Want to start reloading

[12borejimbo]

I would like to start reloading my .22-250 and eventually a 25-06, 6.5x55 or 308 (deer calibre) when I get one and maybe a .22 hornet or .17 rem fireball. There is so much available these days. I have got a hornaday ABCs of reloading manual that I am reading but I wanted to be pointed in the right direction of equipment. Ideally I would want to buy a kit where I get everything in one box, but would I be better of just buying a press and dies ect with the de burring tools and scales? What brand should I be going for? Lee, RCBS, Lyman...........help please. I have started saving my spent cases which are Federal and Norma, but should I be buying a bulk lot of 100 cases or something? As I hear you cant mix brass as different cases perform differently??? :blink:

[hanky]

I load 22/250, purchaced Lee anniversary kit it has everything in the kit from what I can remember,and use Lee dies, had no problems at all, still sorting out powders/bullets which shoot best, as they say you get what you pay for, all the reloading gear is good I suppose it is how long it lasts

[fruitloop]

how longs a piece of string. well a starter kit like the lee anniversary kit is OK to get you up and running but the scales are a bit **** so invest in a good set when you have the funds. :good:you only need to get the die set for each cal you want to reload and a set of q/r colliers per cal

Edited March 2, 2012 by fruitloop

[millrace]

this is something im looking into if i get rifle granted.....take a look on shootforum think its .com then click articles along top on nxt pge click reloading basics...found it last nite really good basic step by step picture guide to reloading,,,

[coyotemaster]

You can't go far wrong with a kit from any of the makers mentioned, you could add a set of good calipers and be good to go. If you mixed case brands/lots you may find minor pressure differences, if you are looking to shoot really tight groups I would suggest all the brass from same lot/maker. Federal brass is one of the less desirable here among reloaders, supposedly it is a softer alloy, WW,Lapua and to a lesser degree Remington brass are all used.

You will be able to make your rifles shoot better with handloads and have a bigger choice of bullets.

[JonathanL]

Personally, for rifle reloading I would stay away from Lee gear. They work ok but they aren't built as strongly as things from RCBS, Lyman, etc. Resizing rifle brass can put a lot of strain on a press and you need something quite tough. The Lee stuff will do the job but it will break quiker if you are doing a lot of reloading. I definitely agree to avoid the Lee scales - they are awful. Also, their auto-disk powder dispenser is a definite no-go for rifle reloading as it isn't accurate enough and they wear quickly and will need replacement parts in short order.

 

RCBS do a full starter kit which includes everything you need apart from the dies which will be an additional £30-£40.

 

Different brass does perform diferently so it's best to reload it in batches and keep different brands separate.

 

J.

[deershooter]

absolute BULL **** lee have a lifetime warranty. JonathanL do you just sit there and think what will cause the next argument I am now realy thinking you are a TROLL

 

Deershooter

[markws80]

how longs a piece of string. well a starter kit like the lee anniversary kit is OK to get you up and running but the scales are a bit **** so invest in a good set when you have the funds. :good:you only need to get the die set for each cal you want to reload and a set of q/r colliers per cal

Fruitloop I could not read your post :blink: my eyes just looked at your avatar

[JonathanL]

absolute BULL **** lee have a lifetime warranty. JonathanL do you just sit there and think what will cause the next argument I am now realy thinking you are a TROLL

 

Deershooter

 

 

Err, sorry??

 

What possible problem could you have with my post? The chap posted asking for advice and I answered him. Why is that a problem and why on earth would anyone conclude that I was trying to start some sort of fight from that? Which part of what I wrote isn't true? Please do point it out because I can't see it. I've used Lee gear before and a Lee press is the only press I've ever broken a part on. Why is the fact that it has a guarantee even relevant? You're wrong about the guarantee, actually, it's two years. Admittedly, the catalogue I have here is 2010 so they may have started a lifetime warranty since then. I doubt it though because their gear breaks and wears quickly so it will end up costing them.

 

Rather than me sitting here trying to start an argument it rather appears that you are simply sitting there to shout me down and are prepared to interpret anything I say in a manner which makes me look argumentative.

 

 

J.

Edited March 5, 2012 by JonathanL

[phaedra1106]

Lee's guarantee is 2 years http://leeprecision.com/satisfaction-guaranteed.html

 

Yes, their stuff isn't as well finished as most of the RCBS or Hornady equivalents BUT it is cheaper.

 

I have a mix of stuff (as probably most reloaders have).

 

Presses,

 

Lee Classic Cast Turret, weighs a ton and will probably outlast me

 

Lee Breech Lock Classic Cast, again nice solid press - used for rifle loads

 

Lee Load Master Progressive, absolute pig of a press to get set up, used for .44magnum and will be getting replaced by a Hornady Lock n Load AP soon as I get back over to the US

 

Assorted

 

RCBS Universal Hand Prime - superb bit of kit, Lee's version is nowhere near as well designed or made, had one and got rid of it.

 

Scales

 

RCBS 5-0-5 and a Smart Reloader Digital for quick checking, Johnathan is correct the Lee scales are pretty bad, once you've used an RCBS you'll see the difference

 

Dies

 

All Lee at the moment, 9mm, .44mag carbide sets and .308

 

Powder dispensers

 

Lee AutoDisk - throw away disks and get the adjustable charge bar, good for down to about 5gr.

 

Lee Pro Auto-Disk - dreadful, took mine off the Load Master and fitted the standard spring type Auto Disk lower with a charge barand the Pro upper hopper upgrade

 

Lee Perfect Powder Measure - Not perfect but pretty good, used for larger rifle charges which are then hand trickled to get accuracy.

[gixer1]

Says it all really -

 

While competing in a regularly sanctioned 1000 Yard Match on July 25th, 1993,

Robert Frey established a new 1000 yard world record. We’re honored he used

the Lee Collet Die to load his record setting ammunition.

World record breaker Robert Frey commented : “The Lee Collet Neck Sizing

Die enables me to get top accuracy from my rifles (match and hunting). The

design principle of sizing the case neck to a mandrel is unmatched for accuracy

potential by any other dies. It is one of the best ways to make all of my rifles

shoot their tightest groups.”

[cooter]

I bought my first setup from a guy on here and I am still using most of it now.

Just add what you require when you get more calibres.

 

If possible get someone to show you what they do, and learn from their experience.

 

Watch ammosmith.com on u tube. He's a great source of information.

 

Buy a reloading book and read it a few times.

[al4x]

you did have to go back nearly 20 years to find a Lee winner though Gixer

 

facts are its the cheap and cheerful of the reloading world and personally if anyone suggests the kit you hit with a hammer just ignore them forever

[kent]

I would like to start reloading my .22-250 and eventually a 25-06, 6.5x55 or 308 (deer calibre) when I get one and maybe a .22 hornet or .17 rem fireball. There is so much available these days. I have got a hornaday ABCs of reloading manual that I am reading but I wanted to be pointed in the right direction of equipment. Ideally I would want to buy a kit where I get everything in one box, but would I be better of just buying a press and dies ect with the de burring tools and scales? What brand should I be going for? Lee, RCBS, Lyman...........help please. I have started saving my spent cases which are Federal and Norma, but should I be buying a bulk lot of 100 cases or something? As I hear you cant mix brass as different cases perform differently??? :blink:

 

There are guys posting here who dont even reload My advice is get it straight in your head why you want to re-load as the gear you use is different depending on your motivation. For instance i have heaps of gear i would never use outside of competitive shooting and enough stuff to fill an 8x10 room- yet i can also reload some fantasic rounds sitting in the armchair with handtools- cheap dont have to mean low quality and Lee make some great inovative products.

 

The best kit has for years been the RCBS IMO, add a Lee autoprime and some decent quality dies to suit your calibres perhaps a kinetic hammer to undo your mistakes and your laughing For the small cases i should look towards LE Wilson Hand dies maybee with an arbour press but you wont need the A. Press for the hornet

 

What everyone should have though is a mentor who can help on the end of the phone or a couple of miles drive

[Redgum]

Y0000000000000, go for it, its great fun and an interesting hobby. Don't listen to all the bad stuff about lee gear, mentioned earlier about resizing strain,if its that hard to resize then you aint lubricating properly, to much or to little or your doing something wrong. Lee will load excellent hunting ammo that will be plenty good enough for the off the shelf hunting rifle. It you intend to shoot long range target then I cannot advise as I don't but you will need more than just expensive dies. The most important thing you will need to know rather than what you buy is how to be safe and consistant,plus the ability to read is helpful eg a good book on reloading. Just to completly disagree with myself, there is just one piece of lee kit I could never get on with and thats their scale, mine drove me mad but it did work.

[JonathanL]

Don't listen to all the bad stuff about lee gear, mentioned earlier about resizing strain,if its that hard to resize then you aint lubricating properly, to much or to little or your doing something wrong.

 

Don't get me wrong, I'm not for one minute saying to avoid Lee gear at all costs or that it won't do the job or will break the first time you use it.

 

Resizing rifle brass, especially stuff with a case around the size of .308 and upwards does require a substantial ram force to do the job. The more force you need to apply then the more strain you place on the components of the press. There is no way around that. Of course lubrication is there to reduce the force required but it cannot reduce it to zero and can't reduce the force required to re-size a .308 rifle case to the same as required to do a 9mm pistol case, for instance.

 

Yes, it will do the job but that doesn't mean that it's as good as something else. a 600cc Smart car will do the job of cruising endlessly up and down the A1 between Edinburgh and London at 70mph and so will a V12 Merc S-Class. The difference being that the Merc will still be doing it a long time after the Smart car has been swept to the side of the road after having fallen to bits. The essential diference between the two is that the Smart has spent its whole life performing right at the upper edge of its design parameters whereas the Merc has been performing near the bottom if its. If you run things at maximum all the tim they qwear out faster.

 

Most of the Lee stuff does its job but quite a bit of it is quite chatty, to be honst. The auto-disk thing is not particularly accurate when new and wears very quickly. The powder kernels erode the underside of the hopper which results in larger charges being thrown as time goes by. Also the disks need to be changed by removing and re-inserting a screw which goes into the plastic body. The threads wear quickly so the screws don't stay in well and eventually the plastic splits and you need a new hopper. As already mentioned (and by your self further down) the beam-balance scale they do is for many people virtually unusable.

 

Lee will load excellent hunting ammo that will be plenty good enough for the off the shelf hunting rifle.

 

Exactly!

 

J.

[Redgum]

Don't get me wrong, I'm not for one minute saying to avoid Lee gear at all costs or that it won't do the job or will break the first time you use it.

 

Resizing rifle brass, especially stuff with a case around the size of .308 and upwards does require a substantial ram force to do the job. The more force you need to apply then the more strain you place on the components of the press. There is no way around that. Of course lubrication is there to reduce the force required but it cannot reduce it to zero and can't reduce the force required to re-size a .308 rifle case to the same as required to do a 9mm pistol case, for instance.

 

Yes, it will do the job but that doesn't mean that it's as good as something else. a 600cc Smart car will do the job of cruising endlessly up and down the A1 between Edinburgh and London at 70mph and so will a V12 Merc S-Class. The difference being that the Merc will still be doing it a long time after the Smart car has been swept to the side of the road after having fallen to bits. The essential diference between the two is that the Smart has spent its whole life performing right at the upper edge of its design parameters whereas the Merc has been performing near the bottom if its. If you run things at maximum all the tim they qwear out faster.

 

Most of the Lee stuff does its job but quite a bit of it is quite chatty, to be honst. The auto-disk thing is not particularly accurate when new and wears very quickly. The powder kernels erode the underside of the hopper which results in larger charges being thrown as time goes by. Also the disks need to be changed by removing and re-inserting a screw which goes into the plastic body. The threads wear quickly so the screws don't stay in well and eventually the plastic splits and you need a new hopper. As already mentioned (and by your self further down) the beam-balance scale they do is for many people virtually unusable.

 

 

 

Exactly!

 

J.

I reload 243 and 308 and to be honest I find the 243 taking slightly more effort than the 308 and this is because of the neck length I quess. I have never found either round needing loads of force,of course you have to use pressure but you don't have to swing on it. I use the double autodisk kit and have adapted it so it swings out on the removal of just one screw and after 1000 rnds its not worn, the trick is not to have the screws too tight, this will just jam the action anyway, saying this I always weigh my loads, I set the disk to be light and finish off with the trickler.Sure it does have 'character' but it is outstanding value for money.