New to reloading. Bought my first piece of kit

[FSRbikr98]

Well as of 30 seconds ago I jumped on the gearhog.com deal of the day

I purchased the SR4235 Ultrasonic Cleaner 1.5QRT 110V from SmartReloader.

It was only 90$ with shipping so I couldn't resist.

I hope to have a basic reloading setup done by January. I still need a press and scale.

Any recommendations? I'm on a budget but would be interested to see what the rest of the hide is using.

 

[adrenalinelife]

Re: New to reloading. Bought my first piece of kit

I Just picked up the Lyman DPS II used and I think it is great. super easy to use, and it auto trickles for you. so far it seems quite accurate.

I would say skip the balance scales, but then again if you are on a budget, the digital scales may be a bit pricy.

I hear that the RCBS Chargemaster is really good as well.

 

[Top Cat]

Re: New to reloading. Bought my first piece of kit

Well...I prefer the consistent accuracy the manual scale brings. I have one that is still accurate to 1/10 gr and is over 40 years old...I wonder if most of these digital units will still be working 4 years from now...?

I like the Ohaus made scales like the RCBS 505 if they are still available.

The Forster CO-AX is the best press out there. The floating die design is consistent, although standard ram type presses can be made to float the dies as well.

These days the Lee Classic Cast press is also a good unit and still made in the USA.

I also use an RCBS bench type priming tool..trying to prime on the press is fine, but the separate unit is worth the space on the bench.

TC

 

[Cegorach]

Re: New to reloading. Bought my first piece of kit

I have had very good luck with the RCBS 505, and believe it is worth spending some money on. A good part of the accuracy in hand loading is derived from consistent powder charges. I too do not trust many of the less expensive electric scales, and I am not always loading somewhere where there is electricity.

As far as a press is concerned, some of it depends on exactly what you plan on doing. What are you going to be reloading, .223 and .308 type cartridges, or monster magnums? Since I have always stayed on the smaller end of the spectrum I have been very well served by an RCBS JR press. Unfortunately I can't comment on any company's newer offerings.

Then a case prep kit including flash hole deburrer, primer pocket uniformer, and case mouth chamfer tool is a must in my book.

Something else to consider if you are on an extremely tight budget is a Lee loader. Surprisingly I have been able to produce some very good ammunition with this thing. For $25 and a hammer it is hard to get loading ammunition cheaper or easier.

Also, while I am on the subject of Lee, another one of their products I have become enamored with is the collet neck sizing die. For $30 you can get one of their 3 die sets that includes it. With it I have been able to produce more accurate ammunition than I have using its Redding equivalent.

Oh, and Imperial sizing die wax is what I would get for case lube. I made a foray into One Shot spray lube for added convenience once. I will never make that mistake again.

I am sure I missed a bunch, but those are the highlights that came to mind.

 

[zuke]

Re: New to reloading. Bought my first piece of kit

A micrometer will be an asset in the long run.
Chinese or not.
I worked in a shop where we built part's for jet engine's.
One of the old timer's was going on about his new $400 mic.set so the next day one of the guy's brought in a chinese one he paid $19.99 for.
It passed ALL the calibration test and was certified.
All 3 of the calibration people ran it thru all the test's to make sure it wasn't a fluke,and it wasn't.
I picked up some misc gauge block's off EBAY to check the zero now and then for my set.

 

[Top Cat]

Re: New to reloading. Bought my first piece of kit

I have several nice micrometers that I have never used in the reloading process...

However my stainless steel dial calipers are nearly constantly in my left hand it seems, with the added bonus that the dial is large enough that I can still read it without my glasses on!

TC

 

[snowdog650]

Re: New to reloading. Bought my first piece of kit

As for scales ... go with the Dillon beam scale for $56. It is made by Ohaus and is the exact same scale as the RCBS 505, but -- inexplicably -- $30 cheaper and has the benefit of notches on the tenth poise. No need to pay more than that for a scale unless you have $$ to burn, then go with an RCBS 10-10.

 

[Chanonry]

Re: New to reloading. Bought my first piece of kit



<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: FSRbikr98</div><div class="ubbcode-body">Well as of 30 seconds ago I jumped on the gearhog.com deal of the day

I purchased the SR4235 Ultrasonic Cleaner 1.5QRT 110V from SmartReloader.

It was only 90$ with shipping so I couldn't resist.

I hope to have a basic reloading setup done by January. I still need a press and scale.

Any recommendations? I'm on a budget but would be interested to see what the rest of the hide is using. </div></div>

Press - cheapest you can find, not critical to ammunition quality

Scale - NOT thee cheapest you can find, consistent load weight IS critical to quality. Don't had to go daft either, just not an ultra cheap brand