Hey guys,

What is your opinion on buying a reloading kit and if so which one would you recommend?
I have been told to skip the kit and get exactly what I want, without the so called extra junk in the kit that should and will be replaced down the road?

IMHO it's hard to beat the RCBS Rockchucker kit if you are just starting out. Natchez usually has them at a good price. It's nice to have all you need without shopping all over for bits and pieces. At over $3 a gallon for gas you spend more in gas money driving around to find just the right deal (or in extra shipping) than you would by just buying them all together. The RCBS stuff may not be the best of everything but it's all good.

Try here:

http://www.natchezss.com/category.cfm?contentID=product...047&CFTOKEN=57771310

I started reloading 32years ago with the RCBS set equivelant to this. I've loaded 100's of thousands of rounds and the stuff still works fine. I've bought lots of other stuff since of course but the Starter set will still do what it could 32years ago.............DJ

The RCBS kit is geared around rifle reloading, if you going to be only doing pistol rounds than some of the pieces will be less than useful to you. You might not need everything in the kit, every time you reload, but you will need all of it eventualy (IE you won't be trimming brass every time).
Now if your talking about the LEE kit.......than you have been given some good advise.
Remember it's less expensive to buy quality tools once, than it is to replace junk tools later.

Being an experienced reloader If I had to start over with reloading, I'd not buy a kit. I'd buy specific parts as I wanted.

However for a newbie I'd highly recommend a starter kit and RCBS has the best I know of.

Start with the kit and you can add the things you want later... The kit may leave out some things like case trimmers... so get a list see what is missing... then buy the best you can of those things.

But two kits. The RCBS Rock Chucker Supreme Kit and the RCBS Accessory Kit.

I got an extra setup sitting in a box that I'd sell you or swap for a decent scope for a .243 I just picked up. I tried to send you a PM, I don't know if it worked.

Thanks to everyone for their helpful advice!

How new to reloading are you? In other words, are you pretty sure you want to get into it for the long haul? If so, the RCBS kit is probably a good deal for you. OTOH, if you just want to try it out, and don't want to sink too much money into it in case you just don't like it like you thought you would, the Lee kit is a very good deal. You may end up replacing some of it, or adding to it, but at least you'll have a better idea for how deep you want to get into this hobby, and you'll know better what features are most important to you.

Andy

The Kit isn't a bad deal. But if you have or a friend has good reloading experience. You can pick up used RCBS equipment with it's lifetime warranty for a lot less. Your choice. The only piece of equipment that can be costly to ship is the press like the Rockchucker. But I see them at gun shows and garage sales all the time for very reasonable prices.

quote:

Originally posted by ricciardelli:
But two kits. The RCBS Rock Chucker Supreme Kit and the RCBS Accessory Kit.

make that 2 suggestions for this,,, if you will get just one, the rcbs rocker chucker supreme "master" kit.

jeffe

Hey DJ,

I checked out the link you gave and the price is very good! The only problem is I am in Canada and it looks like they will only export international orders to dealers? Does anyone know where I could find this kit in Canada (or get it shipped to?) My local gun shop carries iit but it is about $120 USD more than Natchez.

Thanks,

quote:

http://www.natchezss.com/category.cfm?contentID=product...047&CFTOKEN=57771310

Swarovski, Canada is a lovely place but the prices there do suck! I remember nearly fainting at the prices on Swarovski EL Binoculars at the Toronto Bass Pro. Even with the exchange rate prices up there are horrible. I'd buy one and ship it to you myself except that I'd worry about customs stealing the whole thing. - Your Border and Customs folks didn't make us Americans feel particularly welcome. Good Luck!...................DJ

I was reading a flyer from Grafs and Sons, they carry the RCBS kit and do export stuff. Here's their contact page:

http://www.grafs.com/page/contact

for specific questions about exports try:

export@grafs.com

Hopefully they or someone else can get it sent to you at a reasonable price..................DJ

Just a thought & not sure if that is any different but what about purchasing Kit thru Ebay?

For what it's worth I believe if you start out with a High grade kit you have a better chance of enjoying the hobby... also when you do like it you can focus on getting the extras not on upgrading things you already have

Lyman offers a good reloading kit for newbies. They also got a great casting kit too!

Check it out on MidwayUSA.com

Hey guys,

Thanks again for all of your input.

I am almost ready to pull the trigger on the RCBS kit but a good friend and a few others are now talking me into buying the Redding Big-Boss kit. Can anyone compare these two kits?

Also, as far as dies go it has been recommended to get the Redding dies vs say RCBS or other manufacturers?

The Redding kit would probably be just as good a choice as the RCBS depending on what all is included in it. If it's the same price or cheaper than the RCBS you might go with it.
Redding dies are usually a little nicer finished than RCBS. The only real gripe I've had about them is that they don't have a pressure relief hole in the shoulder area so you have to use lube sparingly or you will get shoulder dents from too much lube quicker than you will with RCBS or other dies with a relief hole.
In General Redding is usually nicer and RCBS is good but a little less expensive. I will say though that I use my new model Rock Chucker more than I use my Redding Ultramag for a couple ergonomic reasons.................DJ