Newby Reloading Questions

My goal is precision reloading for 30.06, 223, 308, 40 S&W, 45 ACP and many others im sure in the future. Most of the rifles are Semi Auto, so full length resizing is going to have to be the norm. Also will be using Military surplus cases for 30.06 in the foreseable future for practice ammo, will be getting better grade brass for match ammo in the future. The 30.06 and 308 will be for the M1 Garand and M14 style rifles, so primer seating depth is going to be a must as well. Both these weapons have been tweaked and can shoot sub MOA on surplus military brass. I will be shooting long distance NRA High power, CMP, and NRA military matches up to 1000 yards.

With this in mind, what would your wishlist be for the following, and feel free to add anything I may have left out. Single stage precision loading is what I am after, no progressives and no power tools for priper pocket cleaning, reaming and the like. Beam scale with a powder thrower and a trickler as well. I have listed a few items I am leaning towards.

Press (Single Stage)Forster B-3 Co-Ax® Reloading Press
Dies (Forster Ultra™ Micrometer Seater Dies and Full Length Sizing Dies)
Bullet Puller (RCBS Pow’r Pull® Bullet Puller)
Powder Measure
Powder Scale (Beam)
Scale Check Weights
Case Trimmer
Case Debur tool
Primer Pocket Cleaner
Primer Pocket Chamfering Tool
Primer seater (Mechanical stop/adjustable seat depth)
Stuck Case Remover
Primer Tray (flipper)
Powder Funnel
Micrometer
Case Neck Brushes
Case Tumbler

Stuff For Later
Outside neck turner
Inside Neck Turner
Cartrige Case measuring tool, OD and ID, runout, etc
Media Seperator

Also feel free to add items I may have missed.

Thanks!!

Good mornng and WELCOME !
I am normanlly over at the Cast Boolits area... but here we are today.
If you do not have any reloading Manuals I would start there. Get a Lee and a Lyman. If you are going to cast get the LYMAN cast reloading manual.
Another item is to segregate brass to each rifle. I would have 200+ for each. That way you can possible just neck size. I have an old Sprinfield that works that way. My H&R will not .
The rest of the list is enegenic to start with...
I shoot all the above and mostly with cast anymore. I do still like popping soda cans and bowling pins as far as I can see them which at 58 now is a bit closer than before.
God Bless you Mike

Welcome Angry American.

Manuals are definitely first. Two is good, three is better. Sierra has a lot of good information in it about loading for semi auto rifles that is well worth reading.

Some thoughts on specific items on your wish list: I mantion what I use, but every loader has slightly different needs and yours might be different.

You aren't shooting benchrest rifles, so you want ACCURATE ammo, not PRECISION (all the tools are completely different and priced from outrageous to astronomical). Accurate ammo is a result of the experience of the operator, not the tools used. Bench Rest records have been set with ammo loaded in a little Lee Loader with a wooden mallet. Learining how to operate your tools in a consistant and repeatable manner is the real "secret" to accuracy.

Foster Co-Ax is the best single stage press made, no question, but it will do nothing that a RCBS Rockchucker won't do just as accurately for a lot less cash. Same with dies. You can get less expensive dies with micrometer seating adjustments.

Forster makes excellent case trimmers in several variations and lengths depending on your needs to which can be attached their incredibly good Hollow Pointing Tool. Lyman also makes a really good trimmer with a motor attached to save a lot of blisters and other abuse when there are a lot of cases to be trimmed. Dillon makes a press mounted power trimmer with case specific trim dies and a vacuum attachment to get rid of chips. If I were just starting out and could afford it, this is the one I would go with, but my 25yr old Lyman is still going strong and I won't fix what works.

A stuck case remover is a smart investment. Smarter still is to also buy Imperial Sizing Die Wax (Redding makes it now) for your case lube. Don't even think about spray lubes, they suck big time, unless you want a lot of practice using your stuck case remover.

Kinetic (hammer style) pullers are the most versatile and don't scar the bullets. Collet pullers are faster for certain longer rifle bullets, but they require caliber specific collets and they are useless for most handgun bullets.

There are lots of good powder measures. Although about the simplest of loading tools, the powder measure requires the greatest focus on careful and consistant operation to get repeatable results and can take the longest to learn to use correctly and accurately. There is no substitute for lots of actual practice on it, especially with extruded powders like the IMR's, but even with them, an experienced operator can drop charges within the .1grain accuracy limit. Again, my ancient RCBS Uniflow has never given me a problem in all the years I've had it that was not caused by operator error. I had to learn to use it just like everyone else and it took me a few months to get to the point where I didn't have to check every charge on the scale and trickle the difference. (Just last night I tried charging some .22-250 cases with a .30cal drop tube and dumped a charge all over the bench. [smilie=1: My error.) I would go with an adjustable measure, not one with cavities like the AutoDisc or Little Dandy as they are much more versatile with a wider range of powders.

The brand of powder scale isn't that critical as extreme precision is not necessary for a handloader. A scale that reads in 1/10's of a grain is (hopefully) accurate to +/- .05 grains. (.2 grains difference in the powder charge in a rifle case is not enough to seriously affect the groups sizes even out at 400yds, but it can make a minor difference to the much smaller relative volumes in pistol cases.) Ohaus makes really good scales for many of the big reloading tool brands. My Ohaus (RCBS) 5-10-5 is still right on after 35 years of heavy use. Check weights are a necessity, even if just for peace of mind.

Lee makes about the best adjustable primer seater for the money, the AutoPrime2, and comes with its own flippers. Mine is now over 25,000 rounds with no appreciable signs of wear. It is a ram type unit with an automatic feed that mounts on a regular loading press.

The micrometer is nice when the extra precision is called for, but you will also need a dial caliper for most of your measuring chores. I would avoid the battery powdered digital ones. It is my experience that batteries die when they are most needed and difficult to find replacements for.

You will very seldom (if ever) use case neck brushes. If necks need lubing, dry mica is easily applied without them.

Broken shell extractors are great for Garands and M1A's.

For military brass, you are going to need something to remove the crimps from the primer pockets. The are either reamed or swaged. Dillon makes the best swaging tool. Other companies have reamers that fit on case trimmers or press mounted swagers, but they are all slow and cumbersome. If you have to do a lot of them, the Dillon is the way to go.

A runout gage is a very useful tool to check the concentricity of your loaded ammo.

Inside neck reamers are for when you reform brass and are reducing the neck diameter of the case ("necking down"). You will not need one.

Outside neck turners are for rifles with custom cut match chambers with minimal neck clearance for which you also need custom cut sizing dies. If you are Full Length sizing, they are not only a waste of your time and money, but they will also remove brass unnecessarily from critical areas and can lead to case failures which can damage your rifles and possibly your face, too.

I believe in keeping my brass clean and storing it properly. This has worked fine for me for 35 years of loading several hundred thousand rifle and handgun rounds. I do not, have never, and will never own or use a brass tumbler. They are the single highest source or airborne particulate lead that a handloader (and his family) can be exposed to. The more you learn about lead, lead poisoning, and lead exposure and contamination, the less you will want one around, especially if you have children in the house. Pretty brass does not shoot any better, and cases get a thorough wiping after sizing, enough to do the job. If the brass hits the dirt on ejection, wiping it with a cloth before lubing/sizing is all that is necessary. Tumbling cases can also disguise the usually obvious signs of incipient head separation and prevent you noticing the problem when you can act to prevent it. (But again, it will give you practice with broken shell extractors, and possibly plastic surgeons.)

RCBS has one of the best Customer Service departments in the industry, any thing you buy of theirs will likely outlast you and if you do have a problem they will replace it, no fuss, no question. Dillon is the same way, and they make a lot of good tools, even if you aren't into their progressive presses.

I agree with the manuals being a must. I have a small bookcase full of them, some dating to the early 60's. My first manual was a Lee with a cover price of $.98. Each will give you a tip or suggestion that will help you.

I will answer all in this post, thanks so much for the replies and advice!

I have the following manuals and have read them:
Hornady "Handbook of Cartridge Reloading: Seventh Edition
Lyman's 49th Edition Reloading Handbook
Nosler #6 Reloading Book
Lee Modern Reloading 2nd Edition
Speer Reloading Manual #14
The ABC's of Relaoding 8th edition

Not to mention several smithing books on any rifle I own, including the Garand, M1917, M1903/A3, AR, M14s, and the Krag.

I have en extensive amount ot tools and guages for the M14 types and Garands, and am working on more tools and guages for the rest.

Right now, I am working up to Accurate shooting, but can see precision shooting in my future and would rather buy the equipment that will get me there than to have to purchase equipment again in the future.

What I am looking for is advice that is not in the books, what equipment works, is precise as it can be, and will last me a long time. I am a big beleiver in the statement buy the best tool you can afford and have always followed this rule of thumb. I dont get hung up on brand name, but I do demand good solid well built tools. In my standard toolbox I have items made by Klein, Ideal, Snapon and the like, so you get the idea.

As far as case neck sizing, its my understanding that in a auto loading rifle this is a nono, especially in the Garand and M14 style rifles. In some of the old bolt actions, neck sizing makes sense and keeping brass seperate for each rifle makes sense.

I do intend on getting casting equipment in the future, while i still can. First step though is the reloading equipment.

I plan to weigh every powder load and want a scale that will be as accurate as possible. Eventually I will buy a good digital scale, but to start I want to learn on a beam scale. You never know when you might be in a situation where you need to reload without the benifit of electricity. For a powder thrower I want a manual one to start, then again will go electric later.

As far as military brass goes, yes I plan to get a pocket swaging tool. Most of my brass is greek, but I do have some american brass that has the 3 tabs that will need to be swaged.

Case cleaning, my thoughts are this, and feel free to tell me how full of S**t I am if you would. What I had planned was to use a chemical cleaner for brass fresh from the range. Then deprime, resize, inspect, THEN tumble and inspect yet again. This will ensure no excessive buildup of media in the dark recesses of the cases, will make inspections easier, and wont expose me to airborn particles of lead or other chemicals........ Again, if my logic is off, let me know.

A Dillon progressive is in my future, I see how well they will work for plinking ammo and pistol ammo. But until someone comes out with a more precise progressive, all my match ammo will be with a single stage.

I also agree on a standard dial caliper, I'm not a fan of failing batteries either lol. The rest of the items listed are for my future as I can see as I get older the appeal bench rest shooting may become.

Hello again
Just a note on the Dillon 550... I use mine for most my reloading. 1984 I won Illinois State revolver AAA 79/80 ( I missed the first chicken ! Forgot to fire a fouling shot). That Dan Wesson 41 Mag will still put 6 rounds into 2 inches at 100 yards all loaded on a Dillon 550.
I load near all my Caliber .30 on my Dillon. Both my Garands will keep the RCBS 180 fngc under 2 inches all day long and my M1A under 1.5 inches. The 1903´s as well.
So I would have to say a Dillon is a FAR better machine than just for plinking and pistol ammo.
Gnerally the operator and dies are the determinating accuracy factor with the Dillon. Granted some single stage presses are finely made. Custom dies meticulously cut and finished. But there is little wrong I can see about the Dillon 550B.
Enjoy your persuit to excelence.
Mike

for your single stage since you want precision look for harells they make the best [straightest]
press available. it does cost more then your average press [even a 550].
but there does come a point where you can make ammo that is more acurate then you ,or, your rifle can shoot.
look for specialized books on the subject you are interested in. the lyman books are general guides.
you need to look deeper.