new to reloading, jumping in head first

[Tony_D_50652]

well Ive been collecting 30-06 brass for a while mostly Remington and some federal and am now somewhere around 1000 cases and was contemplating starting to purchase some reloading supplies, well my contemplating went full on luck about 2 hours ago a buddy of mine moved into his new place and was clearing out stuff left in the basement by the previous owner and ran across a pile of reloading supplies among which was a brand new set of dies for the 30-06 springfeild and a LEE press, 2 un-open tubs gunpowder, die sets for a 300 win mag, 357, 32, and some others I will make a full list with brands once i get threw the 2 boxes of supplies. I know most of the die sets I'll just be getting rid of because I don't intend on owning the fire arms that would use those particular rounds.

here is the box for the 30-06 die set


was curious if anyone has had experience with this brand of dies and I will be reading through everything I can on this site before I start loading my own but had to ask what was probably a stupid question, also also not being a selling member on here where would be a good place to get rid of any dies or anything i dont plan on keeping or using, other than the for sale area here?

oh and I should probably mention I have $0.00 in everything he found and any more he finds as he cleans.

 

[Slim Chance]

RCBS is top notch. Get a reloading manual and read it prior to setting anything up.

 

[George Az]

Well, let's get this ball rolling. Yes, RCBS is still in business and makes a fine product. You will be fine with those dies. As to the powder, you don't know what it is or mention what it is. Be real careful with that powder, the wrong powder in that 30-06 case can turn that fine rifle into a grenade. Without more information it is going to be hard to help you out, so you may want to research and use some goggle fu at some of your products. You have $0 out, so with those dies, as long as they are in good shape and not rusty, you are doing well, MSRP is around the same or amybe up to $30.00. Hopefully, the stuff isn't been exposed to moisture, that includes the powder and any primers if you ahve the too.

 

[Tony_D_50652]

RCBS is top notch. Get a reloading manual and read it prior to setting anything up.

Well, let's get this ball rolling. Yes, RCBS is still in business and makes a fine product. You will be fine with those dies. As to the powder, you don't know what it is or mention what it is. Be real careful with that powder, the wrong powder in that 30-06 case can turn that fine rifle into a grenade. Without more information it is going to be hard to help you out, so you may want to research and use some goggle fu at some of your products. You have $0 out, so with those dies, as long as they are in good shape and not rusty, you are doing well, MSRP is around the same or amybe up to $30.00. Hopefully, the stuff isn't been exposed to moisture, that includes the powder and any primers if you ahve the too.

thankd for the info and advise guys. I plan on resurching everything I have in the boxes and will post more pictures of the equipment as I go threw it and if I cant positivily identify the powder I dont plan on using it in the 30-06, there is some new .32 pistol brass in the mix so I assume the previous owner re-loaded his pistol ammo, the die set for the 06 appeared to have never been opened along with the win-mag set. I will have to spend a little time in the workshop later on going threw the boxes to see exactly what all is there. as of yet I haven,t found any primers or projectiles.

 

[Tony_D_50652]

Here's what I have that I can identify:
-Lee press
-Lee auto prime (appears to be complete with instruction sheet)
-Lyman Universal reamer of some sort with a date of sep 20 1990 on the bottom
-Twin 60 loading block
-Lee .380 acp die set with instruction sheets
-Lee 9mm makarov die set with instructions
-Lee 38 special die set

-RCBS .32 APC run 3 die set
-RCBS f l die set .300 by mag with paper work
-RCBS f l die set .30-06 Springfield with all paperwork

48pcs .32auto brass with new primers installed

1/2 lb approx Accurate No 7 powder
1.25lb sealed powder with label missing, similar container to the Accurate contained just slightly taller,

 

[Tony_D_50652]

Unless I find a way to positivially identify the large tub of powder it'll have to find a home, the no7 does me no good maybe my buddy with a luger re-loads his own and can use it

 

[Tony_D_50652]

Pictures of a few pieces

 

[Tony_D_50652]

By the way I want to thank you guys again big time, and also thank the forum for the stickys on reloading, was up well past midnight reading them, my plans for reloading most of which will be strait forward and easy as getting the proper stuff the other round I hope to re-load may not be so easy which is the .30-06/.223 accelerator round which I don't plan on reloading more than 20-40 of those out of every 200 or so of a normal projectile. They are just a novelty for me to show my Buddy's how a round can pearce 3/8 military armor plating used to up-arrmor humvees at 100yards +- and how the same .223 projectile out of a AR or a standard .30-06 round bounces off.

 

[witchhunter]

Don't get in a big hurry until you are confident in your reloading knowledge. Keep posting and you will get all the help you will need. But, safety first, always. Good score by the way, I can see you are stoked! The die adjustment is a big deal, so make sure it is correct before you start up. You will need a lube pad and some lube, then you can get started on the 30/06 brass. Size it and get it cleaned. while you are assembling the rest of your equipment. Look for some bullets, primers and powder. RCBS is great stuff, clean off all of the rust though before it gets worse. The Lyman trimmer is a good piece, you will need a .30 caliber pilot for 30/06 and a caliper to measure with. Good luck!

 

[GrantA]

I bet they find some pilots for the trimmer. See if there's any case lube, if not get a can of Imperial Die Wax, no lube pad needed.

 

[Tony_D_50652]

Thanks guys, I started looking at projectiles and primers online last night and earlier today and felt like my head was gonna explode, too many choices, brands, excetra, I know I have been shooting cheep 150gr ammo (Remington Core Lock primarily along with the occasional box of Winchester or Federal) and I let my Mossberg 30-06 go to one of my friends which leaves me with my National Arms NATO 60 .30-06 large ring Mauser project rifle which I enjoy shooting way more than the Mossberg even after the thumbhole stock.
Anyway I want to go the rite route with reloading and make rounds that I will enjoy shooting iron site at 200yard plus. My feyonce informed me that she ordered me a couple reloading books from amazon for my b-day which is today but they wouldn't be arriving till next week. So I feel there is some heavy reading in my future.
And thanks again, all of the pistol supplies are going to be finding a new home, the .30-06 and .300 win mag stuff will be staying even though I only own shotguns, .22's and a .30-06.

 

[Tony_D_50652]

Thanks everyone again, now comes the next step, starting to order supplies, my buddy who bought my mossburg .30-06 from me said he'll go halves on reloading consumables with me but is a cheepskate so long story short is there a in-expencive round that will hopefully shoot as well as a Remington core lock 150gr without breaking the bank. The round I want to make would run about $1 a round which is the same as we have been getting the Remington's for lately and he didn't like the sounds of that.

 

[Boxcar]

Brass is reloadable, loading cost go down with very reload of a piece of brass.
I've been using Remington Brass, CCI primers,49.2gr of BLC-2 with 150 Amax for a mild target load for my fathers 30-06. It's fairly accurate with mild recoil. If I reload the brass 6 times I'm down to $00.59 a round.

If I can reload the brass 10 times I'm down to $00.55 a round.


Your mileage will vary given component prices.

 

[Toast]

Wow. $26 for RCBS Dies.

 

[GrantA]

I'm curious what components are adding up to $1 a round? I ran the numbers, if you paid $40 for a pound of powder, $40 for a box of 100 bullets and $6 for 100 primers, that would be $0.77 per round assuming a 55gr powder charge. **not including brass, I thought I remembered you had some already
Realistically you should end up around $0.50/rd for basic 30-06 ammo not including brass

 

[bax]

If you cannot positively identify that powder, it makes a very good garden fertilizer -- heavy in nitrogen. The other choice is to just burn it up. If it was me, if you don't know what it is I would not sell it or give it away.

 

[Tony_D_50652]

I'm curious what components are adding up to $1 a round? I ran the numbers, if you paid $40 for a pound of powder, $40 for a box of 100 bullets and $6 for 100 primers, that would be $0.77 per round assuming a 55gr powder charge. **not including brass, I thought I remembered you had some already
Realistically you should end up around $0.50/rd for basic 30-06 ammo not including brass

I have the brass, the powder was $48.50 a lb, 100 bullets were $45, the primers were $6.50, all this plus shipping came to about $1 a round as close as I could figure, locally the component parts cost more plus the tax on top of that, and that was figuring right in the middle of the chart between starting load and max load in my reloading book for powder. ill have to find my notes on what the components I wanted to use were but the cheapest bottom of the barrel in stock at Scheels after all said and done would have run me over $1 a round and wasn't worth going that way and after talking with the guys in the gun department they said "its hit and miss what they get in and when they get it and good luck getting any cheep components in stock" they had been out of the specific powder I had looked up on their site (cheapest they carry) and wouldnt even backorder it for me.

 

[Tony_D_50652]

Wow. $26 for RCBS Dies.

thats not what I paid, the sticker was just still on the box, lol

 

[Tony_D_50652]

If you cannot positively identify that powder, it makes a very good garden fertilizer -- heavy in nitrogen. The other choice is to just burn it up. If it was me, if you don't know what it is I would not sell it or give it away.

I have a buddy who is a licenced pyro tech in Iowa and said he'd give me something for it and use it for "crater makers" as he put it

 

[GrantA]

Gunbot.net can be your friend. I feel like you got robbed on powder & bullets. Primer price is OK if only buying 100, just know it will be cheaper next time I guess. You'll have to spend a couple hundred bucks at once on powder & primers to make shipping worthwhile though

 

[Boxcar]

Might be worth the trip to brownells for supplies when they get their new warehouse/showroom done. Your local dealer is ripping you off at $40.00 a lb.

 

[Tony_D_50652]

Gunbot.net can be your friend. I feel like you got robbed on powder & bullets. Primer price is OK if only buying 100, just know it will be cheaper next time I guess. You'll have to spend a couple hundred bucks at once on powder & primers to make shipping worthwhile though

Grant thanks for the info.... I was so irritated when I left Scheels that I left empty handed and I didn't order my list because my buddy went crackerjack about the price per round, I'll check out Gunbot.net before ordering anything, I was planning on ordering enugh to load 500 rounds minimum so when my buddy said he'd go halves on the cost I was really in thinking that it could get to the point that other than the accelerator (.223/.30-06 sabot) rounds that i have not figured out the price on yet, i could be shooting at $0.50-$0.65 a round with a round I could be proud of.

 

[GrantA]

OK as an example/idea I just went to butchsreloading.com and all these are in-stock right now
Hornady 178 A-Max, IMR 4895, Winchester Large Rifle Primers
300 bullets, 3lbs powder and 100 primers with shipping will be $253ish depending on your shipping zip compared to mine
You should get about 125 rounds per pound of powder, so you'll have powder leftover and you'll have lots of primers leftover
you could go ahead and get 500 bullets, 4lbs powder and 1k primers for $337 shipped and that should be just enough powder for 500 rds

shop around, if you have the time. Otherwise grab what you can when you can to get your feet wet, you'll forget what it cost soon enough

 

[Pinecone]

If you want to get rid of the .32 ACP dies and supplies, let me know.

Good luck and welcome to the wide world of reloading.

 

[Greg Langelius *]

You cannot duplicate the Accelerator rounds. I did a lot of research on them and they are a novelty, and not even a very good one at that. First, they have only marginal accuracy beyond 50yd. Second, the factory rounds use a very special propellant that is not available to the public, and nothing else is even close. Trying to reach even the same ballpark velocity is an invitation to disaster.

Unidentified powder is fertilizer, period. Maybe a very, very experienced reloader could find some use for it. Maybe.

To a newbie reloader, my best advice is to pay attention to the load manuals. Loads above published max, and below published min can be dangerous. Start low (within the published range), and work up.

Another piece of advice is that Ma and Pa local gun shops are a vanishing breed and many of them have much more reasonable pricing. As I said, they are a vanishing breed and need all our help to stay afloat. They are all that keep (some of) the big boys honest. When they are gone, the price boom really begins in earnest.

A good price for most powders is $30-$35 a pound and even that makes most of us cringe (It's about $10 up from the previous Grand Poobah).

Much more is blatant price gouging. As I said, some of...

Greg

 

[velillen]

A good price for most powders is $30-$35 a pound and even that makes most of us cringe (It's about $10 up from the previous Grand Poobah).

Much more is blatant price gouging. As I said, some of...

Greg

20-25 per a pound is a good price. 30-35 is what you pay when you need the powder and arent getting gouged to badly. Anymore than 35 and you should wlak away *unless8 its a dire situation and you have to absolutely have it. To the op, check gunbot.net for powder. When its available try to buy as much as you can at once to help ease the shipping costs and the hazmat fee. you can get 50 pounds per a shipment.



As for the unknown powder. Have some fun and lay some out and light it. Its interesting to see how slowly it burns when not contained in a case. Then use the rest as fertalizer or give it to your local bomb squad or something

 

[Tony_D_50652]

If you want to get rid of the .32 ACP dies and supplies, let me know.

Good luck and welcome to the wide world of reloading.

You want em? I didn't even know anyone who shoots that caliber round here

 

[Pinecone]

You want em? I didn't even know anyone who shoots that caliber round here

I can use them. I have access to a .32 pistol that would be fun to play with.