I would like to start reloading and I want to start with quality equipment. My main goal is quality not quanity. If you were starting from scratch what press, dies, case trimmers, tumbler, scales, ect... would you buy? I will be loading 7mm Mag, .270, 7mm-08, and .223. Again, I am looking for accuracy not producing 500 rounds per day.

Thanks in advance for your input.
Joe

Buy RCBS

I use RCBS and LEE. I use Little Crow Gunworks case trimmers. My press is a Lee Classic cast press.

I recommend Redding. Good stuff, good customer service, American made.

You will pay a little more, but the equipment will last a lifetime.

RCBS Rockchucker or reasonably equivalent press.

For the cartridges you named get Forster benchrest dies. If you like the savings of used equipment RCBS is more available. Redding dies are good too.

Trimmer - Forster original model

Tumbler - Is not a loading tool, it is a cosmetic maintenance item. Take care of your brass by keeping it off the ground and keeping it clean and you will not need a tumbler for years.

Scales I like the RCBS sliding poise type made by Ohaus called the 505. The 5-10 and 10-10 are ok but the drum poise is a little tedious. The Hornady triple poise is the easiest for me to use.
You will need a Wilson or RCBS deburr tool.
A set of metal dial or digital calipers are needed. Those sold by Harbor Freight or Midway for $20 work ok. There are much better calipers at nearly 10X the cost but they are not needed.
You will need a 0-1 micrometer. There are a lot of good brands. Do not use an unknown here.
Mitutoyo is a good import. Other good brands are Brown & Sharpe and Starrett. There are many good used mics but many bad ones too. Be careful buying this tool.

You will need a hand priming tool. There are a number of too expensive tools out there and some that do not work well. Do some research here. I still use the old Lee screw in shell holder type that was discontinued about 30 years ago.
I much much prefer the old yellow Flambeau twin 60 loading blocks. Unfortunately so does the rest of the planet. They are hard to get cheap.

Many here may have other suggestions. I can only say that you can start with these items and you will learn what you like as time goes by.

One thing that will help is start out with a cartridge that uses plentiful and cheap brass.
Get a good quantity of ordinary brass for your learning process. Expect to kill some cases learning to set up and use FL sizing dies.

A good advanced gadget for checking the shoulder location of a sized VS a fired case is made by Hornady. You don't need it to begin with but it is an excellent tool if you load precision ammo. Count on it a year or two down the road.

Loading manuals
Get the standards with the most data relevant to you. I recommend at least 4 or 5. Expect to keep adding to this count the rest of your life.
You will need Hornady, Speer and Lyman. Sierra is also good for some people.
IMR, Alliant, Winchester and Hodgdon data is on the net.
Some manuals only have load data. Some also teach you loading technique.

SR4759's post reminds me to mention the RCBS Universal hand Priming Tool! It works great all the way to 450/400 3 inch. No shell holders needed.

Added bonus is that it has a "Square" primer tray to match the shape of primer boxes!

Some brands of tools may be longer-lasting under heavy use, but that's not the issue you raised.

Some brands of dies may happen to match your chamber better than others, but there is no way to tell beforehand.

What it boils down to is that nearly all brands of reloading equipment are adequate to allow you to produce high-quality ammunition. It is how you use your equipment that makes much more difference than what brand it is.

I have used a Hollywood senior press for 55 years or more. They still can be had at a price from Hollywood Engineering, Joe Miller., 818-842-8376.
10642 Arminta st.
Sun Valley ,CA.91352
I have many powder dispensers but find I use the el cheapo LEE more than any other.
My two Redding beam balances have served me well for the same 55 years.Although I use several electronic scales, Seldom for actual loading.
The Lee auto prime has served me well.
My two Forster hand operated trimmers are great for the amount of use they get. You may have to buy a new cutter every 30 years ,however.
A strong loading bench is a must.
All in all I have found RCBS dies get the job done. Lee dies are OK but adjusting expander or primer knock out pin height can be a pain in the butt. Also if you break a depriming pin you have to get the entire expander replaced not just the pin.
Of all the case lubes I've used I find Bardahl the best, if you can find it.
I seem to have a preference for wooden case holders.
Have gone through a number of bullet pullers . RCBS Impact seems as good as any.
Have rotary and vibratory tumblers but use the one I got from Midway the most with walnut. In truth though I can't say it's any better than what you can get elsewhere.
I hope this helps. roger

Thanks for all of your replies. Please keep the suggestions coming.

For a base line of what will produce high quality ammo check out the L E Wilson dies.
These dies and similar tools are used by benchresters. A full set for one caliber will fit in a cigar box. I suggest that you look at these just to understand how little equipment it takes to load excellent ammo.

1. Decap
2. Size neck
3. Reprime
4. Charge with powder
5. Seat the bullet

Super easy

quote:

Originally posted by hill1970:
Thanks for all of your replies. Please keep the suggestions coming.

Speaking of case cleaning I gave my Franklin Arsenal vibrating case cleaner away. Now it is hot tap water, a kitchen teaspoon of Lemi-Shine and a drop of dish soap. Put the re-sized and trimmed cases and liquids in a digital ultrasonic cleaner from Harbor Freight. Three passes on the longest setting and everything inside and out is clean. Even the primer pockets. A quick rinse and 20 minutes in a convection oven at 170 degrees and let em cool.
Start to finish 50 minutes!

All good answers from guys that know.

I started with RCBS and I did ok with it. I later gave that gear to a buddy who does well with it.

Some years after that I built a solid, sturdy , quality bench and set up with the Redding press(es), Redding dies, and other equipment from other makers. The Redding will cost just a bit more, but I can say, in my case it is worth it.

I have the RCBS hand primer, and found it useful for handgun etc. But the Sinclair hand primer tool is just great. Again, more money but a lifetime use tool.

The RCBS Chargemaster is worth its price too. But no doubt you can weigh charges on a balance scale as well.

Not trying to drain your check book, but I am convinced that the other best addition I made was the Redding Competition (Micrometer) Seaters. You can get that later, but it does the job in terms of straight and consistent ammo.

A set of Starret or Mitutoyo calipers are a good place to start along with the reloading books.

On Presses the RCBS Rock Chucker and Redding is tops in single stage presses.

On die set I have switched recently to Redding and must say it is top quality.

Foster Benchrest Seater Die are 1/2 the price of Redding, but the system is the same. They say Redding had copied the Foster System.

Foster case trimmer is versitile on outside neck turning and taking out do-nuts with case neck reamers.

For normal case trimming nothing beats the Lee case trimmers. Easy to use and accurate. It has a dead stop system.

On Hand Auto Prime systems I have the Uiversal RCBS Hand Prime, the RCBS one that works with the shell holders and a Hornady Hand Prime. The RCBS Universal prime tends to mis-allign 1 out of 10 primers. The RCBS that works with the shell holders is also a good product, but the pilot fells out when you turn the tool over. Designers Fault. Both RCBS systems takes a heavy squeese of the hand. The Hornady Hand Prime comes with a tray for RCBS shell holders and Hornady shell holders. The allignment is excellent and the hand squeese is very mild. Good product.

On lube I use Redding Imperial Wax. Never had a stuck case and it wash off very easily with a little dish washing liquite. The RCBS Lube II is too sticky. Had too many stuck cases with the spay lube.

quote:

Originally posted by p dog shooter:
Buy RCBS

I've been doing all my reloading for over 25 yrs on a RCBS Reloader Special 2 press. I only load 1,000- 2,000 rounds per year.

Everyone is going to recommend what they own. Get Lyman #49 and read it.

Lyman, RCBS, Redding, Hornady, Hollywood, CH, and others make quality presses.

Used is just as good as new.

Start with a single-stage until you know what you are doing.

Lee and "quality" should never be in the same sentence.

I have been reloading since the late 1970s for rifle and used to use an RCBS Rockchucker. To my mind the best single station press that was readily available in the UK.

However as I now no longer load any pistol ammunition except 44 Magnum and as mine was, from the 1970s a small window, I sold it last year.

I bought an Australian Simplex press which is basically a Lyman Orange Crusher look-a-like.

I use RCBS dies exclusively and have to differ with SR4759 in that I found that the dial on the old Ohaus made RCBS 304 sacle was easy to use. But agree with SR4759 that the dial on the RCBS 10-10 was also, for me, harder to use than the simpler 5-0-5 RCBS.

I still use an old Lyman 310 tool for primer seating on 270 size cases but for the 44 Magnum the Lee Primer Tray system.

My case trimmer is a Forster that I got from Otto Weber when he used to come to England to exhibit.

For powder charging my RCBS 304 scales and the Lee plastic "Popeye" pipes and an RCBS powder trickler.

Am messing about with a few powder throwers from a Belding and Mull, via Lyman 55, to CH4 and the latest an Ohaus Duo-O-Measure bought at auction.

And to erase all the mistakes an RCBS kinetic bullet puller!

quote:

Lee plastic "Popeye" pipes

Just to show that long time loaders will use some of the simplest tools and forget them.
I have been using a set of these for load work up since about 1969. I caught one of my daughters with the yellow Mr Potato Head pipe when she was about 3. I thought she had high jacked one of my dippers.

I recommended RCBS

I have these presses on my bench 2 lymans and a old Texan 7 hole turret that weighs about 50lbs all brought used.

Payed a whole 10 dollars for the texan.

That I do most of my loading on the texan

For my high volume pistol shooting I have 3 lee 1000s. I am thinking about adding a couple more just so I don't have to change them out.

Dies I must have at least one from every maker mostly lee and rcbs some redding a wilson or two ,lymans ,C@H and a few older manufacrs that are not around any more.

I brought a lot of used gear over the years it cheap and works well.

I bought a RCBS Rockchucker decades ago. Today, I load my handgun ammo on a Dillon XL650 but still rely on the old RCBS to single load precision rifle ammo.

Let me restate: " It is how you use your equipment that makes much more difference than what brand it is."

I've been reloading for over 45 years. I own some of virtually every brand of equipment there is, including several which are no longer made.

Redding builds some of the highest quality equipment.

Lee has a few of the best engineered equipment (and the lowest-cost/lowest quality manufacture).

RCBS, due to its marketing strength, has become the standard. However, I have probably had more problems with RCBS dies than any other brand (although those problems have been few and far between.)

Lyman has been around the longest and knows what it's doing.

There are no absolute "bests". You don't need benchrest-type loading tools because you won't be able to acquire benchrest-style loading skills and knowledge for many years -- and probably have no use of benchrest-type loads in what are presumably hunting or informal target shooting rifles.

You don't need to spend extra money on equipment which will last for two lifetimes when you're only going to load 500 rounds per year.

It's an interesting academic exercise to ask advice on brands/types which always elicits profound pronouncements from other reloaders. But if you'll just buy what seems the most reasonable in price and quality, your equipment will be just fine.

It's the skill and knowledge of the guy running the equipment that needs the most attention. Some of that can come from books, but much of it will only come from experience. You'll make some mistakes (we all have), but there's a high probability that both you and your rifles will survive them, and as you learn you'll grow to enjoy the process more and more.

I don't think you will get any better advise than is contained in Stonecreek's last email. People get very adamant regarding particular brands of equipment. Having used several brands from Lee to Dillon to Redding, I generally can say that they all work very well to produce high quality and accurate ammunition. If I was just starting out and not yet sure if I was going to stick with releoading, I'd probably start with a Lee Classic Cast Press. It's cheap and pretty bulletproof. The one place I am brand loyal is the Lee Autoprime (old version, not the X prime) It is my favorite manual primer. Dillon and Redding are pricier presses, but they are extremely high quality.

just throwing it out there. I have a Hornady lock-n-load press that I no longer use. If interested, we can talk. However you may be more interested in a whole starter kit.

quote:

Originally posted by bartsche: (edited for brevity and focus)
Lee dies are OK but adjusting expander or primer knock out pin height can be a pain in the butt. Also if you break a depriming pin you have to get the entire expander replaced not just the pin.

Are you sure about that?

Lost Sheep

quote:

Originally posted by Kevin Rohrer:
Lee and "quality" should never be in the same sentence.

But you just DID!

Lost Sheep

p.s. If you can name a currently manufactured four-station auto-indexing turret press superior to Lee's Classic Turret, please do. Of course, it is not the answer to the original post, but the Lee Classic Cast (single stage) press might be.

I started with a RCBS Rockchucker kit & scale, and with a Bonanza (Forster) case prep kit. I also bought a set of the Lee dippers, a Lee handprimer, a Forster trimmer.
After 30yrs on the Rockchucker, I treated myself to a Forster Co-Ax. In the years since buying the original kit, I picked up an electronic scale, a Hornady beam scale, and last year, a Chargemaster.
I still use the Lee dippers with the beam scale a lot. I haven't finished setting up the Chargemaster, kind of a finicky setup so far.
I have had the Lyman LE1000 for 20+yrs now, only use it for sorting cast bullets.
As I have gone thru 3-4 Lee handprimers, I thought I'd try a Hornady as it used shellholders, the one I got was lacking in QC, big time. If you like that style, assemble it and operate it in the store, before paying for it.
Haven't used my RCBS hand primer yet, tried a 450-400NE case in it, wouldn't work. Although,with the RCBS, wasn't overly impressed with the tray install setup, either. Lee beats both of them in that regard. That was how I got to trying the Hornady. Also discovered in that process, that my Forster trimmer was not long enough, so, I picked up a Hornady trimmer. A long bed is avail for the Forster, though.
Good trimmer--one foible though---have to use Hornady shellholders, or drill out the hole in RCBS to .300",won't work in that trimmer otherwise. I use the Forster trimmer for all but the 450-400 still, and still use the Rockchucker press for that cartridge, due to length.
At present I use a 21st Century priming handtool, with the old Lee tray on it, best setup I have used yet. I suspect if you ask around at a range, you can score a worn out Lee to get the tray and spring off, to use on the 21st century if you want to buy one of them, but, they do require Lee shellholders. I had all that stuff,so, it was nothing extra for it.

Spend the money to get the bullet manuals, it is well worth it, and will give you lots to read and learn from. Powder manufacturer data is all online now, if it isn't listed, give them a call to see if they have unpublished data. They often do.

I use a Hornady press and equipment. There were a lot of good deals on reloading equipment before Christmas. Some rebates by Hornady and RCBS.

I'm going to be different and recommend that you buy a Redding kit. It will give you everything you need for a start, minus dies. My usual advice would be to have a knowledgeable buddy help you find used equipment. Also, I wouldn't overlook a Redding turret press if you have a pistol. Trust me, reloading 50 stubby rounds is tedious work on a single stage.

That said, I think the Bonanza Co-ax is king of the hill where single stage presses are concerned. A neat set of jaws replace the three shell holders you will need, and priming is done on top of the press. No other gadgets/whatchamacallits are necessary. My only complaint with this press is the teeny primer catch jar that fills annoyingly fast.

Redding dies are easily adjusted by hand. IMHO, no other dies come close until you spend about a $100 on them. I use the Forster/Bonanza bench rest dies on my 22-250, and they're one of the best often turning out rounds with less than .0025" runout.

Last, but not least, as you gain experience you will develop preferences for certain pieces/brands of equipment, so don't be in a hurry to get it all together now. My biggest mistake starting out wasn't equipment -it was the cheesy bench I used.