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Looking to start reloading, What equipment to use?

saleen308

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Oct 20, 2009
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Is it better to buy one of the kits or buy each piece seperate for better tools. i plan to reload 308 WIN but, might do some 9mm, 40, and 223.

What have you all had success with?
 
Re: Looking to start reloading, What equipment to use?

Buy a reayd to go kit. I reccomend the RCBS. They save your time and $$ and give you just about everything you need to get started.

Or else spend a ton of time and money buying piece by piece and waiting for sales all year around.. The RCBS ready to go kit are decently priced for what you get.

All I bought was a case trimmer and a caliper another $80 all together and Im basically fully set to go. Took all of 2 days to get my reloading set up finished.

EDIT: And dies of course. Sorry. Pick up some decent redding dies for the RCBS and your G2G
 
Re: Looking to start reloading, What equipment to use?

You should first decide at what level you are going to get into reloading. It's one of those things that you can do, do well, do really well or do at an OCD anal retentive Mr. Monk level.

If you think you will ever want to be at the high end then I suggest you spend a month reading up on all the minute variables and then see what is the best piece of equipment for that particular procedure. IE; SS Media, Giraud trimmer etc.,

I am a new re loader but I knew going in that I was going to try and learn to do it at a high level so I purchased the best equipment I could now rather than have to upgrade later as my skill progressed.

Good luck which ever way you go.
 
Re: Looking to start reloading, What equipment to use?

I have an RCBS RockChucker I bought new in 1972 ans still use it quiet a bit. Especially for bigger rifle stuff. But a friend of mine bought a Redding Big Boss 2 a couple of months ago. From the quality standpoint I was impressed. I'm a retired tool & die maker. I know quality machine work when I see it.
 
Re: Looking to start reloading, What equipment to use?

RCBS can't be beat! I started out with a pardner press and some Hornady dies. Stay away from lee unless money is tight. either way a good set of dies,and scale goes a long way
 
Re: Looking to start reloading, What equipment to use?

I agree with thefitter.

Are you easily pleased, a little bit anal, or full blown OCD?

If you take your hobbies very seriously, I would hold off do alot of research and buy things seperately, because some of the best stuff out there does not come in a kit form.

If your a little bit anal, then perhaps a kit and a few extras will do you but dont be suprised if you spend a few hundred more on top of a kit price.

If your easily pleased the RCBS rockchucker kits or Redding Big Boss kits should fit the bill... may or may not require small extras depending on your level of care and attention.

IMO if your shooting a few thousand rounds per year, the cost of really good equipment soon becomes dwarfed by component costs anyways, so save yourself headaches and sore body parts by getting the high end stuff.
 
Re: Looking to start reloading, What equipment to use?

When I got into reloading I found that it was very hard to find all of the individual pieces and parts that I needed. In that regard, a kit would really make a lot of sense. I ended up getting a hand me down lee press. That gave me the chance to get started and find out what I liked and what I didn't. I also spent very little money. I out grew that press very quickly, but learned what I wanted and what I needed. From there I knew what I wanted to spend my money on.

However, if you are wanting to make precision ammunition, getting quality components to begin with also makes a lot of sense.

I guess my advice is to just get the kit. It will save a lot of anxiety and frustration in getting started. However be advised that you will be replacing some of the components with higher quality ones.

I found it to be very frustrating when I was close to being ready to load but then found out that I needed 1 extra part. I would get that component that I needed, make it just a little bit further and then realize that I still need something else. Still there were other components that I thought I could do without but ended up realizing that I needed. I think that a kit would have cost me more money in the end, but it would've been a lot more fun and got me going a lot faster.
 
Re: Looking to start reloading, What equipment to use?

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Quote:</div><div class="ubbcode-body">Is it better to buy one of the kits or buy each piece seperate for better tools.</div></div>

To me this is a total budget question. The short answer is: get the best equipment you can so you don't end up with a bunch of stuff you want to upgrade later. But how far do you want to go in terms of accuracy and how much money do you have. if the answer is just moderate accuracy and not too much $, go with a kit to get your feet wet.

If you have a lot of $ at your disposal and you want great accuracy for your 308, get a Dillon for pistol and a Forster or Redding with the best dies you can afford along with all the other necessary tools.

I guess after thinking about it, there is also the question of safety. If you are brand new to reloading, skip the Dillon for a while and learn on a single stage before moving on to a progressive.

Good luck