I am preparing to invest in the full gamet of reloading equipment for the first time. What brand of equipment do you recommend and why? Thank you.

JMHO - If you are an average weekend shooter - RCBS all the way- excellent customer service and very good starter kits like the rock chucker kit.

If you are more of an accuracy nut Benchrest, highpower and such I would get a catalogue from sinclairs and go the wilson, forrester route- you will have to piece the kit together and it costs a lot more $$ but if you want to be that absolute most accurate it is the way to go.

Really though you can not go wrong with the RCBS stuff- easy to learn on and more than enough for 99.5% of the shooters out there.

Just my .02 based on expirence.

Andrew

For a new reloader, I think the RCBS kits are the way to go. Especially of you're going to be loading rifle rounds etc. that are usually not suitable for a progressive press. The new RCBS Supreme kit is fairly complete, although I don't think it comes with the trimmer anymore which is handy. It definitely comes out cheaper than piecing it together and RCBS service is the best in the biz.

FWIW,
I recently bought the Lyman Orange Crusher Pro Kit so I could reload at my house (wife alotted me a few sq. ft.). I have been loading at another location for years as me and some friends went together and bought all RCBS equipment and share it. Anyway back to the Lyman stuff, I was really impressed with what I got for the $$. The press is well machined, has 3 mounting holes, plenty space for long calibers, and is no longer orange. The scale is so-so but not unlike the one which comes with the RCBS kit. I use all RCBS dies, but you have to buy those seperate anyway. I bought the Lyman kit from Natchez for 115.00 and feel it was well worth it.

RCBS Rock Chucker Kit and the RCBS Accessory Kit.

For the love of all things, get a Lee turret press and use RCBS, Redding, or whatever dies you want. (I use all redding dies) The turret press allows you to reload for multiple calibers, and allows you to still use the press in a single stage fashion. You can go progressive or semi progressive, or single stage if you want. The real advantage for the single stage reloader is that you have your dies precondigured within their respective turret that you turn to get the next station. An advanced single stage press. SAVES YOU A TON OF TIME BY NOT HAVING TO SCREW DIES IN AND OUT AT EVERY STAGE, MEASURING, RECHECKING SEAT DEPTH, ETC.



Plus, the turret press costs only $75 complete for one caliber.



I started with a single stage press, then bought a turret press right afterwards. Fiver years and calibers later, I'm still using it.

My spiel:

I got an RCBS Rockchucker kit and an RCBS Video, because I was overwhelmed with how to get started reloading.



If I were to advise someone on how to do it that was a friend, I would show him how, and then loan him enough stuff to do it at his home.



Telling someone how to do it on the internet, I would start out with the tasks that have to be done, and list the cheap tools to get, so the the guy can maintain a mental map of the goals:



38 Special is very easy and cheap to load, most people have one, and the guns have plenty of safety margin. They are a good place to start.



1) Get the old primer out of the case, called depriming or decapping.



2) Make the case small enough in inside diameter to grip a bullet and small enough on the outside to fit in the chamber. This is called resizing. Both steps 1) & 2) are usually accomplished in one step as the resizing die has a decapping pin. This will require:

a) Shell holder ~$3 Lee #1 shell holder or ~$5 RCBS #6 shell holder. The same size shell holder can be used later for 357 mag, 256 Win mag, etc.- other cartridges with the same case head.

A shell holder may or may not come in the die set.

b) A resizing die. This die will probably be bought in a set with one, two, or three other dies. In straight wall cartridges, carbide resizing dies are available at an extra cost. It is always worth the extra to get carbide. Adjust the die [how far to screw it into the press] per the instructions that come with the die set. Lee 3 die set for 38 special; $21 steel, $23 carbide RCBS 3 die set for 38 special: $36

c) A press. Lee Reloader press $20 is a real cheapee, but will always find a use. RCBS Rockchucker $90 is a workhorse of the highest quality.



3) Clean the case.

This step can be done with a couple twists of the wrist with steel wool, or expensive vibrators. Later when you get more tools, you will clean the primer pocket, but it is not needed.



4) Re prime the case.

a) One can buy a priming tool and do it in 2 seconds or fumble with the primer built into RCBS presses and do it 10 seconds. Lee Auto prime II $13, RCBS priming tool $26

The two tools I mentioned use the same shell holder as used above in resizing. Beware that Lee also sells another priming system ["Lee auto prime" not "Lee auto primer II"] that uses special shell holders. I would avoid that system to start.

b) One must also buy, beg, borrow, or steal new primers.

To buy them mail order, one would have to pay a Hazardous Materials charge [Haz Mat]. Small purchases would be too expensive. Usually 100 primers can be purchased for $1 or $2 at the local gun store. Primers come in combinations of being; magnum or standard, pistol or rifle, and large or small. For 38 special, small pistol primers are what is needed, and will work with standard or magnum, but most published loads with be with standard primers.



5) Fill the case with powder. This is called charging the case. For this one will need powder and a way to measure powder. With black powder, one just fills the case, but with smokeless powder too much powder will fit. Start out using smokeless powder and measuring it. The amount to use depends on the bullet that will be used. The amount is published in load books, or better still on powder manufacturer's web sites for free.

a) Buy powder. There is the Haz Mat problem again, so off to the neighborhood gunstore. Any "pistol powder" will do. Expect to pay ~$20 for a pound in a gunstore. I like Bullseye or Unique powder made by Alliant, but AA#2 or AA#5 work just as well made by Accurate Arms, or Winchester 231, or Hodgdon HS-6, or Vihtavuori 3N37, or IMR SR7625, or dozens of others.

b) Measure the powder. This can be done with cheap plastic measuring cups with handles from Lee, but I would start out weighing the powder. The weighing scales: Lee Perfect powder measure $20, RCBS Uniflow Powder measure $60 [this tool is really nice]



6) Install the bullet. This is called seating the bullet.

a) Buy bullets. For 38 special, .357" diameter or .358" bullets are normally used. You can buy lead bullets or lead bullets covered with copper called jacketed bullets. I would start out with jacketed bullets. These will cost you 5 to 15 cents each and usually bought in 100's.

b) The seating die should have come in the reloading die kit. Put it in the press and put the primed and charged case in the shell holder. Set the bullet on top of the case and raise the ram [push down on the press lever]

c) Measure the over all length of the cartridge [OAL]. This can be done with a ruler, but is best done with dial calipers. Expect to pay $20 for some Chinese calipers or $100 for American.



7) Crimp the case into the bullet. This means the case must pinch the bullet so hard that recoil will not yank the bullet out when other chambers of the revolver are fired [or so the bullet will not get shoved deeper into the case from recoil in magazine or tube fed cartridge]. The type of crimp depends on the type of cartridge. The rimmed 38 special case should be roll crimped. The rimless 9mm cartridge should be taper

crimped. The crimping step can be done in one step with the bullet seating, but I would start out doing it in two separate steps. The two steps look the same [cartridge goes into seating die], but can be different in how the seating die is adjusted. Again, adjust the die [how far to screw it into the press] per the instructions that come with the die set and with the seating die, there is also the adjustment of

the seating stem [knurled knob on top of the die].

As separate steps, the seating die will be screwed not so far into the press, and the seating stem screw far into the die. The bullet is seated. Many bullets can be seated with this set up. When crimping is to be done, the die is screwed further into the press, and the seating stem is screwed further out of the die. The cartridge can now be crimped,

many can be crimped.



8) Take notes when you shoot your handloads. Write on the targets. Things like "125 gr. bullets shot way low, but 158 gr. bullets were right on." will come in handy next time you sit down to reload or buy bullets. Notes while handloading like, "Screw in the seater die until it starts to crimp. Screw it in 1 1/4 more turns. This makes the best crimp" could prevent you from throwing away the first couple reloads every time you set up.



From the above it looks like it will cost at least $110 to get started. That is 1/3 of what it cost ME to get started.



There are more steps to loading a bottle shaped rifle cartridge, and even more to get them to be very accurate, but after one masters the 38 special, it will make more sense.



--

A society that teaches evolution as fact will breed a generation of atheists that will destroy the society. It is Darwinian.

TMOSS... I strongly suggest you buy a turrent press, There are very few reasons I know of that a "single stage" press would be the "way to go". I believe that single stage presses can cause more headachs, and lead to more operrator errors than any other press type. With a turrent, you can buy even more turrents, and also just set up for your favorite calibers. I have owned 6 presses and my redding T-7 is one I would recommend.

I would watch accessory packs, you maybe buying things you dont want, wrong size, or just plain dont need. There are many many online ordering houses with sales on all kinds of stuff, and let me tell you... the sales are just half of it. I just saw a redding T-7 at Nachez for 27.80$ less than what midway sells them for, both at their standard price. Thats a whole set of Dies there. If you know in reloaders that are buddies, they MAY be the best source of info to get set up.

just my 2 cents

Teal hit the nail on the head...It depends on what you goals are (if you are able to anticpate that as well as the quantity of your production)..The RCBS kits are good stuff for starting out and as mentioned they fit with most applications for most shooters. I originally bought the R/C kit and still use some RCBS.

About 6 months ago, I got the bug to improve my long range shooting and the handloading process, eqiupment, tools, etc are part of that...I did as much research as I could and spoke to individuals who shoot very high level competition including benchrest, Hi Power, etc...Given what my requirements were and what I wanted to achieve I settled on Forster's Co-Ax Press, Forster Ultra Die sets (I have no experience with Redding (Redding has a great reputation and based on what others say they seem to make very high quality stuff, I just did not want to deal with bushing set-up for now anyway) I also changed scales,other equipment, and processes, etc..anyway to make a long story short, the RCBS will meet the needs of almost all reloaders, however, if you are wanting to achieve high levels of accuracy (you will pay additional $$, as incremental benefit seems to cost more and require significantly more investment of time) there is equipment out there that will make it interesting to say the least.

If you are going to load quantity then you may want to look at other equipment beyond single stage, however, my preference would be a single stage.

If I can help you any further let me know...

Good thread. Lots of different opinions. I saw someone describe himself as a "long time lurker" on the forum the other day. Me too, and i've learned a lot in the process. Lots of opinions, approaches, goals, etc. I've reloaded with friends, but am in the process of tooling up at home for my 25.06. A lot of what I read here makes me think, gives me ideas to research, and provides a lot of good links that have filled up my favorites menu over the past few months. You guys keep on sharing your expertise and experiences. No matter how diverse, I always get something I can use.

RCBS is the 'can't go wrong' choice, but not the cheapest and not the best. They are probably the peak of the price performance curve though, so easily recommended for a starter.

Start small, get the starter kit, and work up. Too many spend big $$$ just to put the equipment on ebay 2 years later because they didn't like it.

Why anyone would not like relaoding as a hobby is beyond me. I mean, come on, the agony and frustration of getting your .75" rifle to shoot .65"...what's not to like!

Welcome to the club!

I think I have decided on the redding big boss Deluxe reloading Kit
http://www.redding-reloading.com/pages/bosspropak.html

scroll down to find it

I have found this kit for $330.00 seems like a good deal, I plan to use the lock and load bushings so I will have a turret for all practical purposes.

I want quality from the start, and have heard nothing bad about redding.

Natchez Shooters Supply has the Boss Pro Pak with dies on thier web site for $184.00 (natchezss.com). I could not find the Big Boss Pro Pak listed, only the press alone. Same deal with gunstop.com, only the Boss Pro Pak is $179.95 (don't know if that includes dies). They're usually more reasonable on shipping. Check it out.

TJ

If you go RCBS, go with the Partner press. I purchased a RS way back when the model 5 was the model 2. That's back in the early 60s. It's been a fine press. Lat year, imporving my layout, I purchased a Partner press just for bullet seating. Unless you load cannon ammo, it will do the job and save you money. Here's the kicker: You can get started with the Partner press, retire it to bullet seating and get the RS 5 or the bigger one, the name which escapes me.

I do not have experience with the Redding stuff, however, based upon what I have researched, the very good reputation of Redding, and the recommendation of others it seems you are making a good choice. As other have noted, it really boils down to what you needs and applications are for handloading.

When I went through my options several months back, I already had done some reloading and had the RCBS stuff. My goals were very straight forward in that I was interested in improving the consistentcy and therefore accuracy of my rifle/handload/scopes, etc combinations. Taking that a step further my interest is to produce the highest quality ammo I am capable of producing. So as with anything the requirments and related applications should dictate which way to go. For me it boiled down to a choice of Forster and/or Redding. I ended up with the Forster Co-Ax Press and chose to use Forster dies. Have I seen improvement...absoultely..My bullet runout depending on caliber and componets runs .0005 to .002 and I am getting the results at the range..is it worth the extra cost and more importantly the extra time required... for me yes...I am working towards shooting 1000 yards and achieving very high levels of accuracy.. so my requirements may be much different from your.

I have heard many good things about Redding and by reputation they stand behind there product...so it seems for you need and application you are making a good choice.

I think you're thinking of the Rock Chucker. To me, the main selling point for the beginning reloader is the factory support. I've heard story after story of people who've called and had missing or broken parts sent to them free of charge. A buddy of mine moved and his dog got into his box of reloading stuff, and chewed all the plastic die boxes up. He called, and they sent him new boxes for free. He uses mostly Dillon stuff (he's still single), and claims RCBS has to do this to compete with Dillon's no bs warranty. I don't know why they do it, i'm just glad they do. Another thing, a beginning reloader is bound to make a few mistakes, break things, etc., and that factory support is worth spending a few extra bucks.

The Redding Boss Pro Pak Kit on the Natchez website DOES include the dies for $185. You specify what caliber you want when you order it. It looks like they've changed the kit around a tad from when I was looking for a setup a few years back and it's a little more comprehensive now than it was then. The one thing that it doesn't have that erks me is the dispenser. Don't know why they'd package everything else and then leave something important like the dispenser out. I think it's just to make it seem more competitive price-wise. The RCBS kit for $235 comes with the dispenser, and everything else, but you'd probably want to pick up a trickler for about $8 and whatever dies you wanted ($20). So that would come out to about $265. If had to do it over again now, I'd still go the RCBS route.

I found that kit for 130something I think,,,,the one I'm looking at comes with about everything except the dies.

Big boss press
3BR powder measure
scale
case triming kit
trickler
lotsa stuff

It seems that Natezz has gone up alot latly,,,,Cabelas beats their prices now on about everything.

A lot of good info. here. What ever you decide, buy quality stuff. Cheap stuff breaks & you end up replacing it. I don't care much for Lee, I think it's marginal stuff. I like Redding, RCBS for rifle stuff & Dillon for progressive handgun ammo. Lyman is ok, but I look to Redding 1st.

For the reloader just starting out I doubt you can go wrong with RCBS equipment. They served me well for over 20 years.
Admittedly your tastes may change somewhat if you get into precision accuracy shooting down the road a ways. I now use Redding bushing NS dies and Wilsons more than anything else, but certainly don't regret my years of using RCBS. A lot depends on how far into this you may go, and of course there's no telling until you try it. Best wishes.

Cal - Montreal

PPosey-

Let me know where to get the boss kit for 130 something- I'll take a look too.

TJ

This is the one I'm thinking about.

http://www.rcbs.com/default.asp?menu=1&s1=4&s2=2&s3=7

I hope the link works this way.

I would strongly recommend the RCBS Rockchucker Supreme master reloading kit to a beginning reloader. IMHO the Rockchucker is a much better press than the Jr.. I started with a Rockchucker 29 years ago and still use it some ( I have 5 other presses including another rockchucker).
I think Redding's top of the line stuff is the best overall.
For Progressive presses for metallic cases don't waste you time with anything other than a Dillon.
The first two extra things to buy are a hand-held primer and a digital scale.....DJ

I bought the Special 5 kit from RCBS and vowed that I would upgrade to a Rock Chuker. Well, after a few years down the road, the S5 is alive and well!!(And turning out great ammo as well.)



The key, as far as Iam concerned is quality dies. One word...Forster!! I love them.



I concede with DJ, that the Rock Chuker is a better press, but the Special 5 was a great starter kit for me, and the press just keeps on going..sakofan..

Price what you want to get an idea of retail and then find it on eBay. IM a couple of folks around here and have them look over your shoulder before bidding on anything on eBay.
I love my RCBS stuff. It does what I need it to do.

If you love the Forster Dies (I do as well)...One day take a look at the Forster Co-Ax Press...You pay $200 for the Co-Ax Press, however, IMO it is produces the most consistent ammo (by far) I have produced...It is top of the heap IMO...I have no experinece with Redding and I am sure their stuff is first rate...But it would be difficult to beat the Forester Press!

I have a RCBS R/C it is a good press ....but IMO there is no comparison to the Forster Press.

I got lucky on ebay Saturday. Just before leaving the house to take the wife out, I checked for reloading presses and saw that a NIB Redding Boss press had just been listed for 34.95, or buy it now for 39.95 + about 11.00 shipping from Pennsylvania to Kentucky. Buy it now I did! I followed that up Sunday by purchasing a Redding 2 die set in 25.06 and a Redding Neck die on two seperate auctions by the same person and will end up with about 40.00 in them including shipping. How'd I do?

TJ