New I see to reloading ... what equip to buy

[Tarheelpwr]

Hi,

I was hoping to get to use a family members press and loading stuff, but a work move is going to eliminate that. I have my dies and components, so where do I begin?

Here's what I'm after. I need to start from square one, but I want to make sure my set up is capable of precision loads. I prefer to buy what I need upfront rather than learning and upgrading in 6 months.

So, is it better to buy a complete "kit" package from one of the major manufacturers or piece together what I need piece by piece? Basically, if the counter balance scale and lower end things that come with a starter kit will just get upgraded in 6 months for precision, I'm prob. better off buying everything piece by piece.

But, I see the Lyman T-Mag Expert Deluxe Reloading Kit comes with a digital scale. Is it quality?

Also, I want my press to be able to handle loads with OAL of .338 Lapua rounds since that will be my rifle purchase next year.

Sorry for the random thoughts. If this has been covered, please point me in the right direction.

Thanks an have a great weekend/night!
Chris

 

[Wachsmann]

In my opnion I would go with the RCBS rock chucker supreme press kit or one of hornady press and kit. I have the RCBS press and digital charge master powder dispencer. Some other piece together stuff but If I had did it again I would piece together the exact things I need. I say RCBS or hornady because theses are the main reloading dies I see out there. I personally prefer redding dies myself. The auto powder dispencer from hornday is a little cheaper than the RCBS and works just as good. I found this to be a key component to my reloading. I get the same amount of powder dispence every time. I use a forster case trimmer and it work pretty well. The primer tool I use is the RCBS universal primor. Has not let me down yet. Works great. I current use a case tumbler for cleaning the cases but I want to upgrade to the stainless water based tumbler. From the demos I have see it works so much better. A RCBS lube pad for lubing the outside of the cases and a bruss with lube for the inside of the case mouth. I tuble for severl hours so I don't clen the primor pockets with a brush I just let the tumbler do its thing. Use walnut media as it is harder than corn media and seem to clean better. You will have to wipe off the dust though. well that some starting points.

 

[old_heli_logger]

I'll probably get laughed at for this...when I first started reloading, I was married and couldn't afford a pot to **** in nor a window to throw it out of. So I started with the cheapest kit I could find and that was the Lee Anniversary kit. Now that I'm rich and not so famous, guess what I still use ) Whatever you decide to buy, add a Lee collet die to you equipment, you won't be sorry.
Good luck!