hello all. I am obviously new to reloading and would like some feedback on the equipment I’m going to order soon. First, the reason for why I want to reload is to save money and for a hobby (like I need any more hobbies). I don’t shoot that often and I’m not looking to sell or start a business out of it and I’m on a budget so I wont need pump out hundreds of rounds a day. Maybe 500/mo. I shoot for fun. I will be shooting out of an AR15 with a 1:7 twist up to 200 yards for now. Here is what I have from various websites so far…
Lee Precision Breech Lock Challenger Kit: Case preparation tools include a cutter and lock stud to trim your cases. Lee chamfer tool chamfers the inside and outside of the case mouth and a tube of premium sizing lube is included. A small and large primer pocket cleaning tool completes the case preparation package.
That is a good start. Very similar to what my son-in-law uses and he loads much more than that per month. You have very good focus on a specific purpose and starting out simply. Excellent approach.
You will want a powder measure unless you plan to weigh each load of powder, but that is tedious with a mechanical scale. Or you can use prefab or DIY scoops and powder funnel. You can take a empty case and cut it down to the weighed powder level and then just scoop it full of powder and fill each case. Solder a coat hanger wire handle onto it, or wrap it around the case rim.
Varget may not be the best powder for the 55 FMJ. It is good but H335 seem to be ideal for the 55FMJ and will also do well up to the 75 gr ones. I really Varget best for the 60-75 bullets. But you can;t go wrong with Varget even if it does not give top velocities with the lighter bullets. What I really like about it is that Varget seems to give consistent small group sizes over a range of powder weights. Whereas H335 may be a tad more accurate for a specific powder weight but then open up groups as you use less or more powder.
You also need some case lube. I use both Imperial Sizing Wax and Hornady One Shot spray. Other guys prefer the liquid on a rolling pad. The spray is great when I am doing a tray or more of cases at a time. The sizing wax is very nice for just doing a few cases or up to one tray and it is extremely economical. A tiny amount goes along way and no overspray waste.
You probably want at least one reloading block, more like two.
Lastly, you may want to just buy commercial ammo, shoot it up and use those cases rather than buy virgin brass. New brass is expensive. Midway has that Remington brass at $16/100 which is $3.25/20, and you can buy American Eagle or PMC brass cased ammo for $6-$7/20. I have over 20K cases in various calibers and have probably only bought 200-300 cases in my life. I collect empties from my non-reloading friends. I save the commercial ammo cases I shoot because I was borrowing someone’s gun and only shoot my reloads in my guns. I pick up empties at the gravel pit or gun club (when allowed). If you do buy new brass I would start with just 200 and see if you don’t start finding more and more brass as you go along. Once you get to 500 you are pretty much self-sustaining at your planned rate of shooting per month.
Varget is good powder, but you can use stuff that’s a lot more loader friendly with those Hornady bullets.
Benchmark for example if you want to stay in the stick realm. If you’re just loading blaster ammo for a chrome lined AR, you could run any number of Ball powders like TAC, 748, and even that flashy H335.
I order everything online except some powders/primers. Cabelas will occasionally have a decent powder price. Sportsman’s Warehouse usually has the best prices…
You can get some stuff right from Dillon’s retail store too.