Thread: Reloading Kits

Something here might grab you.

https://www.nzhuntingandshooting.co....g-tools-98589/

Originally Posted by Oldbloke

Something here might grab you.

https://www.nzhuntingandshooting.co....g-tools-98589/

Some great ingenuity there Old Bloke, that gets me thinking, we have a new 3d printer at work.

Originally Posted by John P

i recently got into the reloading game myself, and chose to buy most of the items seperatly for the same reason you are thinking, didnt want to waste money on the unnessacary items.
i ended up with a lee challenger press, powder thrower, and hand priming tool, and then went for various options for everything else.
in hindsight i shouldve just bought the Lee challenger kit, as the whole kit is the same price as the 3 items i bought individually anyway.
Other items i got
Cheap digital scale off trade me (i also bought a set of calibration weights, scale is accurate down to 0.2 grain, but pretty slow to settle).
Powder trickler.
Comparator set from amazon.
cheap calipers from Bunnings
case tumbler.
loading block.
And then decided to put the leftover $$ into a Franford Case Trim/ Prep centre, which i think is well worth the money if you have the budget for it ($420NZD i think).

Great advice thanks John P

https://www.thingiverse.com/search?q...+Funnel&page=1

I started reloading half a decade ago while at uni. The Lee kit was cost effective for a young student at the time so I went with that. The press and priming tools do what they should, but the powder measure is a piece of shit and keeps binding. I use Hornady dies for my more precise loads as they are a bit more refined than lee and can fit a seating mircometer. With the Lee press, Hornady dies, and a lot of patience I have managed to get standard Tikka T3xs in magnum cartridges to shoot 0.35MOA groups at 100. A lot of people knock the low end gear based on perception alone, or aren't ready to blame their own lack of consistency and patience. I think you can certainly mix and match brands based on reviews of what works and what doesn't for good results.

Furthermore, I found that the costs are usually greater than expected as you have to get additional items to be real accurate like modified cases, OAL gauge, headspace and seating comparators for example. So really do your research on how far down the rabbit hole you want to go.

wish i never sold my hornady kit, great rig

Originally Posted by Floundering Around

I started reloading half a decade ago while at uni. The Lee kit was cost effective for a young student at the time so I went with that. The press and priming tools do what they should, but the powder measure is a piece of shit and keeps binding. I use Hornady dies for my more precise loads as they are a bit more refined than lee and can fit a seating mircometer. With the Lee press, Hornady dies, and a lot of patience I have managed to get standard Tikka T3xs in magnum cartridges to shoot 0.35MOA groups at 100. A lot of people knock the low end gear based on perception alone, or aren't ready to blame their own lack of consistency and patience. I think you can certainly mix and match brands based on reviews of what works and what doesn't for good results.

Interesting trouble you had with the powder measure, I haven’t had any issue at all with mine. I’ve only tried 1 powder in it tho (BM2)

Originally Posted by recce

Thanks Jhon
I will be reloading 6.5 x 55 and 223 mainly for hunting, can skip though quite a bit for the 223.
The RCBS gear seems to be a good middle ground but all brand kits seem to have a lot of stuff in the kits that isn't really necessary or would be upgraded shortly and i am wondering if it would be better to buy the individual pieces needed rather than a kit.

Greetings @recce,
Getting the kit is one part but just as important is learning the processes needed. The .223 is straight forward enough but there are some difficult bits in case sizing for the 6.5x55. Basically the US dies set the shoulder back too far for decent case life and you will need someone to help you set up your die to prevent this. Hornady offers a headspace comparator kit to help with this. South Waikato and the wider local area seems to be a hotbed of target shooting so you should be able to find someone to help. Otherwise PM me and I can explain the process.
GPM.

@recce I have this lot for sale, every thing you need to get started except dies $550 firm

Originally Posted by John P

Interesting trouble you had with the powder measure, I haven’t had any issue at all with mine. I’ve only tried 1 powder in it tho (BM2)

It was mainly with IMR4831 and 2217 I found. Not all powders would bind, but when those that did did powder spilled out everywhere…

Originally Posted by Floundering Around

It was mainly with IMR4831 and 2217 I found. Not all powders would bind, but when those that did did powder spilled out everywhere…

Interesting. I have found the Lee Perfect Powder Measure pretty good. Finer powders seem to be more consistant. Recently tried a baffle. Resulted in a big improvement for the 2208. I always trickle up.

Originally Posted by Floundering Around

It was mainly with IMR4831 and 2217 I found. Not all powders would bind, but when those that did did powder spilled out everywhere…

I had issues with H1000/2217 through a Frankford arsenal powder measure too, so I don't think its limited to the Lee measure, ball powder was mint through it and measured well, but the stick powder would just bind up

Originally Posted by Caelumpersson

I had issues with H1000/2217 through a Frankford arsenal powder measure too, so I don't think its limited to the Lee measure, ball powder was mint through it and measured well, but the stick powder would just bind up

Maybe the stick powder is the issue then aye? I just don't trust it anymore so I spoon it in to the scale and then trickle up.

Yes, mainly stick powders.
But IMO powder measure is still a bit better than scoops.
Having said that, I only used scoops for at least 25 years.

A lot of this just comes down to speed or preferences.