Well, bare with me, 52 yrs. old , kid's grown up and gone, time to get a hobby other than fish'n and hunt'n. You no , those cold dark day's of winter. Want to take up reloading but don't know where to begin,( best die's, etc.)I have a freind that reload's for my .308, but would sooner do it myself, hunted since i was 12, love target shooting my hunt'n rifle's. Going to purchase a new .300 ultra , probably this spring, so best maybe take it up. Any info would be appreciated. Thank's: Rick.

check out midway usa,they have the lowest prices anywhere.I have the rock chucker master kit with the piggyback 3,so I can form cases on the single stage,and load them progressively.the master kit is $229 and has everything you need except a shell holder,trimmer head,and dies.the piggyback 3 was an extra $150.dillon makes the cadillac of presses but is more expensive.if your not quite sure if you want to spend alot of time handloading you can get a lee master kit for around $75.midway has most everything in stock,their shipping prices are excellent,and my equiptment usually arrives in 3 days or less.

1BADASSMAGNUM HAS THE BEST ADVICE YOU COULD TAKE.WHENEVER I NEED SOMETHING FOR SHOOTING OR RELOADING MIDWAY IS THE FIRST PLACE I LOOK.

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Rick - I think I would start with an RCBS Jr. kit. They used to sell a kit with one set of dies and I assume they still do. Obviously get yours with 308 Winchester dies.

The suggestion for a Lee Press isn't bad either.

Any solid single stage press is a good place to start out. Also get a good reloading manual and READ IT. Most of them give good instructions on how to reload.

DON'T start with a progressive press of any kind. There are some good ones out there but I sure don't recommend them for a beginner. You will want to do a lot of experimenting at first and progressives are lousy at that.

Get the basics down first.

Good luck and don't be afraid to ask questions.

Richard:

Before you buy any equipment, buy, read, and digest a good reloading manual. They have whole chapters of how to go about your new hobby safely. After that then think about equipment. At that time you will be better able to make equipment decisions. I recommend the Speer #13 manual but it doesn't contain any info on your 300 ULTRA. The Hornady, and Sierra's are also good. If none of the current manuals give you 300 Ultra loading data, you can E-Mail the bullet companies for their data.

dodgestdshift gave you good advice. Buy a good manual from Lyman, Speer, Nosler and read. You need to know what you need and why before you go shopping.
The kits are a good way to go but you still need a couple of tools not included with them. You`ll also need good reliable data and instruction on useing the tools you have. The manuals have that!
After you`ve read and picked up you tools if you have any questions don`t hesitate to post. The people here have done it, or know how to do anything you can come up with, and will be happy to help a new comer.
Enjoy, I`m sure you`re going to have a ball with your new hobby.

Midway is off of my list as a mailorder vendor and here is why. With every order from Midway for more than one item they manage to backorder it and charge again for shipping the backorder.

On top of that Midways intial shipping charge is very high. It's not that I will not buy again from Midway but don't get sucked in by the sale prices on say bullets and then find that you paid $9 extra for shipping.

It's much easier to just order something from www.grafs.com for instance and let it come. No looking up prices on some tiny little detail like saving $1 on box of bullets when Grafs total for shipping, handling, insurance and backorders will never exceed $3.75!

If there is a better supplier than Grafs tell me about it. I am shopping for a Leu VX11 6X18 right now and I had to call Mid South for a price as they don't even list them! They looked it up and it was $385 for the scope if I ordered it that night as they were going up. Grafs price is $399 plus $3.75 shipping. I never found out what MidSouths' shipping is but joke is that Midsouth does not have them in stock anyway and Grafs does.

Over the years vendors come and go. Long ago it was Stoegers, Herters, Esmans, Ron Shirks and others. Right now I count on Grafs to make me happy.

I am not familar with shipping to Canada however so my comments apply to the 48 states.

Savage99 is right on the button!
Dare to compare, bottom line is graf's has best pricing,shipping is already figured into their prices,upfront flat rate of $4.75 handling or $3.75 if ordered online, no hidden S&H charges!

I started with an RCBS Master Kit and I think it's great value. It will do everthing from .22 hornet to .585 Nyati (with a bushing).

I just started myself. I bought the lee press and it works pretty nice however I am now buying all the other stuff I need to go with it so the price is going up. Case trimmer, tumbler and new powder measurer. If I did it over again I would buy the RCBS reloading kit instead. It has a better press and powder measurer. It also comes with little things that the lee doesnt like case trimmer, lube pad, and a better primer tools. That said if you are not going to be reloading a lot you can get by with the lee.

I'll just offer my usual suggestion to start in the library. Most have a good selection of "how to" reloading books.

The equipment you'll end up buying depends on what you want to do. If you like benchrest, you'll want an arbor press and hand dies. If you want to shoot a lot of pistol rounds, a progressive is called for, etc.

First decide what will be best for you, then buy! FWIW, Dutch.

My recent experience with Midway has been very favorable. I don't feel that the shipping cost have been too expensive at all. Also, when you place an order via the web, their sites says whether or not the iten is in stock or on backorder...

As for equipment, I too have the Rock Chucker Kit that sold for $229.00. I'd seriously consider adding a hand-held priming tool for the convenience. Just read the directions carefully two or three times before you get started...

.300 RUM is a good kicker,adding a muzzle break is not a bad think if you plan target shooting. RCBS equipment fine choice,second will be LEE,for backup.I bought a .338 RUM Remington 700 Custom Deluxe,shoots fine(.555MOA) with h-4831sc and 200 grs Hornandy Interlock.If you want more info,dont hesitate to ask,welcome to your new hobby...

RW,

I, too, am 52 and have recently begun to reload. I lucked up on some used equipment, added to it a little, and I'm off and running. I wish I'd startedyears ago.

Good luck, there's a lot of experience to draw from here.

Joe

FWIW,
I concur on Graf's service. Nice folks to deal with all around. The best I've ever dealt with is Sinclair International, however, that's a different business model altogether.

Regards, Matt.

ANOTHER THING RICHARD KEEP COMMING BACK TO THIS FORUM. THERE'S A GREAT WEALTH OF KNOWLEDGE HERE. ALWAYS EXPLOIT IDEAS FROM PEOPLE WHO ARE MORE EXPERIENCED. I'VE LEARNED SOME THINGS HERE AND I THANK EVERY ONE WHO POSTS ON HERE.

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