Reloading BS thread

Hornady's LnL Classis kit is fairly inclusive. I has most everything you need, minus dies, calipers shell holders bullets powder and primers. I have HEARD the Lee Turret set-ups develope some slop/play in the turret head, which will reduce load to load consistency. Have one good detailed book on hand, and use your computer to pull up any other load data you may need. Most if not all the reloading info from manufacturers websites is free. And is safe, compared to potentially untested data from a forum page.

 

Just got a second rcbs jr 3 press but I am needing the primer arm and primer tube and mount. Anyone have one laying around they would like to get rid of?

 

Ok, so I am getting tired of this never finding ammo so I decided to finally take the plunge into reloading and I need some opinions on what I am thinking about buying. I shoot a good amount of 5.56 and 9mm and would like to be able to reload a good amount at a time so I am looking at a progressive press. I am not trying to go super cheap but I also cant afford to buy a Dillon or anything.
I am between the Lee Loadmaster 223 kit http://www.midwayusa.com/product/618843/lee-load-master-progressive-press-kit-223-remington

and the Lee Pro 1000 223 kit
http://www.midwayusa.com/product/347040/lee-pro-1000-progressive-press-kit-223-remington

I know I will need a tumbler, media, scale, calipers, trimmer, case lube and other stuff but my main debate is which press to get. Any help would be greatly appreciated!

 

You are trying to go super cheap if you're buying a Lee progressive. I would sell a gun to fund a better press before I threw money away on one. Lee does are OK, and their single stage presses are OK, but their progressives are just not up to snuff. Drop the $400 on a Hornady Lock n Load AP, or spend the $150 for an RCBS Rockchucker single stage to learn on. I did my first 10,000 or so loads on a single stage and am finally getting a progressive, but I've talked to too many who have wasted money on a Lee progressive to ever consider one.

 

1. Rock chucker
2. Wilson case trimmer with drill attachment
3. RCBS case prep center
4. Good powder dump
5. Good scales to confirm powder dump
6. Few load manuals for type of bullets you shoot.
7. Kinetic bullet puller

For the calibers your wanting to load it will be about as cheap to buy in bulk after you factor in your time.

 

Sorry but there is absolutely nothing wrong with lee presses they make ammo more accurate than most people behind the gun. He is looking at making 223 ammo. Unless he is shooting bench rest competitions the lee kit would make him fine ammo and much better than the bulk stuff. I have made plenty of very accurate ammo with a lee single stage press. Lee has its detractors but there are lots of people making very good ammo using the press. Now I do not have much experience with the lee progressives so they may not be that good but if he is just starting I would recommend starting with a single stage press because there is a lot to keep track of at the beginning and making a mistake and not catching it can be very very dangerous. Start out with a lee single stage kit and you can upgrade to whatever progressive you want after you get a feel for what you are doing.

 

Lee single stage presses aren't terrible. Lee progressive presses are terrible. If you're recommending Lee progressive presses to friends based on your single stage experiences, you're doing your friends a disservice.

 

I recommended starting on a single stage. He needs to learn how to reload before correctly before jumping to a progressive press.

I've never recommended a lee progressive but all of the other lee products I have used a single stage kit and dies have produced fantastic ammo and that is a great place to start especially if someone is learning and on a budget. He needs to learn to reload one round at a time before he tries a progressive.

I did read the reviews on the lee progressive and they seem to be all over the place from terrible to great. So I cannot pass judgement on something I have not used. But I personally started with a the lee challenger kit and I do not find the need to spend more of other equipment as I can produce ammo more accurate than I am in a reasonable amount of time.

I guess another part he needs to look at is how many rounds a year he is shooting or plans on making. Spending big money to only make 500-1000 rounds a year I dont know if that makes sense more than that I can see the need to go with a good good progressive.

 

Yea there is alot to learn and do to make quality ammunition, alot of which should be learned 1rd at a time. I know nothing about progressives but have been reloading single stage for years. If my brass is clean and polished i can turn out probaly 100rds of say 9mm in a evening. But something like .357 mag where i have to trim my cases to insure good uniform crimp is a different story. Same would be true for .556 or .223.

 

+1 on the Lee progressive. I went cheap, after having had only Dillon SDBs, and used a pro1000 in 45acp up until it cost me a decked out Kimber (ran a squib through in a match and blew the gun up). You can probably find my post and pics somewhere on this site. My Square Deals never failed me like that. I went right back to Dillon with an RL 550b, without any more worries.
I use a Lee turret for my .223. I figure I'm weighing powder and checking OAL on every round anyway.

 

I know it's best to start on a single stage press and once I figure things out move to a progressive. But can't I just run one round at a time through a progressive and it is essentially a single stage press? Then once I have everything figured out slowly add more rounds till I am utilizing all stages simultaneously.

 

Trust me on this, alot of people think they wanna reload and turn out thousands of rds right up until they do it for a bit and figure out its alot easier to buy loaded ammo. I actually enjoy it doing it but i load enough at one time to last a year or so. As far as .556 goes i load hunting ammo but buy cheap bulk stuff to burn up.

 

Not affiliated with this place at all but thought I would share a cool looking loading block with Y'all. This company/guy makes the loading blocks on a CNC machine, very precise. Polished Aluminum with clear anodizing added for protection. Yes it is overkill but a very nice accessory to have/use. One of my 458 Socom loading blocks works OK but the other plastic one has a few squares that are too tight to work well. I just ordered two of them, one for a gift for my hunting buddy in 40 S&W and fellow reloader and one for the 458. He engraves the caliber on each one but, of course like a lot of other things, you could use them for other calibers if the case fits.

http://cncshooter.com/

 

Very clean looking product. It would be nice to see prices though.

 

They were $31.50 each. I know it is overkill and pricey but when I die someone is gonna say, "wow, this is nice", but I gave myself a very nice Christmas gift this year that did not cost too much.

 

It sure holds the rounds just perfectly too. Now I got to order myself another one of them as they are smaller than the large plastic ones I was using and take up less bench space.

 

That looks great, I may have to try to make one of them myself

On another note, does anyone know what the largest diameter bullet you can fit in a .223/5.56 case?

I mean like necking it up like the .300 AAC blackout (I know that is off the .221 fireball)

 

Well a 300 BLK doesn't have much of a shoulder, but I guess theoretically you could continue to cut down a 223 case to probably fit a 32 caliber bullet since it's a tapered case. The shorter you go, the larger the diameter. Might only be 1/2" long at that point though.

 

Ok, just a curiosity thing at this point. Something about a heavy chunk of lead out of an AR appeals to me (.50 beo and .458 socom do as well).

Also does anyone have a good cheap powder recommendation for .223/5.56. I'm looking for plinking loads, 55 gr bullets, and whatever I. Can get cheapest, same with powder and primers

 

I use BL-C2 for .223/556. Ball powder, flows great, accurate as hell. 26.5grs with CCI primer.