbs, get a few, the ones with multiple options for case base diameter

Extra - hornady bullet puller, dedicated de-capping die, dedicated neck mandrel for resizing necks. I found it was cheaper and easier to have one mandrel per caliber, then messing with bushings in my dies to set neck tension. Resizing cases without an expanded is much faster/consistent that adding the 2nd step of running it thru a mandrel is a wash.


Powder funnels - caliber specific aluminum, the plastic ones suck. I prefer something with a drop tube as I always seem to be very close to a full case. I have the Area 419.

Measuring lands. I have the hornady, but I use the cleaning rod method as I want to know where the lands are before I get a fired case to modify. It yields the same results close enough for me. Usually within a couple thou...

iGaging electronic calipers off of amazon. I have two and repeatedly checked them against a Mitutoyu and Starrett. I dont check them anymore. Good enough.

Hornady shoulder guage set and bullet ogive set. This is a must. I'm always shocked at the number of freeloaders who cant measure these fairly important bits of info.


Dies - I think I am leaning towards a full body die and then Wilson seating dies. I cant say I was happy with Whidden for the additional cost. And I was happy with Forster micrometer seater dies, but they struggle to seat Hammer bullets. The seating stem and soft copper dont seem to play well together.

Lube - Hornady one shot - it's like Frank's Hot Sauce "I put that shite on everything!"

 

[cmahoney]

One other thing to consider about e press, especially if you do plan on loading for. Bunch of cartridges is the Hornady lock-n-load system. I use it in my RCBS press to swap out does a lot faster which adds to the cost of the press, making the dedication for the coax more reasonable. You won’t need that system won’t he coax and it will be faster.


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[cmahoney]

Since you are a buy once cry once guy like I have become, my suggestion would be to not mess around with cheap scales. I just picked up the auto trickler with the FX120i scale. Yes it’s big money but I have wasted a ton of time with powder charges that were not accurate enough for the low SD’s I wanted to achieve.

A&D FX-120i Reloading Scale and AutoTrickler Combo

ceproducts.shop

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[Pgohil]

Since you are a buy once cry once guy like I have become, my suggestion would be to not mess around with cheap scales. I just picked up the auto trickler with the FX120i scale. Yes it’s big money but I have wasted a ton of time with powder charges that were not accurate enough for the low SD’s I wanted to achieve.

A&D FX-120i Reloading Scale and AutoTrickler Combo

ceproducts.shop

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Wow. That's pricy for sure. How much difference in accuracy could that scale make? Are we talking 8SD points? Or 2-3?

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[cmahoney]

My last experience with the my Hornady auto charge convinced me to buy it. I loaded 10 rounds for my 300 RUM and had a SD of 8 that day at the range. The next week, I took another 10 rounds of the same Norma brass out of the covered plastic box that were all prepped the same, from the same lot and loaded another 10. I used the same Redding seater doe that was still in the press. That day I had SD’s over 50.

The only variable that at day was in the way my scale acting up. I always set the charge a little low because they tend to over throw. I would use the trickle button to finish off the charge. That day I noticed the weigh wasn’t increasing when it should, then would jump several .1 of a grain at once. Extremely frustrating.

I have also taken all the steps to reduce interference with the scale (led lights, cel phone across the garage, static spray and leaving the scale on)

I am sure I have a bad range day, wasted time and components because of the scale, which has happened numerous times in the past. If I wasn’t trying to be so precise and shoot long range it wouldn’t matter.

I have a friend who shoots numerous types of long range competitions and it the most meticulous reloader I have ever met. He purchased the V2 when it was new and immediately saw his SD’s and ES’s go down.

My opinion is that my auto charge and other $100 scales were accurate within about .4 grains. The FX120i is accurate to within .01 grains.

If you aren’t that concerned with low SD’s and ES’s it probably doesn’t matter. Check our all the YouTube info that is out there.

I am sure you can find another very accurate lab scale out there for under $400. I would
Buy something like that before an auto charge.

JUST MY OPINION



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[cmahoney]

I’ve used quite a few optics until I bought swarovski’s and I don’t think I will ever go back.


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[mvrk28]

I have three presses

Hornady L&L (first press came in a kit, not bad for the money)
Redding T7 Turret - love it, fit and finish is top notch and it cranks out really nice rounds.
Frankford Arsenal M-Press - I do all of my bullet seating on this press, it's great. I consistently get rounds that are reading sub .002" runout on a sinclair gauge.

You have to make the right decision for you, in terms or a press, if you can get a coax just do it. You will never regret it.

Scale, I know people say the Auto Trickler and the FX-120i is great, but a properly setup Chargemaster 1500 will more than suit your needs. Many people use that setup on the competitive circuit.


Tumbler - Harbor Freight vibratory is more than fine.
Media - Lyman Corn Cob Turbo Media
Case trimmer - Frankford Arsenal Universal Case Trimmer
Deburring/chamfer tool - K&M Precision
Priming tool - K&M Precision
Primer pocket uniforming tool - K&M Precision
Case lube - Imperial Case Wax or One Shot Spray
Press - Forster CoAx, Frankford Arsenal M-Press or MEC Marksman w/ L&L Bushings
Shell plate - Not necessary with CoAx or M-Press, if using a press with a shell plate the Redding Competition are the ones to use.
Powder measurer /station - RCBS Chargemaster 1500 or lite, Frankford Arsenal Intellidropper.
Dies - Whidden Gunworks, Redding Competition or Forster Ultra Micrometer. Make sure you get a full length die with a neck bushing.
Hornady oal guage
comparator (caliber specific
Precision scale)
Precise caliper set - Mitutoyo or Brown & Sharp, I use a harbor freight digitial and have no complaints.

 

[Pgohil]

Decided I'm going with the co-ax press. Now for die selection.... I'll be reloading for the 44 mag first. My Ruger SBH shoots 2" groups@ 100 and 4" @200 with factory Hornady ammo. Does damn well. What dies should I get to help tighten that up even more?

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[Sykes]

Decided I'm going with the co-ax press

I think I'm gunna get one too