Single stage kit quality

[VERT]

Not sure which LEO was referring to but the Lee Autodisc that is usually mounted to a turret press is actually a pretty accurate little beast. The beauty is it uses preset hole to measure powder by volume. The bad part is you are limited to the size of those holes. The traditional Autodisc is not a long lasting unti, the hoppers aren't durable. But parts are super cheap, as in buy several because shipping is more then the parts.

Lee safety scale works but is frustrating. Get an RCBS 505 or Dillon eliminator beam scale. As I have said before the Lee is fine to double check the Autodisc but otherwise get a scale.

 

[natdscott]

Okay. So 1) buy the book I told you about and read it. (yes, I am emphasizing that again, and I promise it's not without good reason)


But 2) Here's a "kit" for accurate rifle ammunition on some reasonable budget:


--6" Dial-type calipers from Mitutoyo (or Starrett if you feel spendy). Buy once and know that if you keep them clean and cased, they'll probably last you for a lifetime;

--Single Stage Press of your choice. I like Forster, but that's my bias, and it is spendy;

--Redding or Forster Competition seating die. The micrometer top is not required if you know something about how to use calipers and/or if you will not be trying lots of different bullets/Cartridge Overall Lengths, so choose the Forster NON-mic die if you want to get the competition seater's advantages, but don't want the mic price;

--Matching FL Sizing die from whichever of the two companies above that you bought your seater;

--Sinclair OAL/Bump gauge and appropriate bushing for measuring your cartridge brass' fired/sized dimension;

--Ohaus 10-10 scale...see ebay, and choose the one that is tan and looks like it is from the 1970's, but doesn't look abused, and has all parts and pan;

--It would be handy to have a decent powder thrower. The Lee Perfect is actually, despite it's lowish price, absolutely the best thrower for extruded rifle powders until you hit the $250-300 price range of a BR Culver measure;

--If your press won't seat primers for you, then you'll need a priming tool. Lee, RCBS, Redding, Hornady..they all make some. I won't comment further, as I use my press, or a Lee handheld;

--Wilson NON-mic trimmer, and appropriate bushing(s) for your cartridges. You'll need Q-type for many of the rimmed straight wall pistol cartridges;

--You'll need case holder(s) if you don't use a CoAx press, a primer pocket brush, a neck deburring/chamfer tool (and a VLD inside chamferer is not a bad idea for rifle use), a Composition Notebook & pencil, simple calculator;

--A way to clean casings is good, but may not need to be on the FIRST set of orders, depending on how many casings you have.



If you want accurate rifle rounds, but are starting out, here's where you go for components:

-Winchester Casings.
-Sierra MatchKing Bullets. They are a mid-price range accuracy bullet, and are generally pretty forgiving. Simply: if a rifle won't shoot SOME Sierra well, it won't shoot anything.
-CCI, Remington, or Federal BR primers. I stay away from Federal because they are softer.
-An accepted "Easy Button" powder for what you want to do. I really like working with Alliant and Hodgdon, but ALL powder companies have winners


If/when you have questions about my recommendations, or specific brands I underlined for certain parts, let me know on a PM or whatever.

-Nate

 

[dooshie]

Going to something like a chargemaster instead of the beam scale is tempting but would like to keep the initial cost in check some just in case I don't end up sticking with it. Also if I understand correctly once you have your powder measure set up to the charge you desire you don't necessarily need to check each one? Seems like the scale would be useable for 4 or 5 calibers and a few thousand rounds a year

get use to using a beam scale first. U can always get a digital later and have the beam scale for back up

 

[ckcollins2003]

So here is my opinion and forethought after reading through.

Kits are worthless. I bought a Lee kit thinking the same thing as you, which was, I'll just use what comes with it to keep cost down to a minimum. I immediately (as in within 3 days) bought an RCBS digital scale. Right now it may not seem like a big deal, but for precision rifle rounds you will want the exact same powder charge for each round and since powder throwers throw by volume instead of weight, your charge will vary more than you think.

I also read that you plan to reload 100-200 pistol rounds per week. That is a lot of time on a single stage press. I would actually suggest looking into a turret press. You can use it as a single stage for rifle reloading and get the accuracy that you desire, while having much more speed over a single stage for your pistol rounds.

 

[dooshie]

bottom line if you never reloaded before a sigle stage is a great starter kit. u need to under stand all the basics before u try to be a pro

 

[natdscott]

bottom line if you never reloaded before a sigle stage is a great starter kit. u need to under stand all the basics before u try to be a pro

Indeed, one does need to understand the basics. That being said, professionals and hobby loaders alike generally need to be able to account for their dollars, and for the efficiency with which they were spent.

The gentleman said he wanted to load precision rifle rounds, and I cannot think of a single kit that is set up to do that very well. The result is that a buyer with the same goal as this OP has finds themselves--almost immediately--in a position of having to add, subtract, and/or substitute to the originally purchased "ready to go" kit to achieve what they want.

That costs money and it costs time, both of which cut into return on investment, both from the perspective of his wallet, and his ability to actually go use the good ammo to increase his skills on the firearm. THAT is the bottom line for most shooters.

-Nate

 

[gregkl]

get use to using a beam scale first. U can always get a digital later and have the beam scale for back up

I suppose this is a good idea but I have only ever had a digital scale. I bought one from an online scale store and I believe it is actually made for jewelry. It works great. I don't see any need at this point for me anyway to having a beam scale.

 

[Woobie]

The problem I have with all of those kits is that the beam scale they include is garbage. I don't much like digital scales, as I haven't seen perfect consistency with the ones I've used. For my money, the RCBS 10-10 is the way to go. And it costs much less than a digital scale that would give you similar quality. If you want digital, spend the money on a good one.

 

[Leo]

spend the money on a good one.

This is the best answer on choosing tools, especially reloading equipment. Any other solution is a compromise, and compromises introduce a whole lot more negatives than positives.

 

[Ruffnek]

So the Frankford Arsenal DS 750 is a no-go? That seems to be what everyone uses.

 

[VERT]

So the Frankford Arsenal DS 750 is a no-go? That seems to be what everyone uses.

The one I had worked good. Two issues. If your reload in your garage temperature will throw it off. So keep it in the house. Second you couldn't trickle on it. But for an inexpensive scale to double check the settings on a turret or progressive press it is fine. Not a good choice for precision rifle.

 

[gregkl]

This is the one I have;
http://www.oldwillknottscales.com/product.asp?itemid=6047

I took it to work once and checked it with several different weight standards we had for precision weighing and the scale checked out fine. I am confident that it will provide repeatable accurate measurements.

It's now $13 less than what I paid for it. for me. for you.

 

[Leo]

So the Frankford Arsenal DS 750 is a no-go? That seems to be what everyone uses.

I really can not answer this. I had two different electronic scales years ago, that cost WAY more than the commonly seen prices of today. They were both more trouble than they were worth, very temperature unstable. They would have sudden zero shifts affecting the readings and loose the zero/span calibration. Plus they just plain ate batteries. I gave up in them both, and went back to the Ohaus style balance scales. I am told, by people I respect, that the modern ones are far better than the early ones. I still have a couple of balance scales.