Hey Everyone,
I posted a question on here a few weeks ago about what I would need to purchase to load my .223 (mostly target) rounds. I was asking about nice stuff like RCBS kits and scales ect....ect....ect.....I thought everything would be fine with my wife and she would not mind me purchasing the stuff because of the savings in the long run if I don't have to purchase my own brass to reload....Well boy was I wrong!!!! She was not happy, so here is what I ended up with. I have a few other items coming in the mail next week like a hand priming tool from Lee a case cleaner and a few other things but from these pics can you think of anything else I will need to get started and does this stuff look ok for the beginer? I forgot to add to the pics the books I have on reloading (ABC's of reloading and the Hornady book on reloading). I also watched a few video's on You Tube on using this Lee Classic Reloading Kit and it seems pretty straight forward. I don't have a scale yet but I did purchase the Deluxe spoon kit for all different charges. What do you guy's think? All of my brass is once fired brass and about 75% of the time I will just be target shooting from 100-200 yrds. The rest of the time will be Varmint Hunting. For now I just purchased the stuff for target type shooting. My rifle seems to love the Hornady 50g and 52g bullets when I purchase ammo from the store I can get 1/2" groups of 5 all day with that ammo on a calm day (using a rifle rest). Any pointers are greatly appreciated. If you have a similar rifle (Savage) and you have a special load that you think might work great in my rifle I would love to try it out. Thank you for any advice or input you may have.

[QUOTE]Originally posted by Digger0040:
Hey Everyone,
I posted a question on here a few weeks ago about what I would need to purchase to load my .223 (mostly target) rounds. I was asking about nice stuff like RCBS kits and scales ect....ect....ect.....I thought everything would be fine with my wife and she would not mind me purchasing the stuff because of the savings in the long run if I don't have to purchase my own brass to reload....Well boy was I wrong!!!! She was not happy, so here is what I ended up with. I have a few other items coming in the mail next week like a hand priming tool from Lee a case cleaner and a few other things but from these pics can you think of anything else I will need to get started and does this stuff look ok for the beginer? I forgot to add to the pics the books I have on reloading (ABC's of reloading and the Hornady book on reloading). I also watched a few video's on You Tube on using this Lee Classic Reloading Kit and it seems pretty straight forward. I don't have a scale yet but I did purchase the Deluxe spoon kit for all different charges. What do you guy's think? All of my brass is once fired brass and about 75% of the time I will just be target shooting from 100-200 yrds. The rest of the time will be Varmint Hunting. For now I just purchased the stuff for target type shooting. My rifle seems to love the Hornady 50g and 52g bullets when I purchase ammo from the store I can get 1/2" groups of 5 all day with that ammo on a calm day (using a rifle rest). Any pointers are greatly appreciated. If you have a similar rifle (Savage) and you have a special load that you think might work great in my rifle I would love to try it out. Thank you for any advice or input you may have.

sooner or later you will need a case trimmer.the lee trimmer pilots are simple and work great.you have now entered the land of no return.the gear will keep pileing up over time.a little bit ,little bit more,pretty soon its a bigger bench.have fun you will love it when those groups get smaller.

YOU NEED A SCALE! The density conversions included with the dippers are not always reliable.

I started before I got married, so the inital investment was before She Who Must Be Obeyed could veto. But I did get a few things in under "See how much money I am saving!"

Well, that stopped working, so I taught her to shoot and bought her a nice 9mm pistol. Now it is "Load me up another thousand honey! I am running out." And I still don't have all the time I want to load up my own stuff.

What my wife doesn't know won't upset her.

Yeah what Code4 said, I order stuff I need and have it shipped to my moms house so the Mrs. don't know.

Make sure that all your brass is once fired only in your rifle. If you pick up brass at the range keep it away from your current loading process until you get a press and a FL sizer die.
You will also need to chamfer your case mouths before seating bullets.

OMG another Rumpole fan!! I thought all the other ones were dead and gone, or worse yet, not reloading..........

Yeah, when my wife found out she was not to happy. I still have my stuff sent to my work address.

That case trimmer BS always comes up, but I would suggest that if you get a Sinclair case neck length measuring tool and use it you will likely find you can WEAR OUT 223 cases reloading them for a good chamber before trimming is needed.

You guys really need to work on your marketing skills and tactics.

1. You need to protect her. To protect her you need to be able to shoot. To be able to shoot well you need to practice.

2. The saving money part is good; you just need to emphasize it more.

3. Use the dump truck principle. If you want a pickup, don't ask for a pickup. Ask for a dump truck and then compromise and get a pickup. This works with anything. If you want a 30/06, start out by requesting a 460 Weatherby Magnum.

4. Always buy the more expensive to load for gun first. That way you can not only justify reloading equipment but also a cheaper to shoot gun.

5. It's a well known fact that women can only count to three. After you get 3 of anything, the items in question are known as "those" and you can get as many and as much as you like; I got to the critical three in dies, reloading equipment, etc. many years ago.

6. Emphasize what you sell and not so much what you buy.

7. Your kid will tell you how the other kid has so and so but he/she doesn't. The same principle will work for you if you have friends that have more reloading equipment/guns than you do.

8. Purchase gold, jewels, silver, platinum, precious stones, etc. for her. Flowers ain't bad either.

9. Mention how reloading keeps you out of bars and other unsavory activities/places. It helps to have unsavory friends for examples in order to sell this.

10. It is much better to postpone information about a purchase. When your sweetheart notices the stuff many months later, you can in all truthfulness say that you "have had it a long time."

If that is a LeeLoader then you have just about all you`ll need.Your shopping list now should be a Lee scale,Lee funnel,a plastic mallet,and a small can of Pringles,the Lee case length guage/shell holder , and a Lee cutter/lock stud(for trimming and polishing brass with steel wool.I use them for 6.5x55 Swede,.223,7.62x54R,and have used them for 30-06,45-70,243 Win,270 Win,with great results.The cases have to be fired from the rifle you are loading for.Everything will fit back in the LL case except the funnel and mallet.

I am a big fan of the LeeLoader and use them a lot.With practice scooping powder out of the clean Pringles can you can get nearly identical drops of powder.If your press is on backorder cancel it and use the LeeLoader instead.Order the other stuff mentioned above...cancel the rest and maybe the wife will be happier.I know you will be happy with your setup.Best of all you can pack all your equipment in a small range bag and load AT the range.After adjust the die for overall length you get very uniform results.Just make sure to start long seating the bullet and adjust slowly down till the correct length is achieved.It`s actually easy to do.

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OK....after all that the picture above is an M39 Finnish Mosin.Graf 7.62x54 brass,44gr Varget,123gr VMax,CCI primer seated with the primer seater from the kit.Wear safety glasses always.Never had a problem seating primers and don`t need an accident.
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And ten shots using the same case at 50yds

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Heres the 233 stuff with the same results at 100yds.Havent used Benchmark but would guess the 1.6 dipper would work well,but you will have to experiment your drops with the different dippers.You may have to use the 1.9cc but that is up to you.With 50gr bullet Hodgdon site says 24-26.5gr.I again haven`t used Benchmark,but have used Varget and H4895.

Chamfer the inside/outside of the case well and just gently tap with your mallet.Don`t pound.

I usually haunt these boards.Your wife has done you a favor....use what ya got there.I would be surprised if you were not happy with that rifle and your tools.

quote:

Originally posted by Grumulkin:
You guys really need to work on your marketing skills and tactics.

1. You need to protect her. To protect her you need to be able to shoot. To be able to shoot well you need to practice.

2. The saving money part is good; you just need to emphasize it more.

3. Use the dump truck principle. If you want a pickup, don't ask for a pickup. Ask for a dump truck and then compromise and get a pickup. This works with anything. If you want a 30/06, start out by requesting a 460 Weatherby Magnum.

4. Always buy the more expensive to load for gun first. That way you can not only justify reloading equipment but also a cheaper to shoot gun.

5. It's a well known fact that women can only count to three. After you get 3 of anything, the items in question are known as "those" and you can get as many and as much as you like; I got to the critical three in dies, reloading equipment, etc. many years ago.

6. Emphasize what you sell and not so much what you buy.

7. Your kid will tell you how the other kid has so and so but he/she doesn't. The same principle will work for you if you have friends that have more reloading equipment/guns than you do.

8. Purchase gold, jewels, silver, platinum, precious stones, etc. for her. Flowers ain't bad either.

9. Mention how reloading keeps you out of bars and other unsavory activities/places. It helps to have unsavory friends for examples in order to sell this.

10. It is much better to postpone information about a purchase. When your sweetheart notices the stuff many months later, you can in all truthfulness say that you "have had it a long time."

You forgot the other one. " I'm going halves in the cost of this with a buddy"
Its the only thing I want for my birthday!

You guys have got to say one thing, and that is--when it comes to reloading, my word PERIOD,no exceptions.

I must say (now don't take this wrong), many of you guys are wimps! Of Course, I have a great wife! She lets me buy anything I want,(as long as she dosen't have to pay for it). I also let her get anything she wants (as long as I don't have to pay for it). Now, bills and food come first, but that's her obligation, I pay the taxes, heat, and vacations.
I think I've got a great life; (but I may be brain-washed)

Digger,
You need a better wife....

quote:

Originally posted by Digger0040:
Hey Everyone,
I posted a question on here a few weeks ago about what I would need to purchase to load my .223 (mostly target) rounds. I was asking about nice stuff like RCBS kits and scales ect....ect....ect.....I thought everything would be fine with my wife and she would not mind me purchasing the stuff because of the savings in the long run if I don't have to purchase my own brass to reload....Well boy was I wrong!!!! She was not happy, so here is what I ended up with. I have a few other items coming in the mail next week like a hand priming tool from Lee a case cleaner and a few other things but from these pics can you think of anything else I will need to get started and does this stuff look ok for the beginer? I forgot to add to the pics the books I have on reloading (ABC's of reloading and the Hornady book on reloading). I also watched a few video's on You Tube on using this Lee Classic Reloading Kit and it seems pretty straight forward. I don't have a scale yet but I did purchase the Deluxe spoon kit for all different charges. What do you guy's think? All of my brass is once fired brass and about 75% of the time I will just be target shooting from 100-200 yrds. The rest of the time will be Varmint Hunting. For now I just purchased the stuff for target type shooting. My rifle seems to love the Hornady 50g and 52g bullets when I purchase ammo from the store I can get 1/2" groups of 5 all day with that ammo on a calm day (using a rifle rest). Any pointers are greatly appreciated. If you have a similar rifle (Savage) and you have a special load that you think might work great in my rifle I would love to try it out. Thank you for any advice or input you may have.

Looks good but I don't see any flowers in that pile. Get a couple roses next time you go shopping, they can be cheap ones even. I never could figure out the power of flowers, but all I know is they work.

Remove the battery from the calipers if you aren't using it, otherwise they go dead pretty quickly. I'll second the suggestion on getting a scale. Dippers work fine but it is good to have an idea of exactly how much they scoop.

Try looking on your local craigslist for used equipment, you can get some good deals that way too.

OK folks---the thing is to GET THE RIGHT MATE!!
Get to KNOW her/him BEFORE you marry!!
Mutual respect and co-operation go a long way, as does recognizing and respecting the need for each others individual "space", likes/dislikes.
NOW, having said all that---IT TOOK ME TWO TRIES TO GET IT RIGHT!! but I did. We are in year 19 and it don't get any better than this!
Have a great day!!

the way it works is the same way it works when she takes you clothes shopping.
go: and take her, then agonize over the box of factory ammo,,, or the box of 100 bullets for the same price.
1,000 primers
or pound of powder,[best] as later this can be turned into 8 lbs because of the savings.
generally she finally get bored and say just get what you need and let's go.
remember you should be going elsewhere like to grab a burger.
at which point you will have a captive audience and can put the soft sell on her.

above is advice only but has worked at least 5,000 times in the 25 years.

MikeN - You got lucky. Ill trade you.

You guys are funny......I don't need a better wife but what I would like is for her to let me have a live in girlfriend that will let me do all the things that she won't let me do....Everything would be perfect.....Roses would have come with all of that stuff it it would have included the RCBS Kit I origionally planned on getting.

You really needed to pause & take stock of what you really want to achieve. The Lee "classic" is probably the worst way to get your feet wet in handloading IMO. At least get a cheap Lee single stage press, scale to check you powder dippers & hand primer. It's just going to be easier to laod ammo with, especially precision rifle ammo. Just changing seating depth w/ a hammer system like that makes my head hurt.

It's easier to beg for forgiveness then to ask for permission
I do my best to live by those words

Originally I just wanted to neck size ammo for the 7.62x54R but buying an expensive neck size die for rifles I ain`t gonna scope was out of the question.....at the time.So I got some boxer prime brass,FL sized and fired them.They shot well so I took them home and used the tool to neck size them.Then used the priming tool and press to load them.Then they shot real well.

So I took them home and realized if I took the tool to the range it would be easier than driving back and forth.

In the meantime I also realized that my dipper skills were at least as accurate or better than my powder measure.Also I found out that primer seating was not complicated using the supplied tool in the kit.I only use my press now for FL sized ammo and collet dies.

There have been some "looks" I`ve gotten especially the first time the Range Officer found out there was a fool beating on live ammo at the bench.I was rescued by the local expert loader/shooter/first elder/ with vast experience who I admire.He told them "they had nothing to worry about and that he used them before".

The benches emptied out around me kinda quick and there were a lot of curious(at a safe distance)onlookers.Eventually when I didnt blow myself up and my targets showed a lot of yellow in nice groups,people started trickling back in.

The tool allows me to take a selection of powder, primers,a variety of different bullet weights and styles to the range.It also allows me to shoot the same(safe) load density across the spectrum of bullet weights in that caliber in real time in field conditions.That way I don`t have to wonder on the way home what a particular bullet/powder combination would do.

So,if you are gonna blow yourself up....you`re gonna blow yourself up. You can do it just as easily on a press.But if one can pay close attention to detail and load recipes,the tool can be fun and very educational.

Besides...the "look of disbelief"at the range of a fool beating on live ammo is worth the price of the tool.

It is not much different than loading for a muzzle loader IMO.You don`t throw powder and a bullet down the muzzle with a cap on the nipple,nor, once you have a primer seated in the case does it come off the decap chamber till you are ready to shoot.

This is the kit that my wife said I could afford . I was very leary at first and I could not find much information on exactly what I needed to do with this type of loader. Mickberger has been extremely helpfull with sharing information and technics from his experience in using this exact kit. With all the knowledge he has given me I am confident that I will be able to turn out some nice loads that shoot well. I plan on making my first loads sometime later this week. I will take some pics of my progress and how things look at the range when I first shoot them hopefully next weekend weather permitting.....Thank you again everyone for your help....Talk to you again soon.

I truly would not suggest lee equipment as it is bottom of the line. Myself bought some of there equipment when i first started. In this case value is all about what you are willing to spend for quality. If you do end up buying a lee scale I recommend doing your homework first. I bought there anniversary set and had to kick the bolt open after shooting. The scale would not hold a Zero. It was cheap plastic....
Sense there just about all my gear has as been replaced peace by peace by mostly RCBS about 98-99% of it used equipment from a gun dealer.
Just give it a good look over before you buy. Until you his the jack pot in the lottery that is how a lot of us have to do things. They have a life time warranty which they will replace anything broken free! (trust me..anything)
Best of luck!

My advise to newbies is to bite the bullet and start out with what you're going to end up with. You're going to go there anyway once you sample this addictive hobby, might as well save some money in the long run. At least get a quality scale, for safety's sake.

Honesty with a woman is always the best policy. It's better to hash it out in the open (and compromise/trade-off if necessary), in the beginning, than run the risk of discovery later. And they will find out eventually. Trust me! Lessons learned the hard way!

Propose to your wife the most expensive scale you can find! Then when she goes to compromise you get what you want

I went ahead and ordered a digital scale that let's me zero it out with a bowl or something like that on it. Hopefully that will work for now.

lee dippers are fine if you use the conversion equation described in lee's book:

http://www.baitshopboyz.com/fo..._posts.asp?TID=13778



the lee loader also makes great ammunition - have had no problems with it over the course of 8 years of using it. the naysayers come out of the woodowrk anytime lee products are mentioned. i've done nothing but spend money and have problems since i got set up with press/dies etc.

Option B:

I bought her a jaguar convertible for Christmas last year. Now, she could care less what I bring home. Reloading stuff, of course!! And the occasional rifle...

Rich
Knowledge not shared is knowledge lost...

quote:

Originally posted by Idaho Sharpshooter:
Option B:

I bought her a jaguar convertible for Christmas last year. Now, she could care less what I bring home. Reloading stuff, of course!! And the occasional rifle...

Rich
Knowledge not shared is knowledge lost...

Damn man, can I have some!?

i think IdahoSharpshooter has it figured out!

quote:

Originally posted by Idaho Sharpshooter:
Option B:

I bought her a jaguar convertible for Christmas last year. Now, she could care less what I bring home. Reloading stuff, of course!! And the occasional rifle...

Rich
Knowledge not shared is knowledge lost...

Did you win the lottery?

put your foot down man...show her who the boss is...don't be a pansy man, oh, got to go, my boss..I mean, wife is calling!