Amateur Reloader- Making a checklist

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Texaszach

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Hey guys I'm looking to be buying some equipment in the next few months. I have consulted here some before about getting started up but lord willing this time I can make it happen.

Also know that budget is limited, I have a family and this hobby.. well... you know.

I'm trying to buy efficient but affordable equipment but still have all the tools I would like to have once I know my way around my bench. I don't mind using a little elbow grease, I will be in no real rush to reload these rounds.

So far heres what I'm looking at.

Lee anniversary breech lock kit- 110
Lee Deluxe Dies .243 win - 32
RCBS 505-100
Powder trickler- 25
Case trimmer-
Calipers-
Trays
Case lube

Then obviously powder, bullets, and primers.

I have the RCBS scale listed so I have what I would believe to be a higher quality scale and also another means of verifying weight in addition to the lee quick measure and scale with the kit.

What would be my best solution for an affordable case trimmer? I will buy a fancy one down the road but just need something basic for now.

Also any advice and experience with calipers in my budget would be appreciated as well.

I have 100 federal brass, 60 remington, 20 hornady, and 20 winchester brass.

So any words of advice at this point would be GREATLY appreciated
 
I forgot to add I also have the Lee and Nosler manuals
 
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Get a set of digital calipers from Harbor Freight 20.00 unless you catch a sale. I use Lee's scale most of the time just be sure it is on a level surface. This is true for all balance beam scales.
T
 
Your Lee kit will come with a trimmer. All you need is this. It will work pretty well if you don't need a lot done at one time. It also comes with a part that you can put in a drill to speed up the trimming. Your kit will also come with a chamfer/deburr tool.

I the Lee breechlock kit is a great place to start. That's what I started with. If you're willing to spend a bit more, I'd recommend skipping it and starting with the Lee Turret. Some here will recommend the cast turret, but I have the deluxe and it works well enough, especially for being cheaper. The turret can do everything, the single stage can do, but faster and without having to mess with readjusting dies.

Also keep an eye on Lee's closeouts, sometimes you can find good deals there. I've bought two presses from that section and they both looked new.
 
Yeah T-Bran I have seen those calipers I just didn't know how reliable they were for the price.

J-Mcleod, So you think I should just all out skip the single stage? I guess in my head I've just been set on a single stage just thinking it'd make me do things slower and hopefully more precise and focused on the task at hand hopefully leading to me being safer. But I have no experience doing this as of yet and only read my manuals mostly.

And come time to buy I will definitely keep an eye on the closeouts
 
Texaszach said:
J-Mcleod, So you think I should just all out skip the single stage? I guess in my head I've just been set on a single stage just thinking it'd make me do things slower and hopefully more precise and focused on the task at hand hopefully leading to me being safer. But I have no experience doing this as of yet and only read my manuals mostly.
Click to expand...

I do. Personally I would never recommend that anyone get a single stage while the turret is on the market. At Cabela's it's only 5 dollars more. Many people will recommend that you start with a single stage, and it's a good idea. With the turret you have all the of dies set in the turret and it can auto index to advance to the next die if you are making a lot of rounds. If you have everything set up, you can make 100-200 rounds per hour, so it works well for pistol shooters. If you want to take it slow, all you have to do is disable the auto index, which takes about a minute, and you have a single stage. You can keep all the dies in the turret and manually rotate for the next stage, so it's still faster than the single stage where you can only have one die mounted at a time. All this for only 5 dollars more.

One important difference is that most turret press kits come with an auto disk measure, which is best for pistols while the breechlock kit comes with a perfect powder measure which is better for rifles. Since you plan to get the powder trickler you'll be fine with a turret kit and a .243.
 
I have a set of RCBS calipers and bought a set of the HF as back up I have seen no real difference. When the battery croaked in the RCBS I started using the HF so far so good when this batt dies I'll go back to the RCBS.
T
 
I'm not a fan of the Breach Lock Lee press but I do like their Cast Iron single stage press. I like the idea of buying the Cast Iron turret press even more. I have one and use it a lot. You can remove the Auto-Index rod and use it as a single stage press but you have all the dies available and adjusted on the turret.

Kempf Gun Shot has the Classic Turret Press kit at a good price. I suggest buying the Pro Auto-Disk upgrade at the bottom of the page. It's a superior tool to the standard Auto-Disk...

Rifle Caliber Kits include:
Lee Classic Turret Press
Lee PaceSetter Dies (3 Die set)
Lee Auto Disk Powder Measure
Lee Saftety Prime System (Large AND Small)
Lee Auto Disk Riser
Powder-Thru Rifle Charging Die
Case Lube
Double Disk Kit
 
J-Mcleod, So you think I should just all out skip the single stage? I guess in my head I've just been set on a single stage just thinking it'd make me do things slower and hopefully more precise and focused on the task at hand hopefully leading to me being safer. But I have no experience doing this as of yet and only read my manuals mostly.
Click to expand...

I can't speak for him, but yes, skip the SS-only press. I would advise against the deluxe turret though, the Lee classic turret is a much better press for not much more. It all depends what you think, though. The right press for each person is not always the same, it is the one that fits your needs and wallet.
Either turret press can be used as a single stage if one desires to start out slow and get the hang of what is going on. When you wish to speed up a little the turret will allow you to double your output with very little extra effort because it saves a lot of time.
 
Lee has 3 BL presses.

I wouldn't discard the Lee scale & by another cheap scale. Just use the Lee for now & learn what you like & dislike about it so you know what to look for in another.

Check out FS Reloading.
 
alright guys seems very logical to go with the turret for only that much more.

I don't plan to discard the scale but would just like another to compliment my reloading by giving me another means of verifying weights.

also how do the pace setter dies stack up vs the deluxe with the collet?
I am planning to use fire formed cases and neck size only.

Also any objection to IMR 4350? it seems to be listed under most 243 loads id like to try as well as my other two calibers Ill add later. 270 win and .30-06
 
A man with a watch always knows what time it is but a man with 2 is never sure.

Check scales against there self with check weights.
 
Makes more sense and sounds cheaper.
I guess I have just not read of them or seen them.
 
Powder funnel, Don't forget that. Your gonna need one unless your using a powder dispenser. Get a Turret for sure. You can just remove the indexing rod like mentioned and turn it into a single stage with 3-4 holes. Much better money spent.

As for the dies, Your going to want the FL die if you use brass you find at the range or brass that has not been shot previously in your firearm. If you are only going to use brass that has been shot in your rifle, Then neck sizing should be fine. Personally, I would get the deluxe set as you get all of them.

I like using a SS for reloading rifle rounds. But the Turret would work fine in this as well. I think you may need a riser if you plan on charging your cases on the turret, Unless you use one of the Lee Perfect Powder Measure or something similar.

As for IMR-4350, I have used it in my 30-06 but I haven't used a whole lot of it but it seems to do decent in my 30-06. I am only using plinking loads with 147 Gr so take my opinion for what it worth I guess. Varget was a bit better. Also, More reloaders tend to go for the powders labeled with the "H". Not all, But quite a few do.

Check weights is a great way to make sure your scale is on par with the .1 Gr accuracy that it is intended for.

Ask any questions you have and look up different suppliers and buy from who ever you can get the best price from. If you can buy local, That would save you a few bucks on shipping itself. Especially primers and powder.
 
I started out many years ago with IMR-4350 loading 30-06, .270 win., and .243 win. and it works very well. It is among the slow burning powders for your applications and behaves very well during load developement, not spikey. My most accurate loads with IMR4350 are often compressed, or close to it.
 
I can't speak for that powder but BL(C)-2 does great in all.

I suggest the Deluxe die set. The NS die is great but you will still have a need for the FL to size new to you brass.
 
I use a lyman Balance beam approx. 15 years old and a RCBS 750 digital, the digital is my primary with the balance beam as back up/ check, (can't be too careful in reloading).
 
I'd suggest an RCBS 750. My 1970's era 505 lives under the bench, still works great but the 750 is the bees knees, stays turned on 24/7 running on the ac adapter and doesn't drift at all. hit zero and put the 30G check weight on, should read 263 - if it doesn't, re-cal the scale. I last re-caled mine about 4 or 5 months ago, it takes about 20 seconds.

I'd seriously consider a lee classic cast turret, it'll speed up production. and costs $92 at nachez.

I'd skip the trickler and get the pro disk ($32 at nachez) plus a double disk kit ($7) and the riser ($6) as long as you don't plan to use more than 42 grains of stick powder. The trickler is nice but you can do without one quite nicely if you use the dipper that comes with the lee dies and sprinkle up to final weight of you're weighing charges. for most shooting the measure is fine w/o any extra help and will save lots of time on the turret press.

The Collet neck size is a good die.
 
Skip the trickler. I have the NS die in 243 and 30-30. Neither work for me (yes, several here will disagree). I don't think the Lee set crimps. Get a FL die set and learn to partial NS with it. Cost wise the diff between retail Lee and H or RCBS isn't even berger money. Don't start with 1 shot for case lube. I have the cast SS, the turret looks OK too. H4895 works well in 243, from no recoil to full power loads.
 
feel free to PM me kingmt.

I appreciate the info and the Turret press seems like the way to go for the price.
So the powder measure with the turret kit is fairly accurate?
 
I don't know about the turret. The Pro Disk is by far my favorite measure out of the it, the LNL, & Uniflo. The Lee dies are favored by me over RCBS. I can only speak about what I know. I am very happy with my Pro1000 & Load Master tho. I know you said something about budget tho so I won't push them.
 
J_McLeod said:
Your Lee kit will come with a trimmer. All you need is this. It will work pretty well if you don't need a lot done at one time. It also comes with a part that you can put in a drill to speed up the trimming. Your kit will also come with a chamfer/deburr tool.

I the Lee breechlock kit is a great place to start. That's what I started with. If you're willing to spend a bit more, I'd recommend skipping it and starting with the Lee Turret. Some here will recommend the cast turret, but I have the deluxe and it works well enough, especially for being cheaper. The turret can do everything, the single stage can do, but faster and without having to mess with readjusting dies.

Also keep an eye on Lee's closeouts, sometimes you can find good deals there. I've bought two presses from that section and they both looked new.
Click to expand...
He is telling you wright
 
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