HELP ASAP! Please review my Midway reloading order

[1KPerDay]

Thanks again. Tunnug, the list above was about $430 with shipping. But I haven't redone after removing the items Rusty pointed out I don't need.

The kits I've seen are not comprehensive. You still have to add the things that experienced reloaders already have (scale, dies, sometimes trimmers/gauges, etc.)

If anyone knows of an "everything you need to get started reloading" kit that includes a quality turret press let me know.

 

[GW Staar]

I'll bet you could save $50 or more if you price this stuff at Graf & Sons, or MidSouth. I did what you're doing 18 months ago and with my stuff. I saved over $100. $30 on the press alone. Wouldn't have shopped at all except that the shelves were practically bare at Midway just after Black Tuesday, and the panic buyers hadn't finished off Grafs yet.

Hope history doesn't repeat, now that Obama is done with healthcare. If his next focus is on gun control...we may have to go through all this again.

 

[bullseye308]

The Lee scale works just fine, get it. One loading manual will not be enough down the road, you will be better off if you buy a few more soon to compare and cover loads not listed in the one you have. No need to trim 9mm or 45, but you may want to trim 38/357 one time. It isn't necessary, but if you want all your crimps to be the same it helps. I trimmed 1k and didn't trim 1k (don't forget to chamfer & debur) and really didn't notice enough of a difference after 5 loadings to bother keeping them separate anymore.
The Lee hand primer kicks butt. You can prime brass anywhere and in a hurry. You might not benefit from loading blocks unless you get a single stage, but keep that in mind if you do. A tumbler will be nice but is not necessary right now. There are threads recently about how to get along without one till you get one.

 

[benzuncle]

1K, the Lee Classic Turret Press will serve you well. You mentioned more than once that "it's getting expensive". Consider just setting up for the 45ACP to get rolling and learning; you will make a few mistakes along the way. Once you figure out what you are doing you can add dies and turrets for about $50 per caliber. As Rusty said, you don't need the trimmers for straight wall pistol brass either.
Now, having said all that, and being a regular customer at Midway, consider looking at www.kempfgunshop.com for Lee Classic Turret Press setup and compare their prices. Their kit is $177.95 for the 45ACP and includes quite a bit of the stuff that you want and a $22 upgrade price for the Pro Auto Disk Powder Measure and the large and small safety prime systems. They also have the Lee scale for $22.95. I bought my LCT rig from them and added almost everything I needed in that one order for 45ACP. The Lee scale is not easiest to use but it is accurate. You can upgrade later if you choose to. I bought my setup from Kempf about 2½ years ago and still use the Lee scale. Good luck in your purchase and new hobby!

 

[RustyFN]

Nobody's suggested this and I'm surprised, I didn't add up your purchase but have you thought about getting one of the starter kits that have just about everything to start reloading, might be cheaper than buying everything separately, then just add whatever you feel you still need.

There is a link to the kempf kit in post 14. I think that is the best kit available right now. You will need to add a scale. If you order it in the rifle kit then it will come with,

Rifle Caliber Kits include:
Lee Classic Turret Press
Lee PaceSetter Dies (3 Die set)
Lee Auto Disk Powder Measure
Lee Saftety Prime System (Large or Small)
Lee Auto Disk Riser
Powder-Thru Rifle Charging Die
Case Lube
Double Disk Kit

Price: $177.95

Upgrade to the pro auto disk and both safety primes is around $22. Add the Lee case trimmer for your rifle caliber, scale and caliper and you should be good to go. When you add a pistol caliber all you will need to add are the dies and a turret.

 

[Kernel]

Midway has a lot of this Lee stuff on sale right now. Their price for the "Kempf Kit" is about $20 less than Kempf right now. Midway's sale price on just the four hole press is $10 less than Grafs' sale price. Plus Midway has a $30 off $300 coupon thing going right now (or a $10 off $50), which basically means free shipping.

 

[kludge]

If you are going to do single stage loading, you'll curse yourself for not having a powder measure other then the Pro Auto Disk.

If your going to do load development for the .308, it won't be any fun on the AutoDisk.

The Lee Chamfer Tool is useless on 9mm, but you probably won't need it there very often.

Natchez has better prices than Midway, maybe not better than the sale price, just sayin'.

 

[DaveBeal]

Since you're looking mainly for Lee products, check out the Lee factory website.

 

[pcwirepro]

Kernel, Did you see that deal today?

 

[LiveLife]

check out the Lee factory website.

http://www.factorysales.com/html/company.html is another online vendor website.

"This is what inspired the Factory Sales web site. My simple goal is to provide instant access to shooting sports supplies at great prices. Our flag ship vendor is Lee Precision, we can guarantee great service on this companies products, as my business is just a howitzer shot away from their plant."

Lee's official website is - http://www.leeprecision.com/

 

[vtail]

Don't forget a current discount code too!

 

[Kernel]

Kernel, Did you see that deal today?

To receive your Savings:
1. Place in-stock products in your shopping cart totaling:
$100 for $10 off - Use Promotion Code 1032210
$200 for $20 off - Use Promotion Code 2032210
$300 for $30 off - Use Promotion Code 3032210
Enter the promotion code in the box entitled "Promotion Code" on the shopping cart page.
2. You will see the discount on the Confirmation page before placing your order.
3. Remember, this promotion code is valid for orders placed on MidwayUSA.com.
4. Limited to one per Customer and one promotion code per retail order.
5. Offer cannot be combined with Birthday or Special Pricing.
6. Offer valid for retail Customers only.
7. Offer not valid on MidwayUSA Gift Certificates and Nightforce products.
8. Hurry, offer starts at 12:00 AM CT March 22, 2010
and ends at 11:59 PM CT April 14, 2010.

http://www.midwayusa.com/staticAppPages/32220107_page.htm

There is one catch though. For those of us who have a C&R or FFL, you can't use these discounts codes with Dealer Pricing. Depending on what you have in your cart it might be cheaper not log-in to your account and forego dealer pricing. You just need to run the numbers both ways and see which one is cheaper. On my last order, which was over $300, I looked at it both ways and dealer pricing was still cheaper than the non-dealer prices with the discount code. But only by a couple of bucks.

That said, though I think Midway is a good company, most of what I buy from them is just stuff that's on sale. Even with dealer pricing, their everyday prices are almost always more expensive than places like Natchez, Grafs, and Mid-South.

Right now their sale price on the Lee Four Hole Classic press is smokin' hot.

 

[markshere2]

just $.02 more........

I love my little digital scale for checking cast bullet weights and setting powder loads.

I lube all my cases, even when using carbide dies.

I screwed around with a collet bullet puller a LOT, then went to a kinetic "hammer" one. love it!

 

[pcwirepro]

Thanks Kernel,
I think I'll use that for a case feeder.
I wonder why I didn't get that promotion in my e-mail.

 

[Duckdog]

Lots of good advise here. I have the pistol length trimmers, but have never really used them or found a need. In fact, in Lee's book, he'll tell you he doesnt think they're needed, but he makes them 'cause there's a market for them. I do use te 9mm Makarov for case forming, though. I would get the Lee dippers, as when you load rifle, you'll probably not be able to use the auto disk,(I don't, even though I have a double disk kit). If you have a scale, you'l find you can pretty much set the powder measure off to the side, as you can easily find your load with the dippers and a scale. These are cheap at about $8-$10. Second the powder funnel.
I have several auto disks,(standard model, as I do not like to mess with changing the disks... god I'm lazy!), and it works just fine. I use one riser, but two would work. One does get clearance, but not by much. You can add a second later. I have several scales and the Lee is accurate, just a bit slower to set, but very good.

The auto prime that works with the Lee clssic turret rock, and you'll be happy.

What rustyFN posted about the Kempf kit is right on. It will get you reloading and get you into this additction. I would add the powder dippers, but that's up to you. You will use them.

Like many here, I've been reloading for many moons, and I did not just go out and buy everything right off, I accumulated it as I found a need. It does make you appreciate it once you get it, and makes you understand the ins, and outs, of reloading. Sometimes it's not the best to go from a to z without stopping in between. In any case, welcome to the club!