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Rowie

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Hi guys

i have started putting some money aside to set myself up for loading my own. How much should i be looking at for a complete kit for a .243 and indeed what is good kit and what should i steer away from? I have an abundeance of spent norma cases so will not need brass but everything else i require, so i am hoping to get some good advice on where to start looking at what i need to get set up and advice would be greatly accepted.

Many thanks

Mark
 
....
Also source, read and absorb some good reloading books before you start. 'Modern reloading' by Richard Lee is a popular choice...

I agree it is a very helpful book but (probably not unexpectedly) it is somewhat biased towards Lee branded equipment?

If you are passing Grafham area (not a million miles from Grantham?) you are welcome to borrow a copy to read & return - but it is a very good book to have on the shelf but I don't own a single Lee item!

Iain
 
I agree it is a very helpful book but (probably not unexpectedly) it is somewhat biased towards Lee branded equipment?

If you are passing Grafham area (not a million miles from Grantham?) you are welcome to borrow a copy to read & return - but it is a very good book to have on the shelf but I don't own a single Lee item!

Iain

Agreed on the emphasis on Lee gear, but then, Sierra doesn't list load data for Hornady bullets, either. That aside, there is more information in that book than most people can recognize.~Muir
 
I do'nt know how available it is in the U.K. or how much it would cost, but I've found Ken Waters book Pet Loads to be one of the best reloaders manuals out there.He covers pretty much every cartridge you could think of but more importantly tests a wide variety of manufacturers bullets,powders,cases & primers. Its available from the Wolfe Publishing Co. 6471 Airpark Drive ,Prescott, Arizona.
Hope this helps - alberta boy
 
I do'nt know how available it is in the U.K. or how much it would cost, but I've found Ken Waters book Pet Loads to be one of the best reloaders manuals out there.He covers pretty much every cartridge you could think of but more importantly tests a wide variety of manufacturers bullets,powders,cases & primers. Its available from the Wolfe Publishing Co. 6471 Airpark Drive ,Prescott, Arizona.
Hope this helps - alberta boy

I like Pet Loads and I respect Water's savvy as a ballistician, but much of the data in the book is very dated; some 30 years old and then some. That is not a good place to garner load data. It it an excellent read though. I know for sure of one copy in the UK as I sent one to JAYB!~Muir
 
Yes you're right , some of the data is dated . Its to bad there isn't an up to date version, I'd buy it in a heart beat.I do pick up most of the new manuals but with the amount of bullet & powder companies out there it can get a bit expensive.
 
Yes you're right , some of the data is dated . Its to bad there isn't an up to date version, I'd buy it in a heart beat.I do pick up most of the new manuals but with the amount of bullet & powder companies out there it can get a bit expensive.

Well, Ken isn't a spring chicken. There are little addendums available for the book but I've never purchased any.

I have crates of reloading manuals from 1900 on and I really use only the Lee or others offered by powder makers. (Lee is a compilation of data from various makers. They only worked directly with Hodgdon developing some very specific pressure data.) Powder manufacturers are the only ones who truly test powders and loads to a certain degree of exactitude with respect to pressures. Those tests by bullet makers are accurate also but only with regard to the LOT of powder they were using at that time, and the test conditions they were under. ~Muir
 
I started loading a few weeks back and the initial setup for everything you could ever possibly dream of was £290 incl postage from Sportsmans.

If you pm me your email ill send over the list BaconButtie did for me which was invaluable for getting going :)


Hi guys

i have started putting some money aside to set myself up for loading my own. How much should i be looking at for a complete kit for a .243 and indeed what is good kit and what should i steer away from? I have an abundeance of spent norma cases so will not need brass but everything else i require, so i am hoping to get some good advice on where to start looking at what i need to get set up and advice would be greatly accepted.

Many thanks

Mark
 
Thats true , I recently exprienced a large difference in velocity between two lots of Reloader 15 . Exact same load in a 350 rem mag ie; cases, primers, bullets, seating depth, etc. When I fired them at 100yrds the point of impact was substantialy lower. I fired 10 rounds over my chronograph and the average was just under 100 fps lower than the loads with the previous lot . According to my notes it was a cooler day but I dont think Rl-15 is temp sensitive.I have noticed that this particular rifle is a bit sensitive about ammo variations so it tends to show larger point of impact changes when trying new loads
 
It sure happens, doesn't it? I ran into some H4831 that gave 160 fps less speed with identical charges, in the same weather. That is why you shouldn't count on different LOTs of powder acting the same.~Muir
 
I also am ready to start in the magic world of reloading. Have gone through lee's manual and the abc which were great.
 
I bought a bench mounted press but Muir, who has already posted on this thread, is a big fan of the Lee Classic loader which is a sort of hand press that you hit with a hammer. Did I get the name of the press right Muir? If you are tight for cash and especially if you don't shoot a huge number of rounds then this might be the way to go as the money saved would be much better spent on more powder or bullets to practise and shoot with, or a day stalking to shoot your first deer with your new reloads, than on a lump of metal.

The other thing I will say is not to buy stuff until you need it - this lets you know exactly what you need and what you don't. You really don't need much at all and I post this photo to show what I reload with. My press and a powder funnel are missing from the photo. I'm not saying this is the least you can do it with by any means but this is what suits me and I really don't need anything else, I've been loading with this gear for about 5 years now.

reloadinggear.jpg
 
I bought a bench mounted press but Muir, who has already posted on this thread, is a big fan of the Lee Classic loader which is a sort of hand press that you hit with a hammer. Did I get the name of the press right Muir? If you are tight for cash and especially if you don't shoot a huge number of rounds then this might be the way to go as the money saved would be much better spent on more powder or bullets to practise and shoot with, or a day stalking to shoot your first deer with your new reloads, than on a lump of metal.

The other thing I will say is not to buy stuff until you need it - this lets you know exactly what you need and what you don't. You really don't need much at all and I post this photo to show what I reload with. My press and a powder funnel are missing from the photo. I'm not saying this is the least you can do it with by any means but this is what suits me and I really don't need anything else, I've been loading with this gear for about 5 years now.

reloadinggear.jpg

You did.~Muir
 
Hi Rowie

One of these, a shell holder and a set of dies will get you started.
http://www.henrykrank.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=164_181_472&products_id=1522

Some people shun these as being cheap and nasty, but I've loaded plenty using one of these with good results.
Also source, read and absorb some good reloading books before you start. 'Modern reloading' by Richard Lee is a popular choice.
hi 1 more for lee.get hornady 7th edition reloading book
 
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