To buy or not to buy

[Bavarianbrit]

Well, for starters, the scales have a mind of their own and the priming tools have handles made of chocolate...

I remade the chocolate handle in mild steel in 1982 it is still going strong but has been retired as I have a table tool now.

 

[Radstorm]

There are some very comprehensive answers here - I will raise the question of how many rounds will you really shoot a year ? Is it worth it ? How much is your time worth ?

Equally like a lot of process or hobbies the more you spend on the tools - or the better quality tools and kit the more enjoyable the process is. I started with a Lee kit - I’ve replaced everything except the press and a couple of the scoops - It produced good ammunition but other products have made it a little easier.

 

[Ratel]

I got a Reloader for my Hornet off a kind gent on here with a similar Avatar. Great bit of kit all you need is a powder scales balance, calipers and a piece of 4"X2" if you haven't got a rubber mallet.
Not fast but fun for an hour. I dont even need scales I just fill the Hornet cases with Lilgun.

 

[LeftHandGuy]

There are some very comprehensive answers here - I will raise the question of how many rounds will you really shoot a year ? Is it worth it ? How much is your time worth ?

As with anything it's as much about why as anything else - I started reloading at about the same time as my first child was born - for me a big part of it was being able to extend my hobby into time I had at my disposal, but during which I had to be at home, or at least not miles away stalking.

Equally like a lot of process or hobbies the more you spend on the tools - or the better quality tools and kit the more enjoyable the process is. I started with a Lee kit - I’ve replaced everything except the press and a couple of the scoops - It produced good ammunition but other products have made it a little easier.

My loading bench is total mishmash, I have Lee, RCBS, Lyman, Hornady, Redding, CH4D, Forster and most recently added a Wamadet press - and I think it's probably fair to say that most of the companies have at least one product or feature either unique to them, or that they make the best version of - with the result that I have very little patience for brand snobbery within reloading equipment.

 

[Cyres]

To add
Kinetic hammer.
Primer pocket cleaner/uniformer
Wire wool.
I find the Lyman case trimmer tool is excellent and comes with a drill compatible locking stud. Use electric drill on slow speed to trim cases to length inside and outside chamfer and clean case with wire wool.
A case gauge is indispensible to check every case to ensure correct dimensions.
The original Lee hand primer is excellent and allows you to feel primers into cases.
Lee dippers and a trickle up very easy.
If your brave a set of electronic scales. I use On balance and more than accurate enough for basic reloading.
Buy the Lee reloading manual.
D

 

[GWP]

RCBS 505 scales will last a lifetime and are accurate rest of the stuff look for second hand

 

[Muir]

RCBS 505 scales will last a lifetime and are accurate rest of the stuff look for second hand

Most of the old rcbs 505 scales I've seen were made by Uhaus. My Ohaus "Dial-O-Grain" is 60+ years old and still as fast and accurate as when it was new.~Muir

 

[Pedro]

If you intend to be anywhere near serious (and by that I don't necessarily mean anal about accuracy, but producing decent, accurate rounds made for all your shooting) then firstly you need a bit of space. The minimum is around 4 feet of counter top securely fastened to the wall/floor. Pulling down that lever continuously can unsettle a wonky worktop. Then get a press. There's single presses, which are fine for small amounts of reloading. If you are doing batches of around 20 to maybe 50 or so, that'll be all you need. Or a more complicated progressive one. More complicated, but churns out a round with each pull, so long as you keep the supplies topped up. Then you need specific dies for each calibre you want to load for. Then you need something to sit primers. And indeed to extract spent primers. Then you need something to measure your powder. Oh and before long, you'll need something to resize your brass (length-wise, I mean). And then maybe some method of cleaning your brass. Of course I could go on, but there's the basics.

Which method you choose to employ to do all of those tasks is, for the uninitiated, a minefield. See all the different answers on here for proof of that.

You could do a lot worse than getting a Lee kit. It'll do most tasks needed although you will need to buy odd things anyway. You will also in time inevitably want to replace some items of the Lee kit to upgrade.

Or just get a bleedin' Lee Loader and away you go. There is something satisfying in bashing down that hammer incessantly.

 

[Stalker62]

My remark was more in that one still needs to find a soft mallet which isn't something I have in my toolbox

If I cannot find my soft mallet to drive the brass into the former, I just use a slice of my wife's 'sponge' cake...

 

[Border]

If I cannot find my soft mallet to drive the brass into the former, I just use a slice of my wife's 'sponge' cake...

View attachment 370774

Did she get the recipe from @Overlay s missus? I've heard she makes exceedingly....interesting cakes

 

[CookM]

I bought an RCBS Partner kit from SGC,just over £250 l think .
Years ago,added dies both new and used.
Lee hand primer,a couple of odd bits from fleabay.
It does three calibres for me,and l have hardly had to replace anything .
I like it a lot.

 

[CookM]

If I cannot find my soft mallet to drive the brass into the former, I just use a slice of my wife's 'sponge' cake...

View attachment 370774

What custard was made for!!

 

[Turnips]

The biggest problem I have found with reloading, which people don’t talk about enough to beginners, is just how addicting it can be.

It sounds like a chore when you describe it, but when you’re at your bench putting cartridges together it is very satisfying - and of course encourages you to shoot more, so you can reload more!

 

[Bernie]

The Lee Loader in its basic form will not limit you in any way and is a wonderful way to begin understanding and getting hooked on hand loading. See page 5, post from me titled Getting the most from a Lee loader. I read and read all the info on these kits from Muir and others then just got to work.

Reloading on a Budget

US sales ONLY Bernie. Yep i took a look being nosey ;).

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