New to reloading

[josephmrtn]

The thing to consider is that with the turret style reloading machine, you never have to reset dies, etc. You install them into the plate and swap out plates (one for each caliber) as needed. Simplifies things. You can get most of what you need in a kit, then separate dies and plates for each different caliber. Its right here...

http://www.midwayusa...ndex-deluxe-kit

You are still going to need dies, bases, etc for the lock and load kit as well, and the Lee setup is less money to start with.

Your decision in the end, but I personally think youd be making a mistake with the lock and load kit.

boy that kit (^^^^^) looks AWFUL nice!!! i sure am thinking about it.... the only other things i would need besides dies ect is a bullet puller and different plates i think plus powder primers and such

[Culvercreek hunt club]

the instructions in the manual are very good as well. step by step using Lee products and discuss the theory behind the "Whys"

[josephmrtn]

yeah the only thing that i find sorta confusing is all the different dies i hard time knowing what i will need... is that kind of stuff in the book??

[Culvercreek hunt club]

It is. What do you plan on reloading and for what guns?

Edited December 4, 2012 by Culvercreek hunt club

[josephmrtn]

308 win 150gr bullet for a savage model 11, bolt action

30-06 150gr for a rem 760, pump

270 130 or 150 gr prob for two diff rem 7600's, bolt action

and possibly in 5 yrs or so i might do a bit of

7.62x39 w prob about 100 or 145 gr for a semi auto russian sks

im not sure what bullets on all but prob some nosler balistic tip for hunting w some fmj or something for target and some hp for coyote ect...

Edited December 4, 2012 by josephmrtn

[Culvercreek hunt club]

http://www.midwayusa...-308-winchester

http://www.midwayusa...ter?cm_vc=sugv1

I like the Deluxe Die sets. it give you both full length sizing die and neck sizing die. Then buy the factory crimp seperate. It is a little more expensive but really gives you flexibility. THe factory crimp is a must in my book and gives better consistency.

I neck size for my Encore and Bolt actions....I would expect if you were loading for ONLY one Pump you could neck size as well.

I full length size for my Father's auto loader and it seems to feed better that way.

I also full length size any used brass I am given or pick up the first time just to make sure it is at spec to start.

If yoou aren't going to neck size and are only going to full length size you can save money on the dies

http://www.midwayusa...-308-winchester

Same as above but without the neck sizing die. (your bolt guns will be more accurate with neck sizing but once fired the ammo is NOT interchangable between 2 bolt rifles until it is full length sized again. It is fire formed to the specific chamber of a single rifle and more accurate. (Or so the story goes)

Get a 4 hole turret for each die set and you are ready to go. so that means about $55 a caliber for die set up.

On the bullets....go with what has worked for you but I have had great luck with the Sierra Game kings for the 30 caliber bullets in my 308 and 30-06...out of bolt and Encore. the tips get buggered up a bit in the feed ramps of the auto loaders though. I load Nosler Ballistic tips in those. (twice the price of the gamekings)

Edited December 4, 2012 by Culvercreek hunt club

[josephmrtn]

you wanna find me some 270 and 30-06 dies too? lol

[Culvercreek hunt club]

same ones from the same site is where I got mine. ...lol

270 Winchester

http://www.midwayusa.com/product/279271/lee-deluxe-3-die-set-270-winchester

http://www.midwayusa.com/product/735849/lee-factory-crimp-die-270-winchester?cm_vc=sugv1

30-06 Sprg

http://www.midwayusa.com/product/257541/lee-deluxe-3-die-set-30-06-springfield

http://www.midwayusa.com/product/143214/lee-factory-crimp-die-30-06-springfield?cm_vc=sugv1

If you are going to trim cases, which you likely will. you will need the trimming guage for each caliber . this trims your end perfectly to length and perpendicular to the axis of the case.

http://www.midwayusa.com/product/459337/lee-case-length-gage-and-shellholder-30-06-springfield?cm_vc=sugv1

http://www.midwayusa.com/product/271467/lee-case-length-gage-and-shellholder-308-winchester?cm_vc=OBv1

http://www.midwayusa.com/product/930066/lee-case-length-gage-and-shellholder-270-winchester?cm_vc=sugv1

Pretty good video...give you an idea of it. It goes much faster when you are doin it.

[josephmrtn]

thanks

[josephmrtn]

one question, do i need this?

http://www.midwayusa.com/product/792057/lee-auto-disk-rifle-powder-charging-die-22-to-30-calibers

[josephmrtn]

Case Conditioning Kit (Including: Case Trimmer Cutter and Lock Stud, Chamfer Tool, Large and Small Primer Pocket Cleaner, Lee Case Sizing Lube)

this all comes w the kit, its all i need for case trimming ect right?

[Culvercreek hunt club]

one question, do i need this?

http://www.midwayusa...-to-30-calibers

If you ge the kit I posted and want to do short action rifle cartriges like the 223 and maybe the 308 case family you could use it if you wanted to do plinking ammo and dont care about great accuracy. My opinion....for hunting or target rounds I would weigh each individual powder charge. the kit comes with the auto disc powder measure and the riser to mount on this die but you need the kit to double the volume of the discs or it won't hold enough capacity to do rifles,....handgun yes but not rifles.

http://www.midwayusa.com/product/870920/lee-auto-disk-powder-measure-double-disk-kit?cm_vc=sugv1

If you want to try rifles in it you need this too.

[Culvercreek hunt club]

Case Conditioning Kit (Including: Case Trimmer Cutter and Lock Stud, Chamfer Tool, Large and Small Primer Pocket Cleaner, Lee Case Sizing Lube)

this all comes w the kit, its all i need for case trimming ect right?

I got this and it is nicer on the hands

http://www.midwayusa.com/product/136199/lee-case-trimmer-cutter-with-ball-grip?cm_vc=subv1

And you need one of these in each caliber you are reloading.

THis one is for 308 Win

http://www.midwayusa.com/product/271467/lee-case-length-gage-and-shellholder-308-winchester?cm_vc=OBv1

[Doc]

i still cant decide...... i dought i will reload over 100 rounds per yr per guy unless we buy or find some more brass, we are not big shooters just mostly hunters... (between us all this yr we used about 20 rounds of ammo, mostly me missing deer lol) any fresh opinions? i like the option of buying everything in one kit also, i dont wanna buy everything seperate... another thing if i would wanna reload more do most shooting ranges have brass that i could get for cheap or for free? also where is a good place to get powder primers ect would, gander mountain, dicks sporting goods or herb phillipsons have it? i do my shopping in watertown if that helps.....

(sorry im a noob at all this)

I am seriously wondering whether it even makes sense for you to get involved in reloading at all, given the small amount of shooting that you do. Using 20 rounds per year probably does not really warrant the expense and time and effort. For one thing, reloading does not save the amount of money that a lot of people imagine. The costs of cases, primers, bullets and powder and other consumables are really getting very expensive. Most people reload to achieve the most accurate and high-performing ammo possible matched to their individual guns, and those are usually paper shooters that burn up a lot of ammo in experimentation and target practice.

Take a little time, and rough out the costs per box of your reloads vs. factory ammo, and then apply the estimated quantity of ammo that you expect to shoot. You may be a bit surprised at how close the costs compare to store bought ammo. And do not under-estimate the amount of time involved. It makes a great winter pastime when there is little else to do. But if you place high value on your time, the savings from reloading drops to zero.

I'm not trying to discourage you .... just giving you another viewpoint to consider.

As far as the kit you are looking at, it does look very complete and the price is great deal. I think if I were starting out these days, I would probably be looking at one of those deals. It's hard to imagine how much stuff they offer at such a low price. And by the way Hornady is a good name and I would not hesitate to buy anything that they market. It's a pretty quality oriented company.

[Culvercreek hunt club]

Doc, For a comparison. 30-06.

The Federal Premium ammunition I used in mine was normally about $41 a box. If I found it on sale I could get it for around $35. (Now you could use a lot cheaper ammo but that is the factory I found that shot the best out of it.) That is $2.05 a round. or let's use the on sale...$1.75.

Now the reloads

Brass (brand new) Winchester Brass will run you $23 per 50. That is $0.46 per round and if you get 5 reloads out (which is conservative if you don't set them on barn burner) That is .09 per round

Bullets comparable to the Factory I shot (Sierra Game Kings) $24 /100 so .24 per round.

Powder - If you just bought 1# containers and loaded arounf 50 grains (7,000/50=140 rounds/#) $28 /# is .20 per round

Primers at .03 per round

So that is roughly $0.56 per round. or $11.20 a box. and that is all premium components (bullet price could double if you picked an expensive ballistic tip or the like but this is apples to apples for what I was shooting)

That is roughly a $14 a box savings. With all my calibers and dies and stuff I added I am complete and load for 5 rifle calibers and 2 pistol calibers. I have about $700 invested. Now I would love to tell you that after just 50 boxes of ammo I am even and after that money ahead but I can't. The biggest reason is I shoot a LOT more since I can reload...lol. But that is wortht eh investment in itself. I knew it was probably not a big money saver but I figurd if I could shoot more and not break the bank I would be happy.

So the Reader's Digest version is...If he is $400 in to the equipment and runs an average savings of about $12 a box ...after about 33 boxes he is even.

[Doewhacker]

Nice, so then in another 33 it has paid for itself. All I know is I have spent a lot on ammo the last few months and if I can save money by reloading and get a new hobby out of it in the process I will.

[Culvercreek hunt club]

I have a lot of stuf you don't "need" but make it nice. tumbler...digital scale....different powder measure. ..things like that. the Lee kit and a few nice extras and the dies for a few calibers and you are probably in for $400.

It is a hobby in itself. I like the figuring out the best loads ...different powder charges....bullet types....more crimp...less crimp....head space....It is like a 3D puzzle. ...lol

[josephmrtn]

yeah i watched the vid you posted and that answered almost all my questions.... yup my dad is buying it as payment for working on the farm... i found a lot of nice ideas online too, i prob will buy the kit tommorow or next week...

[Doc]

So the Reader's Digest version is...If he is $400 in to the equipment and runs an average savings of about $12 a box ...after about 33 boxes he is even.

That's why I posed the question. I was responding to what he said about his estimate of his reloading rate which was: "i doubt i will reload over 100 rounds per yr per guy unless we buy or find some more brass, we are not big shooters just mostly hunters... (between us all this yr we used about 20 rounds of ammo, mostly me missing deer lol)".

100 rounds per year is 5 boxes. At that rate, and granting that it may very well take 33 boxes to break even, we're talking about more than 6 years just to break even, and that is assuming that there is no value to be placed on his time. And then the follow-up comment about only using 20 rounds of ammo all this year, the amount of payback time at that kind of rate would be unbelieveable at that rate of consumption.

That's why I mentioned that making money at reloading is really a function of normal ammo consumption. A lot of us also reload to maximize accuracy by finding loads and components that work well through an individual gun. I find myself getting absolutely anal about consistancy and accuracy in weights and measures and procedures just to take out any loading errors. For me it is all pretty painstaking activity that burns up a lot of time. If I ever added up all the time that it takes to produce each box of ammo, and paid myself even sub-minimum wages, they still would be very expensive rounds .... lol.

So anyway, that is why I mentioned the cost factor. I know a lot of people have this subconscious vision of reloading as free ammo. It's always good to realize that if you shoot very little, reloading can be a very expensive proposition compared to just walking into the store once a year or so and buying factory ammo.

[Culvercreek hunt club]

Joseph...Good luck and there are lots of guy there that can help if you have a question. This isn't a hobby where you want to get creative in as a new participant. when in doubt read....if you can't understand after that...ask. . Best adivec I was given when I got into this was read the manual....completely. then the next step is to read it again....lol. I did and knock on would it has served me well.

Doc.

I understod where you were coming from. I questioned getting involved a lot before I did. That is why I took the battle I was having in my head to the place of justifying it to get more shooting and not see a big increase in cost...lol. If I shot like I do now with factory ammo it would just be too expensive. If I take my daughter to the range and I bring some rifles and the pistols it is nothing the have a 200 round outing. It really is a hobby itself but within the safety limits you can get as detailed as you wish and a really nice aspect is ...to get adequate hunting ammo is not difficult at all.

[josephmrtn]

Joseph...Good luck and there are lots of guy there that can help if you have a question. This isn't a hobby where you want to get creative in as a new participant. when in doubt read....if you can't understand after that...ask. . Best adivec I was given when I got into this was read the manual....completely. then the next step is to read it again....lol. I did and knock on would it has served me well.

Doc.

I understod where you were coming from. I questioned getting involved a lot before I did. That is why I took the battle I was having in my head to the place of justifying it to get more shooting and not see a big increase in cost...lol. If I shot like I do now with factory ammo it would just be too expensive. If I take my daughter to the range and I bring some rifles and the pistols it is nothing the have a 200 round outing. It really is a hobby itself but within the safety limits you can get as detailed as you wish and a really nice aspect is ...to get adequate hunting ammo is not difficult at all.

ur totaly right!!

[fasteddie]

I don't look at it for just the "cost factor" . Guns are tempermental and you can tweak the loads to satisfy each gun . I do more reloading for one of my sons than I do for myself .

[Doc]

I don't look at it for just the "cost factor" . Guns are tempermental and you can tweak the loads to satisfy each gun . I do more reloading for one of my sons than I do for myself .

That's exactly right. What a difference in group sizes out of the same gun changes in load and components can make. It can be huge.

[josephmrtn]

yeah thats sorta my thought too that i can tweek bullets, bullet weights ect. im halfway paid off... lol i hauled 51 loads of liquid cow crap over the past few days so that means ive got 49 to go... i average about 10 to 15 a day and am gettin paid 3 to 4 bucks per load.........

what a way to pay off reloading supplys... lol

(the life of the farmer...................)

[Lawdwaz]

yeah thats sorta my thought too that i can tweek bullets, bullet weights ect. im halfway paid off... lol i hauled 51 loads of liquid cow crap over the past few days so that means ive got 49 to go... i average about 10 to 15 a day and am gettin paid 3 to 4 bucks per load.........

what a way to pay off reloading supplys... lol

(the life of the farmer...................)

Good for you!

Way worse things for you to be getting into. Your folks should be happy.