Thinking of reloading,

[Tikkat1x]

evening chaps,

im thinking of getting into reloading for my 223, read reviews saying its not worth the outlay, some saying rounds are costing less than half price,
i dont mine the time it will take as im sure i will enjoy it,
so my questions are, what exactly will i need to do a decent job, how much all the gear costs,

thanks,

lee

 

[Roedeer 1962]

Depends on you age !if your young its worth while , but also very interesting , so does it matter the cost to set up ?

 

[Stalker62]

 

[Bo Diddley]

You can get a basic Lee set-up for not a lot of gold. It will make perfectly good ammo, it will be more accurate than any factory ammo you buy. It's fun.
Like Stalker 1962 has indicated you can if you wish spend a small fortune on reloading gear, but it's the law of diminishing returns.

 

[Essexsussex]

I use a Lee loader,
Should be able to get one for £20-30. Then add a hammer, a calliper, scales or powder scoops. No need for a press etc.
That’s how you do it if you are looking to save cash. Works fine.
Lee Loader 223 Rem a bit more than I thought but there you go.

 

[potshotpat]

First thing to buy is an anorak. You do know you'll be moving over to the dark side. But the first time you shoot something with your own home loaded cartridge, you'll be thinking that's the best couple of thousand pounds I've ever spent. Get on and enjoy it. One last tip, take head out of your vocabulary.

 

[Stalker62]

... the first time you shoot something with your own home loaded cartridge, you'll be thinking that's the best couple of thousand pounds I've ever spent.

Now that was funny.

 

[Jelen]

First thing to buy is an anorak. You do know you'll be moving over to the dark side. But the first time you shoot something with your own home loaded cartridge, you'll be thinking that's the best couple of thousand pounds I've ever spent. Get on and enjoy it. One last tip, take head out of your vocabulary.

You're going down a worm hole if you start, particularly if you got an OCD tendency. I started just to save ammo and having to check zero every time I bought a new batch of ammo.
It's led to much better accuracy and consistency. But also to chasing the incremental improvements with different powders, primers, bullet weights. This soon surpassed any saving I thought reloading would bring.
Good luck.
PS. Yeah, defo don't say/write 'heads'.

 

[Tikkat1x]

Depends on you age !if your young its worth while , but also very interesting , so does it matter the cost to set up ?

well yes it does matter if its going to cost £5000, and it takes me 25 years till it starts paying off

 

[Tikkat1x]

think im put off already,

 

[Neddle]

well yes it does matter if its going to cost £5000, and it takes me 25 years till it starts paying off

Its a hobby all in its own,my advice would be buy once cry once

 

[HonestJohn]

Wouldn’t bother with reloading a .223, ammo is already very cheap. I pay £21/box of Sako gamehead in .222

 

[potshotpat]

think im put off already,

Please don't let us put you off. if you don't have a go at reloading, buy a Land Rover defender. Then come back and ask questions about them. You won't have time to reload then.

 

[disco_ike]

so……..

I started with a cheap Lee single stage press for about £30, set of dies cost me £20, bench primer £20 and then I spent on the scales and got an RCBS charge master auto scale for £200. Add a set of calipers £10-20 on Amazon and you have enough to get started.

Second stage of purchases was a better press, better caliper, more die sets, hornady COAL measure etc….. now have really consistent hunting loads for my .308 and accurate, reliable consistent target ammo for my ELR rifle which massively out performs any factory round I have tried so far. I also reload my pistol calibres for consistency

 

[Tikkat1x]

Please don't let us put you off. if you don't have a go at reloading, buy a Land Rover defender. Then come back and ask questions about them. You won't have time to reload then.

its like you know me i spent 2 years of my life doing a ground up restoration on a series 3 CSW a few years ago, and i do mean, ground up and nut and bolt,

 

[Tikkat1x]

so……..

I started with a cheap Lee single stage press for about £30, set of dies cost me £20, bench primer £20 and then I spent on the scales and got an RCBS charge master auto scale for £200. Add a set of calipers £10-20 on Amazon and you have enough to get started.

Second stage of purchases was a better press, better caliper, more die sets, hornady COAL measure etc….. now have really consistent hunting loads for my .308 and accurate, reliable consistent target ammo for my ELR rifle which massively out performs any factory round I have tried so far. I also reload my pistol calibres for consistency

i wont say money is no object, but its not really a worry, id want some decent stuff straight off the bat really, and as a hobby im sure id enjoy doing it, even if i just saved a few quid,

 

[disco_ike]

In which case get a solid bench top to fix kit too,

My current/preferred kit is Lee classic like this. Lee Classic loading Press | eBay
You can get additional discs for different calibres and really consistent.

RCBS charge master are really good scales with others making similar I really like that you just put in load and it dispenses reliably.

the Vhit app is really good for load data.

If you want the best chance to get bullet coal correct get one of the gauges and modified cases as they are really handy. Made a decent enough difference to my load groupings to warrant it.

 

[Klenchblaize]

Go for it:

K

 

[Rory]

evening chaps,

im thinking of getting into reloading for my 223, read reviews saying its not worth the outlay, some saying rounds are costing less than half price,
i dont mine the time it will take as im sure i will enjoy it,
so my questions are, what exactly will i need to do a decent job, how much all the gear costs,

thanks,

lee

I would say do a lot of reading and research. I guess the first thing to figure out (this can obviously change as you go on your reloading development) is what you want from the ammunition - cost effective? Precision long range round? Excellent hunting round?
Establish early if you are going to want to neck size or full length resize. Are you going to want to go full 'F-Class' and play with seating depths, bullet pointing, neck chamfering, primer pocket reaming etc.

Have a really good look and try to understand early what the different dies and manufacturers offer, in terms of advantage or constraints.
This will help you avoid buying stuff and then selling it off after little or no use.
These days, look for what components are available, don't get tempted by a US forum load of UK unobtanium components - find stuff that is available locally and will work to achieve the effect you want.

Buy what you can afford, don't be afraid to try different stuff but also be aware that the marketing men will be after your cash, so work out if that 'must have doo-dad' is really what you need.

It's a great hobby and will provide endless learning and appreciation of a whole little world within shooting.

 

[Tikkat1x]

cheers chaps, i guess id best do some serious research, iv watched a few videos before on YouTube which made me want to give it ago, and i think crossing over to the dark side is something id enjoy
from what i saw looked easy enough, but i guess thats only when you know what your doing and have the right gear, i think my main objective will be saving a couple of quid, not bothered about the initial outlay, a good hunting load mainly thats accurate, and then some long range stuff for fun on the odd occasion, (targets only)