What additional reloading gear do I need.......?

deerstalker.308

Well-Known Member
Having just inherited a Dillon press, case tumbler, a set of rcbs 10/10 scales and a kinetic hammer, aside from raw ingredients, what else do I need to get reloading?( I know I need to get a set of dies clearly although recommendations would be appreciated).
i am after a list of essentials, not luxuries, things like do I need a case trimmer, are calipers, essential? Forgive my ignorance, but I'd like to know where I'm at and where I need to be!

Thanks in advance

andy.
 
Having just inherited a Dillon press, case tumbler, a set of rcbs 10/10 scales and a kinetic hammer, aside from raw ingredients, what else do I need to get reloading?( I know I need to get a set of dies clearly although recommendations would be appreciated).
i am after a list of essentials, not luxuries, things like do I need a case trimmer, are calipers, essential? Forgive my ignorance, but I'd like to know where I'm at and where I need to be!

Thanks in advance

andy.
priming tool and a set of calipers to measure seating depth and you're good to go for a basic set
might also be wise to buy a basic case cleaning / prep kit aswell
 
Andy,
i haven't been reloading rifle cartridges for very long but i started out with,
second hand press, second hand micrometer,load data,dies,s/h powder funnel,S/h scales,case trimmer, primer pocket cleaner, de- bur/chamfer tool, case holder ( i use mtm 50 round Box instead) and, as a luxury, i found a cheap ultrasonic cleaner at aldi. Worked for me.
Extra Luxuries,that I have since added include a bullet comparator to batch my bullets and measure oal to ogive, and a kinetic hammer which i have only used four times so far. Lube and pad to full length resize and an oal gauge ( which i no longer use ).
I use the lee deluxe dies in .243 and can't fault them.
Fatty.
 
priming tool and a set of calipers to measure seating depth and you're good to go for a basic set
might also be wise to buy a basic case cleaning / prep kit aswell

The Dillon 550 has an in-built priming system

Digi calipers are useful - even the Aldi sets at about £15 do the job
 
Thanks all, calipers are a must then, what about case trimming, or is this not something I need to worry about quite yet?
 
I'm assuming you are reloading rifle cartridges i.e. bottleneck.

So you will need case lubricant. Imperial sizing wax is recommended, but in fact all the best sizing lubes are just lanolin. Mink oil boot polish, propshield antifouling grease, or lanolin from your vet are all the same stuff.

Case length trimmer essential for peace of mind. The Lee cutter/gauge/lockstud is cheap as chips, foolproof and does the same job as the most expensive.

Chamfer tool to smooth the trimmed cases, but some steel wool or emery cloth just as good.

Dies: Lee "deluxe" set gets you a full-length die, neck die, seating die (dead length, no crimp) and a shellholder. The best value and great accuracy.

I'd say ogive comparator to fit to (Aldi/Lidl) digital calipers is essential. Simply measuring COAL is unreliable and tells you little about bullet jump. Hornady version with calibre specific insert, or the hex nut multi calibre tool are both good. The adjunct to the comparator is a length gauge, but you can improvise this with e.g. a fired case, a bullet and a drop of 5 minute araldite.

You have the scales to measure powder, but will also need something like some Lee scoops (a single suitable one is included in the Lee die set) and either a trickler, or a steady hand with the scoop to fine-adjust the powder charge. A chemistry lab spatula, or even a small teaspoon also works;) A proper powder funnel helps to pour it into the case, but you may already have a small kitchen one that will do the job. Depending on the design of the pan on your scales, you may find a funnel unnecesssary.

Finally, the most essential tool for reloading is a Chronoscope. Anybody reloading without one, particulary to develop deer-legal loads, is frankly just playing about. Unless you KNOW your muzzle velocity, spread, variation with powder charge etc. you are just guessing. When you know your muzzle velocity you can really use ballistic software properly. Re-test with every new tub of powder, change of primer, case manufacturer. Prochrono Digital highly recommended. Don't buy the cheapest foldy-up ones, a few quid more gets you a much better tool.
 
Strange one this I have been reloading for 22 years and never owned a chronoscope or chronograph for that matter, I will have to ask all the Deer heads on my dining room wall if they noticed
 
Deerstalker.308 check that you have all the parts of the press first including the right shellplate. I would suggest that you use it as a single stage press at first that assuming it is a 550 and not a 650 which I believe auto indexes.

Any make of dies will do but a Lee collet die set will be relatively inexpensive and give you a choice of neck or full length resizing.

Use the right powder in the dillon powder thrower and you will find it throws quite consistently. Check and adjust using your scales which are some of the best.

Buy a Lee case length gauge, its only about £7. It's simple foolproof and does the job.

A chamfer tool from Lee costs less than £5 and will serve adequate.

You will need case lube for full lenght resizing.


You won't need a chronograph you should have some idea of speed as long as you stick to accepted load data.

I have a Dillon 550B and think its brilliant but not the press that you would normally start with. I have only limited knowledge of the 650 but I do know that calibre conversion kits are a little expensive. Try and give us more detail about what exactly you have inherited.
 
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This is exactly the kind of help I'd hoped for, thanks all, keep em coming! Got to give the other half Christmas present ideas!
 
Nobody has mentioned a reloading manual yet.

I'd suggest the Lee manual for its good introduction to the techniques of reloading, it also has comprehensive load data presented in a useful way, which gives a good feel for the performance of different powders. The Lyman manual is also good for comparing powders and bullets.

Powder manufacturers and bullet suppliers also publish manuals which tend to be more biased towards their own products, usually they also publish the data online for free.

If you use online data, print out a copy and file it. Its not unknown for the data to change, or even be withdrawn.

Its important to compare data from several sources before choosing a likely load, there can be duff data, also over-conservative (weak) loads presented by manufacturers worried about product liability. Sierra data is a good example.

Be very very cautious about using unattributable data, or e.g. Quickload predictions, always check it for plausibility with the powder manufacturer's own figures.
 
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Nobody has mentioned a reloading manual yet.

I'd suggest the Lee manual for its good introduction to the techniques of reloading, it also has comprehensive load data presented in a useful way, which gives a good feel for the performance of different powders. The Lyman manual is also good for comparing powders and bullets.

Powder manufacturers and bullet suppliers also publish manuals which tend to be more biased towards their own products, usually they also publish the data online for free.

If you use online data, print out a copy and file it. Its not unknown for the data to change, or even be withdrawn.

Its important to compare data from several sources before choosing a likely load, there can be duff data, also over-conservative (weak) loads presented by manufacturers worried about product liability. Sierra data is a good example.

Be very very cautious about using unattributable data, or e.g. Quickload predictions, always check it for plausibility with the powder manufacturer's own figures.

Thankyou! Common sense! A manual should be first on the list.

As t the comment on the chronograph. Not necessary, but extremely educational. Two of them will allow you to calculate actual ballistic coeffecients.... three, even better. I've used them since they were the size of a small microwave and you needed to convert nano-seconds to Ft/Sec using a book of conversion tables. My Chrony now does speeds (hi. low. average), extreme spread, standard deviation, and then prints is out for me. It's great.~Muir
 
Strange one this I have been reloading for 22 years and never owned a chronoscope or chronograph for that matter, I will have to ask all the Deer heads on my dining room wall if they noticed

I can identify with this. I have been reloading about 10 years now and have just bought a chrony. For most of this time I was reloading for .270 and I got good accuracy although because of my mapped bullet trajectories I knew I wasn't reaching anywhere near the velocities in the manuals. Not a big problem though as I was hitting where I aimed and deer were falling over.

Some smaller calibers and loads need to be tested as they might be borderline when it comes to legality - velocity/Muzzle energy. This could be a problem with a caliber such as .243. For example I chose to use a 100gr bullet over Varget. My velocities are much less than the printed data (even after taking the shorter barrel into account) and whilst still legal in Scotland, 2650fps only generates a muzzle energy of 1559 ft/lb which is a fair bit short of the legal 1700 ft/lb for England.

Its not essential to own a chronograph for reloading but you should have access to one in order to ensure you are legal.


....it can also save a lot of time and money when it comes to working up loads and problem solving.
 
Yes I forgot the obvious a good reloading manual. The Lee manual is one of the better ones if you accept the obvious fault of self promotion but it does provide a load of data borrowed from other sources and it is cheap at just over £20 new.
 
Having just inherited a Dillon press, case tumbler, a set of rcbs 10/10 scales and a kinetic hammer, aside from raw ingredients, what else do I need to get reloading?( I know I need to get a set of dies clearly although recommendations would be appreciated).
i am after a list of essentials, not luxuries, things like do I need a case trimmer, are calipers, essential? Forgive my ignorance, but I'd like to know where I'm at and where I need to be!

Thanks in advance

andy.

Plenty of guys on here more learned than me... however here's what I've been using under the tutelage of others:
powder measuring scales or lee dipper
case trimmer
chamfer & deburring tool
sonic cleaner or tumbler
press & die set (lee)
primer hole cleaning thing!
case lube
priming tool or press attachment
digital calipers
Powder funnel
Realoding tray - make one or buy one... you'll definitely need one!

Like I said I'm a total novice to relaoading but the above is about everthing I use (plus the presses, dies, bullets, cases, primers) :)
 
Bunnydoom it's a progressive press so some of the things you may not need e.g.powder funnel and reloading tray. It all depends on how you use the press. That's not to say you won't aquire them for future use. What we are talking about here is a Dillon 550.
Do you really need an ultrasonic cleaner or tumbler? We were asked for an essential list utilising the 550 that deerstalker has inherited.
 
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Bunnydoom it's a progressive press so some of the things you may not need e.g.powder funnel and reloading tray. It all depends on how you use the press. That's not to say you won't aquire them for future use. What we are talking about here is a Dillon 550.
Do you really need an ultrasonic cleaner or tumbler? We were asked for an essential list utilising the 550 that deerstalker has inherited.

It has not been established yet which model Dillon press has been inherited.

He does have a tumbler so I have not discussed case cleaning. (I think a tumbler is still the best way).

Regarding chronoscope/graph (a chronograph is simply a chronoscope with a printer, basic Greek): an analogy.

You buy replacement tyres at KwikFit and choose brand based on whatever is cheapest, or some prejudice about superior brand name and high price, or what your mates recommended, or you read on a forum posted by someone you never met. You trust them to fit them properly and inflate correctly for your specific vehicle, and torque the wheelnuts likewise. You take no interest in these details. Thats like using factory ammo.

You have some idea that some tyres work better than others depending on circumstances, and the components are significantly less expensive. Maybe you do some online research and order the bare tyres and buy some tyre levers, a bead breaker and trolley jack. But you can't see the point in buying a decent pressure gauge or torque wrench. You fit them yourself, pump them up 'til they look ok, maybe test with a few kicks. Tighten the wheelnuts until they feel ok. Then drive them, and keep an eye out for "pressure signs" i.e. scrubbed shoulders or worn out centres. Anyway you have a "feel" for how they should handle so don't need any quantitative details. Thats like reloading without a chrono, or measuring tools. Maybe good enough for hunting if you confine yourself to modest limits.

You do as above, but also own a decent pressure gauge and torque wrench, and use them. Maybe you measure axle weights on a weighbridge, or even measure corner weights. You use this data together with the manufacturer's info to select a suitable pressure for each tyre. You check as frequently as necessary, adjust for temperature and usage, measure tyre temperatures with IR thermometer, keep detailed notes. Maybe consider nitrogen inflation, and understand the pros and cons. Change tyres to suit seasons and usage. If you find a tyre that doesn't work as well as previous choices you get rid, rather than compromise with a poor choice. Thats educated reloading, and if you are observant and inqusitive can be a very rewarding hobby.
 
"It has not been established yet which model Dillon press has been inherited."

Reading this thread combined with deerstalker's other thread in the classified I though that it had been established that it was a Dillon 550, though I might be mistaken. The other press, which he is selling is the 650. Dillon only make progressive presses apart from their fairly recently introduced 50BMG press.

 
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