Thread: Reloading

I'm keen on reloading my .223 and .303 rounds from now on. I know nothing about reloading and am keen to know what equipment is best for someone starting off.

I would be reloading approx 200 .223 rounds at one time and possible 50 - 100 .303. Any ideas or advice would be appreciated. I live in Auckland so if someone was able to show me the reloading process there will be some beer in it for them

Cheers,
Brad

Hey mate,

First of all good choice on getting into reloading its very enjoyable as many here will tell you.

For the gear side of things I'd recommend the Lee breech lock challenger kit at $299 it has all you need minus dies and consumables.
I started off with the Lee hand press kit and regret not going with the challenger kit as I've spent about the same to get the gear but still a hand press not a bench mountable one, It's on the list though.

Youtube is good for seeing the process but you can't beat a walk through talk through with someone who knows the drill well, once you know the basics there is plenty of non essential bits that add to the consistancy you'll want to include in your setup.

I'm sure others will add more but theres a start.

Regards,

Dan.

haaaaaa ha ha ha ... are you SURE you want to join the rest of us, truly addicted to powder and pills !!! ???

Welcome to the club !!!

My advice would be to start with a very simple setup ... and work up from there. You can spend a lot of money on things you will ultimately end up not needing/wanting

You will find heaps of good advice from the fellas on the forum who are VERY knowledgable and helpful.

Like most things to do with hunting , firearms (and life) you will find that you'll get all the good advice , and then use that as a basis to find your own way of doing things.

ok , specific advice :
1) go for a single stage press
2) record everything you do
3) find a "mentor" that you can bounce ideas off of .. (mine's @ebf)
4) Don't get too busy developing loads for too many different projectiles at once (I did and wasted money time and powder)
5) READ HEAPS .. there is and amazing amount of good material out there (and some crap too) .. research is the CHEAPEST investment you can make in your reloading.
Start with this : Optimal Charge Weight
6) Tell your wives and children that you have a new addiction and wont be seeing much of them for the next few years

good luck !!

... Tim

Find someone in your area to show you the ropes.

Better yet, find multiple people, there are several different ways to get to the same end result.

In my book, any money spent on measuring equipment (decent scales, vernier, bullet comparators, headspace gauges etc) is worth every single cent. If you can't measure it, you won't know what you're doing right or wrong...

Check out the Reloading sub forum
Reloading and Ballistics

For a small run of ammo that you've suggested, +1 on a Lee kit, Reloaders have them for sale
Lee 50th Anniversary Kit
starting from $229, it has everything you need to get started. Once you start you'll then discover what you want/need/like/dis-like and then invest the money accordingly.

200 x 223 rounds won't take you too long, esp if you break it down into individual steps. You can end up spending a ton of time on it if you want to, or reload simply to reduce your costs, but the $ savings for reloading comes from bulk purchases and reloads.

Send me a PM if you want to see a basic, cheap-ish setup that makes my 223 loads on my Lee single stage press, I'm out west. I'm not after uber accurate can-shoot-the-wings-off-a-moving-fly-at-800m loads, just stuff good enough to knock over them annoying bunnies at distance, that's cheaper than factory loads.

Originally Posted by rs200nz

I'm keen on reloading my .223 and .303 rounds from now on. I know nothing about reloading and am keen to know what equipment is best for someone starting off.

I would be reloading approx 200 .223 rounds at one time and possible 50 - 100 .303. Any ideas or advice would be appreciated. I live in Auckland so if someone was able to show me the reloading process there will be some beer in it for them

Cheers,
Brad

Everyone above has given you some good advice. Before you get too committed one way or the other, if you can tell us what sort of shooting you'll be doing and at what sort of range, then you'll get more tailored suggestions.

You say you're going to be shooting 303 and 223. Are you thinking about branching out into other calibres in the future? How many rounds in total do you think you'll reload in any given year?

If you're shooting .223 and .303 primarily at 100m or less, then you can get away with a relatively cheap set up (like the Lee), and minimal lotions, potions and gizmos. If you're looking for 500m varmint hits out of your .223, then your set up is going to be more expensive.

Just remember, you won't really save any money taking up reloading. What you will end up doing is shooting a lot more for the same amount of money you spent before.

Originally Posted by ebf

If you can't measure it, you won't know what you're doing right or wrong...[/B]

this includes the Ammo you produce. When you're testing a load, make sure you test in a way that levels the playing field so that your good loads have their chance to shine.

Shoot from a bipod with a rear bag .. you're testing the ammo NOT the shooter. Record your results ... so that you can go back to them months later when all would otherwise be forgotten....

T

I cannot believe that no one has advised the poster to get a good reloading manual first up. The better ones give good basic how to info. Or go to the link that was recently posted on this forum to Lee's book on reloading and download that. All right it's a bit commercial in that he covers his equipment but is full of great info for starters.

The manufactures often have load data on there websites eg adi, hornady etc if you find books a quaint old fashioned fast going out of date concept

Hey guys, Thanks for the feedback. I have had a PM to watch and learn tomorrow night Will respond to the person after work . I am using my .223 in an AR15 for target rifle shooting. I shoot 100m to 600m in the competition shooting. Most 100, 200 , 300 though. The .303 is purely for fun and hopefully some hunting. I ham hoping to get a scope onto is soon and get some long range practice on it. Does that info help?

Agree with res, I don't have any "paper" reloading manuals...

Most die sets come with basic loading instructions / sequence.

Once you've been through the basics, I don't see the need. Simply get the start and max loads from the relevant powder manufacturer's website, and saami specs for different cartridges also online.

I watched some good videos last night about the Lee single press and it looked quite straight forward if the process followed correctly. Looks like a very good press.

Outdoor supplies has the Lee kit for $220 if you want to save a bit more

Lee Reloading - Hunting and Outdoor Supplies

Learnt a lot last night. Looks like a reasonably long process to reload. I need to sit down and do the maths to see how it will work out in the long run. I can see how experimenting with different loads would be fun

Screw the single press, I want a Dillon 650 with the auto case loader and bullet loader, AND the motor to drive it all!
Even better, the Dillon 1050!

I spend far, FAR too much time on Youtube watching videos......