Hodmedod.one Posted May 9, 2005 Report Share Posted May 9, 2005 I'm thinking about getting into reloading my own ammo for my .243. Can some of you guy's that are reloading already give your advice on buying the best equipment to get started? Speed of production is of no importance to me, but I can see the advantage of leaving all the dies set up in a turret press. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gemini Posted May 9, 2005 Report Share Posted May 9, 2005 Depends on how accurate you want to be. If you are doing competition bench-rest then I would say buy Redding dies. But, if like me, you are using the rifle for deer or fox, then any make of dies will suffice. I use Lee dies because they are cheap and efficient, but if you wanted that little bit more you could try RCBS which are a little better. As long as you take the time to learn the reloading process properly then you will most certainly be able to produce better ammo the factory loads……and a hell of a lot cheaper too. Have a mooch through this site…it will give an insight into how to do much if the process. http://www.reload-nrma.com/videos.html G.M. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Elma Fud Posted May 9, 2005 Report Share Posted May 9, 2005 I agree with the above statement. I've bought RCBS equipment some years ago and have no complaints. It's expensive to get started, but I'm now reaping the benifit by ways of cost and accuracy. Try and get someone to show you the basics of loading. If you get it wrong it could be dangerous. EF Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Big Red Fox Posted May 9, 2005 Report Share Posted May 9, 2005 (edited) I use rcbs dies and a single stage press but wish I had bought the turret press because once this is set up you don't need to move the dies, just turn them round and carry on. With the single press it's more beneficial to load a larger number as the dies need reset so I load in batches of 150 or 200 in 243 cal. You won't have to buy a full length resizing die if you only fire your own shells just a neck sizer. I have found that a great load is the 55grain silver tip head (ballistic mollycote) it's flat after 80 yards and stays flat to around 250 yards. this is with 51.5 grains of reloader 19 powder. whatever you do make sure you follow the correct recipe and start at the lightest load and work your way up checking the primers of fired carrtridges for excessive pressure marks at all times. Only other advise I would give is never fire someone elses ammo unless you know the pressures and that the person loading them is 110% reliable. Edited May 9, 2005 by The Big Red Fox Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dunganick Posted May 9, 2005 Report Share Posted May 9, 2005 forster (sp?) dies, they have a sheath that comes over the case which eliminates run out completely, if your using rcbs, you could look at a serious improvement of groups, unfortuantly to my knoledge no-one imports them, so they have to come from states, at about £35 a piece if i recal correctly Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stirky Posted May 9, 2005 Report Share Posted May 9, 2005 Glad you posted this question, i am thinking of reloading for my .243 but not sure where to start. I have a friend who homeloads for his rifles and has been trying to talk me into it for months. the advice is to go for the RCBS rockchucker press and also to load 87gr hornady vmax which give fantastic groups and a good bullet on vermin. All i need now is the £££. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rjimmer Posted May 10, 2005 Report Share Posted May 10, 2005 (edited) Before spending a lot of money consider the following. Instead of getting a progressive press to save changing dies, why not get a Lee Classic Cast Press for the heavy work of resizing and a couple of Lee Challenger presses for seating the bullet/crimping. Just move the cartridge from press to press for the whole batch once everything is set up. Anybody's dies will fit any standard press. For a few pictures look here: http://www.thegunshop.co.uk/reloaders-supplies/rsindex.htm and here http://www.leeprecision.com/cgi/catalog/br...og/classic.html THEN Look at the prices here: http://www.peterlawman.co.uk/reloading.php Edited May 10, 2005 by rjimmer Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stirky Posted May 10, 2005 Report Share Posted May 10, 2005 Cheers for that rj. I reload for my 10 bore so i have an understanding of reloading, digital scales etc, but i have bought pieces of kit along the way, that as you learn more never get used again, so i can take on board what you say about buying separate pieces of kit each to do its own job. thanks again john. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spot on Posted June 5, 2018 Report Share Posted June 5, 2018 don't forget the basic humble lee loader ..used one for 222 and 22 hornet many years ago in the 60s supplemented with beam scales it turned out although very slow to use extremely accurate rounds.. 222 would give one hole 5 shot groups at 100 yards ..in fact if I remember correctly the scales cost more than the kit Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dougy Posted June 5, 2018 Report Share Posted June 5, 2018 Budget will always be one of the deciding factors. And probably the one that's most important to you. If you're going to buy a set of dies you may as well get a full length resizer and seater die, I can't see the point in not full length resizing specially for a starter. No need to complicate things to start with. You don't say what calibers you are thinking about, some are very prone to case stretching. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scully Posted June 5, 2018 Report Share Posted June 5, 2018 I haven’t reloaded since handguns were banned, but i started with a RCBS single stage press, which was fabulous, but slow. I then bought a Lee Progressive and churned them out by the bucket full. It was fine for what I needed but most of the other lads used Lyman gear. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1066 Posted June 5, 2018 Report Share Posted June 5, 2018 Personally I would go with the Lee classic cast press - As a press it's hard to beat, especially if considering value for money. I have several presses but use the Lee for all my "serious" loads. I have a turret press that is the ideal tool for gallery rifle/handgun rounds but always use the single stage for rifle rounds. There's nothing wrong with Lee dies, in fact the Lee collet die is used by some benchrest shooters where only extreme accuracy matters. Personally I usually use Redding bushing dies or Wilson dies with an arbour press for match quality ammunition. If you're concerned about changing your dies the Lee press comes with a Breech lock system which allows quick die changes without altering the settings. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dougy Posted June 5, 2018 Report Share Posted June 5, 2018 Can't believe I got sucked into this topic IT'S GOT TO BE THE OLDEST ONE ON THE FORUM NOOOOOOoooooo !!! 2005 !!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jaymo Posted June 5, 2018 Report Share Posted June 5, 2018 Me too, I never look at dates...... But which is better ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1066 Posted June 5, 2018 Report Share Posted June 5, 2018 Maybe he's still deciding Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scully Posted June 6, 2018 Report Share Posted June 6, 2018 ? I never noticed either! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TIGHTCHOKE Posted June 6, 2018 Report Share Posted June 6, 2018 Time travel does NOT exist! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jaymo Posted June 6, 2018 Report Share Posted June 6, 2018 1 hour ago, TIGHTCHOKE said: Time travel does NOT exist! Yes it does- guy in the Daily Fail states he is from 6149 or other and has traveled back but is now stuck in 2018- says he has passed a lie detector test..... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TIGHTCHOKE Posted June 7, 2018 Report Share Posted June 7, 2018 Blimey, Aircrew that read and BELIEVE the Daily Fail! Whatever next? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wymberley Posted June 7, 2018 Report Share Posted June 7, 2018 When this thread kicked off I'd already been using a Lee Challenger for several years. Then the fulcrum lever let go. It was reversable so did just that. Then the other end of the casting also cracked. Scrap. The replacement item is now steel and I'm still using it 20+ years on. I tend to load a fair few at once so changing the die infrequently has no real time penalty. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jaymo Posted June 7, 2018 Report Share Posted June 7, 2018 How dare you mock such an esteemed publisher of ‘News’ ? Bet your actually really just surprised that I can read- prefer picture papers though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TIGHTCHOKE Posted June 7, 2018 Report Share Posted June 7, 2018 (edited) 5 hours ago, Jaymo said: How dare you mock such an esteemed publisher of ‘News’ ? Bet your actually really just surprised that I can read- prefer picture papers though. Yes, I am used to the "colouring book" preferences! Edited June 7, 2018 by TIGHTCHOKE Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jaymo Posted June 7, 2018 Report Share Posted June 7, 2018 Yes TC, about that very same colouring book that you kindly sent- next time do you mind not doing all the Pics before me! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TIGHTCHOKE Posted June 7, 2018 Report Share Posted June 7, 2018 Okay, I promise to send you a brand new colouring book next time, are you allowed pens? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jaymo Posted June 7, 2018 Report Share Posted June 7, 2018 Nope, and no scissors either unless accompanied by an Adult Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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