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Posted: 5/29/2008 7:48:18 AM EDT
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Hey guys, I was wondering if I have pretty much gotten the major purchases out of the way with a lot of little things to get still. I am planning on reloading for 3 calibers, .38/.357, .40, and .308. Can you guys tell me if I am forgetting anything really important?? Here is my list, will put in red what I currently have or have just purchased. Books: Lyman's 48th edition reloading book ABC's of reloading Brass Prep: Frankford arms tumbler Media (planning on cob) polish/cleaner Measure: Digital calipers Case length gague Powder equipment: Pact digital powder dispenser and scale Press + Dies: Lee classic cast press .38/.357 RCBS dies .308 Lee 3 die set .40 dies Crimp dies for the pistol calibers Other Equipment: Case trimmer (thinking possum hollow .308 case trimmer) Primer tool (thinking RCBS hand primer) Kinetic bullet puller Other supplies: Brass for all 3 calibers as I don't have much Powder Primers Bullets Ammo cans to hold things. I am planning on leaving the powder, primers and bullets for last for now as I am on a budget that is quite tight. As for the brass I am thinking of getting started with about 1k of each claiber, will probably get more eventually but thinking 1k is a good starting point. Edit: I am new to the pistol/rifle reloading scene but have in the past reloaded shotgun before, but that was a long time ago. |
Sir, just a few comments regarding both your and Mr. AeroE's linked site. I've seen the FA tumblers, for my purposes they're quite small but are probably OK for starters. The motor windings seem pretty cheap and they have a reputation for short lives. Also, under the case prep heading add case lube for the rifle cartridges, my recommendation is Imperial sizing wax. You won't need any case lube for the pistol cartridges provided the dies you buy have carbide inserts in the sizing dies. I've used a PACT digital powder dispenser/electronic scale combination for various purposes, mostly for precision long range rifle cartridges. For general purpose powder dispensing I use a Redding 3BR measure, it's much faster and equally precise. You can use the electronic scale to set up the measure. Your choice of die sets is OK but not necessarily the best. For the .40S&W cartridge I recommend a taper crimp die, and the RCBS dies you have for .38/.357 mag likely already have a roll crimp built in, therefore you don't need a seperate crimp die for those cartridges unless you know something about it that I don't. For .308 Win cartridges I highly recommend the Redding competition dies. The resizing die offers you the option of buying a carbide expander ball to replace the standard one and the seater die allows you to adjust the seating depth quite precisely. This becomes important when you are trying to improve the accuracy of your handloads in your rifle. Along the same line when adjusting seating depth of the rifle cartridges I recommend you buy a comparator for your digital calipers and a Stoney Point gage to measure the chamber of your rifle with the bullets you'll be reloading. New reloaders can get along alright without some tools when starting out but for future purposes consider getting a primer pocket depth uniformer, a case neck champfer tool, and a flash hole deburring tool. If you intend to reload any milsurp rifle brass you'll need a primer pocket crimp removal tool, there is cheap: Lyman, and Best: Dillon swager. As your desire to increase production rates increases, consider a Dillon tumbler, I've got about 500 cases going in mine right now. HTH, 7zero1. |
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For those who don't know about it.........IMHO…………"the secret" to re-loading a bottle neck cartridge for a gas gun is.......a case gauge. There are many different brands and ways to gauge your re-loads. Examples…….. www.sinclairintl.com/cgi-bin/category.cgi?category=REMTHT&type=store ______________________________________ I didn't see one on your list...........pick one that SUITES YOUR STYLE OF RE-LOADING. Aloha, Mark |
| The Lee Clasic is decent but I think your money would be better spent on a turret press. I myself use the LEE and it isn't a whole lot more money than the clasic. The turret allows you to mount 3 or 4 dies and swap between them without readjusting. On the lee you can buy extra turrets and leave one set for each caliber. I don't bother as I reload only rifle on my turret ,pistol gets done on my Dillon Sguare deal |
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Thanks guys for the replies, Currently I have been talking to thebeekeeper1 about reloading and to help meout a bit. From looking at things atm the Pact equipment I think the dispenser has the IR port and the scale does not (at least not that I can tell of) Granted getting the rest of the stuff this year is going to take some time as I am a stay at home father and the wife works. I had thought of a progressive to begin with, but then thinking of the other things I would need, kind of told me I would be better off with a SS for the time being. As I would be getting back into reloading as well as learning the metallic reloading, I figured that a SS would be a good way to start. As it is I think shooting for me this year is pretty much over unless I can get my hands on about $1k to get the rest of the things fairly quickly. and then reload the brass. I have the time but not the money for the things I still need. Also am working on getting some brass (pistol for now) I hope from a few buddies that don't reload so then all I would need would be the rifle brass. I am also thinking of getting a universal decapper from lee. |
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