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Okay, a little off topic but somewhat related. Due to the expense of factory .416 ammo I am considering the purchase of reloading equipment. What equipment do you experienced reloaders use and/or recommend? John | ||
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John, sounds like you are new to reloading and if you are mostly word about 416 ammo i would try and pick up a used RCBS Rockchucker. I doubt you are shooting more than 40 rounds a range session so voulme is not really the issue. Mike Never under estimate the internet community's ability to reply to your post with their personal rant about their tangentially related, single occurrence issue.  What I have learned on AR, since 2001: 1. The proper answer to: Where is the best place in town to get a steak dinner? is…You should go to Mel's Diner and get the fried chicken. 2. Big game animals can tell the difference between .015 of an inch in diameter, 15 grains of bullet weight, and 150 fps. 3. There is a difference in the performance of two identical projectiles launched at the same velocity if they came from different cartridges. 4. While a double rifle is the perfect DGR, every 375HH bolt gun needs to be modified to carry at least 5 down. 5. While a floor plate and detachable box magazine both use a mechanical latch, only the floor plate latch is reliable. Disregard the fact that every modern military rifle uses a detachable box magazine. 6. The Remington 700 is unreliable regardless of the fact it is the basis of the USMC M40 sniper rifle for 40+ years with no changes to the receiver or extractor and is the choice of more military and law enforcement sniper units than any other rifle. 7. PF actions are not suitable for a DGR and it is irrelevant that the M1, M14, M16, & AK47 which were designed for hunting men that can shoot back are all PF actions. 8. 95 deg F in Africa is different than 95 deg F in TX or CA and that is why you must worry about ammunition temperature in Africa (even though most safaris take place in winter) but not in TX or in CA. 9. The size of a ding in a gun's finish doesn't matter, what matters is whether it’s a safe ding or not. 10. 1 in a row is a trend, 2 in a row is statistically significant, and 3 in a row is an irrefutable fact. 11. Never buy a WSM or RCM cartridge for a safari rifle or your go to rifle in the USA because if they lose your ammo you can't find replacement ammo but don't worry 280 Rem, 338-06, 35 Whelen, and all Weatherby cartridges abound in Africa and back country stores. 12. A well hit animal can run 75 yds. in the open and suddenly drop with no initial blood trail, but the one I shot from 200 yds. away that ran 10 yds. and disappeared into a thicket and was not found was lost because the bullet penciled thru. I am 100% certain of this even though I have no physical evidence. 13. A 300 Win Mag is a 500 yard elk cartridge but a 308 Win is not a 300 yard elk cartridge even though the same bullet is travelling at the same velocity at those respective distances. | |||
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Mike- I used to reload, a long time ago but sold all of my stuff. Now there's digital scales and other new things that I am not familiar with. I am familiar with the Rockchucker but thought maybe some technological advances may have been made to presses recently. Thanks for your input. John | |||
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30ott, you'll want a press w/ a bigger "window" for comfortably loading the longer .375h&h based cases. The New Rockchucker has a larger window & is a good way to go. I like Redding dies, but nothing wrong w/ RCBS, I don't care much for Lee or Hornady, but that's me. A digital scale is nice, Cabela's has one for $80. A loading block that will accept the bigger cases, calipers, a Lee or Hornady hand priming tool, components & a good book, like ABCs of reloading. Get at least (2) current loading manuals & visit the diff. powder web sites for loading info. I love the .40 bores, mine is a .404Jeffery so I empathise w/ the cost thing! Even @ 200rds a year, that's saving quite a bit of money. Happy handloading!  LIFE IS NOT A SPECTATOR'S SPORT! | |||
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As you know, I just went throught this. Shot my first rounds this afternoon. Great feeling. Here is what I bought: Press: RCBS AmmoMaster II (large window for 416) http://www.huntingtons.com/ Dies: RCBS Powder Measurer: RCBS Uniflow (comes with two spouts, large and small. You'll use the large. A baffle is also nice)) Scale: RCBS 5-0-5 works fine Hand Primer: RCBS (can prime w/ your press, but everyone recommended the hand primer) Shell holder: RCBS (get two, one for the press and one for the hand primer so you don't have to switch) Case lube and pad: Any (some like spray others like to roll) Case trimmer: I bought a Wilson with Sinclair mount and shell holder for 416. Ray likes a file die. http://www.lewilson.com/ De-burring/Champher: L.E. Wilson Calipers: Make sure it is in inches, not metric. I finally bought the MIC-6 from Sinclair (http://www.sinclairintl.com/reloading.html) Loading blocks: Cabela's (large enough for 416) Funnel Powder Trickler Kinetic bullet puller Allen wrench set Plastic ammo boxes Reloading manuals cases powder bullets primers The way your garage is set up, you won't need another bench. Sportman's Warehouse had everthing except the Wilson trimmer. It was also cheaper and I wouldn't have had to pay freight. In the future you may want a tumbler and a Lee Precision factory crimp die. "There are worse memorials to a life well-lived than a pair of elephant tusks." Robert Ruark | |||
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SBT- And the total cost of the gear was? | |||
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You know me, I piece mealed it, buying some used, some new. All in all, it was right at $500.00. If I was to do it again, I'd just buy it all new and get it done. "There are worse memorials to a life well-lived than a pair of elephant tusks." Robert Ruark | |||
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The RCBS A-2 Single stage press is the biggest and best..It will loade 50 BMG and give you room to work...I love mine. Ray Atkinson Atkinson Hunting Adventures 10 Ward Lane, Filer, Idaho, 83328 208-731-4120 rayatkinsonhunting@gmail.com | |||
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I use a Rockchucker and tend to prefer RCBS over Lee, but do your self a favour and look at the new Lee Classic press in cast iron... I only came across them after I bought my latest Rockchucker otherwise I would have bought one...Its about 60% of the price of the Rockchucker, but seems to have a couple of nice features that give it a slight edge on the RC. For a start, its has a third mounting hole at the back so your load is pread over a larger part of your bench. Its designed to get rid of the spent primers through the hollow ram and out via a bit of plastic tube underneath..This can be directed straight into a bin... The opening is larger than the original RC, but not quite as big as the new one...nothing much in it though.. Lee also do some inexpensive trim to length gauges which I always found worked really well. I have tried a couple of digital scales but I was never really happy with them and keep returning to my RCBS 505 beam scales... I don't like the kinetic bullet pullets, but prefer the collet type which go in the press; not sure if you can get a .416 collet though? Regards, Pete | |||
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Thanks all. Ray I did not know that you hunted with a 50BMG. Does BMG stand for "Big Mother Game"? | |||
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