O.K. Time to Reload

[NeverAgain26]

My last .308 buy of S.African Surplus was 1000 rounds and ran me 18 cents a round including shipping. I see pricing now for European Surplus running upwards of 50 cents a round not including shipping. I imagine the demand for .308 has dried up the surplus market because it's being used in Afghanistan and Iraq for it's longer range and because it's more powerful than the .223 round.

I guess it's time for me to begin reloading. It didn't make sense when I could buy all I wanted at 18 cents a round shipped to my door. It makes a lot of sense now when it costs upwards of 50 cents a round. Also, I assume I can wring more accuracy out of my own loads than surplus rounds, so I would use my reloads for longer range work and use my remaining surplus for having fun plinking.

As you can see from the price of my last buy, it was some time ago and it is lasting me awhile. I use anywhere between 20 and 30 rounds per 2 hour range session at 200 yards when I am target shooting and let my barrel cool between shots. I use maybe 60-80 rounds per session if I am shooting closer up and just want to shoot quick and dirty at 50-100 yards.

I imagine I would want to reload about 100-200 rounds per 2-3 hour reloading session so I could make do with a simple, inexpensive press. I would like a solid, quality press, however.

Is there any company that sells a kit that has pretty much everything I would need for reloading for a few hundred dollars? Who makes it and what model would it be?

I would need a bunch of accessories and a scale. I can do all that research and find out what I need, but what kit might have the most comprehensive set-up that would not have me running around and buying everything piece-meal?

Also, I understand about tumblers and tumbling media, but is tumbling an absolute necessity when reloading? What function does it practically serve?

I can collect a nice lot of my own once-fired brass so all I need is bullets, primers and powder on the supply side.

Thanks in advance for your help and guidance.

NA26

 

[teombe]

Here's my suggestion.

Buy a set of loading manuals. I like Speer, Sierra, Hornady, & Lyman. The Lyman manual has the best tutorial on "how to" of the group. You will not be redundant if you buy them all. IMHO, Hornady and Sierra have the easiest-to follow recipes for beginners, and Hornady bullets are fairly inexpensive in bulk.

1) Buy The Big Boss from Midsouth.

There's no need to buy crap or an inexpensive press when this one's only $105.

2) Pick up a good powder measure, calipers, and scale. My fave scale is the RCBS 5-0-5. It's an exellent value.

As for powder measures,
Good = RCBS Uniflow
Better = Uniflow with a micrometer insert
Best = a Redding 3BR

Harbor Freight will always have a good set of 6" digital calipers for $15. They work fine, but buy two at that price.

3) Pick up a Frankford Arsenal tumbler from Midway. Yes, this is necessary especially if you don't want to f*ck up your rifle dies.

4) Buy the best set of 308 dies you can afford. Hornady is good. Reddings with the Comp seaters are better. The Lee Factory Crimp Die is the only Lee die I would recommend.

5) Pick up the loading blocks, trimmer, chamfer/debur tool, powder funnel, case lube, and other accessories of your choice.

My only advice is don't skimp. Oh, and trim your once-fired brass before you load it.

 

[scrat]

like this one

http://www.midwayusa.com/eproductpage.exe/showproduct?saleitemid=121744&t=11082005

 

[mainebear]

Its kind of like teome said... Don't skimp. You'll just have to buy again as your experience level increases.

The RCBS kits at Midway are good and reasonably priced. Ditto on the Lyman manuals. A good balance scale and powder dispenser will go a long way and is really fast once you get it set up. The electronic measures and dispensers are good, but expensive and slow compared with charging directly into the cases with a manual setup IMHO.

Once you get the books and see different setups, talk to people, and eliminate the Ford vs Chevy stuff, (hey thats why there are lots of different presses) you will find what feels and works best for you. Take your time, ask a lot of questions, and enjoy, enjoy, enjoy!

 

[jrumsey]

I think teome has it pretty well nailed down. The Big Boss is a great press for beginner or expert reloader. I also second the 3BR powder measure and to start out with the Hornady dies with the micrometer seating stem. The Redding powder scale is also a good choice mine is spot on over its span.

Joe

 

[strat81]

Neveragain26, is your "few hundred" dollars for the press and related equipment only, or do you want components included with that? $300 will buy you a very nice set of reloading tools. But, components can get very expensive very quickly. Plinking ammo is much cheaper to assemble in terms of both components and time. If you want sub-MOA, you'll need a good rifle, good components, and a bit more time to work up a good load.

As much as I enjoy reloading, I enjoy shooting more. Therefore, I recommend a turret press. It doesn't sound like you're doing enough shooting to justify a progressive. A 4-hole Lee Classic Cast Turret is a great choice.

 

[evan price]

Too bad your South African brass is Berdan primed, not boxer, and not easily reloadable, assuming you can even find the right primers.

 

[Sunray]

"...for a few hundred dollars..." How few? Look into an RCBS Beginner's Kit. Midway wants $259.99 without the dies or shell holder. Go talk to your local gun shop. It may be the same price, but you won't be paying shipping.

 

[RidgwayCO]

For what you want to do, you'd be hard pressed to beat this kit:

http://www.kempfgunshop.com/products/reloading/completerelo/KempfKit.html

I would upgrade the package to the pro autodisk. Add a loading manual, a decent digital or balance beam scale, calipers, Imperial sizing wax, and an inertial bullet puller, and you'll be ready for just about anything.

Oh yes, you'll also need components...

 

[stubbicatt]

Per Strat81: As much as I enjoy reloading, I enjoy shooting more. Therefore, I recommend a turret press. It doesn't sound like you're doing enough shooting to justify a progressive. A 4-hole Lee Classic Cast Turret is a great choice.

Per Evan Price: Too bad your South African brass is Berdan primed, not boxer, and not easily reloadable, assuming you can even find the right primers.

Evan is right about berdan primed brass, regrettably. There are other sources of reloadable brass, however.

The Lee Classic Cast Turret press with the optional safety prime is probably the best value in reloading right now. It works as a single stage if you want, as a turret with manual advance, or as a turret with automatic advance. Once you get your dies set, you needn't bother with them again. With instantly interchangeable tool heads you can have several calibers all set up and ready to go with the quick tool head change and a change of shell holder and primer attachment, if necessary, and you are ready to go.

Rolling right along and with already clean cases, already lubed and all, you can quite handily do 150 an hour without pushing too hard. I also like the Deluxe Auto Disc and the Lee Perfect powder measure for use in conjunction with this press and their respective charge dies.

For a sizing die I have settled on the RCBS X die, which only makes sense once you start using it. The Lee seating die and factory crimp dies work exceedingly well.

I have used the micrometer seating dies from Redding and Forster, and they are very handy, that is true. However, once I arrive at a bullet/powder/case/primer combo, I set it and forget it. I also keep dummy rounds of what works well for me. Should I desire a change in seating depth, I simply set up the seating die to work with the dummy cartridge I have in my reference drawer. The thumb knob on the Lee die works very readily, and one can return to previous settings easily by simply snugging down the seating stem to finger tight on a dummy round.

Anyways. This setup works for me.