Introduction

264 MHC

FNG
Joined
Nov 30, 2022
Messages
29
Location
Eastern NC
I Just wanted to introduce myself to the Forum. I've been reading threads here for quite awhile and have picked up a lot of very useful information. I am from Eastern NC and most of my hunting is open water ducks and Whitetail as well as an occasional bear hunt. I would love to come out west at some point to experience some of the things I see posted on here all the time. I am a bit of a gear junkie, and like having the right stuff for any situation, and that has led me to this forum. I am the kind to heavily research anything I plan to buy to make sure it will work best for me, and definitely spend way too much time reading, but I enjoy it. I have also gone pretty far down the rabbit hole on rifles and reloading, and have customized everything I have. I look forward to future interactions on this forum and hope to learn a lot as well as contribute when I can to help others interested in the same things.

Regards,
Cole
 

davitia

FNG
Joined
Sep 14, 2021
Messages
19
I Just wanted to introduce myself to the Forum. I've been reading threads here for quite awhile and have picked up a lot of very useful information. I am from Eastern NC and most of my hunting is open water ducks and Whitetail as well as an occasional bear hunt. I would love to come out west at some point to experience some of the things I see posted on here all the time. I am a bit of a gear junkie, and like having the right stuff for any situation, and that has led me to this forum. I am the kind to heavily research anything I plan to buy to make sure it will work best for me, and definitely spend way too much time reading, but I enjoy it. I have also gone pretty far down the rabbit hole on rifles and reloading, and have customized everything I have. I look forward to future interactions on this forum and hope to learn a lot as well as contribute when I can to help others interested in the same things.

Regards,
Cole
Welcome! I’m sure your time reading and researching will be of great contribution to other posts. Out of curiosity, what caliber have you been reloading? Any recommendation on reloading equipment? I have a couple hundred .308 brass and about another hundred 7mm rem mag brass that I’d like to reload just haven’t looked into the equipment necessary to get started. Any insight would be appreciated. Thanks and happy holidays.
 
OP
264 MHC

264 MHC

FNG
Joined
Nov 30, 2022
Messages
29
Location
Eastern NC
Well I load for every centerfire I shoot now. 280 AI, 6.5x55, 264 MHC (6.5x55 Improved), 444 Marlin, 6.5 Grendel, 6mm Grendel, and 300 Blackout. Bout to start loading 300 Win mag for a friend, excited to try it out.

As far as equipment goes, you can go pretty crazy. I bought all my stuff individually as opposed to a kit and feel I ended up with a better set up that way. I'll list the type of items and the brand I ended up with, but I recommend researching each item individually as there could be better stuff available. My stuff works well and wasn't that expensive relatively, but also generally not the cheapest either.

*Press: MEC Marksman Single Stage press
*Scale: Frankford Arsenal Platinum Digital
*Powder Tray: Redding metal
*Powder Funnel: Forster with 6" Drop Tube
*Powder Measure: Lee Perfect Powder Measure. I made a base for this to stand on and only use it for my high volume 300 Blackout loads
*Loading Blocks: Lyman 50rd Bleacher Blocks for various case head sizes
*Primer Tool: Frankford Arsenal Platinum Hand Primer
*Case prep tools: Multi tool with chamfer, debur, lg and small primer cleaners and reamers. I chuck the individual heads in my 20v Dewalt Drill for case prep but you can just screw them into the handle it comes with.
*Trimmers: I use the Lee Case length gauges and shellholders for each individual cartridge ($5 apiece) with the Lee Trimmer and lock Stud. I chuck the Lock Stud in my drill as well
*Flash Hole Uniform tool: Lyman also chucked in drill. This tool isn't necessary but makes me feel better
*Case Lube: Hornady one shot for Semi Auto rounds (cleans better and faster to apply for large amounts of cases) and Hornady Unique wax hand applied to bolt rifle cases
*Calipers: Cheap autozone brand. Work fine but may get something better soon
*Measuring Tools: Hornady Headspace gauges in various sizes for various shoulder diameters and Hornady Comparator tool that attaches to calipers and uses different inserts for different bullet diameters. These tools are highly recommended to accurately measure CBTO and distance to lands as well as dialing in dies for minimal shoulder bump.
*Hornady Lock n Load Conversion kit: This replaces the threaded insert in a press with lock n load insert and requires lock n load collars on all dies. You have to make sure the press you want is compatible for it to work, but this a great system that allows very quick die changes without having to thread them all the way in each time.
*Dies: So many options here and different kinds of dies work better for different purposes.
For my bolt gun rounds, I use Lee Collet neck Sizer dies in conjunction with Redding body dies or bushing dies without the bushing (essentially a body die). Gas gun rounds I just use regular full length sizers. Some Hornady, some RCBS, some Forster, some Lee. They all work fine.
For Seating I mostly use Hornady Seaters with their micrometer top added on. These work well and are not cartridge specific, just caliber and case length specific. I also Have a Forster Micrometer seater that is nicer to use (and more expensive) but the Hornady's work just as well. For 300 Blackout, I just have a Lee set and use their seater. Nice and cheap and works well. I don't need the micrometer function for this purpose because I'm using the same bullet everytime so it is just set and forget. Same with 444 Marlin but a Hornady set. On 300 Blackout, 444 marlin, and sometimes with 6.5 Grendel, I use Lee factory crimp dies as a final step to make sure bullets don't move when seating.

I'm sure there's some odds and ends I'm missing but that's all the essentials.
 

GSPHUNTER

WKR
Joined
Jun 30, 2020
Messages
3,905
I would say you are all ready for some serious reloading. This list will give my friend pure WOOD. :)
 

eddielasvegas

WKR & Chairman of the Rokslide Welcoming Committee
Joined
Feb 2, 2020
Messages
3,084
Location
Scottsdale, AZ
As the self-appointed chairman of the welcoming committee, it is my privilege to extend a laurel, and hearty handshake (virtual, of course) to our new member.



Eddie
 
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