Just starting reloading

General Firearms Reloading & Ammunition
1

I finally got enough space cleared out in my garage that I can start reloading. I’ve been reading around and found the thread by linkpimp which has been very informative. I’m sure I’ll have lots of questions down the road but for now I’ve just got one. Out of his list of twenty recommended items, I don’t have the following-

5.Case Tumbler: Media, Polish, Sifter, Bucket and Clear Lid
9.Dial Calipers: Stainless Steel or Electronic
10.Case Trimmer
11.Deburring Tool
12.Primer Pocket Clean
19.Bullet Puller

Which of these are absolutely essential and which can I get by without? I found out today that I’m missing one essential piece (the case holder for the press, got the dies but forgot that :o) and when I go to get it on Monday, I want to get all the other stuff I need too so I can get started.

Thanks.

2

Case tumbler, you can get by without if you don’t have real dirty brass, but it is nice working with clean brass compared to dirty. Its a nice item to have.
Calipers, you will need. You need to measure the overall length of the cartridge.
Case trimmer, you may want to get. Rifle brass tends to grow in length, pistol brass not as much- in general. For practice ammo I trim 223 after its been fired twice, pistol brass(40, 45, 38, 357) after 3 or 4 firings. If I’m loading hunting ammo, I trim the brass every time.
Deburring tool, you should get. Its inexpensive anyway.
Primer pocket tool, you can get by without, especially if you are working with new brass. When making practice ammo, I don’t clean primer pockets. Also an inexpensive item.
Bullet puller, you can get by without. You shouldn’t need it unless you make a bunch of cartridges incorrectly. I don’t use one, if I mess up I throw the round away.

3

Buy the Lyman reloading manual , # 48 is the newest I think . Read the manual ( yea I know its mostly about cast bullets ) its very important that you READ the manual .

After that buy Nosler’s manual , read that one also .

As for what you really need .

  1. Dial Calipers: Stainless Steel or Electronic

  2. Tumbler , with walnut media and polish . Get a BIG one now .

  3. Case Trimmer
    Deburring Tool , these need to be bought together , you need to deburr after you trim .

  4. Bullet Puller , this would be at the top of my list , your going to screw up some cases why waste the bullet ???

You will not be saving any money , you will be making better than factory ammo , you will have fun shooting your home rolled ammo !!!

4

For now all you need is:

1.Deburring Tool

2.Dial Calipers ( no electronic crap)

You can get the other stuff as you wish but you need 1 & 2.

Shiny cases and clean primer pockets are for the OCD types. Just make sure to wash and dry the cases before you size them as dirt will damage your dies.

Put the long cases and/or screw ups in a bucket and wait until you get the case trimmer and bullet puller. Lastly, get the tumbler.

5

Personally all the things you are missing really make rolling your own a much nicer experience.

I would say purchase the books mentioned and read those while you save up for the missing items to round out your reloading bench. You’ll be much happier at the end of the day. And the comment about get the large tumbler is a good tip.

So far the best polish I’ve used is the dillion polish from dillionprecision.com not to mention the dillion resizing lube. Both have cut down my time in a big way.

Then I would add one item to the list. Case Gages for each caliber you reload, also available through dillion. They measure length and size at the same time. This is done after resizing to ensure the case is okay for use. What’s nice about these is they measure length 100%. A full length resizing die misses a bit at the base due to the design of the die, and I’ve used Hornady, RCBS and RCBS competitive dies. They all have this issue. Before I started using case gages some pistol cases had a slight bulge at the base I would miss and I would have feeding problems on the line. After I started using them no more issues it was like using factory fresh ammo. For rifle they catch length quickly and rim issues that are easily missed, I personally can’t say enough good about them. I rarely use calipers now because of the case gages accuracy. Plus you can use the gages after you build your ammo to make sure it didn’t get goofed up somehow during the reloading process. Such as the first time I built some 40S&W with lead bullets. But that’s another story.

Just my 2 cents, hope you find it helpful.

FYI, I am not affiliated with Dillion it’s just where I purchase my stuff.

Now let the flaming begin! (And for those of you that want to flame me start another thread so we don’t high jack this thread)

6

-Of the items on your list you need a good dial or electronic caliper and a case trimmer.

7

2.Dial Calipers ( no electronic crap)

Whats wrong with a digi set of calipers ?? They are better than dials and zero every time . One grain of powder in the track of a set of dials and you will need to recalibrate .

8

Maybe he has a different reason but I’ve broken two of them. Wish I would have gotten a good set of all steel dial calipers because they’ll probably last me the rest of my life. Granted I use my calipers for other things around the garage but still.

9

I doubt that will happen. I have had many electronic things go TU. I have BUIS on my red dot carbines. I learned the old/hard way. KISS.

10

+1

And honestly, after you get the books and read them thoroughly, I think you’ll find that you need everything that you listed.

11

If you buy a good set of dail calipers and treat them right that doesn’t happen.
Also the digital’s still use tracks just like the dial’s.

12

I have never had a problem with my dial calibers.

I have heard lot of reloaders complain about the digitals going belly up. I am not sure if they were using quality digitals or …

BTW, I prefer my RCBS digital scale.

13

I have had both dial and electronic calipers. I much prefer dial.

14

Once fired brass shouldn’t need the trimmer right?

15

It depends. Cases will grow after a full length resize, so I measure every case and sort into piles.

I’ve seen brass that needs to be trimmed after the first firing.

16

Howdy neighbor !

Never assume , always measure after sizing . VERY important if your going to load for a semi-auto .

I am in the habit of trimming at .005 shorter than book ,IE: 762x51 NATO , 2.015 MAX case length , trim length 2.005 , I go to 2.000 . Dont have to worry about trimming for 2-4 reloads .

17

Well I reloaded some yesterday. Only 60 finished rounds and resized a bunch more. 69gr VMax bullets with 24.5, 25.5, and 26.5 grains of BL-C[2] OAL of 2.240". I don’t think I screwed anything up too bad. I need to pick up a tumbler though because my brass is filthy. Thanks for all the info everybody.

18

I would suggest getting a powder trickler as well as the stuff on your list, it’s very handy.

19

Having used Dial and Digi calipers in an industrial setting for 10 years , I do believe I have some insight .

If you buy a good set of dail calipers and treat them right that doesn’t happen.
Also the digital’s still use tracks just like the dial’s.

Thanks , :rolleyes: .

I doubt that will happen. I have had many electronic things go TU.

Well it will , thanks for playing . :confused:

20

I would suggest going .5 of a grain at a time . Pressure can jump fast and when it does it aint pretty .If you are using .MIL brass your going to be over at the 26.5 load .
Till you get a tumbler try some Tarnx silver polish , its like water and does a great job cleaning .