First timer need advise

[rbstern]

A single stage press is a good investment, as it remains useful even if you expand to other presses. Brand isn't critical. All of them do the basics well enough.

While I agree with the others that straight wall cases are easier, there's nothing particularly hard about bottleneck cases. In fact, it slows the process down a bit, which is actually helpful to new reloaders.

Minimum, you need:

- Press
- Dies (full length sizer, bullet seater are the minimum, crimp die is useful depending on what guns you are shooting)
- Scale (I'd recommend a balance scale, not a digital scale, to start)
- Calipers (digital or dial, not critical, as long as it's accurate)
- Case trimmer (Lee's caliber-specific case trimmers are great for getting started)
- Case lube (spay on, rub/roll on...not critical)
- Brass, powder, primers, bullets
- A way to prime brass (on or off press, either is fine)
- A way to measure powder
- A case tray to hold cases during the reloading process
- A sturdy bench or work table
- Small tools: Primer pocket cleaner, case mouth chamfer tool, case funnel
- A reloading manual
- Other things you probably have around the house: wrenches, shop rags/towels, plastic containers for organizing, a notepad (digital or pen/paper) to record what you are doing

Optional, can add later:

- A way to clean brass

The above can be used to load pistol as well. If you go that route, eventually you may want a more sophisticated (faster) press. Recommend you wait on that. After you've loaded even just a couple hundred rounds on a single stage press, a lot of this will be crystal clear to you.

You mentioned shotgun shells: Leave that aside for now. Different process, different equipment.

 

[GFB]

You might try something like this also.

 

[SpeedyR]

All of this. But look for used package to get started with. Brands don’t matter as much to get started. Lee, Hornady, Lyman, RCBS are all good enough to learn the basics.

Post where you are I’m sure someone will be glad to help you get started.

A single stage press is a good investment, as it remains useful even if you expand to other presses. Brand isn't critical. All of them do the basics well enough.

While I agree with the others that straight wall cases are easier, there's nothing particularly hard about bottleneck cases. In fact, it slows the process down a bit, which is actually helpful to new reloaders.

Minimum, you need:

- Press
- Dies (full length sizer, bullet seater are the minimum, crimp die is useful depending on what guns you are shooting)
- Scale (I'd recommend a balance scale, not a digital scale, to start)
- Calipers (digital or dial, not critical, as long as it's accurate)
- Case trimmer (Lee's caliber-specific case trimmers are great for getting started)
- Case lube (spay on, rub/roll on...not critical)
- Brass, powder, primers, bullets
- A way to prime brass (on or off press, either is fine)
- A way to measure powder
- A case tray to hold cases during the reloading process
- A sturdy bench or work table
- Small tools: Primer pocket cleaner, case mouth chamfer tool, case funnel
- A reloading manual
- Other things you probably have around the house: wrenches, shop rags/towels, plastic containers for organizing, a notepad (digital or pen/paper) to record what you are doing

Optional, can add later:

- A way to clean brass

The above can be used to load pistol as well. If you go that route, eventually you may want a more sophisticated (faster) press. Recommend you wait on that. After you've loaded even just a couple hundred rounds on a single stage press, a lot of this will be crystal clear to you.

You mentioned shotgun shells: Leave that aside for now. Different process, different equipment.

 

[Freshly Minted Georgian!]

I’m pretty far from you but if you are ever out Athens way, I have a spare vibratory tumbler you are welcome to have

 

[Jamescg]

To start buy a small bag of new 308 brass and Hornady bullets. The new brass will let you trim to proper length and the Hornady bullets will let you find easy load date. Two of my newbie problems were buy somebody’s else’s worn/odd/different makes brass which is hard to load to correct length. There are all kinds of bullets and most don’t have load data. If you’re an old veteran reloader which I am not. You can load bullets which don’t have load data from similar bullets.and feel safe. If you are new you want load data and good brass to get comfortable. Be careful reloading it can be addictive soon you may have thousands of projectiles and a ton of powder and primers. You relies you’re not beholden to the stores for your ammo during a panic.

 

[z.chance]

I believe we have traded guns before, and I am in Calhoun as well. I load precision 308 and bulk 9mm, and will be getting back into bulk 556 at some point. You could come by and I could walk you through the process. It seems like a lot up front, but once you have the right equipment, its not bad at all.

 

[greg vess]

I saw some place that had the Frankford Arsenal case trimmer on sale for like $299 I believe. It used to be like 400 and some high odd bucks. I'll try to remember where it was try to find it again for you. That 299 would be the best investment you could make especially at the beginning. You do have to buy the internal bushings that fit your caliber but the rest is just commonplace chamfering tools and primer pocket cleaners and whatnot. It's got the case trimmer in the middle and then four attachments in the corners. So it's a One stop Shop for Case prep. If I wouldn't have sunk a ton of money in the 6.5 Creedmoor I would have bought one when I saw it!

 

[greg vess]

Here's the Platinum series on sale for 169 has the trimmer in the Middle with three places for other tools. It should be a nice little setup for you initially and then you could eventually buy one of the better more expensive ones that can cost $565 or more. That's just one instance just pull up Frankford Arsenal Case prep machine for 299 and it pulls up a bunch of places and a bunch of different Frankford Arsenal options for you to choose from. I think I'm going to get the one for 169 right now just to try it. Don't bother with that little three-piece Hornady job it lasted 5 years and one of the little screw jobs quit working. So now it's a two operation job instead of three. Having a Case prep machine that does trimming chamfering on the inside and out would be excellent indeed! And then a little primer pocket cleaner in there as well or de-crimper for the military brass. It used to be up at the 400 bucks they must not have a lot of hits on cuz they've come down a lot. The only case of deflation I've seen in years!

 

[greg vess]

I will tell you one thing you can get temporary carpal tunnel effects quickly on your fingers working with brass. You have to find yourself a good pair of grippy gloves that doesn't allow the brass to turn when you put it on the chamfer tools and trimmer.

Just a small piece of advice that can come from any reloader. Once you've cleaned the brass and you've lubricated it in order to size it and pop the primer out you need to put the brass back in the tumbler and clean all the lubrication off. I used crush walnut shells and flitz polish. It's cheap and effective. That stuff will have your fingers hurting in a half a second if you don't get that lube off before trying to work a case prep machine or anything for that matter.

Crushed walnuts and flitz has worked for me fine since day one. I use Hornady one shot lubrication that dries quickly and doesn't leave a big bunch of gooky mess on it. Just put it in there and let it set for an hour or two, you can't do it too long. Walk away and forget about it. If you shoot relatively often you're not going to have to worry about what making the brass look like brand spanking new. That's just being a little anal about it which I can fully understand because I'm that way about most things. However, my brass doesn't have to shine like a new diamond ring it just has to shoot 1/2 MOA groups.

 

[BHPSteel]

Better than grippy gloves, cloth 'band aid' medical tape around the fingers.