Thread: Starting reloading

If you are just reloading for hunting out to 500 you can get away with very minimal and basic gear. You can make supprisingly good ammo. Once you start making a lot of ammo though, I make and shoot 2000 rounds for some of my rifles a year, you want a digital powder thrower. I don’t use anything I started with once upon a time. My one bit of advice would be to get a press that you are able to set your die up once like the Lee rotary press or the one that has the removable collets that just twist and come out, I think a hornady or Lee one. I used to use the Lee 100 and was good. Now use the Forster co-ax.
The amount of ammo most hunters shoot. And with company’s making ammo with pretty good bullets. You only hand load if trying to get super accuracy and shooting extended range, making a lot of ammo or doing a calibre and bullet type that is hard to obtain.
300 wm will still cost you 2-2.50 a round incl brass to make.

I’ve got a friend at Mt Sommers who will do load development and produce you ammo in batches saving you all the time and hassle

Depending on your needs a reloading setup will cost about $700. If you plan on reloading a few hundred rounds per year then I assume you really want to keep costs under control.

If loading a few thousand a year then I'd tend to go a bit more upmarket on the press getting a RCBS/Reading/Lyman/Hornady unit. Simply they all seem very good so pick on in the colour you like. Though I have a RCBS and what I dont like is the crap way it handles used primers they seem to go all over the place so if I was buying again I would look at a press that drops them in a better way. Probably a Hornady.

So I suggest and even mostly use Lee kit. Even today I mostly use Lee dies in my progressive and single stage presses for target shooting.

Excellent Lee Stuff,
dies
delux quick trim

Good (enough) Lee stuff
powder thrower
press
hand primer

Not so good (but OK)
Lee case prep tools.

You can certainly buy more expensive kit but most of it is at best as good as Lee and sometimes poorer and considerably more expensive.

For example Lee neck collet die and bullet crimper as as good if not better than any other die IMHO and a lot cheaper.

I do have some hornady dies (for the amax insert) but I find them no more accurate and consistent for installing a bullet than Lee.

Case cleaning, I bought a 6litre ultra sonic off Aliexpress, after 20mins the cases are functionally clean. I did think about buying smaller but for me anyway the 6L was the right size.

On and get a powder trickler I suggest. A metal RCBS one (or simialr) so they dont get knocked over easily.

Kinetic bullet puller for the stuff ups you are bound to make!

Originally Posted by steven

On and get a powder trickler I suggest. A metal RCBS one (or simialr) so they dont get knocked over easily.

Fav bit of gear! Saves 15mins per batch of 50 tuned loads.

Originally Posted by steven

On and get a powder trickler I suggest. A metal RCBS one (or simialr) so they dont get knocked over easily.

A powder trickler would be my number one pick for gear you don't need to have, but should have.

Hard to beat these for a starter kit iv got one add a powder trickler & away you go https://www.reloaders.co.nz/shop/Rel...rsary+Kit.html