Reloading Gear

[snozzberries]

Trying to make a shopping list to see what it will cost to start reloading .308. I don't want crap that will frustrate me and I'll immediately replace. What missing from my list?

Consumables

• Brass
• Primers
• Powder
• Bullets

Equipment

• Instructions Manual
• Priming Tool
• Wet Tumbler
• Stainless Steel Media for Tumbler
• media separator
• Case Trimmer
• Manual chamfer tool
• Primer pocket uniformer tool
• Flash hole deburring tool
• Inside case mouth chamfering tool
• Inside/Outside case mouth deburring tool
• Case Lube
• Case Gauge
• Powder Measurer
• Powder Trickler
• Digital Scale
• Dial Calipers
• Press
• Dies
• Bullet Puller
• Chronograph and tripod

Last edited by snozzberries on Thu Jul 13, 2017 2:52 pm, edited 8 times in total.

[mcyclonegt]

Depending on the press and the quantity you want to reload you may be able to skip the priming tool as many presses have a built in priming feature. I would also toss a set of dial calipers in there.

[rodell]

Even though much is available on the net, I would suggest a reloading manual (or two) for your chosen powder and/or bullet.

A media separator will make your tumbling experience a lot less frustrating. They are cheap, too.

I would also add a manual chamfer tool to clean up your case mouth after trimming.

Reloading takes attention to detail and your attention. If those aren't your things, then don't do it.

[jukk0u]

http://www.giraudtool.com/giraud-tri-way-trimmer.html

[thefuryoffire]

If you're going to jump into this hobby, do it right from the start - buy a wet tumbler and stainless steel pins.

[GeekWithGuns]

Hi Snozz many of these pieces of equipment could be their own threads :) I'm personally in the buy once, cry once camp and prefer to buy quality kit that I can pass on to our grandson when the time comes. Good news is that many pieces of reloading gear are lifetime investments, barring unforeseen circumstances.

Some questions on your reloading goals: how much volume are you planning to reload and what level of accuracy are you looking for at first? Are you reloading small volume lots for long-range accuracy or higher volumes for 100-200 yard shooting? Are you using a bolt-action or semi-auto rifle or both?

That helps to determine the kind of presses you might look at as well as how much detail involved in case prep. Also helps to determine whether to look at neck sizing vs full length sizing dies. Generally I would steer a newbie to full-length sizing until you get a feel for that then you can look at neck sizing for bolt-action and single-shot rifles if/when it seems appropriate.

A good first recommendation is some reloading manuals: Hornady, Speer, etc. as previously mentioned.

Here's another great reference book:
http://www.ballisticstudies.com/shop/The+Practical+Guide+to+Reloading.html

Are you thinking a separate powder dispenser and scale or a single electronic dispenser/scale like the RCBS Chargemaster?

Quality kit is spendy so one recommendation would be to hold off on a separate hand-priming unit and use the press to do de-priming and priming operations to start. Then you can add a hand-held press like the Lee for de-priming as well as a Sinclair or 21st Century hand priming tool.

Here's a couple recommendations for quality kit:
Dial Calipers - Mitutoyo or Browne and Sharpe
Case Lube - Aerosol vs solid case lube vs pad
Aerosol can recommend Hornady or Royal Case Lube
Solid can recommend Hornady Unique or Redding

Here's a couple recommendations for case preparation tools:
- LE Wilson case mouth chamfering and deburring tool
- Sinclair Carbide VLD (Inside) Case Mouth Chamfering Tool
- Sinclair or Hornady flash hole deburring tool
- Sinclair Primer Pocket Uniformer to prep new brass
- Hornady Primer Pocket Cleaner
I prefer to have a separate tool for cleaning primer pocket carbon deposits vs a higher quality tool for new case prep

On case trimmers there are numerous case trimmers available. Forster, Sinclair, and LE Wilson all make high quality units.

Also don't forget a good quality bullet puller for the inevitable mistakes
I really like the Hornady Cam-Lock Bullet Puller although a lot of folks on here use kinetic bullet pullers as well

[snozzberries]

What are stainless steel pins? Are they already in my list?

I'll be reloading .308, for my Bolt Action Rifle. At start is getting loads for 100-200yards, then further distances.

Right now I'm just trying to get a list of everything I need, and then an approximate cost for each item, so I can get a total budget needed.

Dave, are all the items you listed already in my list?

I've never reloaded, so some of these things I'm not sure what they are.

[GeekWithGuns]

Hi Snozz,
Understand this can be pretty overwhelming. I also started from scratch as I didn't have a mentor to help me out at first. Did a lot of reading in the reloading manuals, researched a ton of stuff on Google, learned a lot from folks here on the board, and also learned a lot from other shooters at various competitions. One great way to learn is to join a gun club where many of the members are also bound to be reloaders. Folks there can help a lot with the many questions that will come up along the way.

Stainless steel pins refers to a brass/case cleaning technique using a rotary tumbler such as a Thumlers tumbler. Basically you fill the rotary tumbling drum with several pounds of stainless steel pins, the brass cases you want to clean, then top it off with some water, Lemishine for hard water, and Armour All polish for shiny brass. I also recommend this method for brass cleaning as it's a great way to go and produces cleaner cases than ultrasonic cleaners and there is no need to constantly replace cleaning media like vibratory tumblers.

Tumbler - Thumlers Tumbler
Media for Tumbler - Stainless Steel pins 5lbs
Case Trimmer - Forster, Sinclair, or LE Wilson
Press - See below
Digital Scale - RCBS Chargemaster is a combo digital scale and powder dispenser
Dial Calipers - Mitutoyo or Browne & Sharpe
Dies - Recommend full length sizing die set by Forster or Redding. Picking a die set is worth a whole separate thread.
Case Lube - Recommend aerosol Hornady or Royal case lube
Powder Measure - See digital scale above
Priming Tool - Don't sweat this now, just use the press to start
manual chamfer tool - actually good to have several case preparation tools:
- Primer pocket uniformer tool for consistent primer seating. Sinclair makes a really nice one for case prep.
- Flash hole deburring tool for improved powder ignition. Sinclair makes a really nice one.
- Inside case mouth chamfering tool to ease bullet seating. Sinclair makes their VLD chamfering tool.
- Inside/Outside case mouth deburring tool. LE Wilson makes a great one.
media separator - No need to spend much money, Franklin Armory makes a nice model for low price
Instructions Manual - Reloading manuals by Hornady, Speer and The Practical Guide to Reloading by Nathan Foster
Bullet Puller - Hornady Cam-Lock Bullet Puller

I would also add maybe two .308 reloading blocks to hold your rounds while reloading. No need for anything fancy here. I use Franklin Armory blue plastic reloading blocks that hold 50 rounds each.

Probably also you'll want maybe two plastic containers for transporting finished rounds to the range. MTM makes pretty good ones for a reasonable price.

For what you're talking about, a single stage press would be the ticket. Cheaper than a progressive, simpler in operation, and easier to learn on. Progressive presses are pretty ideal for high volume pistol or rifle ammo production. If you're starting on the reloading road for accurate ammo for bolt-action rifle, then a single stage is the way to go. You can always get a progressive press later for pistol or AR ammo after you cut your teeth.

Many folks make great presses: RCBS Rock Chucker, Hornady LnL single stage, Forster Co-Ax, Redding Big Boss II, and Lee presses all have their fans. This is also worth a separate thread all by itself.

Edit: I was thinking a Thumler's Tumbler may be overkill for the volume of rounds you'll probably be shooting. The whole setup for tumbler and pins is a bit spendy. An alternative option may be the Hornady ultrasonic cleaner:
https://www.midwayusa.com/product/586045/hornady-lock-n-load-sonic-cleaner-2l-ultrasonic-case-cleaner-110-volt

I have one of these personally for smaller rounds like 22 Hornet and 7mm BR. It would work fine for .308 low volume processing. The brass is not as shiny after cleaning but that is a minor matter.

[Classic]

Case lube or you'll get cases stuck in your dies.
Case gauge will be helpful

[snozzberries]

Case lube or you'll get cases stuck in your dies.
Case gauge will be helpful

Got Case Lube on the list
is case gauge the same as dial caliper?

[golddigger14s]

Just get the lock & load kit from Hornady. Has almost everything you need to start out. Free bullet rebate also:
http://www.hornady.com/promotions/get-loaded-2017

[MadPick]

Case lube or you'll get cases stuck in your dies.
Case gauge will be helpful

Got Case Lube on the list
is case gauge the same as dial caliper?

Case lube: I'd suggest following the video below. It's good lube and it's cheap:
https://waguns.org/viewtopic.php?p=429634#p429634

Case gauge: Not the same as calipers (whether dial or electronic). Here's a case gauge, and yes you should have one:
https://ads.midwayusa.com/product/63961 ... winchester

For dies, I've been happy with Lee in .308 for a sizing die. I gotta say though, I do love my Hornady seating dies.
viewtopic.php?f=74&t=59623

[snozzberries]

Okay is there anything missing from the list now?

[jukk0u]

Are you going to check out that Gerard case triple tool?

What's your revised list?

I was going to try to mix up some of that lanolin lube since the Imperial, while the best of what I've tried, still didn't make sizing LC .308 brass what I would call "easy".

[snozzberries]

Are you going to check out that Gerard case triple tool?

What's your revised list?

I was going to try to mix up some of that lanolin lube since the Imperial, while the best of what I've tried, still didn't make sizing LC .308 brass what I would call "easy".

Revised list is in the first post. Looks like that Gerard case tool is 3 tools in 1?