Beginner reloader setup

[FEENIX]

Remember that we are talking about a beginner trying to get established with the fundamentals. I'm not sure if this is a good concept to introduce at this stage.

Exactly! And that's why I responded as such in #7.

 

[MarkInPA]

Exactly! And that's why I responded as such in #7.

Seems like we always go beyond the basics in these types of discussions.

 

[FEENIX]

Seems like we always go beyond the basics in these types of discussions.

Yep!

 

[quandary]

Remember that we are talking about a beginner trying to get established with the fundamentals. I'm not sure if this is a good concept to introduce at this stage.

True, but OP seems like a meticulous kind of guy.

 

[William W.]

Beginner here attempting to try my hand at reloading. I have gathered some of the things necessary and have put a lot of research and purpose into the items I have selected. Many people I have talked to have told me to obviously stay within my budget and get what I can afford but also get some of the stuff I want because I will be trying to upgrade prolly if I get wrapped into the reloading worm hole. I think I'll be starting off trying with .308 win and 22 creedmoor and 7mm prc.

List of what I have gotten:
Rcbs chargemaster supreme
Decapping die
Wilson Case trimmer
Calipers
H1000
Retumbo
Reloader 22
RCBS Case Cleaner
Once fired .308 brass

List still to get:
Forster Co-Ax Press
Powder funnel
Powder Trickelr
Dry or Wet Tumbler (plan on mostly hand wiping)
Seperator
Drier
Forster micrometer dies
Forster FL sizing dies
21st century nitrided sizing mandrel
Hornady OAL gauge
Hornady Comparator and Headspace gauge
Forster Primer
Primer tray
Trays
Lyman chamfer and deburrer
Scale check weights
Media for tumbler
Imperial sizing wax
Primer pocket and mouth case brushes
Loading tray and block
Rifle bullet cases

I think that is everything. Long ways to go but I've made some purchases and officially got my foot in the door. No backing out now hahaha. Excited for this journey I'm bout to embark on and see where I eventually end up with it. Feel free to share any thoughts or advice!!!

Micrometer, and preferably the large Dillon case cleaner, the Dillon spray case lube; absolutely nothing better or easier to use and their media polishing additive. Brownells/Sinclair carbide small and large primer pocket reamer is superb; you will need a cheap bench drill and vise for them. Long-term, KM tapered case neck tapering tools to greatly reduce shaving bullet jackets. I prefer Dillion presses with case trimmer attachments and case feeders.

 

[Old Rooster]

I think back in time,mid 1970's when I started reloading with very little. You only truely learn, when you actually start reloading.
It is a journey, but a fun one to say the least.

 

[ranch manager]

I can give some insight regarding presses. I have several presses, RC Supreme, Rebel, Ammomaster, Redding Big Boss II and Redding Big Boss. All of these produce excellent ammo when you understand their function.
RockChucker Supreme is a fantastic single stage press, due to the bushing, alignment is very good. To get your die straight in the bushing is simple, using the ram to put upward pressure on the die and screwing the lock ring gown tightly takes out any misalignment if it was done loose. Slight camming over takes all slop out of the press linkages. This is how it should be done.
Forster BR FL die sets are unique where they have the expander, all expanders should be highly polished and necks should be lubed with fine powdered graphite, essentially pure carbon. This cannot pull on necks, I have measured before and after and head space datum doesn't change.

I do not disagree with using a mandrel, but, I don't agree with your theory about expanders pulling on necks and moving shoulders.
If you run polished expanders and lube necks, this just doesn't occur.
Mandrels are great, but, for a new reloader, are they a necessary extra step? Redding dies, or Forster, will give you .002" neck interference guaranteed out of the box.
This is why I recommend one die with honed necks to match your brass, and if you want to change that neck interference, then go ahead and use a mandrel.

Cheers.

I can vouch for the Forester BR FL dies as well. I have mandrels, particularly for new brass. In my limited testing in prepping cases exactly as you state I have eliminated the need for the separate mandrel step after sizing. These Forester dies do a fine job

 

[Ol' Red]

My recommendation is keep it simple when starting out, as has already been mentioned by others. Get some components and load a few rounds. I have seen people over plan, over purchase and spoil a great hobby. Keep it enjoyable and add the more technical stuff as you learn. Crawl, stand, walk and then run, you will have less bruises.

 

[A_Brandt]

I use Hornady One Shot case lube works great.
Also I may have missed it but I don't see a case trimmer on your list. RCBS makes a nice one.
My bench has 2 presses on it and the one is an economical Lee press that I keep my universal decapping die in so I'm not constantly changing dies. There is not much force required to deprime a case so this works out great for me.

I read the above post with interest. I know different primer brands can make a difference but I really didn't thing primer pocket depth makes a difference as long as the primer is fully seated into the pocket. Yes a deeper pocket would take longer for the firing pin to reach the primer but we're talking milliseconds here. I really believe that is a sales gimmick.

Have a used wilson micrometer case trimmer coming in the mail currently that I got a very good deal on! And yes I have seen it mentioned that there's skepticism that busting out primers during resizing. So I found a Lee decapping die for $10 and figured why not, if there's any chance to make the outcome better, what's one more step?!

 

[A_Brandt]

Remember that we are talking about a beginner trying to get established with the fundamentals. I'm not sure if this is a good concept to introduce at this stage.

Yes fundamentals will for sure come first no doubt or questions about. Can't run before ya can even walk! But I understand what the video was saying with finding pocket depth related to primer size and making the offset of the two with the micrometer. And then adding in an extra .001-.002 for a proper crush on the primer. Does it really make a difference? Sales gimmick? But, one thing I can come to a conclusion on is that it would eliminate another variable within your reloading process. Don't know if I'll pick up on it at the start but I'll def have it in the back of my mind for something to maybe look into once I'm "runnin"!!!!

 

[MarkInPA]

Have a used wilson micrometer case trimmer coming in the mail currently that I got a very good deal on! And yes I have seen it mentioned that there's skepticism that busting out primers during resizing. So I found a Lee decapping die for $10 and figured why not, if there's any chance to make the outcome better, what's one more step?!

For accuracy, you will not find a better trimmer than the Wilson. With that, you got the best. For speed, you could do better with other trimmers. Since you already have the Wilson, I would start with that.

 

[MarkInPA]

Have a used wilson micrometer case trimmer coming in the mail currently that I got a very good deal on! And yes I have seen it mentioned that there's skepticism that busting out primers during resizing. So I found a Lee decapping die for $10 and figured why not, if there's any chance to make the outcome better, what's one more step?!

The big advantage to using a separate press with a decapping die is that it keeps the priming dirt away from your main press. The grit can wear the press and can find its way into your dies scarring them. Cleanliness is something to pay attention to.

I'm not real fond of Frankford Arsenal products because of it being manufactured in China, but the Frankford Arsenal hand deprimming tool is the one item I like to have for this purpose. It keeps the dirt away from the press and it is quick.

 

[skipglo]

You don't need micrometer dies to start, you don't need a forster co ax press to start, Hornady comparator, Overall length gauges, or even Tumblers and media....nice stuff later to have....but find out first...if you even enjoy it and upgrade along the way over the next 50 years like so many of us have....

 

[ntsqd]

No loading manuals ? I go to estate sales and auctions. You would be surprised at what you can get on the cheaper side if you are careful. What you may not need you may in the future. Or you can give it away or sell it. The classifieds on this site are also a big help.

If the OP will PM me somewhere to send them, I've got a couple older manuals that they can have. Been wondering what to do with them (these are duplicates) and this seems like a good cause.
Lawyers are the reason for wanting older ref books. The newer book are known in some case to have 'de-tuned' maximums.

ETA:
Calipers:
You can spend a lot of money on reloading specific, caliber specific tools to do what a good set of calipers will do for less total investment. Which means buy a good set. I'm not normally a huge tool snob, but in my mind there are only two premium brands and two second tier brands. All of the rest of them are roughly equal to the cheapest Harbor Freight option, but likely of even lower quality. I'm specifically including those calipers sold by the various reloading mfgrs in this third class of calipers.
Mitutoyo and Starrett
Brown & Sharp, Fowler
I would buy digital and I would strongly suggest buying new.
AND most importantly know that none of these can measure a small internal diameter accurately. This is a physical fault that isn't easily over-come and is not a fault of the mfg's. To accurately measure ID's you need either an ID micrometer or gauge pins. The pins cost less and if you go with the Porter Precision mandrel tool instead of the 21st Century tool you can also use them for setting the case neck tension.
Just because the caliper's display shows four places to the right of the decimal point does not mean that they are accurate to that level of precision. Just how you hold them can vary the measurement by .010" Accurate measurements are a learned technique with any brand of caliper.
I'd buy, and have bought several Mitutoyo calipers. 6", like these, should be enough for almost everything firearms related.
Look at MSC-Direct, Travers, or possibly amazon for them. DO NOT buy the Mitutoyo "MyCal" product line, you want their "Digimatic" line. Price the Starretts to feel like you got a decent deal on the Mitutoyos.

ETA II:
Co-Ax press:
My analysis of the Co-Ax press' design is that you have to let go of the concept of forcing all of the various parts (press ram, die, etc.) to be perfectly aligned by rigid design and tight tolerances. The Co-Ax design allows everything to float just enough to let them align themselves. It is an entirely different approach and it isn't one that some folks can accept. They want to have a press that is perfectly rigid and perfectly aligned. Sadly, that's not possible. Every such press is out of perfect alignment and will never be perfectly aligned. It is possible that the degree to which they're not in alignment is so small that it doesn't matter in the practical world, but a lot of time and energy went into achieving that when the Co-Ax has the possibility of producing better concentricity with far less Engineering & Manufacturing energy. Where the Co-Ax will have problems is when the self-aligning can't happen as well as it could due to rough surface finishes and the resulting friction. Surfaces that allow the case and the die plate to move laterally with the lowest friction should be sought.