koorbloh

What do you need to reload on a small scale?

and how many rounds would it take before it paid for itself?

Mic

I have been looking into this as well. I have found a lot of good reviews on the Lee Classic turret loading system. It is 190 from cabela's.

But would like to hear what experienced reloaders have to say.

FLIPEXED

I bought me the lee single stage anniversary kit... for how much i shoot it was a pretty good deal. With the single stage I can load about 100 rounds in one hour. The Classic Turret will load close to 200 per hour. In the single stage you have to change the die after every step. In the Classic all of the dies go in a turret and stay setup.

I think i bought mine for $85... just remember you still will have to buy some dies, and a tumbler to clean your dirty brass. Oh the single stage is aluminum vs cast iron in the Classic.

Not sure of how many rounds it would take to repay... I've reloaded about 3000 rounds so far since Nov. Have you looked at the Dillon presses? I've heard they are pretty good quality as well.

koorbloh

ok, so

press, dies, tumbler to clean brass...scale? funnel? what else do you need here?

and the brass, primers, powder, and bullets what else do you need here?


and I'm guessing shotgun reloading is a totally different world?




and a book.....might be the first place to start....

Coug91

Dillon... there is no substitute.

I used to have 2 RL550's - one setup in 40 and the other on 45. I sold both of those and bought a 650 and case feeder. It's setup for 40, but have the caliber conversion for 45 and dies for every other caliber I shoot. I loaded T's 10mm on my RCBS Rock Chucker. Once I had the brass cleaned, I loaded 150 rounds in about 2.5hours - with "help" from my 4-year old daughter.

With the 550 and filled primer tubes, I could do between 500-600 rds/hr. I've had the 650 abot a year and haven't really given it a good run to see what it can do, but I've read reviews that said between 800-1000 rds/her with the case feeder. I would expect to get between 600-800 with filled primer tubes and a full case feeder.

Coug91

What do you NEED to start reloading?

Any quality single stage press will get your foot in the reloading door. I learned to reload on the Green stuff, so am partial to RCBS if it's not Dillon. that said, I also have some Hornady and Lee dies. The Lee is a factory crimp .223 - the Hornady is 40 S&W.

A reloading book - Hornady, Sierra, Nosler, Speer/RCBS, Hodgdon. Get one that the newest of the first 2 and then pick up used versions of the others.

Goggles - I've never had primers go boom, but knew a guy who worked at the CCI works in Lewiston when I went to WSU... he had some interesting scars. (I don't wear them, but know I should.)

Grain scale. Preferably electronic, but a single beam RCBS (510/1010) can't be beat. Check ebay and gunbroker. I use a PACT electronic. There are several to choose from.

Powder measure. Again, my preference is green. Either RCBS or Redding. Or check this out - Quick Measure - The Accurate Powder Measure This is what I used to load the 10MM's powder. And what I will be using for .223 when I get that bug.

Dies - a set for each caliber. If you're going to do straight wall pistol calibers - 9mm, 4o, 45, you will want a taper crimp die. Makes life much easier. For pistol calibers - carbide dies. Accept no other. For rifle cartridges, a god case lube, like Hornady one shot. Works good and doesn't dent case walls if you put on too much like the RCBS stuff will. Go with RCBS, Redding ($$), Hornady, Lee. I usually avoid Lee, but other people have had good luck with it. Lee does make some special dies that no one else makes - like the factory crimp dies. For auto loading rifle - .223, .308 it's a good investment. I've read about the Lee/EGW undersize die for 40. handy if you shoot Glocks or pick up brass that's been thru a glock. takes the glock bulge out so you don;t have issues with chambering the previously glockified brass. Remember to get the right shell holder(s). Some will work for more than 1 caliber. 30-06, 25-06, 270, 308, 243, 7mm-08, 22-250 = 1 shel holder.

Brass trimmer - If you shoot rifle stuff more that twice, you will want... need... to trim to length. Brass flows under pressure. Least resistance is thru extending the case mouth. Again, RCBS. Or Foster/Bonanza.

Loading blocks. MTM or RCBS. To hold your brass as you work thru a stage (depriming/resizing, adding powder, seating bullets).

ACRO bins - hand for holding your brass.

Brass polisher/tumbler. To clean that nasty ass brass. Crushed walnut - finest you can get so it doesn't clog flash holes. the big shell stuff is great for cleaning brass before resizing, but once you deprime, the fine is the only way to go. Otherwise you'll spend too much time knocking the crumbs out of the flash hole.

I've been reloading for 25+ years and have a pretty good collection of godies, but it seems there is always some new gadget. Starting out, stick with the basics. Pick up one of the major mfr's (Sierra or Hornady) reloading manual and give it a read before you buy anything else.

Feel free to pm with any questions.

FLIPEXED

Went with the anniversary kit because it included alot of stuff like the powder scale, powder drop, the safety prime attachment. Its good buy for people who are interested reloading but don't want to drop all the cash. Now that I'm hooked I'm going to upgrade later this year to the Dillon 550 and downgrade the lee press as a depriming station.

They sell a pretty good/cheap Frankford Arsenal tumbler kit at Sportsman's. on the carbide dies... it will save you the trouble of lubing up the cases.

koorbloh

Lee Precision, Inc. Reloading Tools and Equipment: Classic Lee Loader

thoughts?

FLIPEXED

man thats gonna take forever and a day to make a 50 rnds of ammo... unless you are Mr. Lee of course... then it only takes you 40 seconds per round :)

YouTube - Reloading with a Lee Loader

koorbloh

I'm not planning on churning out lots of rounds, more looking to roll my own.


you don't know me...I do things the hard way...it's lots more fun that way!


this could be perfect for me to be able to reload a few rounds here and there...as much as I shoot, it's not a big deal.

Coug91

I had one of those in 30-30. It worked for what I was doing, hen was able to upgrade to an RCBS rock chucker. Besides the speed, which you say isn't an issue to you, the next problem is lube. I never used lube with the die and the brass was scuffed/scratched. Not a big deal, just something to be aware of. Great for doing a few rounds - and portable you could use on a range.

koorbloh

so...use lube? or only reload brass a couple of times?

Coug91

Try the Hornady one shot case lube - it's an aerosol dry lube.

migxdm

i got the 650 for my first reloader and have dropped around 2 grand on it just to get it to the point i like it at. its a fun hobby tho. if its not something you are sure about then try to find someone that has one you can try out. i think if you buy one of those cheap ones it will discourage you and turn you away from it.

Ash

Having a single-stage press available is invaluable. Just wait for that first stuck case! I run a Dillon 55 with an RCBS Pardner set up for stuck cases. I've also used it to taper-crimp my .40 SW cases because I don't like the "mushy" feel the 550 gets sometimes when it's trying to do 3 other things to 3 other cases. I feel that I have more control over it that way. May be an illusion, but it's how I run it. I also use it to resize/deprime 9mm, as the 550 can sometimes be hit&miss for that caliber. Maybe it's a military primer crimp issue?

Anyway, stating with a single-stage press gave me a healthy respect and understanding for what happens at each stage of the process, and certainly gave me respect for the detail involved in the hobby.

WarriorDriver

Lee Classit Turret press ftw!

koorbloh

I went back and forth and back and forth and back and forth....

I picked up the lee classic loader, bullets, and primers.

I still need: a scale, case lube, powder, and the most expensive part: time.

Mic

woot

koorbloh

now....how do I clean my brass?

Coug91

brass cleaner.

Mic

I use water + Cascade Dish Soap cleaner.

Hot water + Cascade, stir it until it dissolves, add brass, stir it around a bit every 10 minutes or so, let set overnight, rinse and let dry.

It's not ammonia based, so it shouldn't hurt the cases.

I read a lot of crap on different forums, a lot of people get a laundry bag, and put the cases in it, and throw it in the clothes washer with detergent.

Another common one I read was a 50/50 mixture of vinegar and water.

whatever you use, stay away from ammonia based cleaners, as ammonia weakens brass.

koorbloh

^you and I found the same info, and it's already done. :)

Mic

Yah, there are TONS of places to find budget reloading idea's

For instance. Make your own Spray Case Lube. Which is just Liquid Lanolin and Alcohol (Need the 99% pure stuff).

Once you get a tumbler. Screw buying your media from the reloading supply. Go to Petco and buy a 10 or 25 lb bag of "Walnut Bird Cage Bedding".

It's the same shit, but instead of paying 10-15 bucks for 5 lbs, you will spend 5 bucks for 10 lbs or 10 bucks for 25 lbs (I bought a 10lb bag).

while doing a lot of research on reloading before I got into it, I found a lot of budget ways of doing stuff.

migxdm

why would you wash your brass rather than tumbling it? or do you wash then tumble? I also lube every time i reload, and i reload the cases till they fail.

koorbloh

(because that koorbloh guy is cheap, but don't tell him I said that)

WarriorDriver

I use a tumbler, and I use brasso, but some say not to use it, so use at your own risk. It works fine for me.

migxdm

oooooooohhhhhhh

koorbloh

ok, I got everything I need to reload 100 rounds, we'll see what I can do later...maybe after a nap...

koorbloh

ok, so, I learned a few things.


1) due to the fact that this method requires a hammer, having the scale on the same bench as the pounding means you have to adjust the scale each and every time, which takes time
2) having to measure the powder by hand each time sucks, but is totally doable, but it takes time
3) having too much crap gathered on your bench means you have to move stuff around, which takes time
4) leaving primers in the package means you have to open the package each time and pull one out, which takes time
5) leaving bullets in the package means you have to open the package each time and pull one out, which takes time

so...next time:
1) I'm going to setup so that my scale is on a different surface than my pounding so I don't have to re-adujust my scale every time.
2) I'm going to keep measuring by hand...because the whole idea here was to do this on the cheap
3) duh, cleaner bench
4) primers in a little dish, because without the pounding, I won't have to worry about vibrations scattering primers
5) bullets box open because without the pounding, I don't have to worry about the box tipping over, or spilling


this also means I have an excuse to make that second bench I've been wanting to make :D

and since I already have some wood working stuff to do....

Mic

so did you get some put together?

koorbloh

ya, 3 each of 2600, 2700, 2800, 2900, and 3000 ft/s, according to the powder/bullet recipe I have.

gonna go test them out at some point this weekend to see what charge I want to use for the rest of my empty brass.

Mic

sweet

koorbloh

not sure how well all this will show up, but, here's 15 holes in the paper (one just barely, but it's on!) out of the 15 holes I tried to put in the paper.

reloading is kickass!

:)


as for the ammo, I'd say it's about on par with production ammo...or at least, I shoot about the same with it as I do with anything else... I didn't work too hard at it...50 yards.

also, some creatively arranged stumps and some assorted other stuff became my firing bench:


and someone had left this mannequin torso there

WarriorDriver

nice, congrats! Did you close your eyes on the first one to make sure it would work right? haha..

Looks like your middle group is best of the bunch, you can play with COL and see if you can tighten them up more yet. Just noticed you dont have a full bench to shoot off..

What gun?

koorbloh

I shot out of my .30-06 Tikka T3 Lite, and I didn't take my time to shoot the rounds (really scientific, I know!)

the middle group were the hottest rounds

coldest to hottest: bottom left, bottom right, top left, top right, and then middle.

I like the second to last ammo, so that's what I'm going to be making a bunch of.

I've got a few more brass to clean and deprime, and then a bunch of time in the garage measuring powder and playing with hammers :D

WarriorDriver

Ok cool, I know if you went for precision, you can get those holes alot closer together :)

Have fun!

migxdm

dang you have to measure powder for each round? I just get my powder charger throwing the amount i want and forget about it:p i pull one round every 50 or 100 i make and verify its the same. it works great!

koorbloh

meh, I can also only work on 1 round at a time. it works for me

koorbloh

lee powder measure makes me happy.

made 34 rounds today.

Mic

sweet