So I finally decided to start reloading.  At this point I will be reloading for my spr (ish) gun only so I will be focused on precision with no need to pump out rounds fast.  I'm using this gun for learning experience for both long range precision shooting and reloading.  After a year or so I plan to build a gun using a better caliber for long range shooting which may result in reloading being a necessity at that point anyway.

So here is my order list from today...Let me know if there is anything I'm missing or anything I have ordered that may cause issues.  Any input is appreciated.

2 of 21-0751 Remington Per 1000 Primers 7 1/2 SMALL RIFLE-BR @ $41.99 eachIn stock-Approx delivery Fri 4/18
2 of 21-3148 Sierra Rifle 22Cal.224"DiaPer100 Bullets .22 69 GR HPBT PR500 @ $119.99 eachIn stock-Approx delivery Fri 4/18
1 of 21-6575 LEE BREECH LOCK CHALLENGER RELOADING KIT @ $132.99 eachIn stock-Approx delivery Fri 4/18
1 of 21-3483 Lee Modern Reloading Manual MODERN RELOADING @ $24.99 eachIn stock-Approx delivery Fri 4/18
1 of 21-0542 Lee Pacesetter Die .223 REM @ $31.99 eachIn stock-Approx delivery Fri 4/18
1 of 21-0547 Lee Universal Shell Holder Set @ $27.99 eachIn stock-Approx delivery Fri 4/18
1 of 21-0564 LEE CASE TRIMMER .223 REM @ $5.99 eachIn stock-Approx delivery Fri 4/18
1 of 21-2869 Cabela's Case Tumbler Kit 400 TUMBLER KIT @ $74.99 eachIn stock-Approx delivery Fri 4/18
1 of 21-4967 Cabela's 6" Economy Electronic Caliper @ $24.99 eachIn stock-Approx delivery Fri 4/18
1 of 21-5913 MTM Universal Reloading Tray @ $7.99 eachIn stock-Approx delivery Fri 4/18
2 of 21-0742 Hodgdon Smokeless Powder H4895 1 LB @ $28.99 eachIn stock-Approx delivery Fri 4/18
1 of 21-8017 RCBS POWDER TRICKLER 2 POWDER TRICKLER 2 @ $23.99 eachIn stock-Approx delivery Fri 4/18
1 of 21-0578 One Shot Case Lube 5OZ SPRY CASE LUBE @ $9.99 eachIn stock-Approx delivery Fri 4/18
1 of 21-4942 Sierra 5th Edition Reloading Manual @ $28.99 eachIn stock-Approx delivery Fri 4/18

The Lee breech lock challenger kit comes with:  

Breech Lock Challenger Press, Auto Prime XR Priming Tool with a set of 11 Auto Prime Shell Holders, Perfect Powder Measure with stand, Safety Powder Scale, powder funnel, case cutter with lock stud to trim cases, an inside/outside case neck chamfer/deburring tool, primer pocket cleaner and a tube of premium resizing lube. You also get one Breech Lock Quick-Change Die Bushing. This bushing make changing dies a snap.

The good news is the federal gmm 69 grain smk's I was using are a $1 at best before shipping and usually more than that.  So within the first 1000 hand loaded rounds I will have payed for everything.  My biggest concern was with the h4895 powder choice.  It was available and had some good reviews for 223 loads with heavy bullets so I will give it a try.  I was really looking for something temperature stable which hodgdon claims this is, but I did find some people on the internet saying this wasn't the case.

At work so can't look but is the press the aluminum or cast steel model?

If cast your good that press will outlive you. If aluminum I would look at changing it out for the cast. Also look into the Hornady lock rings.

Get a good scale. The one that comes in the Lee kit is well junk. a digital Hornady scale will run you about $30. Not the best but a step up from the lee one. Look for a used RCBS 505 beam scale.

Make sure when you mount your press it is solid. I would recommend at least 1 1/2" - 2" thickness on your bench top. If you can bolt it to wall studs even better. When you get to sizing bottle neck cases you can and will put a fair amount of effort into it. Not angry gorilla effort but repeated stress will either throw your precision off or ruin your bench.

Make sure to read those books front to back several times. You can obviously skip the calibers that you don't plan to reload for. Please don't just skip ahead to the data section for .223 and call it good. Also swing on over to the armory section here. There is a forum dedicated to reloading. Good group of people just keep in mind it is a technical forum so people expect you to do some due diligence prior to popping in questions. Also search for common questions. The "where to find" thread tacked at the top has helped me find components.


Lastly the Lee case trimmer works for very small batches, even then it gets old fast. Not something I would upgrade right away but look at picking up a World's Finest Trimmer in .223/5.56. These run about $70-75 and go in any drill. I normally just put my drill in my vice mounted on the bench and lock the trigger on. They do take a bit to dial in to the right length but once set you can prep 10-20 cases per minute once in a groove.

Thanks for the reply!

To be honest I'm not sure if the press is aluminum or cast steel.  I assumed it was cast steel, but after rereading the description it only says all steel linkage and nothing about the press itself.  I figured the digital scale would be better for me, but I wanted to get started on the cheap.  I will hold off on the digital unless I get frustrated with the balance scale.  

I did do a lot of research and a guy at work brought me his old reloading manual.  I read that completely all the way up to the load data.  It was an old speer manual I believe.  I'm not going to be making very many rounds so I have no problem with slow going.  I appreciate all the info...even with all the research I've done it's a lot to take in at once so I will admit I'm very cautious about wanting to do this right as it would be easy to miss some important information.

If I recall the cast one is called the classic.

The aluminum one tends to flex way too much and tons of reports of broken parts.

Looks like a good start.  As you gain experience you'll figure out what if any upgrades you may need.  Can't comment on the aluminum  press as all of my stuff is steel and fairly old.  Like me.  Take your time, go slow.  Do not watch tv and reload at the same time.  Do not drink beer and reload.  I may, or may not, have experience with those issues.

You are correct.  I guess that explains why the kit was so cheap...lol...it still has a lot of good reviews so I will use it until it causes me problems then pick up the cast steel version.

I would have bought a different press itself I had a Lee turret press for about a whole month then said screw it bought a dillion and a rcbs a lot of the stuff you can buy local and save on shipping/ hazmat fees if you come to DSM is be happy to show you my setup so you can get a idea of what I have done and maybe you can change/ improve to fit your needs

Here is a picture of my reloading bench I threw together today located in the dungeon of my old house.  Had to get some stuff at the lumber yard, but scrap wood used as well.  The chair is one of the extras we had sitting in the garage and I built the bench based upon the height of the chair.  This whole day started with the starter going out of my work car.  I drove in to work to make sure my boss had the man power to let me off and took vacation for the day to replace the starter.  After I got the starter done I didn't want to let a day off go to waste so I found the stuff I needed in stock and ordered my reloading kit.  Well after that I needed a bench so I built that today.  Also expanded our raise bed garden capability today for momma.

Huh, never thought about keeping Jesus next to the water heater.

35gal of holy water my friend

lol...I didn't plan it that way, but I think I will keep him there.

there are some guys who'd boob about powder being stored that close to a gas water heater, but the only real issue you'll have is spilled powder near it.  other than that, looks like you're ready to roll!

as a consolation prize, i was just shipped in PART of a primer order i put in at brownells on dec 20th 2012...  that's no shit.  17 months on back order.  who knows when i'll get the bulk of the order.  reckon i shouldn't have placed a 200K primer order that day...

So when the rest of us need primers just ask you?

lol...  they'd have to ship them to me first...  

Looks like you got about everything covered you can always upgrade here and there as you get more into it. Make sure you read your manuals thoroughly and if possible have an experienced reloader help you get started. Maybe just personal preference but I really like Hornady dies best. If you want to know what happens when you put 10 grains to much (74.5) of reloader 22 in a 7mag I can tell you all about it

17. fucking. months.

His order is too large, they are waiting for an amount to full fill his order in one go, so they are filling the orders that they can otherwise.

1%'er fo sho

Being close to the hot water heater was a concern, but it was the best available spot.  I'm thinking I will have to keep the area cleaned up and keep my powder and primers in a sealed container when not in use.

Cabelas has a limit of 2000 primers and quantity of 2 on powders so I bought 2 of each.  I would have definitely ordered more primers if it was allowed.  Probably not 200k though  I know in the past it seemed primers were what was hard to find now it's powder.  Interesting thing is they charge $20 hazmat fee regardless of quantity so that along with $5 shipping for being a cabelas card holder all of that cost me $25 shipping and I got about $25 in club points.

For future reference so if I start replacing stuff down the road...Are dies all a universal thread size so you can mix and match dies and presses from different manufacturer's?

yeah, its pretty much plug and play.

The only thing I would change on the bench is to add another layer to the top and extend it out with a 2x4 as a support. This will create an over hang that your press is mounted to. It makes for a better operation. This is not required just personal preference. Here is a link to the basic design I used for my bench. shelves and drawers, you can never have enough.

As to the water heater issue build a small wall between the heater and press. Frame out some 2x4 and cover in plywood or drywall. Either that or relocate the bench to the other wall if possible.

DO NOT store powders in a sealed container! I can not stress this enough. Per spec you need to have a box that has a weak side then place the factory bottle in there. Most people build a wooden box with a lid that just lays on the top. The reason for this is if a flame or spark should ever reach the powder and ignite you do not want the pressure to build to the level of a bomb. With the lid just sitting on the box it will blow out of the way easily. Powder burn rate is extremely fast so if fire gets to your powders there is nothing you can do except prevent an explosion. Please read the SAAMI storage guide foundhere

As for powder handling I make it a rule to only have the powder I am working with at the time on the bench. At first this will not be an issue for you since you are only reloading the one caliber.

Hazmat is a flat fee up to 48Lbs some will let you get away with up to 50. This is why it makes sense to buy in bulk when you can. Also check local gun shows as several of the dealers carry reloading components. Granted lately they are as hit or miss as anywhere else but it beats paying hazmat on a few punds or couple hundred primers.

Most of the current modern dies use 7/8-14 thread so you can use Lee dies in a Dillion or Dillon dies in a Hornady so on and so forth. This is one area that all the reloading companies seem to agree on. 50 BMG would be an obvious exception to this.

I was actually considering building a little wall between the water heater and bench.  I may see if I can get by with bolting it to the floor only so it could be easily removed if/when I have to replace the water heater some time down the road.

I will wait until my press shows up to decide if I need that overhang or not, but I do happen to have the wood I need if I decide to add that.

Thanks a lot you have provided me with a lot of good info!

Might as well order up a press and dies and stash those too.

You need a bigger bench.  You can never have too big of a reloading bench.

This is true especially when you start adding all the powered reloading necessity

I suppose it's probably comparable to buying a gun safe.  No matter how big it is you just end up filling it up and needing a bigger one

Because of space a bigger bench will have to wait until I get the oldest out of the house.   My garage would work, but it is detached without temperature control right now.  I really just wanted to get started as soon as possible to start my load development.  I don't want to get too far along with my rifle logs before I get load development done and then start over.

I plan to make 10 rounds of several different powder charges along with 10 rounds of 69 grain federal gold medal match that has proven to shoot very well in this rifle.  I will take them all on the same day chrono and evaluate group sizes.  I would ideally like to come up with an accurate load with a similar velocity to the federal gmm I've been using.  The only issue I have with the federal gmm is the massive deviation of velocities, as well as huge changes of velocity in temperature changes, and the price.

Don't you live near Waterloo?  

FYI, Scheels in CF usually has primers and powders available.  Last I looked about 35/k, and ok prices on powders.  Some suitable for .223.  

Looks like a decent start though.

I'm in Oskaloosa.  There isn't much if anything as far as reloading components that I'm aware of.

My research turned up a lot of information about the federal cases not being ideal for reloading.  They apparently have had issues in the past with loose primer pockets.  They are also crimped.  I will still hold onto my federal cases because I have over 500 of them marked FC 13.  I'm going to start out with using my PMC cases.  I have over 5000 of them saved and they don't appear to be crimped.  They don't have the little indented ring around the primer like the federals do and they definitely do not have any of the sealant type stuff the federals do.  It seems people have had good success reloading the PMC cases several times.

ETA:  I'm aware some of the PMC cases have off center flash holes, but I have so many of them it will not be a big deal to toss the ones that are off center.

I'm really looking for a long range precision round and have had success at 600 yards with off the shelf ammo so if I can't reload ammo with that level of performance I will scrap the plan and go back to buying off the shelf. The federal gmm is amazing at 100 yards.  I'm totally amazed at how accurate it is with the wide deviation of velocities it has.  At longer distances it strings vertically and it changes dramatically with temp change.  I hope to be able to reload and match the federal gmm at 100 yards while getting more consistent velocities that are more temp stable.

A couple weeks ago after hitting at 600 I took a stab at 750 yards.  I was shooting at a slight downward angle with a 7 mph wind from my 5 O'clock position.  I used a 1/4 value for the wind at that angle.  My chart I printed off for the conditions showed I was below the speed of sound right around 700 yards temp was 45 degrees.   I took 5 shots at 750 and got no hits.  When I was packing up my target I saw the marks in the tree behind my target I was hitting high and to my left over the right shoulder of the silhouette.  By that point I was exhausted from walking and checking targets all morning so I went ahead and packed up.  Steel targets are in my near future also.

Update:

I went out and tested several different loads using the H4895 powder.  I got some good results with a couple loads so I made up 10 more rounds of each as well as a couple weights in between.  I ended up settling on 24.2 grains for my gun with the 69 grain smk.  I was rushed in my shooting a bit so it wasn't my greatest day, but my great days are few and far between lol.

I took out 30 rounds of the 24.2 grain load after I settled on it just for confirmation.  It was consistently under an inch spread on 5 round groups.

Here is the last 5 round group I shot before deciding this was it and to set zero for this load.  The shot at the top was my fault I called it before I saw where it hit, but it is what it is.  .899" spread even with the flyer.



After adjusting elevation here is the very next group and last of the day.  .663" spread.


I had been averaging about .750" groups with the federal gmm I was using and I pretty much equaled that within the first few days of reloading.  I also gained nearly 100 fps muzzle velocity and have tested in both 32 degrees and 60 degress where the H4895 had no significant change in velocity while the federal gmm jumped nearly 100 fps.

I do have some cherry picked groups using federal gmm like this one, but that certainly wasn't the norm.  On this day my best groups were either equal to or slightly over the 24.2 grain load groups.  I normally average about .75" with the federal



I've got my ballistic table made up for this round and hope to get out to 600 and beyond here soon to confirm some things.  I got a lot of help from this forum which helped speed up my learning curve for sure so I do want to say Thanks for that

 Feels good, doesn't it?

FWIW, 77s can be loaded to mag length and will do much better at 600 than the 69s.  Plenty of service rifle shooters shoot 77s at 600, while exceedingly few use 69s.  But, if it works for you, it works for you.  

Nice groups, BTW.  Looks like you found a good load, and more importantly, you can make the rifle shoot well.  Plenty of people couldn't do that off a bench.

Yes I'm proud of it.  I didn't even own my first centerfire rifle until 5 or 6 years ago.  Before that I only had a Remington 870 and a glock 19.  Now I'm able to shoot 3/4" moa consistently with a gun I built using ammo I put together.  I never use a bench, but I certainly didn't shoot those groups off hand either.  I was on my belly with a bipod.  

When choosing a round for this gun there were 2 major considerations.  One was obviously does the rifle like it and the other was availability.  While I was gathering parts for the rifle I was also monitoring ammo availability.  The 69's were always available and the 77's were always sold out both factory ammo and the bullets themselves.  So with the desire to shoot a lot I decided to go with the 69's.  I used a similar process when choosing the powder.  Varget and reloader 15 are the most popular for 223, but were never available.  With a little research I found the h4895 wasn't very popular for 223, but would work well with the heavier 69 grain and above bullets it was available so I went with that.

My goal with this rifle was to learn the long range game.  Shortly after getting into longer ranges I realized the 223 has got to be the hardest round to use because your range and wind call estimates have to be spot on as there isn't much margin for error.  After researching and playing with ballistic calculators to look for a caliber more suited to long range it became clear that to use some of the better long range calibers you must reload your own ammo.  That led me to go ahead and start reloading now so I could learn about that.  I figure a year of shooting this 223 with the 69's at various ranges in various temps/wind conditions it would make some of the calibers with much better ballistic coefficients seem easy.

The only part of the reloading process that causes me frustration is trimming cases.  I can't get consistent or square trim lengths with the lee trimmer.  From my research since we are limited to magazine length with the AR15 platform the next thing after finding the right load is just absolute consistency on everything.  So I ordered the le Wilson case trimmer.  Hopefully I will get much more consistent lengths and square trims when it shows up.

I mentioned it before, but if it wasn't for arfcom I wouldn't be at this point nearly as quick and would have took much more trial and error to get where I am now.

Great looking groups its a very rewarding feeling isnt it?  I take great pride in all the critters I've taken with my handloads.

Thanks, yes I would recommend to anyone who enjoys shooting to start reloading.  I don't know why I waited so long to start.