Buy the tool for the application at a price you can afford. Anything above that is just personal opinion.
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Buy the tool for the application at a price you can afford. Anything above that is just personal opinion.
Get the Lyman manual now and read it multiple times and ask questions on anything you do not undeerstand. This will give you the basics you need for loading and casting. Did I mention to get the Lyman now and start reading. Without a good foundation you will flounder and could possibly make some serious mistakes.Originally Posted by frkelly74
gmsharps
I will echo that sentiment. At least at this point, the Smart Reloader tools are a waste of money. They may improve over time. My guess is that they'll just disappear.
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First, Welcome aboard.
Second, I had to go find your kit to see what it contains. It looks to me like you have the basics, with a few more items you can load almost any metallic cartridge you can think of.
Things to avoid:
1. Powder tricklers. They look neat and handy as heck. Reality is they are not needed. A clean and dry coffee cup with a small spoon or dipper works just as well. I have gotten sucked into thinking "That sure looks handy." Truth is I learned to dispense powder with a teaspoon onto a scale pan, and it still works better for me than a powder trickler.
2. The aluminum or plastic case length gage. A set of dial calipers set to the length you decide on will do for measuring case length and so much more.
Things that are nice to have, but not necessarily right now:
1. A case tumbler. Cases do not need to be shiny, they need to be clean enough to not scratch the loading dies. You can do this by wiping each one as you inspect it for flaws. My tumbler is an old Midway 1292 filled with lizard litter from the pet store.
2. A lathe type case trimmer. Once you get one, do yourself a favor and get the power adapter for it, trimming brass is tedious enough.
Things I would get right now:
1. A decent mechanical 0-6" dial caliper and 0-1" micrometer. Its not that I don't trust batteries, I just don't trust batteries.
2. A set of Lee powder dippers. Very handy and once you find you need another size, dippers are easily made by soldering a handle on a brass case.
3. A Lee cutter and lock stud with the case length gage for the first caliber you intend to load.
As for anything else, I really like first few editions of the ABC's of Reloading, when they were written by Dean Grinnell.
Good luck and be safe,
Robert
Everyone has their own personal preferences, and that's the way it should be as one size doesn't fit all. Too, no one company's tools are always the best for every job.
RCBS, Lyman, Hornady, Lee, Redding, Forster, etc. have catalogues that can be ordered for free from their web sites. Midway no longer publishes a free master catalogue, but Midsouth and Sinclair do. Peruse the catalogues and buy the items that you think will do the best job and that fit your budget.
Don't be shy about buying a used tool -- check out the site's sales forum. A local gunsmith is always an excellent place to find bargains on used equipment. Ebay can be a good source, but homework is required.
Reloading is about much experimenting, if you find that a particular tool doesn't do the job the way you like, try another.
When I began reloading, I started with one or two tools and built on my inventory as I needed a new tool. I researched each individual tool and purchased what I felt was best for my reloading style/needs. I have mebbe one of every reloading tool/equipment manufacturer's product, and some that aren't in business anymore. I started with a Lee Loader, then got a Lee scale, then a Redding press, the a Lee powder measure, and so on. I was a lifelong machinist/mechanic so I had precision measuring tool and a lot of hand tools that fit my reloading needs too. And some stuff I have now I didn't acquire until several years after I started producing ammo (I reloaded 12 years before I got a tumbler. I was making ammo for mebbe 25 years before I got a case trimmer, and there is prolly some tools that may be considered "a necessity" that I still don't have). If "X" is better than "Y" tool, but it doesn't fit your methods/style, it ain't worth much to you.
Looking at the detailed explanation of the reloading process in your reloading texts/manuals, you'll see what tools you'll need. I had good dial calipers and micrometers, and I believe the are needed for producing safe ammo (especially necessary if you plan on shooting lead).
Here's an old article about starting on a shoestring reloading. Much won't apply since you already have a press and some equipment, but pretty insightful about getting started... http://www.beartoothbullets.com/tech...h_notes.htm/51 and nearly every reloading forum has a "How to get started" sticky...
My Anchor is holding fast!
You have a lot to learn so don't buy things you can't properly use and may never have any need for. Don't buy or avoid anything by brand; if it's American made it will perform well when used correctly and for the intended purposes. Price tells you how much something costs but not a thing about what it would do for you. Avoid any 'advice' that starts with this or that is "junk" or 'get this, it's what I use' - neither is a reliable guide with value.
Your question is much too simplistic; any recommendations we might make based on our needs is worth less than nothing if your needs aren't the same as ours. Other than your .308 caliber and (good) FP game bullet choice we don't know a thing about what YOU need. Tell us what rifle you'll be shooting, if it has a custom barrel and chamber, what you expect to shoot and at what ranges, a guess at how many rounds you might want to burn through in a session and how many rounds a year you might end up shooting. Only with that info can we make any valid tool suggestions for what you might find helpful.
It sounds like you have a .308 sporter rifle you'll be using for moderate range hunting so common dies of any brand will do all you can ask for big game hunting with hunting bullets.
Get what you need. If you need it, Lee makes it. lol.
Oh, Lee doesn't make case tumblers because, wait for it.. you don't need one.
Sent from my computer using my fingers.
There are certain items I would not buy again and others I would. But my needs are different than yours. Find a reloader in your area and try before you buy if you can.
Take care
r1kk1
You CANNOT have too many reloading manuals. After you get that trimmer set up and a hand primer tool as mentioned in post #4, this is what you'll need more than anything else.
While one manual "might" get you by... having multiple manuals from both powder and bullet manufacturers will provide you with options on loads that a single manual might not begin to cover. When I find OLD manuals, I buy them up. And while I might not use the exact data, sometimes they give a perspective on the cartridge that modern manuals overlook. That, and sometimes new manuals drop data for the "obsolete" cartridges I seem to favor!
Griff
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SASS Endowment/Life
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So rattletrap you started that way but you really have no idea how it is to start any other way.
Most likely you are a tunnel vision pistol shooter and do not load much rifle ammo? True false maybe?
EDG
I personally wouldn't have a progressive. I'm a handloader. Progressives are for reloaders.
The solid soft lead bullet is undoubtably the best and most satisfactory expanding bullet that has ever been designed. It invariably mushrooms perfectly, and never breaks up. With the metal base that is essential for velocities of 2000 f.s. and upwards to protect the naked base, these metal-based soft lead bullets are splendid.
John Taylor - "African Rifles and Cartridges"
Forget everything you know about loading jacketed bullets. This is a whole new ball game!
"I'm a handloader. Progressives are for reloaders. "
The highest order in Recluse's hierarchy. I suppose a "Handloader/Bullet Caster" might be the highest designation. I'm a handloader only because I only have handloader tools. The most sophisticated being a hand-press and a Lee Loader.
HawkCreek,
Ignore the thread drift regarding the single stage versus progressive press. Your Rockchucker is a very well built press that has stood the test of time. Mine, bought used and made some time in the '70s, will be around long after I'm gone.
I use an RCBS Jr 3 that's even older and will outlive me, too.
The anticipated life span of green presses is vastly over stated in that they are no longer lived than any others. My original red and gray Lyman press was bought in '65 and I'm giving it to a grandson, he won't wear it out either.
Lee Loadmaster, lee scale and cheap digital scales I would avoid. Items to get are a good scale, calipers, powder measure and press.
For presses I think you could not go wrong with the Rockchucker and the lee classic cast as single stage. For medium speed presses the Lee classic cast turret is a good choice and the Dillon 50B is a great choice. Full progressives are best left for the more experienced.
Start with pistol first, do a bunch of that first then move on to rifle.
In My Opinion: There is nothing wrong with using a single stage rock chucker to load pistol ammo. For me I come home from work, Have supper, and go to the loading room and knock out about 50 rounds ( oh yeah, I weigh each charge) It keeps me humble and tends to make me try to shoot those rounds as accurately as I can hold them...Well that's just my way of working.
I tend to like my RCBS stuff a bit better but I have others and just find myself adapting to each different brand. If the adaptation takes too long it gets sold.... and I buy another brand.
I'm getting older and I don't need things to go any quicker then life is going already. If my method of reloading slows things down that is a good thing!... for GOD knows, everything else in life is whizzing by!
" Associate with men of good quality, if you esteem your own reputation: for it is better to be alone than in bad company. " George Washington
Umm EDG, yeah I'd say you are both mistaken and inflammatory with that statement. I've been reloading since I was 19 and I'm 43 now, I shoot on the Connecticut High Power Rifle Team and .22 prone team, and currently shoot on a .22 gallery league. I cast my own bullets for both rifle and pistol. I've developed my own wildcats, and am quite well versed in BOTH rifle and pistol reloading. I have tunnel vision about few things other than my 2nd amendment rights. When I say that I think a new reloader can handle a progressive press I just assume that folks have the same aptitude that I did. I'm welcome to my opinion and mine is such that anyone can handle a progressive if they can handle a single stage, now if you think otherwise that is completely your right and your opinion. But please, refrain from your judgement of my experience, knowledge and tunnel vision (or lack thereof).
Seems that my prediction in post #4 has come true, plus a couple of good dog fights. How helpful.
I haven't read the ABS's of Reloading yet, but I probably need to get that one myself.
0-1" mic and 0-6" dial or Vernier calipers, all that's needed for measuring at the loading bench.
Gear
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