Reloading equipment

MudRunner2005 said:

I used to use a nice $100+ RCBS Uniflow powder thrower... Then it malfunctioned and stopped dropping consistently. So I stopped using it altogether. Now I just hand drop and weigh each charge over a digital scale for my pistol cartridges. For my rifles that use extruded powder, I use my Chargemaster 1500. But you can't use it for spherical ball powders, unless you dedicate it to one powder and only that one powder, because the tiny flakes will get in every crevice and are almost impossible to clean out.

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My progression was pretty much the same. I did at one point check weigh about 1:3 or 1:5 but once I started getting serious about precision I went to weighing every load on an old RCBS balance beam scale.

When I could afford it I picked up the same RCBS Chargemaster you are using.

Between powders I use a shop vac every time.

Schnyd112 said:

Fill your vibratory with buckwheat groats. No dust and about 1/3 of the time it takes the corncob. The one who showed me uses a little bit of nu-finish car wax too.

I have heard the stainless pins will also start to peen the necks if you tumble them too long.

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I've heard about the peening. Not sure it actually happens. The pins are very small and light weight. I do anneal my brass every two or three firings but I was doing that anyway.

LanceK said:

Always remember it's better to keep the dies and buy a rifle to match them than it is to sell the dies...

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I don't think I can agree with you LanceK. While selling used dies won't hardly buy a lunch, new dies are a small percentage of the cost of a rifle and reloading. Plus you just don't know the condition of someone else's used dies. I personally favor Whidden custom dies anyway to maximize chamber fit while setting back the shoulder. Years ago someone gave me a set of RCBS 222 dies but when I wanted a small caliber gun I opted for a 223. Anyone want the 222s?

MudRunner2005 said:

I used to use a nice $100+ RCBS Uniflow powder thrower... Then it malfunctioned and stopped dropping consistently. So I stopped using it altogether. Now I just hand drop and weigh each charge over a digital scale for my pistol cartridges. For my rifles that use extruded powder, I use my Chargemaster 1500. But you can't use it for spherical ball powders, unless you dedicate it to one powder and only that one powder, because the tiny flakes will get in every crevice and are almost impossible to clean out.

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I was given an ancient Lyman powder thrower. It will still frequently hold to 0.1 grains but then over or under drop 0.2 or 0.3 so I use it to drop into my scale pan and use my fingers from there.

You can do without cleaning brass. I stopped doing it quite a while back. I just clean the primer pocket and leave the neck dirty. that dirty neck is actually carbon that helps with consistent seating depth and neck tension on bullets. Clean necks are rough and the bullet can seat funny, even if you brush the neck with carbon after cleaning....

rickjoty said:

I've heard about the peening. Not sure it actually happens. The pins are very small and light weight. I do anneal my brass every two or three firings but I was doing that anyway.

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I have seen brass that was peened after stainless tumbling. I don't know the exact circumstances, I don't know if they were left in too long, too much brass, too many pins, not enough liquid, not enough brass, but you could see a very uniform peen all the way around the necks. I cannot think of any other way it could have happened, it was almost perfect. I am also not sure if he was able to save the brass or not.

Schnyd112 said:

I have seen brass that was peened after stainless tumbling. I don't know the exact circumstances, I don't know if they were left in too long, too much brass, too many pins, not enough liquid, not enough brass, but you could see a very uniform peen all the way around the necks. I cannot think of any other way it could have happened, it was almost perfect. I am also not sure if he was able to save the brass or not.

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My brass come out looking like new. Beautiful. I love it. I little hassle because you need to rinse and dry but I spread a towel and hit them with a hair dryer.

$400 doesn't sound like much of a deal. There's better stuff (read as "new with warranty") to be had for that price, but get just the stuff you need. A press, the dies for "your" rifle(s), a powder scale (mechanical balance beam is fine to start with), necessary shell holder(s), Lee trimmers for your cartridges and a reloading manual, I prefer Nosler.
Don't worry about cleaning your cases just yet. If you buy new (good idea) you'll be able to load/shoot and reload them several times before they need cleaning.
I would get a couple different powders, bullets and primers to try also. If you have more than one rifle sometimes a powder's burn rate will cover several so keep that in mind also (i.e., IMR4350 shoots good in the 7mmRemMag, .270Win, .243Win and more).
That Rock Chucker, by the way, is a great press.

Barrelnut said:

You can do without cleaning brass. I stopped doing it quite a while back. I just clean the primer pocket and leave the neck dirty. that dirty neck is actually carbon that helps with consistent seating depth and neck tension on bullets. Clean necks are rough and the bullet can seat funny, even if you brush the neck with carbon after cleaning....

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I've heard a couple guys doing this, and I understand the carbon on the necks thing, but a bit of Imperial dry media or imperial wax works great, too. But I've always wondered something...

What about the carbon buildup on the inside of the case walls, that will (over time) slowly decrease the case capacity, changing the internal pressures with a given load?

So I was kind of kidding about the rifle/dies comment. Although I did justify buying a 30-06 once because I had the brass...

rickjoty said:

My brass come out looking like new. Beautiful. I love it. I little hassle because you need to rinse and dry but I spread a towel and hit them with a hair dryer.

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Mine do too. This is after sonic cleaning and then tumble-polishing with corn cob media and frankford brass polish...

Here's a before and after of the same brass. Some of it was nasty range pickups that had been sitting outside in the dirt and weather for a while.

LanceK said:

So I was kind of kidding about the rifle/dies comment. Although I did justify buying a 30-06 once because I had the brass...

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That's how I justified my .30-06 AI build... Now wishing I had gone with a .280 Sherman or .300 Sherman... But that's fairly likely to happen down the road. I'm not dissatisfied with the .30-06 AI, just want something different, and the most performance I can get from the .473" bolt face.

MudRunner2005 said:

What about the carbon buildup on the inside of the case walls, that will (over time) slowly decrease the case capacity, changing the internal pressures with a given load?

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I always wondered about this too. But have come to the conclusion that it doesn't really bother anything. I think most it is gets blown down the barrel or something. And it might make a difference after 20 loads or so, but who gets that case life? Main issue for me is just dealing with dirty brass in general. I wipe it off with a cloth when cleaning the pockets. I also twist the necks in a piece of 0000 steel wool to knock off any carbon on the outside of the neck. I even anneal the necks after every firing now, with the carbon in the neck!
I shot a 5 or 6 shot string today with a SD of 2. So I have stuck with it. I do run a nylon brush thru the dirty neck after I clean the outside. I swear though, it is faster for me than cleaning it.

LanceK said:

So I was kind of kidding about the rifle/dies comment. Although I did justify buying a 30-06 once because I had the brass...

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I wondered about that being a tongue in cheek comment. I sold a 7mm RM that was rendered inaccurate by a local smith, now I'm staring at .284 bullets, dies, cases, etc. Not ready to buy another .284 rifle though. Maybe someday.

MudRunner2005 said:

Mine do too. This is after sonic cleaning and then tumble-polishing with corn cob media and frankford brass polish...

Here's a before and after of the same brass. Some of it was nasty range pickups that had been sitting outside in the dirt and weather for a while.

View attachment 113754 View attachment 113755

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Nice!!!

You can find a Rock crusher press at auctions as with other items but some you want new.
RCBS or Redding products are good, RCBS hand primer that needs no shell holder will prevent a lot of frustration.
Buy new brass to start and remember very clean (dirt free) brass is important not to score your reloading dies. Digital scale a must as is a quality powder dispenser.
Lee has inexpensive products but their hand primer and powder dispenser, the type from their anniversary kit best to stay away from. Powder gets caught in the plastic drum surfaces and makes it difficult to use. Avoid the things that add work to the reloading process. If planning on doing any volume reloading buy the items that can handle it quicker. Get a good case trimmer that can do all calibers, the Lee stuff is one per caliber and gets more expensive than a say a Hornady trimmer that does them all.
Even if you think you will only reload one caliber the odds are you will buy other guns in different calibers and reload for them too. I wound up replacing all my Lee reloading items with RCBS and Hornady. Had I not bought a bunch of Lee I would have saved all that $$. Lee is ok if reloading one or two calibers at low volume only. Lee shell holders etc do not fit Hornady case trimmer. Best to start with Hornady or RCBS, you only get what you pay for. In time the better products do pay for themselves and more, there is no quick savings with reloading.