Reloading questions

[ddennis]

Hey gang. If I buy a Hornady Lock-N-Load classic kit, what else will I need besides brass, powder, bullets and dies? I have some brass that I have been saving from range trips, mainly .223, .40 and .45. But also some 30-30 and .308... any and all help/advice/input is appreciated. There's a place up in Anderson that is going to have that kit on sale friday for a good price and I am considering grabbing one...

 

[Traderman2011]

It should come with one set of LNL die bushings, but you'll also want a case sizer/trimmer, case prep tools, if you don't use carbide dies, you'll also need case lube and a case lube pad or similar, a couple case blocks to keep your cases in stations as you load, scale, caliper for OAL measurements, and any other misc stuff depending on specific cases (223 may need military crimps removed, deburring tool, etc)

 

[jkaczyn18]

Don't forget to get a good reloading manual as well.

 

[ddennis]

So beyond the cost of consumables and the kit itself, how much am I looking at spending to get started?

 

[Clearance_Clarence]

A grand

 

[dial1911]

I had to google the kit to see what was in it... Looks like there are a few things to add to the list- die sets for each caliber are the first expensive thing that comes to mind. You'll need a pair of calipers, but the $10 from Harbor Freight will work fine. The case trimmer is required for rifle loads, but I've never had to trim pistol brass- never. Depending on the caliber, the rifle brass I reload tends to need a trim about every five reloads. But you've got to check the OAL each time. Long brass will make a rifle go BOOM in a bad way.

Personally, I've seen great prices on used reloading equipment on ebay. I used to stick with RCBS exclusively- very well made stuff (not the cheapest though) and they warrant it for life, no questions asked.

ETA: forgot about your question on cost... IIRC, I figured on $150 per caliber to get set up with dies and new components. Although I recently sold most everything that I don't reload for.

 

[Chuckdog]

$150.00/caliber? Whew, what type dies do you buy? .308's, 30-06, 300 Win mag etc can use the same bullets. Powders will many times work very good in several calibers too.

 

[dial1911]

$150.00/caliber? Whew, what type dies do you buy? .308's, 30-06, 300 Win mag etc can use the same bullets. Powders will many times work very good in several calibers too.

Sorry... I probably should have expanded on that price. I figure about $40 on a die set and $5 on a shell holder. That may be a little too much for a die set, but I'll adjust for shipping. Since he's starting from scratch (nearly), I'd figure on at least two different bullet weights and at least 100 pieces each... So maybe $15 per 100 on .223. And brass... new brass is incredibly expensive the last time I looked. 100 pieces maybe 30 to 35 bucks. But when I bought the .221 Fireball, I needed brass to feed it. And he will probably need a pilot point/center for the brass trimmer, primers, and powder (again, starting from scratch). And I'm not totally up on current prices-

Frankly I bit the bullet so to speak and bought 20K primers in various sizes and about 30 pounds of powder four or five years ago. I had to do a double take when I saw what Varget was going for these days at Bass Pro. I try to get in on Dad's Sierra order once a year for all the projectiles I'll need.