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Post by hornet22savage on Jul 6, 2012 13:13:14 GMT -5
I'm not new to shooting, however I am noew to the idea of reloading. Right now I do a lot of shooting both target and hunting woodchucks are my primary target and the .243 is my caliber. What would the vetern reloaders reccomend for a newbie to get started not extreme volume but moderate say 20 to 40 shells a week.
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Post by edwardamason on Jul 6, 2012 17:10:59 GMT -5
I would suggest finding someone in your area that reloads and do some loading with him first before investing in a bunch of equipment. If they don't have .243 dies that would be your first thing to purchase. Then some projectiles, powder and primers.
You can spend a PILE of money on start up cost and find out you have selected a lot of wrong stuff or stuff that does not fit your needs.
Most reloaders are more than happy to share knowledge and equipment for newbies.
As far as loads for the .243 the is a ton of loading data out there. Pick a bullet that you like and find a book load. Start there and then start playing around.
You will find it addicting.
Good Luck.
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Post by AJ on Jul 6, 2012 17:11:36 GMT -5
First off get a good reloading manual and read the first few chapters on how and whys. Learn what pressure signs look like.
Hard to beat a RCBS Rockchucker press. They are rigid and moderately priced.
I prefer Redding dies for rifle cartridges. A deluxe set gets you a full length resizer, neck sizer, and a seater die.
Imperial sizing lube is great stuff. You will need a case extractor at some point because not enough lube was used to full length resize.
Get a good scale. I started with a balance beam then went to digital and back to a Scott Parker calibrated balance beam. I really like the calibrated scale. I also bought a GemPro 250 digital scale for weighing bullets and cases. They do have their place in reloading but not mandetory for starting out.
I like the RCBS hand priming unit. I used a Lee for a couple decades before upgrading to the RCBS.
A method of cleaning brass is also needed. You can clean with a rag and Flitz, a vibrating tumber with corn cob or walnut, ultrasonic, or a rotary tumbler with stainless steel media. It's up to you how big and fancy you want to go.
Measuring device of some sort to measure case length. Most people use dial or digital calipers.
Eventually you will need a case trimmer along with a debur tool.
A loading block to keep the brass in are very handy while loading and it speeds the process.
While far from what you can buy, this should get you started and allow you to load high quality ammo. But there are hundreds if not thousands of gadgets out there that make the process easier and/or faster.
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Post by hornet22savage on Jul 7, 2012 9:18:34 GMT -5
I was online looking at Midway.com and they have a Lee single stage press that comes with everything except dies and case prep for $118 and I can get a 3 piece Die set for $33 and a case prep set for another $10. All I would need after that would be a manual a case cleaner and supplies.
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Post by dannoboone on Jul 7, 2012 12:03:11 GMT -5
Just starting out, I believe you are making the right choice. Some people start out spending a ton of money on reloading equipment only to find they just can't get into it. My brother got a heck of a deal from a guy who did that on RCBS equipment, everything needed & then some, for less than the cost of the Rock Chucker press!
A press is a press. It pushes the case into the die, then pulls it back out. The Lee press does the same thing a Dillon press does. Put your money into quality dies. I like the portable Lee hand press along with Forster dies.
Good suggestion on reading a manual if you have never reloaded. I have Hornady manuals which go into great detail about the how's, why's, etc., of reloading. I believe most of them have such explanations in the front pages of the manuals.
There's also a lot of reloads on the Hodgdon's web site.
I've gotten great groups with Sierra 70gr Match Kings and Hornady 105gr A-Max bullets with my Savage VLP (Model 12).
Good luck, and be careful. Know what you're doing before you do it.
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Post by wilmsmeyer on Jul 7, 2012 12:24:35 GMT -5
I have the basic Rockchucker kit. All I need.
I friend that has a .223 has done all his reloading with one of those Lee pocket kits. Granted, he doesn't own an AR-15...but the 100's of woodchucks and deer he's killed wouldn't know the difference.
For the box or 2 per week, the rockchucker kit is a cadillac.. Get good dies
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Post by deadeye on Jul 8, 2012 0:58:04 GMT -5
and good dies = redding
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Post by ricksalisbury01 on Jul 9, 2012 11:06:03 GMT -5
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Post by rossman40 on Jul 10, 2012 14:20:51 GMT -5
The Rockchucker kit is a excellent starter kit. Lee is cheaper but if you start sizing bullets or forming brass you can't beat the strength of the Rockchucker. I started out with a Lee kit but thru the years I've replaced everything that was in the kit with better stuff plus added. A single stage press is great for 50-100 rounds a session and you can be very precise. Now if your feeding a auto a progressive press comes in handy. I would reload 1000 40 S&W at a pop and I would go over and use my buddies Dillion for that and be done in 3 hours (or more depending on how lengthy the BS got)
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Post by muznut on Jul 30, 2012 13:22:58 GMT -5
Rossman is right if you get the cheaper Lee stuff you will want to upgrade in no time but if you get the Lee Classic Cast press its cast iron and looks to me just as strong or more so than the Rockchucker.
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Post by smokepole50 on Jul 30, 2012 18:36:35 GMT -5
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Post by mountainam on Jul 30, 2012 22:06:12 GMT -5
RCBS is a great company that stands behind their products like no other. I bought a used set of .17Rem dies on ebay that were advertised "mint condition" and they showed up with a bent decapping rod. I called RCBS to order another and the nice lady said that she'd send me 2 for no cost. Try that with Lyman or some others. I did----to no avail. I like the design features on the Hornady dies, BUT I experience "case issues" with the cartridges that I use them on. The RCBS dies make those issues go away on each of those calibers.
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Post by lttac on Oct 31, 2012 21:37:13 GMT -5
Spend the extra money to get the Redding dies, they are great. I use one of the Lee Turret presses and have each set of dies in their own turret. To change calibers you simply take out the turret and put the new one in. One time set up and then the only adjustment would be the seating die for different length bullets. I did spend the money to buy the RCBS Chargemaster combo that dispenses the powder and weighs at the same time. It's pricey but it gives you accurate charges every time and you can store up to a 100 different loads in the memory. Just my .02 worth.
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Post by rjhans53 on Nov 2, 2012 13:47:54 GMT -5
I guess starting out any single stage press kit would be ok, now all my stuff is rcbs but I started with a lyman. I would strongly recommend a charge master or something of that sort for a powder measure, I used manuals for years, but the charge master handles cylinder powders a bunch better. Yes you can set the charges a hair light and then trickle to the proper charge, but it's a hassle as far as I'm concerned
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Post by xp100 on Nov 4, 2012 19:48:16 GMT -5
I would start with the Lee stuff. If after while you decide loading isn't for you it is likely you can get most of your initial investment back. If you start with RCBS it will be hard to sell to a beginner for 75% of what you paid. If you like reloading you can upgrade and still sell the Lee stuff. I have several customers that after 10+ yrs. still use their Lee setup.
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