epoletna
Well-Known Member
Your uncle's outfit would be, at best, a "starter" kit. You would find yourself replacing items gradually as you learned that you like other brands more, and that you want a more robust system. I used Lee for a while for a small pistol caliber, but they just don't make presses robust enough for what you will eventually want to do, like resizing long rifle calibers. Might as well start out with what you want to keep.
As for the recommendation on the Hornady Coax press, it has some nice features, but the priming system is NOT one of the nice features. Since you'll probably eventually go to a hand primer (better "feel" on seating the primers, and you can do it while sitting in front of your TV in the evening) maybe the Hornady's second-rate priming system (that'll rile up some readers!) isn't the end of the world. I have a Coax, a Rockchucker, and two Dillon 650's, and my preference for reloading the big rifle cases is the Rockchucker. For the small pistol calibers, the Dillons can't be beat. I use the Coax for processing .223 range brass, where popping out crimped-in primers takes some "oomph".
You probably wonder why people are giving you recommendations about how to clean brass when you asked about reloading. You will soon find you want to work with clean brass. My preference is SS pins, and I don't worry about work hardening the brass. I think you will be replacing your brass for other reasons before the work hardening becomes an issue. And the walnut media is dusty and hard to clean out of the cases. You can get tumbling systems from Harbor Freight (they're sold as rock polishers or something) that are a good way to start. Get Frankford Arsenal's media separators to shake the pins out of the cases -- you'll be happy you did.
I like the RCBS electronic charge master. It meters a charge, then dribbles powder one kernel at a time until it reaches the right weight. I've used a lot of other metering systems and scales over the more than 55+ years I've been reloading, and the Chargemaster is the most hassle-free.
A good part of reloading is building a good bench and shelves to keep your equipment and components organized and available, especially the small stuff like individual boxes of primers and other small stuff. Keep it well organized so you don't mistake one kind of primer for another or other such considerations. If you can, bolt it down firmly so it doesn't shake every time you size a case.
And for Pete's sake, keep good records. Otherwise you'll find yourself loading four different loads for a range session, then trying to remember two weeks later exactly which one performed best.
Good luck with this. I enjoy reloading almost as much as I do shooting the ammo I reload!
As for the recommendation on the Hornady Coax press, it has some nice features, but the priming system is NOT one of the nice features. Since you'll probably eventually go to a hand primer (better "feel" on seating the primers, and you can do it while sitting in front of your TV in the evening) maybe the Hornady's second-rate priming system (that'll rile up some readers!) isn't the end of the world. I have a Coax, a Rockchucker, and two Dillon 650's, and my preference for reloading the big rifle cases is the Rockchucker. For the small pistol calibers, the Dillons can't be beat. I use the Coax for processing .223 range brass, where popping out crimped-in primers takes some "oomph".
You probably wonder why people are giving you recommendations about how to clean brass when you asked about reloading. You will soon find you want to work with clean brass. My preference is SS pins, and I don't worry about work hardening the brass. I think you will be replacing your brass for other reasons before the work hardening becomes an issue. And the walnut media is dusty and hard to clean out of the cases. You can get tumbling systems from Harbor Freight (they're sold as rock polishers or something) that are a good way to start. Get Frankford Arsenal's media separators to shake the pins out of the cases -- you'll be happy you did.
I like the RCBS electronic charge master. It meters a charge, then dribbles powder one kernel at a time until it reaches the right weight. I've used a lot of other metering systems and scales over the more than 55+ years I've been reloading, and the Chargemaster is the most hassle-free.
A good part of reloading is building a good bench and shelves to keep your equipment and components organized and available, especially the small stuff like individual boxes of primers and other small stuff. Keep it well organized so you don't mistake one kind of primer for another or other such considerations. If you can, bolt it down firmly so it doesn't shake every time you size a case.
And for Pete's sake, keep good records. Otherwise you'll find yourself loading four different loads for a range session, then trying to remember two weeks later exactly which one performed best.
Good luck with this. I enjoy reloading almost as much as I do shooting the ammo I reload!
