Happy to read through threads to figure out what I am doing, but looking for recommendation on what is truly needed to start reloading and which to get. I’d really like to understand what makes the most sense to buy and not need to replace later on to “upgrade”.
- Thread starter JeffNC
- Start date
What are you reloading?
Hope you got plenty of money asking those kind of questions here...
Buy actual printed reloading manuals. Read them.
You don't just need to know what to do, but why.
You don't just need to know what to do, but why.
This is a good idea. Buy a few before you even buy any equipment to grasp the process. One of the most important things in my opinion is learning how to identify pressure.
After that here’s a few small things to get you started…
AMP annealer
CPS Primer Seater
Autotrickler V3
Autotrickler V4
Ingenuity Trickler
Supertrickler
Zero Press
SAC Dies
Every Billet accessory and holder
These lil things will get you started flexing around here.
The lee reloading book has some good info in it. Its definitely in your best intrest to read it. Its a easy read and excellent place to start. He hypes his own products and some out of date techniques but its still worth reading. As far as gear that rabbit hole is deep. A press is a press unless you want a progressive for high volume in that case dillon is really the only good option. A good scale is worth spending on. I use the frankford intelidropper and havnt fou d a reason to upgrade to a autotrickler. Buy good measuring tools. Its a awesome hobby.
. . . then you first need to define what level of shooting you plan to reload for.
Like:
Recreational shooting
Hunting
Precision shooting
Competitive shooting
What you're asking is like, what kind of car should I get so I don't have to upgrade.
6.5cm bolt action precision up to 1000yds
5.56 20” precision up to 600yds
5.56 11.5” suppressed for fun
300blk 8.5” suppressed for fun
After reading the reloading manuals, get a mentor/friend that has been loading for a while to help you get started. Maybe find someone who has the dies in the caliber/s you want to load, and spend an evening or three with them.
Done correctly, this will substantially accelerate the learning curve.
Done correctly, this will substantially accelerate the learning curve.
. Thanks for the input.I started reloading this year and read a bunch of reloading manuals but found Glen Zediker Top Grade Ammo the most helpful. Also, lots of good YouTube Videos I watched that were very helpful. Reading through many of the threads on the hide and accurate shooter forum will also be very helpful.
I would add that there are some good reloading videos out there on youtube and vimeo that help to visualize what you're trying to do.
It's been said already a few times, but you really need to be a whole lot more specific about what you are reloading for and how much you really shoot.
For example a competition pistol shooter will have an ENTIRELY different set up vs an F Class shooter.
Some people reload in bulk for the whole family and others just do it for themselves.
You cannot really ask "just in general" because what you asked isn't a general question.
Be very specific about what calibers you shoot and how much of it you shoot on a monthly or even a yearly basis. That's the only way to get a good answer.
Sign up for a free trial at www.scribd.com this will give you access to a billion books. Yes reloading manuals also so you can read them for free. Spoiler alert Franks book is in there too. It's 8.99 a month after the free trial it is well worth it.
The next question is how much ammo do you want to reload and how automated do you want the process?
I use a Dillon 550 and can do a couple hundred rounds in an easy afternoon. Some prefer a single stage "for precision". Check out youtube theres a million reloading vids. Search for the flavor of press you are interested in and there's probably a video. https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=reloading
The next question is how much ammo do you want to reload and how automated do you want the process?
I use a Dillon 550 and can do a couple hundred rounds in an easy afternoon. Some prefer a single stage "for precision". Check out youtube theres a million reloading vids. Search for the flavor of press you are interested in and there's probably a video. https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=reloading
I didn't see that response when I posted. How much do you shoot? Of those you listed how many rounds on a given month will you shoot each of those?
How much volume is a key question.
Another question is how fast (you need to make this ammo).
Also, what is your definition of precision and in what conditions.
Next topic is budget...
For precision do your powder charges off the press with a single stage or turret press. For fun buy a progressive press. The progressive is a lot faster.
Not worried about budget. I have no time requirements as I can lol through rounds when I have time. I can only get to the range maybe once a month. I can supplement the “fun” shooting with factory if I needed easy enough. Precision currently = a 600 static range but would love to start into PRS at some point.
With no worry on budget
AMP annealer
Autotrickler V4
419 Zero or Dillion
This is where I’d start if I wasn’t wanting to upgrade later. Obviously there’s an entire assortment of things besides this to get but these are some of the top $ items you’ll need regardless
AMP annealer
Autotrickler V4
419 Zero or Dillion
This is where I’d start if I wasn’t wanting to upgrade later. Obviously there’s an entire assortment of things besides this to get but these are some of the top $ items you’ll need regardless
OK, here's what I'd suggest to start with:
A good press, like a Forster Co-Ax (if you can find it). I suggest this because you're 3 different calibers and this press makes it fast an easy to change dies when going from one caliber to another.
Get "full length" sizing dies for each caliber you're reloading for (not those with bushings). It's easier to get good results with a FL sizing die without the expander ball in it; then to get the right size, use an expander mandrel. The expander mandrel makes for an extra step in the reloading process but works really well when going for precision loading.
You'll want a way to trim you cases to a uniform length. If money is really no object, get an Henderson where you can mount different cutting heads for each caliber. The cutting heads are three-way cutting, which will save you a bunch of reloading time.
Get a primer pocket uniformer (small primer pocket and large primer pocket) for what you listed you'll be reloading for. They can be used not only for uniforming the pockets and also for cleaning the pockets.
Get a Frankford Arsenal adjustable priming tool, that you can get consistent seating depth for your priming.
Get a good vibrating tumbler (like a Layman Turbo 1200 pro). You really don't need a wet tumbler as wet cleaning can usually be done in a small bucket with some hot water and Dawn.
Get a quality digital caliper like a 6" Mitutoyo. It's nice to have more than one so you don't have to change things up so often, so I have a good one and a couple cheap one that work just fine for a lot of reloading uses.
For sizing lubricant, I'd highly recommend Imperial Sizing Die Wax, to avoid any cases being stuck in you sizing dies.
You'll need a way to measure from the base of the case to the shoulder datum to you can see how much you're shoulder's need bumping back when sized. And RCBS Precision Mic (for headspace is a good tool) or a Hornady headspace gauge set.
Some kind of annealing machine if you intend to anneal. You can spend over $1000 or less than $300 and get pretty close to the same results when you learn how and why annealing works as it does.
You'll need a scale to weight you're powder charges. An FX-120i is the best place to start as you'll get fast and consistent accurate measurements, where the latter is really important for any precision shooting.
A powder trickler is very helpful in getting the powder measured easily . . . I find the Frankford Arsenal powder trickler works really well (I like to vibrate it or tap it to get the kernels out rather than rotating it).
You'll want to get loading blocks to hold your cases when charging.
To seat the bullets, get a simple arbor press and Wilson seating dies , these will produce very good results, AND . . . it's easy to take to the shooting range to make any seating adjustments there.
In case you need to pull some bullets for some reason, you'll want to be sure to have a bullet puller . . . and an inertia puller or better yet a Hornady Cam Lock puller.
Get yourself a chronograph. A Pro-Chrono will do well and is inexpensive, but a bit of a hassle to set up, particularly at any public range. I would recommend a Magnetosphere V3.
Download Gordon's Reloading Tool and study how to use it and how changes in the variables effects the results. https://www.grtools.de/doku.php
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I would get a simple RCBS single stage press and a Dillon 550/650/750 if you can swing it. That will cover everything for you and the inclusion you made of 5.56 and 300 made me lean more towards you having both presses.
Also, buy the Lyman reloading manual and the Lee. The Lyman describes the process better without being an insufferable infomercial. The beauty of the Lee manual is how many load variations are listed in it.
If you really want to go crazy, add this book too. It is a bit outdated, but the techniques and principles are sound.
Oh, and at least on the Dillon 550 you can use standard dies, you dont need Dillon brand dies. IDK about the 650 and 750.
Those Dillon's are nice machines, but from what I've observed, progressive presses are not a good place for a beginner to start when learning how to do any precision reloading.
Yeah. That is why I said IF HE CAN SWING IT.
The single stage is perfect to load on but if he wants to crank out 500 rounds of 300blk, he can do it easily in a few hours and save a ton of money on the Dillon.
But yes, the single stage is what you want to learn on.
The single stage is perfect to load on but if he wants to crank out 500 rounds of 300blk, he can do it easily in a few hours and save a ton of money on the Dillon.
But yes, the single stage is what you want to learn on.
To me the Forster press looks mighty appealing. Once you get the dies set up with the lock rings you can just pop them in and out as needed.
For a single stage press that looks like a great option.
That said loading a bucket of 9mm on one would be less than optimal.
A single stage press
A beam scale
A simple micrometer
A manual
This is how I teach my grandkids, when they understand the basics, they get to move to the cool toys.
Remember, most here can make very good ammo with the above list, because that's how we learned.
.02
A beam scale
A simple micrometer
A manual
This is how I teach my grandkids, when they understand the basics, they get to move to the cool toys.
Remember, most here can make very good ammo with the above list, because that's how we learned.
.02
Let's start out realistically... I get it that you're excited, but have you ever shot at 1000 yards before? My load development starts out at 100 yards. That's where you really find out if a rifle is going to be consistent enough to really stretch it out. If your rifle can't shoot a sub-MOA group at 100 yards, it's going to get amplified the farther out you get.
in all honestly, if you don’t need a new hobby:
Just buy ammo. The match stuff is more than accurate and the blaster ammo is too tedious to reload anyway. Not reloading will save you more time and money than it is possible to explain. The list in post 5 approaches $10,000 before you have any components or any idea what to do with it all.
Thats 5000 rounds of 6.5CM match ammo at the going rate.
But if you insist: what @straightshooter1 said.
AMP annealer is the only acceptable annealing solution. Magnetospeed for a chrono (Not really needed but nice to have.)
Just buy ammo. The match stuff is more than accurate and the blaster ammo is too tedious to reload anyway. Not reloading will save you more time and money than it is possible to explain. The list in post 5 approaches $10,000 before you have any components or any idea what to do with it all.
Thats 5000 rounds of 6.5CM match ammo at the going rate.
But if you insist: what @straightshooter1 said.
AMP annealer is the only acceptable annealing solution. Magnetospeed for a chrono (Not really needed but nice to have.)
Something no one has mentioned but is absolutely the requirement for safe reloading, Scale Weights.
the price for what you get is eyewatering. But, with these weights, you can verify that your scale is actually giving you what it says it is giving you.
the price for what you get is eyewatering. But, with these weights, you can verify that your scale is actually giving you what it says it is giving you.
If you plan to reload for competition- ask yourself what does it mean. If you plan to win with the top guys at your club or county or state, you have to switch off a "money saving mode" in your brain. You need best equipment money can buy. That means buy once cry once philosophy is the only way to go.
you need 2 presses: one for sizing and the second one for seating. For sizing I run Forster Co-ax, but it can be even simple press from Redding or RCBS.
you need also an arbor press with seating force indicator which will give you feedback on neck tension variance.
Buy either Bergers or custom bullets like Bart's. Don't buy shit like hornady or other popular stuff unless you want to spend day sorting bullets.
Buy only Lapua brass, small primer pocket. lower SD by definition.
Buy automatic scale- at least Matchmaster or better- Autrotrickler.
Buy vihtavouri powders and don't look back.
Buy either AMP or don't anneal at all.
Buy Glen Zediker's "Handloading for competition" and Tony Boyer's "Book of rifle accuracy"
Speak to top Benchrest or f-class guys at your club and ask for feedback on your ideas for reloading process.
Watch good youtube channels- winning in the wind, f-class john- these guys are winning at the national level, so they know what they are doing.
I wish I knew this at the beginning of my reloading journey.
you need 2 presses: one for sizing and the second one for seating. For sizing I run Forster Co-ax, but it can be even simple press from Redding or RCBS.
you need also an arbor press with seating force indicator which will give you feedback on neck tension variance.
Buy either Bergers or custom bullets like Bart's. Don't buy shit like hornady or other popular stuff unless you want to spend day sorting bullets.
Buy only Lapua brass, small primer pocket. lower SD by definition.
Buy automatic scale- at least Matchmaster or better- Autrotrickler.
Buy vihtavouri powders and don't look back.
Buy either AMP or don't anneal at all.
Buy Glen Zediker's "Handloading for competition" and Tony Boyer's "Book of rifle accuracy"
Speak to top Benchrest or f-class guys at your club and ask for feedback on your ideas for reloading process.
Watch good youtube channels- winning in the wind, f-class john- these guys are winning at the national level, so they know what they are doing.
I wish I knew this at the beginning of my reloading journey.
In the late 1980s, in high school, I started out reloading 223 and got damn fine results using simply a Hornady single stage press with built-in primer unit, some RCBS dyes, a mechanical balance, some are RCBS case lube that I used on a homemade pad, some small doo-dads here and there, and a $20 dial caliper. Most of that equipment was still in use until the last 5 to 7 years at which point it had been upgraded and I gave it away for lack of use. You can get all that stuff I started with for a couple hundred dollars. You can save the case trimming, annealing, measurement of this that and the other thing, neck bushing dies, etc, for a later day. Especially if you’re prudent and don’t push the envelope which will prematurely wear Your brass, forcing you to buy ever more expensive equipment to measure and maintain it.
OP, if you are truly brand-new to reloading and you're confused by the variety of responses above, that's good, because some of the responses are valid and at least one is total bullshit.
How far into this bottomless pit do you want to fall? If all you're going to do is expend 500-1000 total rounds annually to bang steel out to 1000 yards (precision) or blast big silhouettes up close, you're probably just as well off to stay with factory ammo. Higher volume competitive shooting makes reloading a better investment, but the initial outlay for equipment is steep. Dillon Precision has a breakeven and cost-per-round calculators on their web site, but you have to answer all the questions posed to you so far before they're of any use.
If you want to produce top-shelf precision ammunition, it's the brass prep and measurement bit that matter, not the press.
Presses first. If budget is no object, I would recommend a Dillon RL-550 progressive. Don't be put off a progressive press because you're new to reloading - you can run rounds one at a time through a progressive, just like a single-stage. With a single-stage press- hard-to-beat classic is the RCBS Rock Chucker - you'll move every single piece of brass on/off that press a minimum of three times (resize/deprime/prime, charge with powder, seat bullet). Wanna run a neck mandrel instead of using the resize die's expander ball (many precision handloaders do, but not all)? Add another die and another step. Once you learn to use it, you can produce one loaded round with every actuation of the handle.
The RL-550 is at the bottom of Dillon's standard-dies offerings and makes single-stage, hybrid, and true progressive use easy. I've been using mine since the 1990s.
Anyone who says you can't load "precision" ammo on a quality progressive press is full of crap and has almost certainly never tried. I'll concede that bench rest ammo may benefit from arbor presses and such, but for PRS, good brass will help you load excellent ammo.
Dies: You can spend under $100 or over $300 for dies, but I suggest RCBS Match Master dies with neck-bushing resizer for precision. For blaster ammo... who cares. Hornady is cheap and works great. I like Dillon dies for bulk .223.
Brass: For precision, Lapua, Peterson, Alpha are the top-shelf brands that come to mind. Buy a few hundred pieces at a time to get the same lot. Lesser brands like Hornady can yield satisfactory results but not as consistently, and it won't last as long. Starline is a middle ground. After four years of loading the best rifle ammo I can, I have learned to buy one of the three top-shelf brands mentioned above.
Bullets: For bulk blaster ammo, all you need is the cheapest FMJ bullets you can find. For precision, it depends on how anal you want to get. Berger is widely viewed as the best available, and Hornady is the "poor's" alternative. Yes, my experience is that Berger match bullets have been a bit more accurate in my 6.5CM at extended distance (>500 yards). But Berger 140gr Hybrid Target bullets are also about 20% more expensive than 140gr Hornady ELD-Ms, so the only time I use my remaining stash of Berger Hybrid Targets - they're dang hard to find - is for matches. The other 90% of the time I use ELD-Ms and have no trouble whatsoever hitting half-IPSCs at 1000 yards with them, and I've hit as far out as one mile.
Measuring & ancillary equipment:
How far into this bottomless pit do you want to fall? If all you're going to do is expend 500-1000 total rounds annually to bang steel out to 1000 yards (precision) or blast big silhouettes up close, you're probably just as well off to stay with factory ammo. Higher volume competitive shooting makes reloading a better investment, but the initial outlay for equipment is steep. Dillon Precision has a breakeven and cost-per-round calculators on their web site, but you have to answer all the questions posed to you so far before they're of any use.
If you want to produce top-shelf precision ammunition, it's the brass prep and measurement bit that matter, not the press.
Presses first. If budget is no object, I would recommend a Dillon RL-550 progressive. Don't be put off a progressive press because you're new to reloading - you can run rounds one at a time through a progressive, just like a single-stage. With a single-stage press- hard-to-beat classic is the RCBS Rock Chucker - you'll move every single piece of brass on/off that press a minimum of three times (resize/deprime/prime, charge with powder, seat bullet). Wanna run a neck mandrel instead of using the resize die's expander ball (many precision handloaders do, but not all)? Add another die and another step. Once you learn to use it, you can produce one loaded round with every actuation of the handle.
The RL-550 is at the bottom of Dillon's standard-dies offerings and makes single-stage, hybrid, and true progressive use easy. I've been using mine since the 1990s.
Anyone who says you can't load "precision" ammo on a quality progressive press is full of crap and has almost certainly never tried. I'll concede that bench rest ammo may benefit from arbor presses and such, but for PRS, good brass will help you load excellent ammo.
Dies: You can spend under $100 or over $300 for dies, but I suggest RCBS Match Master dies with neck-bushing resizer for precision. For blaster ammo... who cares. Hornady is cheap and works great. I like Dillon dies for bulk .223.
Brass: For precision, Lapua, Peterson, Alpha are the top-shelf brands that come to mind. Buy a few hundred pieces at a time to get the same lot. Lesser brands like Hornady can yield satisfactory results but not as consistently, and it won't last as long. Starline is a middle ground. After four years of loading the best rifle ammo I can, I have learned to buy one of the three top-shelf brands mentioned above.
Bullets: For bulk blaster ammo, all you need is the cheapest FMJ bullets you can find. For precision, it depends on how anal you want to get. Berger is widely viewed as the best available, and Hornady is the "poor's" alternative. Yes, my experience is that Berger match bullets have been a bit more accurate in my 6.5CM at extended distance (>500 yards). But Berger 140gr Hybrid Target bullets are also about 20% more expensive than 140gr Hornady ELD-Ms, so the only time I use my remaining stash of Berger Hybrid Targets - they're dang hard to find - is for matches. The other 90% of the time I use ELD-Ms and have no trouble whatsoever hitting half-IPSCs at 1000 yards with them, and I've hit as far out as one mile.
Measuring & ancillary equipment:
- Buy the best scale you can afford (A&D FX120i is highly favored here). But a decent beam scale and set of check weights will also work fine, it's just slower. RCBS and Hornady digital scales fall in between. Inexpensive digital scales tend to drift and require frequent recalibration. I've recalibrated my FX-120i once in 2022 - just this past week, I decided to go through the exercise, and basically it adjusted .02 grains (less than a kernel of H4350) - which falls in its stated tolerance envelope.
- Buy a good caliper. Not a $20 plastic big-box throw-away. Expect to spend over $100 for a Mitutoyo digital or Brown&Sharpe dial. Trust me, you will use it more than every other item used in the process.
- Something to trim the brass. I use a Giraud Tri-trimmer for my .223 brass and an ancient Forster trimmer (turned via hand drill) with 3-in-1 case mouth trimmers for everything else. Don't ignore this. Bottleneck brass grows in length with each firing, and if it grows past the chamber leade, pressure problems like pierced primers are the least of your concerns.
- Something to clean the brass. I use a '70s-vintage Lyman vibratory tumbler with dry media pretreated with some polishing compound, refreshed occasionally with Lyman Case-Brite or whatever it is. Other people use wet-tumbling or even stainless-steel pins to clean. Each approach has pros and cons, adherents and critics.
- Annealer. If you want your expensive brass to provide optimal life and consistency, it needs to be annealed. I'm not getting into that here because it's quicksand. Suffice to say, the easiest way by far is an AMP (Annealing Made Perfect) annealer - for $1600 shipped, plus a pilot for each caliber.
- These are what I consider to be the minimums.
Id say go slow and have fun I know I am Id also add start taking notes on what loads your doing what days how much of what you use the more infromation you add now it gets easier in the future never gets less annoying to have to do , but it does get easier
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If you buy a progressive there is no need to buy a $600.00+ scale unless you are weighing each charge. That kind of defeats the speed of a progressive. The object in reloading is repeatability and consistency. If it can't be achieved on a progressive it can be achieved on a single stage.
I have a Dillon 550.
I have a Dillon 550.
This is utter nonsense
- Buy a good caliper. Not a $20 plastic big-box throw-away. Expect to spend over $100 for a Mitutoyo digital or Brown&Sharpe dial. Trust me, you will use it more than every other item used in the process.
I used a beam scale to set up the powder drop on my RL 550 to crank out bulk ammo for over two decades - a powder charge within +/- .3 grains was perfectly adequate.
Now I use the same press in a hybrid mode with the expensive scale used to measure each charge down to +/-.02 grain. An auto-trickler, driven by that scale, makes that level of precision fast as well as easy but it's certainly not necessary.
My last batch of 6BR, without turning the case necks or performing other benchrest-level fussiness, had an average total induced runout of <0.0015, 20-shot ES of 18 and SD of 6.x. Can you tell me how a single stage press would improve that?
Why?
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OP, welcome to Sniper's Hide. Here's a suggestion: Beware of people who criticize others' suggestions with absolutely no supporting rationale. You can click on their screen name and see their other posts; what you learn by doing so can be informative. Over time, it becomes clear whose opinions are worthwhile and whose are less so. Disagreement is fine - but statements like "This is utter nonsense" with no reason WHY it's nonsense is just useless noise.
Been there, 50+ years ago. Trouble was, with the addition of a beam scale, the rounds loaded were darned accurate for the times.
Talk about fun, could not afford a trickle or a powder throw. Had a bowl I filled with powder, used the Lee Loader's scoop to approximate needed powder, then used a teaspoon to dribble the powder to the exact amount. Best powder was World War II surplus. Worked great, cost four bucks a can.
Back then, we did not have no fancy bench rests, no 500+ dollar tripods, no $4000 Front focal plane 35 power scopes. Heck, we felt we had too much power if the scope was a plain 4x. And, If we were lucky, the grass we laid on was somewhat devoid of various barbed seed pods. Also if we were lucky we could afford a sling to help steady the rifle as we shot unsupported prone.
Shooting three or five shot groups that fell into a one inch hole at approximately 100 yards. (When we were lucky) Oh for the days, when the eyes were sharp and the hands were steady and the bones/joints were supple.
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There is nothing in *basic* reloading that requires accuracy of more than 1 to 2
Thousandths of an inch. Even if you can measure it you can’t do a damn thing about it with the basic equipment - which makes perfectly fine ammo. Furthermore, made in Taiwan or as they are nowadays China stainless steel dial calipers are highly accurate and will easily come within .001 +/- .001 every time. (This is ignoring the accuracy vs precision question.) I have all the bling stuff Starrett, Mitotoyo, Prazipress, AMP, Giraud, you name it. I am 50 years old now and I can afford it *just because*. But none of that means that the basic equipment I started with over 30 years ago is inadequate, least not of all a basic pair of stainless steel dial calipers. There, is that explanation satisfactory for you?
“I didn’t have time - or wherewithal - to write you a simple, succinct, answer, so I wrote you an overly complex, long-winded one instead.” But, the poster insists, this is the *minimum* “buy once cry once” list.
I don’t think this is what OP was asking for.
Beware.
On calipers. Reloading is an art of making ammo repeatable in every way. Weight, CBTO etc. Don't save money on calipers. In Europe you have 2 kinds o calipers- the popular mechanics calipers and the calipers that are certified to meet certain norms like ISO 13385-1. Buy the latter.
Yep. The OP said he wanted to "buy once cry once." So that's what I wrote to. Not a "minimum." There is absolutely no doubt that quality ammunition can be loaded with a Lee loader, beam scale, and a plastic caliper using mixed-lot Hornady brass and bullets. That's not what he asked.
And yes, my post was overly long, because I foolishly tried to condense highlights of reloading experience I began accumulating before you were born into a single post - a mistake borne of good intent but poor practicality. Lesson learned... I should have simply said, "heed the advice to buy a loading manual or two and learn WHY you do certain things as well as how" and let it go - or said nothing at all.
OP can read all about riding a bicycle but he's going to have to get on one - whether it be Walmart or competition-ready quality -and pedal to actually learn. He'll evolve in his own time and path regardless of what is said here.
I love the range of answers here - beam scales and a Lee press to Autotrickler V4, AMP and a Dillon.
I'm very much in favor of:
Start basic, learn the basics, and move up as you gain enough knowledge to understand what all the really expensive equipment does for you. This doesn't mean you need to ditch the "buy once, cry once" philosophy, as you can get some very good quality simple gear that you will use even as you move up.
Also, what's "right" for precision 6.5 cm is not going the same as for doing bulk 5.56. You will have different equipment and processes for each. There are different things that are more or less important for each.
I'm very much in favor of:
Start basic, learn the basics, and move up as you gain enough knowledge to understand what all the really expensive equipment does for you. This doesn't mean you need to ditch the "buy once, cry once" philosophy, as you can get some very good quality simple gear that you will use even as you move up.
Also, what's "right" for precision 6.5 cm is not going the same as for doing bulk 5.56. You will have different equipment and processes for each. There are different things that are more or less important for each.
Maybe I missed it - do you have a stockpile of primers already on hand? If you do not already have primers I suggest that you do not get into reloading now and instead focus on calibers where factory ammo is readily available and "reasonably" priced (reasonably priced today is not pre-covid pricing).
Primers aren't as much of an issue as they were, say, at the beginning of the year. Worst case, you can get them on Gun Broker for just "scalper" prices, not the "first born, left hand, college tuition" prices they once were.
Id focus on a chambering you can get primers/brass for. Small rifle primers are easier to find than large rifle primers these days. You can find em at a few different places. Powder valley, midsouth, grafs etc and just refresh a few times a day and youll find them. There are some on small rifle federals on midsouth right now which is the first place I looked.
So I would buy some primers and then base what you want to reload for on that. Creed or 308 you can get either flavor large or small. x47/br only comes in small. 223 is small only. Some chamberings offer both some dont, just something youll need to decide based on your needs.
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