I’m new in the reloading business. Going to load .338 win mag. Could any one list the essentials and nice to haves for me, please!

Buy one of the major reloading manuals (Hornady, Speer, Hogdon, Sierra) and one of the introductory videos. That will give you a good idea of what you'll need.

We have been over this real good lately so go to the find buttom at the top of the page and then enter the subject and you get more than you need to know.

have a good lookat the RCBS Rockchucker kit as starters.....it's not too bad!!!

I second the RCBS starter kit and manuals from Nosler, Sierra, and online data from the powder company of your choice.

As has been mentioned, it is a common topic and a search of the archives will reveal hours of reading entertainment...

If you buy the Rockchucker Supreme kit all you will need to add is a case trimmer, primer pocket cleaner and debur tool. The kit comes with a speer manual.
The RCBS will last a lifetime.
Other nice things are a tumbler and this is where the list can really get out of control. Keep it simple in the beginning.

quote:

Originally posted by Dwight

...all you will need to add is a case trimmer, primer pocket cleaner and debur tool.

I recommend highly the Lee case trimming system (It requires two things: (1) A Case Length Gauge and shellholder for the specific cartridge for which you are loading, and (2) Lee Cutter and Lock Stud -- this is universal; the same one is used for every different cartridge) and the Lee Primer Pocket Cleaner -- they are inexpensive and work extremely well. Both of these things -- the trimmer system and the primer pocket cleaner -- work OK when used by hand, but they work considerably better and faster when you use them in a small electric drill.

The RCBS-Wilson tool is the best I know for deburring and/or chamfering the inside and outside of case mouths. (Lee makes a much less expensive tool for this purpose, but it is not nearly as good in my opinion.)

You do not need to even think about deburring primer pockets unless you use military brass, and you will not have military brass for the .338 Winchester.

Something else that is extremely useful -- not absolutely necessary, but almost so -- is a caliper, either dial-type (my preference) or electronic-type. This is for measuring case length, overall length of your loaded rounds, etc. It also works really well for measuring the size of your groups from your target shooting.

Yep, you need the caliper to set up the case trimmer and OAL.
One can do trial and error on OAL to save the expense of the caliper. When cases get too long just trim a little but it is really better to have good tools.

quote:

Originally posted by Dwight:
Yep, you need the caliper to set up the case trimmer and OAL.
One can do trial and error on OAL to save the expense of the caliper. When cases get too long just trim a little but it is really better to have good tools.

Just get RCBS trim dies and they are great and a lot less equipment to buy. van