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Rifles, Reloading, Optics, Equipment
Reloading
New to reloading what equipment do I need?
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<blockquote data-quote="westcliffe01" data-source="post: 1168667" data-attributes="member: 35183"><p>For low volume, a single stage press will be fine. You can later add a second press then you can decap / size in 1 station and seat the bullet in a second.</p><p></p><p>I went with a Hornady "Lock n Load" package, but you will have to order more of the bayonet bushings so that you have one for every die. A good quality scale is certainly important. Especially if you use stick powders (which tend to be more temperature stable) you will find that no "ordinary" powder measure will meter adequately. So I choose to dispense powder below target weight and trickle each charge on the scale to final weight. One day I guess I will get a "proper" powder dispenser with its own scale, when I am convinced that they work reliably enough...</p><p></p><p>You will need to decide what your strategy is going to be for sizing the shells. I do not full length size, I only use a body die, then neck size with a collet die which is only sold by lee. So I essentially use 3 dies for reloading: Body die, collet neck sizer (which will also decap) then seating die.</p><p></p><p>When you buy case/shell holders, make sure you get 2 of each size, that way you do not need to share shell holders with your hand priming tool, that gets annoying. I definitely prefer to seat primers with the hand tool than using a press.</p><p></p><p>If you load VLD or polymer tipped bullets, before you use the die, take it apart and insert a sample bullet into the seating insert. Look at how the tool makes contact with the bullet. If it does not touch the ogive, you may need to drill a relief hole into the insert so that the tip of the bullet never makes contact with the die. This can sometimes be a problem and may damage the tip of your fancy bullets and create all sorts of problems.</p><p></p><p>I don't have a particular preference for dies. People who reload for handguns gravitate toward carbide dies, but I have not had a need for them. Make sure to lubricate sizing dies, I roll a little grease onto the shell with my fingers. Too much and you can make dents into the shell if the grease accumulates in the die. Too little and brass will weld itself onto the die and score your cases and be a pain to remove from the inside of the die.</p><p></p><p>I went with a water/detergent + stainless pin tumbling setup. But you are cautioned to only run the cases as long as needed, not the hour or 2 hours that the maker recommends. Perhaps if you pick up oxidised range brass it may need more time, but then it is not your $1/shell precious brass....</p><p></p><p>Regarding the scale, be sure that you can run it off AC power and that it does not constantly go to sleep on you. Many of the battery powered scales do that and it can be very irritating to be turning on and re-zeroing the scale multiple times during a reloading session.</p><p></p><p>So, to summarize: </p><p>In an ideal world, get a powder dispenser with its own scale which will weigh out the charge.</p><p>Get 1 single stage press for each press operation (you can start with 1 and add more later)</p><p>Verify compatibility of the bullet seater with your actual bullets.</p><p>Get a digital caliper to measure case length</p><p>Get a case length trimming tool</p><p>Get an inside/outside chamfering tool</p><p>Get a hand primer seater.</p><p>Get at least 1 reloading manual which contains info on the cartridge specifications so you know to what length to trim them</p><p>Get a roll of small stickers to put into the cartridge holders with the load data</p><p>Keep a notepad with all of your load data and a cross reference to the cartridge holders so you know what is in them. Then you can take notes from your range trials in the same book for future reference.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="westcliffe01, post: 1168667, member: 35183"] For low volume, a single stage press will be fine. You can later add a second press then you can decap / size in 1 station and seat the bullet in a second. I went with a Hornady "Lock n Load" package, but you will have to order more of the bayonet bushings so that you have one for every die. A good quality scale is certainly important. Especially if you use stick powders (which tend to be more temperature stable) you will find that no "ordinary" powder measure will meter adequately. So I choose to dispense powder below target weight and trickle each charge on the scale to final weight. One day I guess I will get a "proper" powder dispenser with its own scale, when I am convinced that they work reliably enough... You will need to decide what your strategy is going to be for sizing the shells. I do not full length size, I only use a body die, then neck size with a collet die which is only sold by lee. So I essentially use 3 dies for reloading: Body die, collet neck sizer (which will also decap) then seating die. When you buy case/shell holders, make sure you get 2 of each size, that way you do not need to share shell holders with your hand priming tool, that gets annoying. I definitely prefer to seat primers with the hand tool than using a press. If you load VLD or polymer tipped bullets, before you use the die, take it apart and insert a sample bullet into the seating insert. Look at how the tool makes contact with the bullet. If it does not touch the ogive, you may need to drill a relief hole into the insert so that the tip of the bullet never makes contact with the die. This can sometimes be a problem and may damage the tip of your fancy bullets and create all sorts of problems. I don't have a particular preference for dies. People who reload for handguns gravitate toward carbide dies, but I have not had a need for them. Make sure to lubricate sizing dies, I roll a little grease onto the shell with my fingers. Too much and you can make dents into the shell if the grease accumulates in the die. Too little and brass will weld itself onto the die and score your cases and be a pain to remove from the inside of the die. I went with a water/detergent + stainless pin tumbling setup. But you are cautioned to only run the cases as long as needed, not the hour or 2 hours that the maker recommends. Perhaps if you pick up oxidised range brass it may need more time, but then it is not your $1/shell precious brass.... Regarding the scale, be sure that you can run it off AC power and that it does not constantly go to sleep on you. Many of the battery powered scales do that and it can be very irritating to be turning on and re-zeroing the scale multiple times during a reloading session. So, to summarize: In an ideal world, get a powder dispenser with its own scale which will weigh out the charge. Get 1 single stage press for each press operation (you can start with 1 and add more later) Verify compatibility of the bullet seater with your actual bullets. Get a digital caliper to measure case length Get a case length trimming tool Get an inside/outside chamfering tool Get a hand primer seater. Get at least 1 reloading manual which contains info on the cartridge specifications so you know to what length to trim them Get a roll of small stickers to put into the cartridge holders with the load data Keep a notepad with all of your load data and a cross reference to the cartridge holders so you know what is in them. Then you can take notes from your range trials in the same book for future reference. [/QUOTE]
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New to reloading what equipment do I need?
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