Author Topic: Ready to start, what to buy?  (Read 595 times)

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Offline Bayou Stalker

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Ready to start, what to buy?
« on: October 19, 2009, 08:01:37 AM »
I almost started reloading for my .444, then decided that I would just use the Hornady LE and not worry about it.  Now I am wanting to shoot some .357 Maximum, so I decided to go ahead and start.  So with a budget of about $400 (not counting dies) what should I buy?  One of the kits from Hornady or RCBS was my first thought, but I don't have a problem piecing together my own kit if I have a little guidance from some of the more experienced reloaders here.

Thanks for your time.

Kendall

Offline billy_56081

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Re: Ready to start, what to buy?
« Reply #1 on: October 19, 2009, 08:32:19 AM »
Buy Lee and you can have your whole setup plus dies and components for that 400. Don't let the reloading snobs scare ya away from Lee. They make great products.
99% of all Lawyers give the other 1% a bad name. What I find hilarious about this is they are such an arrogant bunch, that they all think they are in the 1%.

Offline Tom W.

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Re: Ready to start, what to buy?
« Reply #2 on: October 19, 2009, 09:38:51 AM »
As a "reloading Snob" I'll suggest an RCBS or Redding kit.
You'll need a good loading manual, powder funnel, a decent powder scale, calipers, A way to trim your cases, and of course good , preferably carbide dies.



Others will join in, I'm sure...
Tom
Alabama Hunter and firearms safety instructor

I really like my handguns!

Offline anweis

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Re: Ready to start, what to buy?
« Reply #3 on: October 19, 2009, 09:44:10 AM »
If you buy a Lee press, make sure that it is their cast iron O press.

Online Graybeard

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Re: Ready to start, what to buy?
« Reply #4 on: October 19, 2009, 10:04:06 AM »
Redding makes good stuff as stated but seem to price it higher than equal quality from others. I don't use much Lee stuff personally so can't/won't recommend it to others except for their Auto Prime tool and shell holders. RCBS, Hornady, Redding or Lyman presses are all excellent and will last several life times. RCBS by far has the best warranty of the crowd and Lyman likely the worst with the rest falling somewhere in between.

I started with an RCBS Junior press and still have one under my bench somewhere I think but made a switch to the Hornady press years ago and haven't used any other since.  My dies are mixed mostly Hornady and RCBS but some Redding and Lyman and no Lee. I'm not a fan of kits personally and believe  you need to sort out what items to buy and buy them and not waste time/money on items not wanted or needed. Look at the stickies at the top of this forum. The one started by ButlerFord45 has a post by me that lists all I feel you need at differently levels as a loader. Read those threads.


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Online Graybeard

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Re: Ready to start, what to buy?
« Reply #5 on: October 19, 2009, 10:21:08 AM »
I just noticed a magazine ad showing our sponsor Midsouth Shooter's Supply running the RCBS Rockchucker kit at $280 which is a darn good price on it. Honestly tho the press, powder measure, loading manual and loading tray in it are the only items from it I'd use. I prefer a digital scale to the balance beam and use RCBS spray lube not the grease and pad that comes in the kit. I use a Lee Auto Prime to prime not the RCBS unit in the kit.


Bill aka the Graybeard
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I am not a lawyer and do not give legal advice.

Jesus is the way, the truth, and the life anyone who believes in Him will have everlasting life!

Offline skarke

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Re: Ready to start, what to buy?
« Reply #6 on: October 19, 2009, 10:51:02 AM »
Lee Classic Cast Press $80 Best value on the Market, will last forever
Forster case Trimmer Kit $75 Also, super accurate, easy to use, and very, very well made
Lee or Hornady Dies $15 to $30 Best price to value ratio
Scale- Quality Beam or Electronic www.oldwillknottscales.com 1/10 grain a must $40
Lee Auto Pro Disk Powder Measure (Best powder measure for the money, hands down. Super accurate, well made, and won't cut stick powder) $40
Reloading Block $8
Hornady One Shot Case Lube (best, period) $6
Lee Auto Prime Kit $25, includes shell holders
Lee Shell Holder Kit for Reloading Dies $15
The Internet.  Visit all the manufacturer's sites.  Follow every safety rule.  Use manufacturers load ONLY (Not Bubbas Eargensplittenloudenboomer load)
Clean, Clean Workbench

Out the Door from MidSouth Shooter's $330 for absolutely excellent equipment.  I've used all of this, some for decades, and it flat works.
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Offline skarke

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Re: Ready to start, what to buy?
« Reply #7 on: October 19, 2009, 11:11:49 AM »
BTW, you can go NUTS on reloading equipment, but it really isn't necessary.

RCBS makes great stuff, has great CS, but is a little pricey
Redding makes super stuff, lots of Varmint Shooters swear by their dies
Forster makes good stuff, some is excellent
Hornady makes the best progressive (when you go nuts) for the money.  About 20K of rounds since I bought mine, and gets smoother every time a pull the handle
The rest of Hornady's stuff is pretty much excellent as well
Wilson for the Nut

Lee stuff is where we all go round and round.  Here's my take:  I've never had it fail.  The couple of times I've called CS, they responded immediately (no questions asked) even though they state only a 1 year warranty.  That Pro Auto Disk Powder Measure absolutely blew me away.  It's very innovative, and just plain cool.

Is some of their stuff cheap?  Yes, but they can get somebody into the sport for next to nothing with quite serviceable equipment, and their nicer stuff is quite nice indeed.

Bottom line, everybody makes pretty good stuff.  After all, we aren't talking about parts for the Space Shuttle here.  Just be careful, vigilant, and have fun. 
Freedom is never more than one generation away from extinction. We didn’t pass it on to our children in the bloodstream. It must be fought for, protected, and handed on for them to do the same, or one day we will spend our sunset years telling our children what it was once like in the United States when men were free.  Ronaldus Maximus

Offline Lloyd Smale

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Re: Ready to start, what to buy?
« Reply #8 on: October 19, 2009, 11:51:48 AM »
heres my take on it. If you know for sure your going to stick with the hobby buy good stuff. Rcbs hornady and lyman all make very good presses and equiptment. If you think you miight possibly get bored with it buy cheap lee stuff as your not out much if you decide its not for you. Ive NEVER regreted buying top shelf loading gear and can honestly say ive kicked myself in the but for buying cheap more then once and that includes some of lees stuff. Its like anything else in life. You get what you pay for!
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Offline pozoutdoors

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Re: Ready to start, what to buy?
« Reply #9 on: October 19, 2009, 02:40:54 PM »
Rockchucker kit all the way!!! :)

Offline LaOtto222

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Re: Ready to start, what to buy?
« Reply #10 on: October 21, 2009, 11:58:47 PM »
If I was to start out with nothing and was serious about reloading - Get the RCBS kit that Graybeard mentioned at MidSouth. It makes a great base to start with - the press will last your life time and your kids life time. It comes with a good reloading manual, but you will want to add at least two more quality manuals - from the bullet makers you are going to use or make one of them a Lyman reloading manual if you are going to shoot lead bullets. I have an old RCBS Rockchucker that is still as solid as the day I bought it - back in the 70's. It has loaded many, many rounds of pistol and rifle + I have used it to re-size cases; 375 Win to 30-30 for instance. To start with I did know the difference between dies and the accessories. I have added many of them over the years and have come to appreciate RCBS dies, but I am really partial to Redding and Forster dies. I have some Lee dies and they get the job done, but if given a choice, it would be Redding, Forster, RCBS, Hornady, Lee in that order. I started out using one of those Lee kits that you pound with a mallet. They work - but it did not take me long to realize that they were not capable of going, where I wanted to go. The more time you spend at the bench, the more you appreciate quality equipment. I enjoy reloading - I use a single stage press (that old RCBS) and appreciate good quality equipment. I guess it would put me in the snob territory - oh well. I think it depends on how much enjoyment you get out of the reloading process. If you buy quality stuff to start with you will not have to replace it later down the road and if you decide to get out of the reloading thing, they will fetch a higher price used too. I would not give you $10 for used Lee press (unless it is their cast iron press), but would consider $75 for a used RCBS or Redding press any day, because I know it will be as good as new. You can do what ever you want, that is what makes this country great - my advice is to buy quality equipment and you will never look back and wonder if you made a mistake. Good Luck and Good Shooting 
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Offline Jal5

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Re: Ready to start, what to buy?
« Reply #11 on: October 22, 2009, 01:26:18 AM »
Another idea-
since all the companies manufacture products that will last both you and your kids lifetimes why not buy used? I did and probably spent about $200, maybe a little more I never added it up, but I got equipment that I would not have afforded new for the beginning of the hobby. That includes one die set for the 243 win which is what I started out with and now shoot least. Mostly Lyman stuff plus the Lee autoprime. The dies were all purchased used: RCBS, Pacific and two Lee sets. I have no problem with any of it. Look here, other shooting sites, and Craigslist. There is always Evilbay too. I think the one new thing I bought was the RCBS powder measure-which gives me more trouble at times than the used stuff! But I found a solution to that too, added a barrier thing in the hopper and it throws charges more consistently now.

FWIW
Joe
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Offline skarke

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Re: Ready to start, what to buy?
« Reply #12 on: October 22, 2009, 03:52:41 AM »
Liking quality equipment doesn't make one snobbish.  If there is ever an example of this principle is air nailers and air tools in general.  I've had good luck with everybody's equipment, though like many have said, the likelihood of some equipment lasting a lifetime varies.

I think that my exteme poorness at the beginning of my reloading hobby (really, really poor college student), I had to take the plunge on a lee aluminum press, some used dies, some of those little Lee spoons, a cheap plastic Lyman scale, a cheap lyman case trimmer (acquired sometime later) that used shell holders, and a Lyman manual (the internet didn't exist).

Well, I still have the Lee press after many years, though moving to cast iron was a big, and retrospectively, a necessary upgrade. It's been a long time since I've used the Lee press, but it still works like new (though probably only saw about 5K of ammo loads).

I also still have the spoons, though it has been probably 20 years since these have been used.  The Lyman scale wasn't accurate, and the Lyman case trimmer wasn't either.  The Lyman manual is the best for beginners.

I started BR shooting about 5 years ago, and that's where the reloader's stratosphere exists.  After spending gozillions of dollars on all kinds of whizbang stuff, from Harrell measures to neck turners to you name it, I've found that there are neat products offered from everybody, even Lee.

The problem with good used equipment is that it only comes available when one of us meets our maker, because the best stuff NEVER wears out. ;D ;D ;D  Seriously though, it's out there, and used Redding, RCBS, etc. is all gonna be like new if it's been protected from the elements.

I still use certain Lee equipment, including the Classic cast press. It replaced the itty bitty RCBS, which is also a great press, just too small.

Just learn the hobby, and you'll find out what you'll need and like.
e
 
Freedom is never more than one generation away from extinction. We didn’t pass it on to our children in the bloodstream. It must be fought for, protected, and handed on for them to do the same, or one day we will spend our sunset years telling our children what it was once like in the United States when men were free.  Ronaldus Maximus

Offline zeke08

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Re: Ready to start, what to buy?
« Reply #13 on: October 22, 2009, 07:48:13 AM »
I agree with most the best stuff is what you will want, fewer headaches and easier loading for a more enjoyable reloading experience. Something I wish some one had told me early on was build/buy a quality bench I wrestled with a cheapo for years and it was no fun. I now have a custom built(80.00) bench that a buddy whose a finish carpenter built for me out scrap from a 3million dollar home he was working on and I absolutely love the bench, plenty of room to work and storage space underneath and with a cheap "snap-together" cabinet from Wal-Mart I have tons of storage at arms reach. I have more manuals than Carter has peanuts as my wife will tell you and I buy new ones and download from internet often so I can check and re-check for safety. I am a certified Bomb Tech and we run alot of "acidents" with re-loading powders and people just not taking time to be safe, so please check and double check. Welcome to a lifetime of fun!
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Offline SHOOTALL

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Re: Ready to start, what to buy?
« Reply #14 on: October 22, 2009, 08:02:03 AM »
RCBS rockcrusher is a good kit , redding makes the better dies IMHO and i get them when aval. i also use rcbs dies , lyman , hornady and lee .
To be honest i have i set each of lyman and lee . I will not but anymore lee dies . Other than their trim tool i won't buy any other lees reloading tools . Both RCBS and Redding will replace most anything you break free of charge shipping free also no ? ask . My experince with lee has always been you buy it and pay for shipping if a replacement part is needed .Also its hard not to find a better tool than what they make IMHO.  other than the hand trimmer .
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Offline teamnelson

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Re: Ready to start, what to buy?
« Reply #15 on: October 22, 2009, 11:36:12 AM »
I hopped into reloading just 6 months ago and someone asked me to figure out how much ammo I plan to reload for before I started spending $. Glad they did. Lots of fellas shoot a few to sight in, then a few during season. Maybe a few more a couple times a year just for fun. Unless you shoot competition on a regular basis, or plan to reload for friends and neighbors, my guess is alot of us don't need the ability to crank out 5000 rounds in a weekend.

So I went the other way, started with a Lee Classic for .38 spl, but quickly found I prefer the Lee hand press and now reload for .38, .357 & .44. Hope to add .32 Long and .45 Auto to that. I also have found that I am learning alot this way. I've swapped around for dies; RCBS has great CS, although its taken them 3 tries to send me a decapping head for a set of .38 spl dies, and then it was a workaround off the #1 and not on the sizing die. But they're 30 yo dies and I'm not the original owner so I'll cut em some slack. No cost btw. But I've not been disappointed with Lee.

So I'd encourage you to consider how much volume you plan to crank out in ammo, and build slowly. You'll want as much $ as you can for brass, bullets, primers, powder.
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Offline SHOOTALL

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Re: Ready to start, what to buy?
« Reply #16 on: October 23, 2009, 03:06:09 AM »
I found after starting to reload i shot alot more . I started back around 1975-76 with a pacfic press and still use it some . That is why i suggest you buy quality to start then you can add to your tools not keep replacing them .
If ya can see it ya can hit it !