Want to start reloading...help me tweak my list

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holdencm9

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Hi Everyone, so to support my newfound love of .45acp I am planning to buy some equipment and get started. I have been thinking of doing it for some time now, just never got around to really digging into the research and getting started. The main thing right now is .45, as I have about 500 empty cases saved up from the past few months, but eventually I'd like to start reloading other calibers as like 9mm, as well as rifle calibers like .223, .308 but in smaller quantities.

I have already decided that a turret press is right for me, based on quantity I want to reload and such. I understand the merits for a single stage for a newbie but since I know I will be upgrading quickly I am opting to start with turret. And I don't believe I would ever do enough to justify progressive.

I was thinking of getting this Lee Kit along with Lee 4-die set and Bench Plate Kit and reloading manual. The reason for the bench plate kit is because I am in an apartment and my reloading station also has to be my cleaning/everything else station. So I thought it might be nice to quickly detach the press and get it out of the way.

The kit comes with a book "Modern Reloading 2nd Edition" and everything else I need to get started (I think) although a lot of people complain about the scale, and upgrade immediately, so I may opt to buy all the parts separate with a better scale (actually works out to be just a few bucks more).

Along with a pound of W231 powder, some CCI large pistol primers, and some Speer bullets should I be on my way? Is that combo of powder/primer/bullets good for getting started and general-use ammo for range fun?

Some other things on the list to buy soon...

extra 4 hole turret
lee case trimmer
lee .45 acp case length gage & shellholder
RCBS case tumbler
RCBS case cleaning media
frankford arsenal caliper
frankford arsenal bullet puller
Lee case lube (i think may come with the kit but not sure how long a tube lasts)

So what do you guys think? Is there anything in the second list that is something I should buy immediately along with the kit? Will I be okay using the once-fired brass without cleaning it first for my first reload (I know you should clean the brass, but every single time is it required?)

Thanks in advance for everyone's help. I am hoping to put in the order soon, but don't want to be too hasty. Also as the thread name indicates I am mostly interested in help tweaking the list, not necessarily overhauling it, buying a totally different press, etc...but if you know where any of the parts can be found cheaper, please provide links! As you can see I like links :) I was hoping to stick with Midway for the most part as I have always had good luck with them and figure it would simplify the order and keep shipping costs minimal, but if significant savings can be had I can split the order up. Thanks again ya'll.
 
If you have carbide dies, you don't need to worry about the case lube. You do want a good scale that is accurate. Ohaus makes scales for RCBS and many others. I would get the calipers and the puller pretty quick - you'll want to ensure the proper OAL and we all make mistakes that need to be pulled
 
oneounceload, thanks for the response. The carbide dies/no-lube rule is a pistol-only thing correct? You have to lube rifle cases no matter what? I am just thinking for if I start reloading .223 or .308, but I'm trying not to get ahead of myself and focus on .45 for now! :)

I will definitely take your advice on the bullet puller and caliper and order them right away. I think I will order all the parts from the kit separately, except for the crummy scale they include, and order a nice electronic one instead.

The kit comes with a book, but if I am ordering everything separate, I can choose any book I want. Is Modern Reloading 2nd Edition still the one to get? Otherwise I have seen some praise for ABC's of Reloading and a handful of others.

Thanks!
 
I load pistol on both Dillon and Hornady progressive presses and lube my brass with Hornady one shot case lube. I dump a bunch of brass in a small cardboard box and spray on the lube while shaking the box of brass. The one shot dries quickly and does not need to be removed after the reloading is done.

You can load pistol without lube using carbide dies, but it's smoother with some lube.
 
**Important**
I highly suggest finding a Lee Kit that includes the Classic Turret press over the Deluxe press. The base is cast iron on the Classic and the linkage is much heavier. The ram is much thicker and the Classic handles spent primers much better. You will be very happy with the Classic press, the Deluxe press, not so much! Kempf Gun Shop has a Classic 4 hole turret press kit for a fair price. I suggest the Pro Auto-Dish upgrade at the bottom of the page. It too is a much better tool for not a lot of money.

Imperial Sizing Wax is the best lube on the market. The little 2oz tin will last almost forever because all you need is a very small dab when processing rifle cases.
 
I would recommend buying the kit over buying seperately! Why? You save a few bucks buying the kit over buying everything seperately! And from what I have been reading on reloading most people that have been in it for a while, usually have 2 or 3 scales and 2 or 3 presses or more. Usually they have gotten them through the years after finding out something they did not quite like about one or the other or they needed something to handle more rounds or more accurate in measurments.

I am also going to be ordering a presskit very soon, but have yet to make up my mind on whether to go with the Lee or the RCBS single stage kit. And then get the other stuff like dies, caliper, tumbler, and other nice to have items later. I am going to reload mostly rifle .270win, .30-30win, and probably 6.5 Carcano. Later on I might load handgun ammo.

As for where to buy some of the items cheaper, Here are some places that sometimes have some items cheaper than MidwayUSA:

http://www.grafs.com/

http://www.natchezshooterssupply.com/

Hope this helps.
 
ArchAngel,

I have read several people remark on how the classic is so much better. Thanks for the link to that Kempf Kit. I happened to price out the parts to create a "kit" myself:

lee classic 4-hole turret press $110
lee 4-die carbide dies $43
lee autodisk powder measure $25
lee safety primer feeder $22
lee autodisk powder measure riser $8

All that comes to $208, which is about EQUAL to what that Kempf's kit costs, and the Kempf's kit includes 6 plastic ammo boxes, so that looks like a good deal, so long as their shipping is decent!

I am curious about the "pro" auto-disk upgrade. It is $39 on Midway, so the $13 up-charge at Kempf seems reasonable, but Midway says it CAN work with turret presses, but is not designed for this application. So what advantages does it have? Spill less? Sturdier construction? Thanks!
 
This kit includes the Classic turret, reloading manual, scale (plenty accurate, touchy to use), Pro autodisk powder measure, safety primer feed and some case prep tools for 207.49.

My experience with FS Reloading has been very good. Their prices are hard to beat.
 
You could also look at titan reloading they sell tons of lee stuff good pricing and fair shipping. I bought my lee progressive press from midway. Another site is cheaper than dirt. And I have the lee scale and it came in a kit and I would trust it over any electric scale. It has been flawless so far just because something costs more doesnt always make it better.
 
LEE90304
Web Product Title: CLASSIC TURRET PRESS KIT
Item Price: $186.99
Availability: Currently Out of Stock,

Natchezss.com

$15.?? shipping charge.

I will follow your thread, I'm wanting this kit too.
 
holdencm9 said:
ArchAngel,

I have read several people remark on how the classic is so much better. Thanks for the link to that Kempf Kit. I happened to price out the parts to create a "kit" myself:

lee classic 4-hole turret press $110
lee 4-die carbide dies $43
lee autodisk powder measure $25
lee safety primer feeder $22
lee autodisk powder measure riser $8

All that comes to $208, which is about EQUAL to what that Kempf's kit costs, and the Kempf's kit includes 6 plastic ammo boxes, so that looks like a good deal, so long as their shipping is decent!

I am curious about the "pro" auto-disk upgrade. It is $39 on Midway, so the $13 up-charge at Kempf seems reasonable, but Midway says it CAN work with turret presses, but is not designed for this application. So what advantages does it have? Spill less? Sturdier construction? Thanks!
Click to expand...

Your list looks just like the setup I got from Kempf's about 2years ago, and it's worked well for me. I load for a couple of pistol and rifle calibers. I will say that shortly after starting to use it, I did dump the Lee scale and picked up an RCBS 5-0-5 to replace it. The Lee scale is accurate and does work well, but my old eyes had problems with the .1gr. readings. The RCBS is so much easier.

If you just plan to reload straight-walled pistol cases, the carbide dies won't really need any case lube, BUT I normally use Hornady OneShot and lube 1 out of 5 or so cases, just to make the effort less.

The pro-auto-disk has worked well for me, but I also picked up the Lee micro-adjustable bar for it. I found that this gave me much more flexibility with different powder charges, than relying on the fixed holes in the discs that come with the measure.

Bear in mind that when you start reloading for your rifle calibers, you may also want to invest in a separate powder measure, inplace of the Pro-autodisk. Those rifle powder charges will task the limits of the Pro-Autodisk quickly. For those I use an RCBS Uni-flow measure.
 
I have had more issues with HOS not allowing me to use the full product in the can. That, and being a nasty carcinogen, stopped me from using it. There are pump spray products that work as well and aren't as nasty for you and the environment.

Clean pistol cases rarely need lube, not that lubing every 5th is a bad idea.

Eventually a case cleaner of the vibratory or tumbling variety will take up some space on your bench
 
oneounceload said:
I have had more issues with HOS not allowing me to use the full product in the can. That, and being a nasty carcinogen, stopped me from using it. There are pump spray products that work as well and aren't as nasty for you and the environment.

Clean pistol cases rarely need lube, not that lubing every 5th is a bad idea.

Eventually a case cleaner of the vibratory or tumbling variety will take up some space on your bench
Click to expand...

That's a good tip about the tumbler; I picked one up myself some time ago from Cabelas. I'm not sure about HOS being a carcinogen though. Here's the MSDS sheet on it which states that it's not. What spray products have you been using as an alternate? I'm intrigued.

http://www.hornady.com/assets/files/msds/OneShot_Gun-Cleaner_MSDS.pdf

Goodness knows, I've used much worse stuff in my earlier years, but this seems pretty mild by comparison.
 
holdencm9 said:
ArchAngel,

I am curious about the "pro" auto-disk upgrade. It is $39 on Midway, so the $13 up-charge at Kempf seems reasonable, but Midway says it CAN work with turret presses, but is not designed for this application. So what advantages does it have? Spill less? Sturdier construction? Thanks!
Click to expand...
The Pro Auto-Disk IS designed to work with the Lee Turret press. I have no idea why Midway said that. Advantage, everything! The Pro uses brass nuts to secure the hopper and the none pro uses screws right into a plastic hopper. How many times can you screw into the plastic before the holes strip? The linkage is better on the pro and yes, it does spill less. You can turn off the powder by turning the hopper on the pro not with the other. You can add a "double disk kit" to the pro but not the other. The pro comes with the swivel adapter for easy installation, the other does not. It's just a much better tool for the small additional cost.
http://leeprecision.com/powder-handling/automatic-powder-measures/
 
Also check with Cabelas. When I started researching prices for press kits, Cabelas had the cheapest anywhere, and they are always having specials on free shipping and what not. Cabelas has a lot of competitive prices on just about anything reloading wise.

If your not just set in stone on which press to get, take a look at the Hornady LnL kits. I've for a Hornady and I love it. I love the quick change system they have. Plus they for a promo going on this year to get free bullets. I've been able to get 1000 free bullets this year just from buying several die sets and buying my press.
 
I have read several people remark on how the classic is so much better. Thanks for the link to that Kempf Kit. I happened to price out the parts to create a "kit" myself:

lee classic 4-hole turret press $110
lee 4-die carbide dies $43
lee autodisk powder measure $25
lee safety primer feeder $22
lee autodisk powder measure riser $8

All that comes to $208, which is about EQUAL to what that Kempf's kit costs, and the Kempf's kit includes 6 plastic ammo boxes, so that looks like a good deal, so long as their shipping is decent!

I am curious about the "pro" auto-disk upgrade. It is $39 on Midway, so the $13 up-charge at Kempf seems reasonable, but Midway says it CAN work with turret presses, but is not designed for this application. So what advantages does it have? Spill less? Sturdier construction? Thanks!
Click to expand...

The kempf kit also includes one set of dies.
 
ArchAngelCD said:
The Pro Auto-Disk IS designed to work with the Lee Turret press. I have no idea why Midway said that. Advantage, everything! The Pro uses brass nuts to secure the hopper and the none pro uses screws right into a plastic hopper. How many times can you screw into the plastic before the holes strip? The linkage is better on the pro and yes, it does spill less. You can turn off the powder by turning the hopper on the pro not with the other. You can add a "double disk kit" to the pro but not the other. The pro comes with the swivel adapter for easy installation, the other does not. It's just a much better tool for the small additional cost.
http://leeprecision.com/powder-handling/automatic-powder-measures/
Click to expand...
The linkage is the same on the Standard and on the Pro, but the Pro body is coated with Teflon and supposedly makes it operate easier and smoother.

Both measures have the option of using the spring-operated "F" lever to operate the linkage or the pull-chain operated "T" lever. Is that what you meant by the "linkage". If so, you are correct.

The spring-operated "F" lever will work on any press. The Pull-chain operated lever will not work with a turret press because the rotation of the turret will tangle it all up. Because of this, there is no attachment point on the ram for the chain. On a single-stage press there is no attachment point either, but it COULD work. Or you could operate the pull-chain by hand.

In kits, some vendors only sell the auto-disk with one lever ("F" or "T", depending on what press type you are getting), but if you buy the powder measure by itself, you should get both.

One disadvantage of the Pro is that the powder hopper is taller. I store my dies when not in use and if I could leave the powder measures attached (but emptied), I would. The Pro hopper is too tall to fit in my storage box. So, if you MUST look for a disadvantage, that is the only one I can find.

Midway is not the only vendor with employees who don't know their products. Factory Sales substituted a standard autodisk for a Pro on my order of a Turret press because someone (wrongly) thought the Pro would not work on the Turret press. Mistakes happen. Sue Kempf (who now owns Kempf's gun shop, a family business, obviously) actually uses the products. Just my observation.

Lost Sheep
 
I'd get this kit from Kempf Lee Classic Cast Turret Kit as it contains more of what you really need and none of what you don't (like that stupid Lee safe powder scale!).

Recommend this list: Kempfs LCT kit with the Pro Powder measure, Lee 4 Die set, scale, dial calipers and Tumbler.
 
(like that stupid Lee safe powder scale!).

Is this scale that bad?
Click to expand...

It functions but is just a bit hard for many to understand sometimes. I prefer digital such as the Hornady GS-1500 as it is faster and simple to use. I also have an RGBS beam scale and again it is slower due waiting for it to stop moving.
 
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