I am a novice reloader, and I am setting up my first bench. I have 2 RCBS Rock Chucker presses and thats it. I am trying to figure out what else to add. I am going to be loading for 1000yd rifles so precision is very important. I also want the whole set up to be efficient and fast. What equipment can I add to make the most precise, efficient and fast system?
reloading set up.
- Thread starter o2bwest
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A twenty year old son home from college for the summer last year really sped up
my process . When he went back to school I had a couple hundred rounds for each rifle on the shelf. Just playing.
There are many things to think about.You'll need a powder measure of some sort.And of course a scale.
Go back through the posts and look at pictures of different setups.After you load awhile you'll come up with a system that makes sense to you.
my process . When he went back to school I had a couple hundred rounds for each rifle on the shelf. Just playing.
There are many things to think about.You'll need a powder measure of some sort.And of course a scale.
Go back through the posts and look at pictures of different setups.After you load awhile you'll come up with a system that makes sense to you.
Before you get anything else, you are going to need dies for the cartridges you plan on loading for and shell holders. You also are going to need a very good powder scale. I prefer the old school beam scales, and all of the big name reloading companies offer good ones. A powder measure is also very nice when loading a high volume number of rounds at one time. We use a Redding Benchrest model that is fairly expensive, but it is very consistent and accurate. A powder trickler can also be used, this makes it very precise when loading high quality ammo but in my opinion it isn't really needed if you can trickle powder in one piece at a time with something that is improvised such as an empty casing or even a spoon haha. With all of the big stuff out of the way, you still need a case trimmer, deburring tool, primer pocket uniformer, and flash hole uniformer. I use all manual tools, but there are electric powered deburring tools and stuff out there, we just never really found a need for them. With all of this, you will soon get into a rhythm of using everything and slowly you will start to get quicker and better at it. Hope this helps
Doublezranch
Well-Known Member
What's your budget? 
Of course there are many opinions on what's the best and what's the worst, so here is what I have. I don't think it's the best and I don't think it's the worst. It's the best for me and what I'm trying to achieve.
2 RCBS chargemasters
2 RCBS Case prep stations
RCBS Case master gauging tool
RCBS trimmate
RCBS hand primer
Ultrasonic cleaner
3 dry tumblers
Precision reloading neck turning tool with the expanding irons
Forester neck turning tool
Hornady COAL gauge and brass
Digital caliper
Dial caliper
Is it a must... No. Is it the best....No. This equipment seems to work very well for me.
Of course there are many opinions on what's the best and what's the worst, so here is what I have. I don't think it's the best and I don't think it's the worst. It's the best for me and what I'm trying to achieve.
2 RCBS chargemasters
2 RCBS Case prep stations
RCBS Case master gauging tool
RCBS trimmate
RCBS hand primer
Ultrasonic cleaner
3 dry tumblers
Precision reloading neck turning tool with the expanding irons
Forester neck turning tool
Hornady COAL gauge and brass
Digital caliper
Dial caliper
Is it a must... No. Is it the best....No. This equipment seems to work very well for me.
If I had to do it over again, I'd spend money on the best dies I could get before anything else. Redding are my favorite. An accurate scale is really important but doesn't have to be really expensive. I have a GemPro 250 and it's as accurate as the beam scale in my Prometheus machine. Almost as accurate. It's usually off by .02 grains (1 kernel of Varget). Probably the best advice I can give is to get a copy of Handloading for Competition by Zediker (May be spelled wrong). He gives many recommendations on equipment as well as advise on how to get the most accuracy from your loads.
jsthntn247
Well-Known Member
- Joined
- Jan 14, 2009
- Messages
- 887
I've bough a bunch of stuff over the years that I don't use anymore. Here are the must haves.
RCBS chargemaster
Forster case trimmer and 3 way cutter
K and m neck turner set
Vibrating tumbler
Ultrasonic cleaner
Collet bullet puller for your press
Dry neck lube
Annealing: Torch, 750 tempilaq, k and m shell holder for your drill
Set of hornady ogive measuring inserts, and set of hornady shoulder bump inserts
Turn necks on brass just where you get 100% cleanup, after you fire the brass throw it in the vibrating tumbler, take it out and deprime it, anneal it with your drill set up (giraud is 10x better and worth the money), drop it straight into the ultrasonic cleaner, dry the brass in the oven or food dehydrator, now fl resize with bushing dies and bump shoulders .002 measured on your hornady insert, trim the brass on the forster trimmer, dip necks in dry neck lube, wipe lube off outside of neck, seat bullets and measure to the ogive with other hornady insert.
I used to never be able to get ammo under .75 moa, now every gun I own will shoot .25 moa by doing these steps. I have a rcbs case prep center that I never use anymore. Turning necks and using redding bushing dies were the biggest improvement to group size and I've used every type of die out there.
RCBS chargemaster
Forster case trimmer and 3 way cutter
K and m neck turner set
Vibrating tumbler
Ultrasonic cleaner
Collet bullet puller for your press
Dry neck lube
Annealing: Torch, 750 tempilaq, k and m shell holder for your drill
Set of hornady ogive measuring inserts, and set of hornady shoulder bump inserts
Turn necks on brass just where you get 100% cleanup, after you fire the brass throw it in the vibrating tumbler, take it out and deprime it, anneal it with your drill set up (giraud is 10x better and worth the money), drop it straight into the ultrasonic cleaner, dry the brass in the oven or food dehydrator, now fl resize with bushing dies and bump shoulders .002 measured on your hornady insert, trim the brass on the forster trimmer, dip necks in dry neck lube, wipe lube off outside of neck, seat bullets and measure to the ogive with other hornady insert.
I used to never be able to get ammo under .75 moa, now every gun I own will shoot .25 moa by doing these steps. I have a rcbs case prep center that I never use anymore. Turning necks and using redding bushing dies were the biggest improvement to group size and I've used every type of die out there.
Kennibear
Well-Known Member
Get a chronograph. I'll start that argument again.
Consider some software to track all of your loads and do data computations.
I'm getting to the point where I like to have both a e-scale and a beam scale. Beam for powder and the e-scale for cases and bullets.
There are people for neck turning and others who say it's a waste of time for anything but BR. If you buy the best brass (Norma, Lapua, Nosler, RWS) you probably don't need to neck turn. I would never criticize anyone for neck turning because it works.
Buy dies commensurate with the accuracy you want. Wilson makes BR dies that you use in an arbor press. They win the Bench Rest Matches, enough said.
Take a good look at your budget. What to buy first will become more important with limited funds. I have a Forester case trimmer but I do 95% of my trimming with a Lee setup. A cutter + lockstud and pilot + shellholder for each caliber. They go in the die box and I don't have to look somewhere for a trimming setup.
This thread is going to go on and on and on......
KB
Consider some software to track all of your loads and do data computations.
I'm getting to the point where I like to have both a e-scale and a beam scale. Beam for powder and the e-scale for cases and bullets.
There are people for neck turning and others who say it's a waste of time for anything but BR. If you buy the best brass (Norma, Lapua, Nosler, RWS) you probably don't need to neck turn. I would never criticize anyone for neck turning because it works.
Buy dies commensurate with the accuracy you want. Wilson makes BR dies that you use in an arbor press. They win the Bench Rest Matches, enough said.
Take a good look at your budget. What to buy first will become more important with limited funds. I have a Forester case trimmer but I do 95% of my trimming with a Lee setup. A cutter + lockstud and pilot + shellholder for each caliber. They go in the die box and I don't have to look somewhere for a trimming setup.
This thread is going to go on and on and on......
KB
If you have a lot of brass, say over 150, to process in a batch, then an electronic trimmer machine is nice to have. I have the Lyman version and love it. I get hand cramps after about 50 cases using manual methods and I shoot all my brass before prepping them to keep them all fired the same amount of times. Annealing should be considered every 3 or so firings depending on what you are reloading and it is a must so keep that on your mind. I thought I could get away without it and let me tell you the frustrating it caused me was more than the time it took to anneal. It's easy. Good set of dies to start with as well. Those points are what I wish I knew getting into reloading. A good solid bench is great too.
