Honest opinions on reloaders for someone entering reloading

[leonard]

Hello fellow canadian hunters !!

I am a hunter such as yourselves.
In the past i really had no reason to seek out reloading. 303's 308's 30-30 ect ect.
untill recently i purch'd a Marlin 45-70 and was finding all the bullets available to us canadians off the shelf are poor quality rounds manny ill go so far to say look like they were droped, large dentings in the lead ect. they shoot poorly aswell some bullets after haveing a MOA group at dead center i would find the 4th bullet hitting 1-2 feet over in no mans land.

either way i have been looking into getting started with some reloading. im not going to reload 1,000's of rounds a week or anything to that nature but I will probably reload for multiple gun types. including 303, 308, 30-30, 30-06, 45-70 possibly other guns when i become efficient at doing it. so my question to the more knowledgeable on this forum is.

between Click on links for detail..
RCBS RELOADING STARTER KIT OR ROCKCHUCKER SUPREME MASTER RELOADING KIT

redding BIG BOSS PRO-PAK PRESS KIT

and possibly Lee

Kits
other presses in non kit form are available to me at this location aswell
wholesale sports Edmonton Alberta

please be honest. Im looking for Something i can expand on and use for years so id like to make a quality purchase. something i wont regret later seeing a better machine for similar $.


thanks for your input

[toxic111]

the rockchucker is the way to go.. if I was starting over again., that is what I would do.

[Cariboo]

Welcome to the forum. !

As usual the following is my personal opinion and may not reflect the views of other experienced people who use this forum .........

My recommendation for new re-loaders is to always buy "Green" It is very hard to go wrong with either RCBS or Redding.

A lot of people have good luck with Lee products but in truth they break too often for my tastes. Even though Lee is good about their warranty it is a PITA not being able to reload for a couple of weeks while you wait for replacement parts. With that said they provide the cheapest way to get started in reloading.

Of the kits you are looking at it is a wash. The RCBS Master kit comes with the new Rock Chucker Supreme press which is a real workhorse. It also has a powder measure that is not really needed for loading rifle cartridges unless you are doing hundreds of rounds in each sitting. The other RCBS kit has the Reloader Special press which is a heavy duty cast aluminum unit. (The Rock Chucker is cast iron)

Both "kits" are lacking in a number of required items. You will need a set of calipers for measuring along with some tool to trim cases to length. As you are looking to load for multiple cartridges I would suggest you spend the extra 100 bucks up front and get the RCBS Trim Pro.

The Redding kit is along the same lines and it too requires that you need to add case trimming equipment and a set of calipers.

[Hunter_Jed]

Leonard, go down to wholesale, and ask for Al, at the gun counter, I'm not sure if you know him or not, but he is a very NO NONSCENCE guy!! Tell him exactly what you want to do and give him a budget. NOTE: Go in on a non-busy day at a non busy time ie a Wednesday @ 1:00 pm or something like that.


The man is a pro! after all, its his job!!!
p.s. good luck

[leonard]

hey thanks guys.

and as far as a budget on this kind of setup what do you think is reasonable estimation on the setup. to get started on doing 45-70 gov reloads before anything else.

probly going to need powders , primers , dies , calipers , trimers ect. what would be a smart # here to expect to spend. already have about 100 brass for it..

those 100 brass would have put me alot into just buying a press tbh about 175$ into it lols.

[the rifleman]

RCBS has fanatastic service, and a guarentee that can't be beat. Dies, shell holders, and other RCBS optional equipment are easy to find.

Keep an eye on ebay as often there are reloading equipment items that can be bought for a saving. You have to know your prices mind you, and keep postage costs in mind.

[The 'Hummer']

It's been suggested a few times and I'd say the same, go RCBS. I recently started upgrading my reloading equipment, that I've used for many years, and one of the first items was a new RCBS Rockchucker Supreme press. The only thing I've upgraded to that isn't RCBS is my case trimmer. I had an old Forester Appel that I replaced with a Lyman Universal and it works great.

EDIT:
I forgot to include, anytime I'm in the city I do almost all my 'shopping' at P&d. They're great to deal with, besides all they handle is guns and related shooting supplies. No footballs, running shoes or tents.

[leonard]

I ended up buying at a local gun store for very reasonable and close prices to the wholesale sports price list's which was nice because I hate driving into the city if I really don't have to.
items purched
Rockchucker supreme master reloading kit

On order.
3 Peice Dies for 45-70 gov
Trimmer & required extras for dif casings(cutters).
shell holders

as far as things im still deciding on here
from what i can see most of my cartridges can be reloaded with IMR 4064 powders. and recommendations on deciding on powders typically?

bullets

primers- wondering what people are recommending here.

going to need to track down a digital scale.. and calipers. from what i see anything accurate to 0.1grain is fine.

plz feel free to add if i missed something ..

[Cariboo]

The kit you bought came with a very good scale. A balance beam is as quick as a digital for weighing powder.

I find that with any scale it speeds things up to use a powder spoon to toss a slightly under-weight charge on the pan and then bring it up to weight with a powder trickler.

IMR4064 is a very versatile powder that has plenty of uses including the rifles you are planning on loading for.

For primers any standard - non-magnum - primers will work for you. I personally use mainly CCI 200 and Winchester WLR along with a fair amount of Federal 210.

[The 'Hummer']

With the .45-70, for my primer needs I use CCI 200's, IMR 3031 powder and the Speer 400gr FNSP for a jacketed bullet has worked well for me. With cast bullets,that's another ball game and I'm still 'playing'.

[leonard]

I'm actually fairly interested in trying some of the ammo available at
bullet barn

they are hard cast it appears but look to be fairly high quality rounds. with good feedback as well. ill probably try the 350 & 405 grain shells.

but as I can tell already preferences on powder are trial and error or at best the performance depends on the gun( or shooter).

[1savagehunter]

I have just read this forum and I have a bit of a diffent opionion here ... green is good but my lyman press outdoes the "chucker' any day. I was ready to buy the "chucker" when I spoke to Doug at Wholesale sports. Nothing wrong with Al just Doug is a little easier to talk with. When he went through both models he pointed out a few thinks that were worth considering. First the "Crusher" has a way more solid base for attaching the press to the bench. (Very inportant) Secondly the price is abit cheaper so for what you're going to spend on the "chucker" you could buy a heavier (this is a good thing) more solid unit in the Crusher and still be able to buy a set of dies for the same price. Good luck there !!!!

[Cariboo]

Lyman makes a decent product but their 1 year warranty - for orignal owner only - falls far short of RCBS and Redding whose presses are covered for life regardless if you bought the press new or used.

[the rifleman]

Just a couple examples of RCBS service, and guarantee, I experienced first hand.

When I bought my Master reload kit, it came with the Speers #12 load manual, but the add on the Blount (RCBS) website,said it comes with the Speers #13 manual. Obviously the retailer I purchased it from had it in stock for awhile. I e-mailed RCBS the story, they mailed me a new manual no charge. Received it within a week.

Broke a decap pin, on a size die. My fault totally. E-mailed RCBS, they sent me 6 new pins no charge, no questions. Received them within a week.

Like Boo, I agree that Lymans make very good equipment, at a good price. Chances are items like thier press will last you for years, and years, without a problem. Lymans has been around for years, and thousands of people use their equipment. Lee is another name that is well respected, and make a good product. Some own a mixture of equipment, from several makers.

It's the little things, that you lose, or break over the years, that a lifetime, no charge guarentee like RCBS, that makes the difference. Chances are a young fellow could load his own, for the next 40 years or more. Heck, your Grandchildren may reload one day. Keep that in mind when you spend your money.

[snowshoe]

I agree that shooting the .45-70 is a good reason to start reloading, but I would look hard at how much you shoot the other rifles you have to see if it warrants the price and effort to reload for them. Two good powders for the .45-70 are reloader 7, and IMR or H4198. I reloaded for several years, and just gave it up, because I no longer have any special rifles to reload for, and it takes up a bunch of room in our new smaller house. Good luck with it all. Good advice for the RCBS, but I do like the Lee case length trimmers.