Posted: 3/9/2012 5:15:17 AM EDT
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I'm looking to buy my first reloading rig so I'm hoping for some advice to avoid buying any junk. I don't imagine I will be loading huge quantities, so I'm not too concerned with uber-fast production, but I would like whatever I buy to be consistent & durable.
I've seen a few kits selling for around £400-£500 that look to include all the basics, namely from Lee, Lyman & RCBS. Are there any particular brands to favour? Any & all advice appreciated  |
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Buy a Dillon 550 or 650. I've seen these, they do look the dogs bollocks  Is there a UK stockist? Probably not but you can buy direct. The 550 is easier for first timers, but once you discover the joys of a 650, you'll never look back I've had a few in my time. I'm currently running a 1050, it does a couple of extra things over a 650, but not enough to worry about If you can stretch to a 650 with case feeder, you will never regret it |
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For Pistol calibres the Lee Classic cast Turret press is OK.
For all others, I would look towards the RCBS or Lyman. I have a Lyman Turret, RCBS Rockchucker, a Lee Classic Turret and a Lee Pro 1000 progressive turret. What is the end target? Pistol calibre plinking rounds, serious target/hunting rifle rounds. The Lee scales are the pits, they work (just) I would look at the Lyman T-Mag press, lyman or RCBS dies, RCBS/Lyman/Redding powder measures/scales unless you do what I did and go for a RCBS Chargemaster 1500 (Great piece of kit, makes life easier.) I use a Hornady ca,m-lock bullet puller and quite happy with it's performnance; you could buy or make a kinetic puller (I made mine from an old mallet- but I'm Scots with short arms & deep pockets) The Lee hand operated Auto Prime is good, so good I bought two just so I didn't have to faff about when changing primer sizes. All the rest of the stuff, you might eventually need Lee is good enough. Loading blocks can be easily made from wood and a good drill bit. As a Kit, If I was going to go that way, then I suppose I would go for the Lyman T-mag turret press kit for general use. |
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I'm looking to buy my first reloading rig so I'm hoping for some advice to avoid buying any junk. I don't imagine I will be loading huge quantities, so I'm not too concerned with uber-fast production, but I would like whatever I buy to be consistent & durable.
I've seen a few kits selling for around £400-£500 that look to include all the basics, namely from Lee, Lyman & RCBS. Are there any particular brands to favour? Any & all advice appreciated What are you loading? Pistol calibres & .223 / .308 for service/practical - get a Dillon 650 with all the bells & whistles... Precision rifle calibres - Wilson hand dies / arbor press or Forster Co-Ax press with Forster or RCBS Dies. RCBS Chargemaster for powder dispensing and a 1010 scale to check it.. |
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Quoted: What is the end target? Pistol calibre plinking rounds, serious target/hunting rifle rounds. The main purpose initially is 6.5x47 for precision target, not huge amounts for this. With a speedy set-up probably a bit of .223 as well, but that's not why I'm buying the kit.
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Quoted: Forget a 'speedy set up' for loading 6.5x47L... To get the best out of it, take your time. I load mine with Wilson hand dies and an arbor press...  http://www.sinclairintl.com/userdocs/products/p_749007865_1.jpg ...and one of these to prime all those lovely cases.. http://www.sinclairintl.com/userdocs/skus/p_749007603_1.jpg Who makes that prime tool? |
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My Lyman can produce better ammo than I require, but then again, I'm not a bench rest shooter shooting out to 10000000 yards; 0.5moa at 600 is fine for me.
Tim Hannam's got the Lyman t-mag kits at just under £400. The great thing about the 6-station turret is you can leave two sets of dies set up all the time. |
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Quoted: My Lyman can produce better ammo than I require, but then again, I'm not a bench rest shooter shooting out to 10000000 yards; 0.5moa at 600 is fine for me. Tim Hannam's got the Lyman t-mag kits at just under £400. The great thing about the 6-station turret is you can leave two sets of dies set up all the time. Thanks for the great advice, I'll have a look |
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Quoted: Quoted: Quoted: But we're all just fellow passengers through life, dude. Why with the negative waves? I don't find the banter negative, it's good fun How about these to tide you over until normal service is resumed http://i40.tinypic.com/24x2tg3.jpg http://i42.tinypic.com/35jkpcy.jpg  Keep 'em coming, I plan to get drunk tonight then come on here and react badly to any harmless fun that is poked at me  |
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Buy a Dillon 550 or 650. I've seen these, they do look the dogs bollocks Is there a UK stockist? Probably not but you can buy direct. The 550 is easier for first timers, but once you discover the joys of a 650, you'll never look back I've had a few in my time. I'm currently running a 1050, it does a couple of extra things over a 650, but not enough to worry about If you can stretch to a 650 with case feeder, you will never regret it +1 One of the best purchases I've made. Peace & Love to all! |
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Quoted: Peace & Love to all!
Stop that now, I'm trying to keep it real in this thread, i.e. useful info followed ONLY by piss-taking and non-P.C. / personally insulting / homophobic banter only please As Mark says go direct you'll get great service and their after sales service is second to none. I can't help it, I'm feeling the love! |
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Quoted: Quoted: Quoted: Peace & Love to all! Stop that now, I'm trying to keep it real in this thread, i.e. useful info followed ONLY by piss-taking and non-P.C. / personally insulting / homophobic banter only please As Mark says go direct you'll get great service and their after sales service is second to none. I can't help it, I'm feeling the love! Since Dillon are in the USA, are there no ITAR issues supplying us in the UK? Thanks in advance for your advice you, erm, massive twat
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ITAR doesn't (yet) cover reloading equipment. Ain't that groooooovy? That is actually awesome, thanks for the info you, erm, complete arsehole Here you go Dillon Precision Have a lovely peaceful evening 
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ITAR doesn't (yet) cover reloading equipment. Ain't that groooooovy? That is actually awesome, thanks for the info you, erm, complete arsehole Here you go Dillon Precision Have a lovely peaceful evening Don't you start  .
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+ 1 for the Dillon 650, awesome piece of kit. Forster Co Ax for non bulk loading and an Ultramag for Africa calibres. Both of these have very low runout. The best turret press is the Redding. Once again the lowest runout. As for powder measuring I've settled on the Harrrell and a Denver to weight them. The chargemaster and the DPS were ok but actually slower and only resolve to 1/10. The Denver is 2/100. Dies, I prefer Forster, Redding and Wilson on the arbour press. The Lee collet die is really good as well.
Get yourself a good micrometer. Don't buy any shit kit. Better to cry once. |
Since we are all in a groovy mood, why don't I show what the lovely match committee chose for my wonderful 2nd prize last saturday:
Ain't that Sweet...?
Love to all, Soren eta: just made up 30 6,5x55 for tomorrows turnament Rockchucker, Chargemaster, Norma components.
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Buy a Dillon 550 or 650. Yes Got to agree with Bradders on that one. I have owned collected and sold loads of presses, (Lyman, RCBS, Pacific, Mec, Redding, Smart Reloader, Harrell’s Precision). At the beginning of this year I had a massive clear our sold 35 presses from my collection. Making space for a house move. I got it down to just 4 presses a RCBS rock chucker, a lee turret and 2 Dillon 650's. If its quality and speed your looking for the Dillon is the way to go. (plus its given me some cash to spend in las Vegas next month) Rgs Chris |
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Since we are all in a groovy mood, why don't I show what the lovely match committee chose for my wonderful 2nd prize last saturday: http://i601.photobucket.com/albums/tt97/vognarkivet/2nd_prize.jpg Ain't that Sweet...?
Love to all, Soren eta: just made up 30 6,5x55 for tomorrows turnament Rockchucker, Chargemaster, Norma components.Awww what a lovely feeder with a lovely green finch..... very sweet
I use Lee press (Classic cast), RCBS balance, Targetmaster trickler, ultrasonic cleaner (rather than tumbling) I make small quantities in a kind of handmade way, rather than automating a large scale process - i havent got a calibre that i shoot in in large quantities that i want/need to reload yet - i buy all other calibres |
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At the moment I’ve got a Lee Loadmaster, I use it for 9mm and 45ACP. It does make good, consistent rounds. But, and it’s a big but, it can be a pain in the arse.
First of all, I’ll start by saying that if I were looking to buy today, knowing what I know now I’d probably buy the Dillon. If for some reason you’d still be looking at the Lee, then a few things that I’ve learnt along the way. First off and most importantly, the priming feature doesn’t work, or at least it doesn’t work well. I tend to hand prime using a RCBS hand priming tool. Case feeder on the Lee is a bit of a pain to setup, and there is design flaw there. Once it’s working it’s OK. The powder feeder works quite well, but you have to make sure there is tension on the system, and I have a bullet head feeder and I would say that’s worth it, it seems to work well without many problems. The Lee Factory crimp die is well worth it too. Switching between calibres is fairly straight forward and can be done in a few minutes. Overall I can make good ammo using the Lee, but I think that the Dillon would but much less hassle, and I know that the Dillon would be better made. Some of the parts on the Lee are quite cheap plastic. |
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Thanks again for the info I'm set on ordering a Dillon Xl650 with case feeder, after advice on here and having seen a couple of people using them on Youtube. Have any of you guys used a 650 with the RCBS bullet feeder? Definitely overkill for me given my paltry ammo allowance, but looked great for anyone producing large qty's
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Quoted: No, the Dillon will be for .223 & .308Quoted: Thanks again for the info I'm set on ordering a Dillon Xl650 with case feeder, after advice on here and having seen a couple of people using them on Youtube. Not to load 6.5x47L..... ??  I'm looking at those bits you pointed out for 6.5x47Lapua - I know good advice when I see it |
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This page is also a goldmine for information about reloading, especially with progressive presses like the Dillon.
HD video about reloading Soren |
Got a 650 here and couldn't be happier with it, you may need a little help with the setting up, but once you're running..... 
Be aware that ordering via Dillon will probably involve a knock on the door from postie holding out a customs sheet with some rather large figures on it...
That said, it's paid for itself many times over since acquiring it and at full speed I can crank out about 550 x .44 rounds per hour, 450 x .223 rounds per hour (both these are based on having my 6 primer refill tubes already full, which tends to slow the job a tad) 
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Quoted: Got a 650 here and couldn't be happier with it, you may need a little help with the setting up, but once you're running..... Be aware that ordering via Dillon will probably involve a knock on the door from postie holding out a customs sheet with some rather large figures on it... That said, it's paid for itself many times over since acquiring it and at full speed I can crank out about 550 x .44 rounds per hour, 450 x .223 rounds per hour (both these are based on having my 6 primer refill tubes already full, which tends to slow the job a tad) http://i20.photobucket.com/albums/b212/bunnyassassin/04072007247.jpg Thanks for the info, I looked through the manual last night and it does look a bit daunting for a beginner! Would any of you guys happen to have the customs commodity code for a reloading press? |
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Got a 650 here and couldn't be happier with it, you may need a little help with the setting up, but once you're running.....
Be aware that ordering via Dillon will probably involve a knock on the door from postie holding out a customs sheet with some rather large figures on it...
That said, it's paid for itself many times over since acquiring it and at full speed I can crank out about 550 x .44 rounds per hour, 450 x .223 rounds per hour (both these are based on having my 6 primer refill tubes already full, which tends to slow the job a tad) http://i20.photobucket.com/albums/b212/bunnyassassin/04072007247.jpg Thanks for the info, I looked through the manual last night and it does look a bit daunting for a beginner! Would any of you guys happen to have the customs commodity code for a reloading press? 2.7% duty and 20% VAT..
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Quoted: Quoted: Quoted: Got a 650 here and couldn't be happier with it, you may need a little help with the setting up, but once you're running..... Be aware that ordering via Dillon will probably involve a knock on the door from postie holding out a customs sheet with some rather large figures on it... That said, it's paid for itself many times over since acquiring it and at full speed I can crank out about 550 x .44 rounds per hour, 450 x .223 rounds per hour (both these are based on having my 6 primer refill tubes already full, which tends to slow the job a tad) http://i20.photobucket.com/albums/b212/bunnyassassin/04072007247.jpg Thanks for the info, I looked through the manual last night and it does look a bit daunting for a beginner! Would any of you guys happen to have the customs commodity code for a reloading press? 2.7% duty and 20% VAT.. Thanks
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Quoted: Peace & Love to all!
Stop that now, I'm trying to keep it real in this thread, i.e. useful info followed ONLY by piss-taking and non-P.C. / personally insulting / homophobic banter only please Sorry, useful info followed by love, peace, daffodils in the hair, spliffs, VW camper vans and reenacted 70's music festivals are the only thing we know now 
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Quoted: Quoted: Quoted: Peace & Love to all! Stop that now, I'm trying to keep it real in this thread, i.e. useful info followed ONLY by piss-taking and non-P.C. / personally insulting / homophobic banter only please Sorry, useful info followed by love, peace, daffodils in the hair, spliffs, VW camper vans and reenacted 70's music festivals are the only thing we know now Bunch of losers, it won't last |
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Quoted: Peace & Love to all!
Stop that now, I'm trying to keep it real in this thread, i.e. useful info followed ONLY by piss-taking and non-P.C. / personally insulting / homophobic banter only please Sorry, useful info followed by love, peace, daffodils in the hair, spliffs, VW camper vans and reenacted 70's music festivals are the only thing we know now
Bunch of losers, it won't last Of course it will last, so fuck off you wanker (with love and kisses, naturally )
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