Nearly there

Blacknsilver

Well-Known Member
I have been steadily buying bits of reloading gear ready for the .204.
I have a Lee Press on route along with a powder measurer.
I have a FL sizer die the de primer and neck sizer die along with the seater.
Bought a de burring tool and pocket primer cleaner.
Lee re loading manual
Rubs hand primer
Calibers
Ultra sonic cleaner.
50 cases of .204 that I bought ready prepared.
70 fired cases from my own rifle
And 30 un fired home loads.
Funnel and some lube also on route.
I have the load data of the loads I have.
I am still learning the best way to start.
So what would be my best route?

I'm unsure how many times the cases have been used.
Do I FL re size them all and start a fresh?
Buy new cases?


I haven't bought scales yet. Any recommendations?
Do I buy a case trimmer?
Sometimes you can read to much and end up with conflicting opinions.


I have a 21in barrel and looking to follow suit in the H4895 powder. V Max 32g
Unsure on which primers to use.
I hope to be ready to start loading at the Christmas holiday.
Any advice or help would be good.
Cheers
 
Read the Lee reloading manual and start reloading. I still have my original Lyman manual that i read carefully before i started reloading. Reloading ain't rocket surgery. Over 40 years later still reloading
 
And 30 un fired home loads.
I was taught never to shoot what you have never loaded yourself except factory ammo.

100 Rounds are offered in the sale of the rifle when I bought it. I would have been a fool to
not except. He was well educated and reloaded a lot.
I have 30 ish left.
I have read the re loading manual. And will be reading it again. (Having young twins around does distract you)
mum in no rush to reload. Really looking forward to it. I do have two mates who reload so at least one will be drafted in as I start.
I am thinking that a good set of beam scales is the right investment. Looking at a second hand set of RCBS 505. Two available at th moment. £70 and auction set.
Are these best off bought new? Read they need the powder pan that was original as it was set up with the corresponding weight on the opposite side. Chances are it will be the same pan.
unsure on digital ones.
 
i,m on the Verge as well, dont do what i did and clean deprime resize etc ,before i remembered to check everything chambers and ejects!:rolleyes:
 
Most powders are actually most made for accurate volume measurement, so make a few dippers out of redundant cases and spend a few minuits dipping and weighing on borrowed scales, if money short,
 
Powder trickler is a good call.

My Lee Press is on route to me as we type. I have a FL sizer die which is not made by Lee. Will that still fit the press?

I think I will FL size the prepped brass that I bought. Which leads me to case trimming.
Many recommendations on a case trimmer?
 
Most dies will fit the Lee press,but you'll need the bushings,one for each die.
For a case trimmer a Lee Deluxe case trimmer trims and chamfers and is cheap enough
Youll probably need a powder trickler as well,to make accurate rounds
Beam scales are around £75,but second hand on auction sites are half that or put up a wanted advert on here.
As for primers,Rem 7.5 or Fed 205M work well in the .204
i use 32gr Blitzkings,but if you want to shoot out farther you may want to work up a round with a 39/40gr bullet.
Crack on and enjoy it.
 
You don't want to be weighing every powder charge so you'll get on fine with the Lee scale. Get a Lee powder thrower, it will make metering charges a lot easier.
 
Some good points there.
I just txt the guy I got the rifle and loads off and asked which primers he was using.
Gold Medal Match.
Not sure what effect a different primer would make the the load data that the rifle shoots well with?
bidding on scales as we speak.
Hope to get a day over the Christmas break to do the reloading.
Im sure the twins can get palmed off to there grandparents. Fingers crossed!
 
Powder trickler is a good call.
For loading 204 it is unnecessary. The powders used with that cartridge usually meter to a 10th of a grain. Count on FL sizing brass that has come from another source. All dies these days, designed for a loading press, have standardized at 7/8" diameter with a 14 thread per inch pitch.

Have you actually read the Lee manual?? Much of what you are asking about, equipment-wise, is covered in the book... at least to the degree that you can make you own choices without canvassing others.~Muir
 
I have read most of the reloading manual. This was a short while ago. It does seem and as you would to promote his own gear. Hence wanting other people's opinions on what's worth buying and what is not.
 
I have read most of the reloading manual. This was a short while ago. It does seem and as you would to promote his own gear. Hence wanting other people's opinions on what's worth buying and what is not.
Lee does promote his own gear but the text explains the gear. It's up to you do decide if you want a powder thrower (his make or any) or use, as was suggested earlier, dippers. Look at the process. Choose your gear accordingly. What suits how you plan on doing things. Ask me and i'll tell you to buy a $600 Jones Precision powder thrower because you'll never need to worry about trickling any powder again. I own one and love it. Is it right for you? Probably not. You could, quite literally, borrow a scale and work up a load. When you're happy, file down an old cartridge case to hold that volume of powder. Use that for measuring your charges from then on to eternity. I did just that for several cartridges when i first started out and had no money. Worked fine. What I'm getting at is nobody can decide what is right for you. Brand recommendations are another matter but equipment is a personal thing. Woodlander likes having a trickler. I have one too, some place, but I'd rather have an ingrown toenail than trickle every charge. S'up to you in the end.~Muir
 
Good points there.
I am not gooding to go mad on expensive gear at the moment a good set of scales will be money well spent. (Rcbs 505) are the ones I am looking at.
I will only be turning out the .204 for now.
I will probably want to measure every charge so a powder trickler may come in handy.
I really appreciate all comments and help from the guys on here.
Thanks
 
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