Newbie questions

[bwsmith]

Outstanding information. Now I am really looking forward to trying reloading

 

[GaCracker63]

I just got started this year (lee press kit - press, 2 bushings, chanfer tool, scale, primer pocket cleaner, powder dispenser, funel, all came with kit 120.00 gander mnt. got tumbler kit 75.00 midsouth brand, dies gander mnt. 35.00 to 50.00 for carbide, digital caliper from home depot 35.00, case trimer with caliber bits 75.00 from mid south, lee load manual from mid south for 27.00, I would get extra bushings for dies their cheap makes it so much easyer switch calibers. got already primed brass from top brass in combo kit.

 

[Petro_58]

Shop, shop, shop your supplies or accessories, buy new on sale, buy used, Trade. I have very little cash money invested in my equipment, just had the right deals at the right times. Pick a little up here or there at a time, upgrade when you can. I load alot of different calibers, cost savings depending on what your loading will vary. Depending on what or how I'm loading, Example - I can load for my.30 carbine at approx .20-.25 per round or $10-12.00 per box 50, .38spl .09 or $5.00 for 50, .44 mag .12-.15 $7.50 per 50., 30.06 .35 or $7.00 box 20 these are hunting rounds. These are just examples you can go higher or lower depending on your cost of supplies that your loading for. My carbine loads are even less right now because I just swapped for 500 bullets so I have nothing in the cost of the bullets. Shop, Trade, Purchase when you have to.
ABOVE ALL HAVE FUN SHOOTING THEM!!!!

 

[bwsmith]

Thought I would revive this one rather than starting a new thread. Now that I have my kit, I have a couple really elementary questions.

- Do you de-prime before or after tumbling?
- I have the Lee Cutter and Lock Stud that came with the kit, but can't figure out how to attach a shell holder. The threaded portion of the lock stud is about .5" at the threads which is way too big for any shell holder I have.

Also, anyone got a tumbler they want to part with. I overlooked that part.

 

[Chuckdog]

Thought I would revive this one rather than starting a new thread. Now that I have my kit, I have a couple really elementary questions.

- Do you de-prime before or after tumbling?
- I have the Lee Cutter and Lock Stud that came with the kit, but can't figure out how to attach a shell holder. The threaded portion of the lock stud is about .5" at the threads which is way too big for any shell holder I have.

Also, anyone got a tumbler they want to part with. I overlooked that part.

Unless your brass is filthy, tumbling is pretty much optional anyway. Make sure all dirt and other contaminates are off the brass before you lube and size rifle brass. Tumbling is more for cosmetics than performance. I've necked sized rifle brass many times without tumbling. This is for my varmint/target rifles, so precision is important. I may take a piece 0000 steel wool and clean up the neck area, but it shoots just as good as the shiney tumbled stuff. Always check the length after resizing. If I'm going to tumble mine I usually do it before resizing/depriming. I'm not familiar with the Lee cutter, but I'd bet there's a video somewhere, youtube ect, on the proper use of it. Watch the sales for vibratory case cleaners. Places like Midsouth Shooters Supply, Midway, and several others have store brands on sale cheap at times. I've got a Frankford (subsidary of Midway) that I bought several years ago for about $30.00. It replaced an RCBS one that cost twice as much and didn't last half as long. I also have a Lyman that I bought when some place was closing them out. I use one for dirty range brass, the other for lube removal after resizing a large batch of bottleneck stuff. I use a little Midway brass cleaning additive and corn cob media. Just make sure you flashholes are media free before priming.

 

[rbstern]

The Lee cutter and lock stud works with a special type of shell holder. For each cartridge type, Lee sells a guide rod/shell holder kit. They are about four bucks per kit. The guide rod threads into the cutter and acts as a stop length gauge. The shell holder threads onto the stud, which can be held by hand, a screwdriver that accepts hex bits, or a powder drill.

For 308 Win:

http://www.midwayusa.com/viewproduct/?productnumber=271467

If you are reloading in a workshop with a utility sink, I highly recommend wet tumbling your brass using a Harbor Freight rock tumber. Water, dish soap, lemon juice are the cleaning media.

http://www.harborfreight.com/3-lb-rotary-rock-tumbler-67631.html

 

[bwsmith]

So the cleanliness of the inside of the brass is not a concern?

 

[Petro_58]

No you don't want to reload brass that's full of trash or debris. Most debris will be removed by tumbling etc. But then again no it doesn't have to be shiny, sanitized clean.

 

[Chuckdog]

So the cleanliness of the inside of the brass is not a concern?

Normal powder residue and such ain't a big concern. Many folks handloaded for many years without case cleaning devices. If you shoot them and put em' right back in the box, take em' home, lube em' inside and out, size em', prime em' and so forth, you shouldn't have anything to worry about.

 

[bwsmith]

Is the lube just for the resizing part? I am going to do the liquid Birchwood Casey cleaner and I am thinking the process is: Lube, Deprime/Resize, clean, trim, chamfer, prime, charge, seat bullet, and crimp.

Also is Crimping needed on all .308 rounds or just ones that have the groove for it? Better to crimp everything and bee on the safe side?