Pretty sure, as long as he provides the brass, it's all good. The issue is the excise tax. His brass was already taxed at retail, and is not being resold (and not subject to another round of tax), even if loaded for him by someone else.
You must not know a lot of reloaders.
I've been reloading and casting bullets for 20 years. Have used all sorts of presses to load I don't know how many 10s of thousands of rounds across a dozen or more cartridges. I've had good and bad experiences on both Lee and many other brands of...
Wrong.
You can't get a better blend of versatility and speed than the Lee Classic Turret Press. It will load 200 rounds an hour. And you can change to a different caliber, including changing primer size, in about 1 minute, if you're moving slow. Or a minute to convert it from automated to...
Lee Loaders are great. My favorite is the 12ga. Great way to make cheap buckshot.
I've made a few 38spl rounds with a Lee Loader. They worked as good as the rounds I make on a bench mounted press. Just slow to make. Enjoyable, but slow.
Good piece of kit for SHTF.
IMHO, the variable that needs to be changed is the powder. Go with a slower powder and better case fill. As already stated, RE-15, or maybe: IMR 4064, BL-C(2), CFE223.
IMR 4895 is my favorite rifle powder. 223, 30-30, 7.5x55 and 308 Win. I'm a plinker and a hunter, not a competitive shooter, so I don't worry about anything other than consistent velocities with good accuracy.
Using cheap PLA. The last print, I used a thinner base and top, which gives it a little flex. I may do the walls a bit thinner on my next attempt; it's still pretty ridged. Have no idea what a ridged PLA buffer will do to velocity and accuracy, or how the PLA buffer will hold up to the...
Did some print and loading experiments today. I created a .695" cylinder in Tinkercad, nearly hollow inside except for just enough support to keep the shape. Printed it at various heights ranging from .45" to .815". These take about ten minutes to print, and use 2g of PLA filament (about 3...
Once upon a time, I had a bunch of 12ga reloading gear. A MEC press, plenty of wads, etc. Still have a Lee 2 cavity .310 round ball mold originally purchased for loading pipsqueak rounds for 30-30 and 308 Win, and used it to cast shotgun pellets. Basically, halfway between 0 and #1. Loaded 9...
Had one more thought:
You should also consider testing reloads that have been once-fired through your Tikka and then neck sized only for the reloads. As long as they chamber easily, and accuracy holds up, you'll get a lot more life out of that expensive brass.
My suggestion: Get some additional, less expensive brass and similar weight/ballistic co-efficient, cheaper bullets.
Do a careful job of brass prep on the cheaper brass: Clean, size, chamfer, uniform the primer holes. Weigh the Lapua brass. Weigh the cheaper brass and pick cases that are...
My F1 Shooting Chrony seems to have given up the ghost. Could be repairable, but the maker is out of business, so parts/repair options are slim. No complaints though. Have had it for 19 years. Didn't use it a ton, but I consider it an essential piece of equipment for load development...
In the absence of 380 dies, it's a great idea. But I'd hate to mess up the depth settings on my 223 and 9mm dies unless I had no other choice, or it was a one time thing.
That's apples and oranges. Or elephants and ants.
Huge demand for primers, which are produced in the billions per year. Lots of different markets and tens or even hundreds of millions of customers. It's an essential component of another product that dramatically outsells the standalone...