If I'm only reloading for one rifle...

[wncchester]

I don't disagree with any of these posts but do question the need of suggesting a dial caliper and trimmer, of any type, if the user has a Lee Loader kit with it's neck sizing only die.  No appreciable case stretch hazard there so....?

It does seem useful if the new guy adds a powder scale first.  That way he can safely spoon-trickle charges and get passed the limits of the Lee dippers for powder experiments.

In 40 years of this, I've used almost every brand and type of loading tools, scales, dies and presses available.  Including some old brands most of you have never even heard of!  If use correctly, I find they all work fine for me, the price and color of the tools really doesn't seem to affect the quality of my loads. But, if I mess up, price and color of the tools still don't seem to make much of a difference! 

[84jeepj10]

Thanks for the info. I'm looking into buying a Lee safety powder scale off of ebay right now. After that I'm getting a Lee perfect powder measure and trickler. RIght now I'm still trying to find out how to measure my seating depth on the Lee Loader with my dial calipers. I'm gonna use a factory round to get in the ballpark and tinker with it from there to figure it out, but if any of you could just tell me what the heck I'm doing that'd be great too, lol. 

[wncchester]

Jeep,  don't get too hung up on OAL.  Many seem to do so because, "It's in the book!" but for now all you need achieve is consistency.

The only things really important about OAL for rifle loads is that the bullet be deep enough to be held securely but not so deep the bullet falls into the case (!).  Comparing yours to factory is good, if the ammo looks "right" and feeds through the magazine it's going to be ok. 

Later, when you get ready to be more refined, changes in seating depths can sometimes improve accuracy significantly.   The old adage to seat bullets into the lands works for some rifles but for others it doesn't work.  There are no secret formulas to assure accuracy, you've got to experiment to see what works for YOUR rife!

Pistol ammo is more sensitive to reduced internal space so seating too deep can cause problems but even that is uncommon.

[skarke]

Regarding case dimensions for 3006.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cartridge_%28firearms%29

It's always good to have a reloading manual, though there are many good reloading sites on the web

Hope this helps 

[skarke]

What wncchester said.  A big however, however, is case OAL.  This is a critical measurement, and differs from cartridge OAL, which is less critical, so long as the cartridge will chamber properly without cramming the bullet deep into the lands (just touching to just off is about right).

Case OAL must be right, and definitely not longer than your chamber at the case mouth (see earlier posts)

Again, hope this helps.