A little advice?

[SaltySteve]

Hello all,
I'm a new loader and buying a RCBS turret loader or Rock Chucker with kit. I'm curious if I need to go ahead and buy a Trimmer with it or is that hardly used. Also is a hand primer the way to go? Any advice on this press is appreciated. I hear a lot about the RC and other presses but not much about The turret Press. I did notice that RC is O shaped and the Turret is not, is that a major concern?? Or mayby the RC with a Lock and load device? I really like the idea of not having to set up dies all the time.


I'l be loadding mostly 45ACP-44Mag-44Special-9MM-30-06-7mm-08.
I'm not a heavy shooter, just like to shoot and always wanted to reload my own and never pulled that trigger.


I'm spinning in circles right now, but I'll get it figured out soon enough.LOL



I'm sure I'll have more questions later but this will do for now.

 

[Walkalong]

Welcome to THR

Buy a hand trimmer unless you are going to trim volumes of cases, and it sounds like you won't be.

I would suggest the Lee Turret press kit to get started. Nothing at all wrong with RCBS. Great stuff, and better than Lee IMHO, but the Lee kit in an inexpensive way to get started and will load very good ammo.

Other than that, the RCBS turret will be faster. You will end up getting something else besides a single stage in the end anyway. You may continue to use the single stage, of course.

 

[SaltySteve]

Thanks for your input Walkalong. I'll be buying one of the RCBS presses in the Kit form. What items will I wish I had added at the time of purchase? I can just see me setting everything up and saying Darn, I shudda got this or that.

 

[Doug b]

Steve either press will do you a fine job,setting up dies is not a big deal just follow the die manufacturers instructions... for now.Yes you will need a trimmer right from the start your .44's will want a uniform crimp and that means equal length cases. Your 30-06 and 7mm-08 will need trimmed after the first re-size,new brass included.I like my Lyman universal trimmer no need for special shell holders just order all the pilots.

Keep them questions coming.

 

[Jacka L Ope]

Buy a hand trimmer unless you are going to trim volumes of cases, and it sounds like you won't be.

I'd recommend the RCBS hand trimmer as its spring-loaded shell holder is a joy to use. Also, it's readily convertible into a power trimmer for trimming cases in bulk and in a practically hands-free fashion should you decide to go that route later.

I only say that after using a Lyman manual trimmer for many years on cases sized .30 caliber and up. It wasn't until I began reloading smaller cartridges i.e. .223/5.56mm that I found the Lyman chuckhead gave me very poor performance when handling the smaller cases.

Don't know if my experience is the exception or not.

Good luck!

 

[Doug b]

Warning...shudda got this shudda got that is never ending.Welcome aboard.

 

[Doug b]

Jack may have to check into that RCBS trimmer,doing 300 hornets @ a time causes uncle Arther to come pay a visit and stay a spell.

 

[SaltySteve]

I'll put the rcbs trimmer on my list.

Now i'll have to start thinking about loads and bullits and powder and primers and etc...etc...

I'm trying to get everything I need at one time so I can go right to work when I order this stuff.

 

[SaltySteve]

Well after much thought I purchased my Press and stuff from Cabelas.
They were actually competitive if not identical with all the online outlets and I did not have to wait for it to ship. Twenty some odd years ago when I couldn't afford all this I had a hankering for RCBS so that is the way I eventually went with. I bought the;

Turret Kit
Cabelas Tumbler
HaND TRIMMER
tRICKLER
44 Mag 3 Dies Carbide
Case Prep Center (splurge)

They did not have 45 ACP dies. So I'm looking around here for them.
I'll put all this together this weekend and see what I'm missing. I did not buy shell holders, do you have to buy these separate?

Now I have to figure out what powders and primers to use for 45 and 44mag loading.

A lot of reading to do tonight.

And a thanks for everyone's help, it really helped move things along.

 

[lordgroom]

You will need calipers, a media separator (I like the RCBS), a manual, A scale, and a kinetic puller.

 

[SaltySteve]

Is a media separator the same as a Tumbler? also is a kinetic puller also called a bullet puller/hammer? I have the other things you mentioned and will probably have to put a small order together for whatever else I might have forgotten.

I will probably buy whatever bullets (inexpensive) I can find for Range practice. My stumbling block now are the loads. Am I correct in thinking that the first thing to identify is the Bullet and then load components after that?

 

[lgbloader]

Hey SS,

Don't forget a good load manual or two or even 3 or 4...

I would start with Lyman #48, and then Sierra and Hornady and the Lee #2 book (its a good read).

And please don't eyeball powder charges, invest in a good scale right away if it didn't come in your kit. I Recommend the 505, you could splurge and get a 1010 or even a RCBS 750 range master but the 505 is really all you need.

Calipers are also very important to have. I use them every time I open the door to the cave. Harbor freight has a 4" digital on sale for $14.95 or a 6" digital for $20.00 and they are enough.

There are so many more little gadgets that would be helpful but that might scare you off, Mate.

Don't worry, though, you're starting off a hell of alot better than I did. I started with 1 set of dies and a hammer and my bench was a 2x4.

Cheers...

 

[uk roe hunter]

i don't use a tumbler, it would be nice if money was no object though. an rcbs chamfer tool is a good buy.

 

[qajaq59]

I'd eventually get a "stuck case" remover. They're aren't too expensive and they're certainly handy if you don't lube a 30-06 case properly and it gets stuck in the die. I've only used mine once in a LOT of years but I was glad I had it.

 

[SaltySteve]

More Books-Chamfer Tool-stuck Case Remover
I'll look into all of these, Is the stuck case remover a Die and I'm guessing a chamfer tool goes onto the Trimmer??

 

[scrat]

its usually the small hand tools that add up. but are needed. chamfer de burr, case length trimmer, primer pocket cleaner and uniformer. might even want a hand primer. they all add up. Its figuring out what you need and why you need it.

 

[BigBlack]

its a never ending wish list.

I started with the lee turret kit and rolled of my first batch of 243's. It did not stop and has not stopped. My MidWay wish list grows quicker than I can afford to buy the stuff.

do not forget the other stuff that will start catching your eye as soon as you roll your first, chrony, rcbs charge master, etc...

good luck, and have fun

 

[SaltySteve]

Yeah, I think I'll use a hand primer for sure.
What about powders? I know there are a lot of options out there but I don't know enough to make an intelligent choice at this point. I'm trying to load 45 ACP and 44 Mag and 44 Special. I will only be using these loads for target practice. I'm not sure what Bullets to use either.

 

[lordgroom]

A tumbler is not the same as a media separator. You may have gotten one in a kit. I got one in the Frankford Arsenal kit but didn't like it at all. The media and dust went everywhere. At the time I was still tumbling indoors. After reading the lead safety sticky, I moved tumbling outside. here is a link for the separator I like:
http://www.midwayusa.com/eproductpage.exe/showproduct?saleitemid=176956

A kinetic puller is the same as a bullet puller. I bought the dillon version because it was in a local store. You do not need to change the collet for different size cases.

Of the calibers you mentioned, I load .45 ACP. I use 200 grain Semi-Wadcutter rounds for target practice driven by 4.2 grains of Bullseye. Bullseye is a pretty standard powder for .45's. Many will say it is dirty, but I have to clean anyway. 4pounds of Bullseye will last a long time.

 

[qajaq59]

The stuck case puller is essentially a drill, tap and screw. It works like a small wheel puller. I didn't describe that too well, but if you look in Midway they likely have a photo of one.

For the powder you can start with what ever is on the top of the list, in the manual, for what ever weight bullet you are going to use. It isn't always the most accurate, but it's a good place to start.

And be patient. No one works up a perfect load in two tries. Just have fun and enjoy you new equipment.

 

[SaltySteve]

Great info and I will try the Bullseye.
When looking at load data in the diff books I have now, what matters? the weight of bullet or the maker of the bullet as it pertains to amount of powder? I ask this because I may try some 3rd party bullets.
Oh yeah, I'll go ahead and grab a Stuck Case Puller also. It sounds like one of those things you'd wish you had if needed.