I'd like to get a list of quality reloading equipment so I can hopefully get start reloading someday! I bought a Forster Co-ax press(to break the ice) earlier this summer but I haven't had a chance to research/buy any other equipment. I'm starting from scratch and want to do it right the first time. Please be as specific as you can on the equipment and accessories.

[ 10-16-2002, 18:59: Message edited by: Nebraska ]

Get a top quality loading manual. Speer, Nosler, Lyman, Hornady,etc.....This will give you the info you need to start.
Rick

I bought an RCBS kit and have found it very good. Do get your self some good beam scales for weighing your powder and also a powder thrower to make things quicker. If you need more stuff It may be cheaper for you to buy the RCBS Master kit or Redding's or whatever and either have two presses or sell one off. If you buy scales, powder thrower & trimmer seperately it may work out dearer. Just do your sums on this one.

What is your Forster Co-AX press worth ??

You`ve a good start with your Co-Ax. I`d go with Forster dies as RCBS and some of the others don`t fit properly in it. Forester does sell rings that you can swap out on other brand dies if you want to go with another brand. RCBS had a reloaders accessory kit at one time although I`m not sure they still offer it. The kit had a powder measure, case block, lube pad, "I think scales" and a few other pieces at a discounted price. You could call RCBS and see if it`s still availible. Don`t overlook Redding. They make top of the line equipment and any of their stuff is well worth the price.
You`ll need a good manual, I like Lymans and the newer Speers. There will be tooling lists in the manuals and instructions on useing them. They are the first thing you should add and you can never have too many of them.

PC....It cost ~$200 but I won't know what it's worth until I've reloaded for awhile. It came highly recommended. Hopefully I'm going to get what I paid for with it. My cousin has a Rockchucker that has worked well for him and what a lot less $$.

I see that Forster makes a Hand Case Trimmer. Is this a good way to go(or even necessary)? I have no idea what options to get with it(large base/small base, power adapter, etc.) even if it is what I need. I'm guessing that I'll need a pilot for each caliber and a collet for each different sized cartridge. Is this correct?

What about the RCBS 10-10 beam scale, powder measure and powder trickler? Should I go with another brand like Hornady? Should I get an electronic scale? I'm sure the electronic ones are quicker but are they reliable(safe)?

Do I need an outside neck turner, neck reamer, case neck brushes, deburring tool, case graphiter, primer pocket cleaner(large and/or small), Kinetic bullet puller, loading blocks(how many), case tumbler, caliper, micrometer, etc. etc.??? Do I need a hand primer(Lee?) for each type of primer for convenience or is it better to have just one?

I don't have time and or money for much trial and error on the way of equipment and there's soooo many choices. That's why I'm looking to you guys for some collective help.

[ 10-16-2002, 08:37: Message edited by: Nebraska ]

Nebraska,

I can only coment on the RCBS stuff as that is what I use, I would definitely reccomend the RCBS powder thrower, scales, trickelr and trimmer. These vasics should get you buy for a while. You could buy the RCBS kit and sell the rock chucker out of it, but a second press is alway's handy.

Nebraska,

The answer to your question is best answered by you determining what you are going to be doing.

If you are shooting Bench rest matches, the list of equipment you will want is very different from the equipment you will want if you are just hunting/target shooting on the weekend.

Assuming you are a typical hunter/target shooter, there are a few basics that come to mind:

- Case trimmer (all rifle cases will stretch)
- Inside/outside neck deburring tool
- Primer pocket uniformer (Cleans and uniforms)
- Scale (doesn't really matter what brand)
- Hand Primer tool
- Imperial sizing wax
- Bullet puller (you WILL screw up some loads)
- Quality dial calipers
** Chronograph (I may take some heat for listing this as a basic, but I feel it is one of the most valuable reloading tools available)

After the basics, spend your Christmas money on:

- Concentricity gauge (runnout is the difference between a good reloading set up and a bad one. If you never check you’ll never know how your doing.)
- Quality brass (Norma and Lapua cases eliminate allot of problems before they happen)
- Powder thrower (NO ONE makes one that will meter coarse rifle powder well. Use it to get close and then put the rest in by hand)

Parting comments:

Don't mess with neck turning unless you have a rifle with a custom "tight Neck" chamber. All this accomplishes in a standard chamber is to make the neck an undersized fit that will work harden and split.

If you are having problems with lopsided necks that need "cleaned up" with a neck turner....Buy better brass. (See my comments about Norma and Lapua brass stopping problems before they start)

Good Luck !

You don't need a chronograph at all. All that counts is where the bullet hits. Estimated and published velocities are very close to chronographed ones. This is from 40 years of experiance. If a chronograph reads different from published or common sense then it's wrong.

You don't need neck sizing dies. They add nothing to function and complicated loading consistancey.

Almost any caliper is good enough for reloading.

You don't even need a powder measure unless pistol ammo is loaded.

The mention of a primer pocket uniformer is a good idea however. I have not had one of those forever and I appreciated it now.

I agree with cricker, get some good manuals first, and you will have a much better idea of what equipment to get next.

I recommend a manual from your favorite powder company, bullet company and equipment maker. This gives you three sources to check against each other, sometimes they don't agree because each lab has different test equipment/guns, lots of powder, primers, bullets etc. As a beginner you probably don't have any favorites yet, but since you will probably be using what your local store has in stock you can get load books for those companies products.

Forster's Co-Ax is a great press to start with, especially learning the proper force to seat primers. Setting up the primer case holders for different case head diameters is a pain, but it is the closest thing to fool-proof priming availale. Later when you get a seperate hand-primer or progressive press you will know what force is needed to get a fully seated primer without crushing it.
You also don't have to hassle with getting a case holder for an unusual sized case, the Forster system will hold most anything properly. And for the few very large (577 & 600 NE) that don't fit, you can take one extra set of jaw plates to a machinest and get a proper sized opening milled that will handle those extra large cases.

You started with a great press, I had to trade my way into one, after using a few others starting out.

1) Reloading manuals. The net is good for narrowing down selections, but to learn how to do it right, and to have a bs filter for info from the net, you need a few manuals

2) Powder scale. I use a crappy lee one, asside from only going to 110 gr, it has been totally servicable for the many years I've used it. If doing it over, I'd get a better scale. I've been tempted by an electronic scale, but have heard enough bad things about them to stick to a beam scale.

3) Dial calipers. If you look at machine shop supply houses, ie J&L, Rutland, Enco et al, look at the 4" calipers. They are much handier then a 6", and unless you're loading some really big rounds, plenty of caliper. Mitutoyo, Starret, SPI and others provide quality tools that will last a lifetime.

4) Powder measure. Get a Redding or Harrel. A good powder measure, used with a scale, will save alot of time when working up loads, and for production runs. I've never used a trickler, when I hand weighed charges, I'd use a small lee dipper to trickle. Since getting Redding measure, I just weigh thrown charges.

5) A case trimmer. I use a small lathe, so can't comment on the various options out there. You'll need a de-buring tool as well. I use a file for the outside burr and a taper pin reamer for the inside.

6) A handheld primer seater. I've had an RCBS, and it has seated 1000's of primers quite nicely. It also uses std shell holders, though with the Co-ax you wont need shellholders, so you might consider the Lee.

7) Chronograph. You'll be spending a fair amount of time and money developing loads. The chrono provides more information for every shot fired down range, and adds a degree of safety. IMHO, not using a chrono to work up to max loads is like flying a plain low in the dark, and waiting til you start feeling the trees hitting the bottom of the plane to know you're getting low The chrono is an altimeter.

8) A diary or other means of recording your data. I have a simply spiral bound notebook that has all the loads I've tried through the years, and I constantly refer back to it.

9) A sharpy marker. I mark the type of powder and powder charge on each case. Sometimes they get mixed up (knocking over ammo box at the range), and it sure beats packing it up and pulling bullets.

10) Collet bullet puller. It is both faster and safer then the kinetic type. I don't know that there is a best, I have an RCBS, and it has been serviceable over the years.

I've never used case holders. Yeah, I've knocked over the occasional case. I'm sure they'd be helpful, but have never found them to be a must have item.

You mention getting a primer seater for different primer's. Ther are lots of things you can add to increase your productivity, and ease of assembling loads. I'd suggest keeping it to the basics in the beginning, then adding what you find you need. All of us have established our own ways of doing things over the years, they all work for us, and you'll need to find out what out there will work for you.

Of course there will always be variations in velocity due to variables. But these don't matter to much. Most are within 100 fps and that just does not matter a whit in terms of performance.

A chronograph is a want and not a need.

A caliper is very good for measuring case head expansion as the blade is thin enough to get around the bulge. It's a relative dimension not requiring absolute measurement.