What Reloading Setup??

foxyshane

Well-Known Member
I'm finally going to bite the bullet (pardon the pun) and start reloading. Can anyone recommend a good set up and how much I can expect to pay for the full kit? I'll be reloading .308 and my 6.5x55.
Thanks S. L.
 
You'll need to decide on a budget first. But starting out I'd say the Lee anniversary kit is hard to beat. Their gear is good value, just stay away from the C press.
 
Lee kit, lyman case conditioning kit, engineering calipers (hardened steel), Stoney Point OAL gauge + comparator and I am sure I have forgotton some stuff. Don't ask about prices, I am trying to forget. You do not need a powder trickler!

There is a lot of snobbery involved in reloading, as in anything to do with guns, but Lee kit does the job well, really well, well enough for people to hold world records who have used Lee kit :stir:

ft

Edit, Ultra-sonic jewelry cleaner for case cleaning, I knew I'd forget something!
 
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From what I have read and from my own experience with my Redding gear, if you buy a set of LEE gear it is not as well engineered and it will not last or perform as well as Redding or RCBS.

Therefore I would recommend you to stay away from LEE press and dies and get Redding or RCBS.

Some of the small ancillary LEE gear is good stuff, but steer clear of LEE presses and dies.
 
From what I have read and from my own experience with my Redding gear, if you buy a set of LEE gear it is not as well engineered and it will not last or perform as well as Redding or RCBS.

Therefore I would recommend you to stay away from LEE press and dies and get Redding or RCBS.

Some of the small ancillary LEE gear is good stuff, but steer clear of LEE presses and dies.

What you have wrote here is quite contrary to what a number of people think. there are videos on youtube of people testing the lee dies and getting better consistency from them compared to dies twice the price.

its easy to say get this get that but the price of Redding and RCBS kit is vastly more expensive than Lee.

ignoring all the crap you read on forums i honestly think that if you loaded 2 bullets one from Lee and one from Redding i bet that you could not tell the difference between the two bullets. Especially for people who hunt.

If you want to get all anal about it and shoot 1000 yards F class then you could possibly justify it.
 
S. L.

Try the Lee Classic Loader. $25 per calibre, all you need to "get started". Work up a load, easy to do on the range, and once you have a "happy hunting round" then decide if you want yet another hobby to eat up what free time you have left :)

Stan
 
stan i got one for my 270 and its great and produces very accurate loads it doesnt take long to get the hang of things and will give you an insight into reloading i have a lee press with full sizing gear as well but i do really like the classic loader it really does open your eyes to all the guff you read .the most basic stuff can give you very accurate loads without spending a fortune most people will not be able to shoot as accurate as the loads and i think its in peoples heads i am not knocking anyone ,whatever works for each person but you can get hung up on the you need this and that when really you can make anything work for you ,granted the classic loader does take slightly longer but not much and its a great feeling to produce five round loads all touching with basic gear all the best,wayne
 
Wayne,

OK, I've got access to a pipe range. It really is easy to load with the Classic "as you shoot" in order to find that sweet hunting round. Get a few guys together with different powders and you can have a most productive evening.

Stan
 
Hi Shane, if you're going in for Lee reloading gear go for the breech lock challenger kit as you get 13 (I think) shell case holders and the lever prime system which in my opinion is superior to the one that comes with the anniversary kit, if you go down to the bottom of this page and go back 5 pages, scroll down, 'til you come to PKL's thread "Taking the leap, question around reloading, bullets and powder", go to reply #7, this goes into a bit more detail, hope this helps ...callie
 
LEE CLASSIC CAST PRESS. its a beast, well made too. (the aniversary kit is ok, but its alloy castings can fail)
Dillon prescision scales
and as for dies, LEE or RCBS do the job.

Skipp.
 
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