Setting up in reloading-What will i need?

groach1234

Well-Known Member
Right i have accepted the fact i am likely to be on a gap year and, over the next 12 months i am going to have a lot of time on my hands and i think reloading may be a good thing to take up as there isn't really much of a wide range of 6.5x55 ammo available so far as bullet weight is concerned. So what will i need to get myself set up in reloading? how much cash am i going to have to put towards it? I do understand that if you want a bang on load it will cost possibly more than a factory load. So what say you learned few?

G
 
Right i have accepted the fact i am likely to be on a gap year and, over the next 12 months i am going to have a lot of time on my hands and i think reloading may be a good thing to take up as there isn't really much of a wide range of 6.5x55 ammo available so far as bullet weight is concerned. So what will i need to get myself set up in reloading? how much cash am i going to have to put towards it? I do understand that if you want a bang on load it will cost possibly more than a factory load. So what say you learned few?

G

Buy a copy of "Modern Reloading VOL. II" by Richard Lee. It is the very first piece of reloading equipment you need to buy. I am dead serious. You are fuddling about in the dark without it. And yes: The Classic Lee Loader. Add a few niceties and you'll spend about $50 US to produce top rate ammo. ~Muir
 
I have a number of different reloading manuals and find they all have valuable information so i wouldnt restrict yourself to 1. Also if anyone is local to you who reloads and are able to show you the basics its an ideal way to begin. Problem with reloading is that there are to many nice and shiny bits and bobs that you just have to buy without the wife knowing and you can end up spending a fortune.
 
I have a number of different reloading manuals and find they all have valuable information so i wouldnt restrict yourself to 1. Also if anyone is local to you who reloads and are able to show you the basics its an ideal way to begin. Problem with reloading is that there are to many nice and shiny bits and bobs that you just have to buy without the wife knowing and you can end up spending a fortune.

The Lee Manual deals with many powder makers and deals strictly with bullet weights, not makes. I have about 100 reloading manuals from 1900 to present. The Lee is the best of them all, in my opinion.

I'm with you on the wife aspect. Ask my Ex! :)~Muir
 
The problem with reloading manuals produced by the powder and reloading manufacturers is that they have (naturally) a large bias towards their own products which is not necessarily the way to go.

I would suggest the 'ABC of Reloading' should be your first port of call then buy your reloading gear to fit your pocket.

When you finally do start reloading and want to ask questions bear in mind this: there are many powders/heads/primers that will go well in the 6.5 (I have one) you will be given head spinning recipes, but the most important bit of your reloading will be the ability to make each case a clone of the previous case - that is where the skill is in getting accurate loads - if your cases are inconsistent so will your POI
 
I think you will find the reloading is good fun and it becomes something of a hobby in itself. I started very slowly and bought things as I went along, probably over a period of 2 years or so. Muir is far and away the expert here and he always recommends the Classic Lee Loader and I would be pretty certain that this will not be bad advice.

I went a more conventional route of a bench mounted press and, to be honest, didn't know of the existance of the Lee Loader at that time. Over time I have added a few bits and bobs and I always post this photo when folks ask what they need. Of course I don't know what YOU need but apart from the press and power funnel this is a picture of my reloading tools. Reloading can be done with less than this, and now you've got the highland stalking bug you need to be saving those pennies, but I would say that anyone telling you that you need more than this is not being entirely truthful

reloadinggear.jpg
 
The Classic Lee Loader is a great outfit for those who need to test the waters of reloading and load for one caliber... and especially those on a budget for money and space. That being said, there may come a time when a person desires the full array of bench mounted equipment... for whatever reasons. The Lee Classic will still be a valuable tool to have around.

A couple of things I like to do that the Lee Classic won't do:

Full length resize (which means using cases that have been fired in your gun, or at least tested for fit)
They won't work well for semi-autos (see above) as these require a small base die.
They don't handle over-sized cast bullets. (Many 30 cals shoot a .312" cast bullet best)
I can't use my factory crimp die! Tho the Lee Loaders will crimp.

So if none of these issues are those you have, the Lee Classic will work fine. It's a great place to start.~Muir
 
Simply - on the matter of spending more cash per cartridge with reloading than factory ammo, get hold of a bullet puller and dismantle a box of 20 then see what powder weights you have per cartridge, weigh the bullets separately, look down inside the cases to see what lies around the flash-hole as regards burrs and uniformity - weigh the cases.

Then take a look at the specifications possible from a basic reloading outfit plus a few bits and bobs to cope with the above things I've mentioned, and you'll find that you can produce better cartridges, more cheaply than factory ammo, than 80% or more of shooters could criticise with their best standards of shooting on a good day.
 
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