Reloading Setup

[Blb8698]

I want to start reloading. What all do I need for a gold reloading setup?

 

[Rifles And More]

That's a big question that you'll get a million answers on.

If you are not sure about how you will like it - go get an inexpensive kit. About any will do.

If you are of the mind it will stick and you are inclined to statistics, attention to detail and changed based results (it's a nerdy hobby) - avoid the kit and buy once cry once.

 

[49ereric]

^^^^

 

[sickles107]

Painless load development (mine)

I have had multiple people ask me to lay out how I do load development being that what I do is different. Since Shaen @Shooter71 just rebarreled a Tikka 595 in 6XC I thought it would be easy to show how I do it. It’s a Master Sporter with a T3 lite profiled 20” barrel- keep in mind it is a T3...

rokslide.com

Read this whole thread, then research all the stuff you don't know what they are talking about, then read the whole thread again, Then try to find what you want/need in stock lol.

 

[dfwpist2020]

What caliber are you looking to start with on reloading?


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[Gila]

I don’t know what a “gold” setup is. Do a search you will find a hundred threads about reloading kits or a reloading setup. Depends on what your goal is and how many different calibers you want to reload....and of course how much you actually shoot. If you are competing your setup will look a lot different than if you occasionally work up a hunting load. If money is no object and you want to use the the most expensive gizmos and gadgets, you certainly can spend 5 figures on up for what you want. If you like shooting an AR and pistol then you are going to want a turret or a progressive press, depending on how much time you want to spend stuffing, primers, powder and bullets into cases.

What is best for one person is not necessarily good for someone else. I am a beginner who just wants to develop a few hunting loads once in a while. However I want to crank out some pistol loads for target shooting. My solution was a turret press. For rifle I just use the press as a single station. Case preparation is 90% of hand-loading. Depends on how fast you want to work the cases. I use the on press priming, but hand primers are just fine for rifle cases. Powder measuring is the other time consuming operation. Learn what the different operations are and then you can shop around for the tools that work best for you. Some tools just suck and so you want to get some good reviews for what you want to get.

 

[BjornF16]

What is your budget?

 

[BjornF16]

In addition to the Painless Load Development thread mentioned above, should read this on powder dispenser

Autotrickler alternative?

Is there anything out there that is as accurate and fast as an autotrickler, but is all one unit, like a Chargemaster? I know the AT is top quality and folks love it, but to me it seems like something an overly intellectual mad scientist threw together in his garage, without regard for simple...

rokslide.com

 

[Gila]

The press powder measures are really accurate enough these days. Put it on a stand if you don’t want to use it on the press. For a ladder test I am only loading 15-20 rounds at the most and measure powder by hand since I am changing the amount every couple of rounds. LOL....I use a small plastic, picnic spoon for a dipper. Stole one of my wife’s custard dishes to hold powder. Actually bought a good manual trickler that I use over the pan on the scale. I found a small funnel in the garage. I actually paid $5 for a plastic pan that has a funnel spout. Reloading components are expensive when you can find them. Everyone has their own way of doing ladder tests to work up a load....if you haven’t figured that out yet.

 

[SamsonMan22]

Short of buying a progressive setup I spent my money on things that make brass prep and reloading faster. I’d rather be shooting than reloading now, I used to do everything by hand, weigh powder on a beam scale, and prime on the press,etc. The best investments were going to an electronic thrower, a hand primer, and a power trimmer that chamfers and deburrs at the same time.

I even found my Forster co-ax saved me time over my Redding boss press I can get a fast rhythm going with both hands easier with the co-ax. I still use a dial caliper vs an electronic one, it’s slightly slower but always works, the electronic ones always seem to have a dead battery when I want it to work.

 

[prm]

This would be a green setup vice gold.

RCBS ROCK CHUCKER SUPREME MASTER RELOADING KIT | Brownells

The Rock Chucker Supreme Master Reloading Kit has long been the king of reloading kits. We took the benchmark of single stage ...

www.brownells.com

Then decide what dies you want.

Or, they have a new Summit press and you can get the electronic powder dispenser. I like the electronic, but got by just fine for many years with the beam scale. I still use the beam scale when just loading a couple.

Use the kits as a guide.

Brass cleaner
Press
Priming device
Powder measure
Powder funnel
Calipers
Loading block
Case neck brush
Deburring tool
Lube as necessary for whichever dies

 

[GreenOne]

The sentiment throughout this thread is going to be the same. This is a super nerdy past time to get into. Don’t believe us bring up CBTO, ES, SD, neck tension, etc at your next party with mixed company. Get what you can afford or even if you can afford the world get something cheap but quality and see if you like doing it. A lot of us have a lot of the high end gizmos that we are not happy with and sent them down the road for a different high end gizmo because it didn’t work within our own process.

Start simple and then if you like it; your process, amount of space, and available time will lead to “your golden setup”

Cheers


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[ID_Matt]

GOLD???

Area 419 Press
SAC/whidden/redding Dies
Henderson Precision trimmer
A&D W/Auto trickler powder dispenser
Area 419 funnels and loading blocks

 

[Rick M.]

Highly recommend these two videos:

 

[Gila]

Last night my wife’s little dog (like in the mask) went over to her chomping on something shiny to trade her up for a treat. She thought it was a watch battery....I freaked! Turned out it was a spent primer I de-capped a few days ago.

Yea, gotta have an Area 419 “zero” press with the gold embossed dies to go with it! Can’t forget the gold plated lock rings! LOL

Something people don’t seem to talk about much is annealing brass. You can spend as much as you want to spend on a brass annealer. Induction costs more than the flame annealers, it seems. The first thing you want to do is anneal your brass new or once fired. Some higher end new brass comes annealed. All of my Lapua brass came annealed. You can effectively anneal by hand with a drill, 12mm deep socket and propane torch.

 

[Crusader]

I want to start reloading. What all do I need for a gold reloading setup?

Just a hunch but I'm wondering if that was a typo and he really meant, a "good" reloading setup

 

[Axlrod]

ll

Last night my wife’s little dog (like in the mask) went over to her chomping on something shiny to trade her up for a treat. She thought it was a watch battery....I freaked! Turned out it was a spent primer I de-capped a few days ago.

Yea, gotta have an Area 419 “zero” press with the gold embossed dies to go with it! Can’t forget the gold plated lock rings! LOL

Something people don’t seem to talk about much is annealing brass. You can spend as much as you want to spend on a brass annealer. Induction costs more than the flame annealers, it seems. The first thing you want to do is anneal your brass new or once fired. Some higher end new brass comes annealed. All of my Lapua brass came annealed. You can effectively anneal by hand with a drill, 12mm deep socket and propane torch.

All brass is annealed as part of the manufacturing process. Some manufacturers polish it before shipment, removing the anneal "line" on the brass. Annealing may make your targets a little better or it may make them worse. The only way to know is to shoot a couple hundred rounds comparing them. - 20 pieces of brass load, shoot, anneal half repeat 9 more times, compare targets. I have done this with 4 rifles, 2 competition- 284 Win & 6mm BR., 2 hunting rifles -300 Win, 223. Not one of them shot better annealed. Sold my AMP annealer at a loss. ( kept my homemade flame annealer because I had a lot of time in it).To the OP: Do what makes you happy, but for a hunting rifle you will be absolutely fine without annealing.

Glen Kulzer set 8 records last year at 1000 yards. Including 10 shot group 2.68" and 20 target aggregate- that's 100 rounds fired over the season that went into 5.202" @ 1000 yards. All without annealing.

1000 yard record « Search Results « Daily Bulletin

bulletin.accurateshooter.com

 

[Gila]

The brass is annealed two or three times during the case forming process. The case head is eventually hardened for obvious reasons. I know Peterson and Lapua definitely anneal just the neck and shoulder before shipping the brass. The annealing “stain” is left on the case so that no one will again anneal the brass before the first loading. Not all new brass has the shoulder and neck annealed, depends on the maker. Factory ammo typically does not have the case shoulder and neck annealed prior to loading. Small arms military brass does have the shoulder and neck annealed before loading primarily for feeding reliability and to avoid spring back. My only question is: How many times can I load the brass before I should anneal it again?

 

[COPrecisionRifle]

GOLD???

Area 419 Press
SAC/whidden/redding Dies
Henderson Precision trimmer
A&D W/Auto trickler powder dispenser
Area 419 funnels and loading blocks

+1 for all of these and add an Amp!

 

[ID_Matt]

+1 for all of these and add an Amp!

I knew i was forgetting something!