Reloading order?

[rhale]

So with all the reloading threads I have been reading and with the purchase of 2 new rifles recently I decided to start. I have done a good amount of reading online and watching videos but thats it, I don't know anyone who reloads so I will ask y'all to help me out please.

To start I will be reloading 308 and 6.5 Creedmoor. My first question (of many I am sure) is did I forget anything??? I have powder and primers coming from other places because (as I am sure y'all are well aware of) they are hard to come by right now!! Here is what I ordered, are there any must haves that I didn't get?

Any tips or pointers would be much appreciated. Thanks

[ducks-and-bucks]

If you have a charge master powder dispenser you dont need the trickler... that was a waste of money.

I didnt see a primer pocket uniform bit... screws into the rcbs case prep center to uniform primer pockets

Ultra sonic cleaner works better for cleaning brass imo. Or use both...

Theres many many more tools you can get to do it all better down the road. You got the basics... all depends on how tedious you want to get and how accurate. Give it te before yoi buy a whole lot and keep learning... there is a TON you dont know yet. If you really get into your gonna spend thousands more on reloading stuff.

[60 Deluxe]

I think that you have everything covered. You have a lot more money invested than I do. I scrounged around and bought this here and that there, used and cheap for the most part. One of the handiest tools for me has been the Lyman hand priming tool. Lots faster than my manual press and has better feel for how the primer is seated.

I started shooting a lot of .223 and tried reloading it but with my manual set up it wasn't time efficient enough for the savings. I thought about buying a progressive set-up but I didn't think that I would use it enough to justify the cost. So I just reload larger rounds now and truth be known, I have enough loaded to last me the rest of my life. I have not loaded any for probably ten years now.

[trophy8]

I prefer to do all my primer pocket uniforming, flash hole deburring etc by hand. I would get those tools and get accustomed to doing it by hand before you use the prep center.

And while i use hornady brass for my 300 win mag (it was the only thing available for a long long time) I would suggest better brass. Nosler, norma, lapua.

Also, unless im blind, i didnt see the modified cases to use with your hornady OAL tool. You will need those, or have a fired case threaded to work with it (a fired case from the specific rifle you are loading for)

[Wits_End]

I recently started reloading. It has been time consuming, but fun. I knew very little before hand, only the general ideas from conversations with experienced friends.
It is a great idea to find an experienced person to go through 50 or so cases with you, with your equipment. All the way from fired brass until you fire it again. Initial setup is key and I found out many times through the process where I had something not exactly right, length, headspace, etc. therefore changed it and had to start all over on my loads. Not all that big of a deal, but costs can add up.
Reading about all of these items, including pressure signs, is one thing. Actually calibrating your eyes to what is good and bad is best to be taight by an experienced person from the get go.
A comfortable room or station makes reloading much more fun.

[SOLID EAGLE]

I didn't see calipers.

And this would be very helpful for exact bullet seating depth.
http://www.midwayusa.com/product/348...ith-14-inserts

as well as this:
http://www.midwayusa.com/product/479...ith-comparator

[captainsling]

Prime by hand instead of with the tool. The Rock Chucker comes with a priming arm on it.

[Cajun Blake]

honestly, I prefer a beam scale over an electric scale since it has been my experience they are more accurate, and not effected by room temp., lighting, etc... A simple 5-0-5 or 10-10 will work .

do you have a case trimmer on the list, it's hard for me to read

order 2-3 reloading trays specific to family of cases: 223 family, 243 / 308 family, pistol cases, etc...

ABC's of Reloading - $20
Modern Reloading by Richard Lee - $20

notebook or binder to log all data in and take excellent notes !!

From the Dollar Store : clear plastic small food containers for bullets, brass, cleaning supplies, patches, etc...

Office Depot : DYMO label printer , label all containers which makes reloading easier and the bench more user friendly

Bounce dryer sheets - removes static cling from brass, powder, funnel, powder measurer, etc..

I prefer Imperial Die Sizing Wax over the spray lube , 1 can will last you 10 yrs

for your rifle - bore cleaner B(utches or Montana Extreme) , quality bore guide , quality cleaning rods and brushes, bore cleaning foam, patches specific to caliber and bore, etc....

with the $$$ your spending to get started, buy Lapua brass .... the QC and concentricity exceeds American brass which improves accuracy. No brainer in my opinion

[rhale]

I didnt see a primer pocket uniform bit... screws into the rcbs case prep center to uniform primer pockets

Ultra sonic cleaner works better for cleaning brass imo. Or use both...

Thanks, I will add that to my cart and look in to the ultrasonic cleaners.

I prefer to do all my primer pocket uniforming, flash hole deburring etc by hand. I would get those tools and get accustomed to doing it by hand before you use the prep center.

And while i use hornady brass for my 300 win mag (it was the only thing available for a long long time) I would suggest better brass. Nosler, norma, lapua.

Also, unless im blind, i didnt see the modified cases to use with your hornady OAL tool. You will need those, or have a fired case threaded to work with it (a fired case from the specific rifle you are loading for)

I am not sure what modified cases I need, can you point me in the right direction? and I am limited to Hornady brass for the 6.5 so I figured I would start with it for the 308 for now.Thanks

I recently started reloading. It has been time consuming, but fun. I knew very little before hand, only the general ideas from conversations with experienced friends.
It is a great idea to find an experienced person to go through 50 or so cases with you, with your equipment. All the way from fired brass until you fire it again. Initial setup is key and I found out many times through the process where I had something not exactly right, length, headspace, etc. therefore changed it and had to start all over on my loads. Not all that big of a deal, but costs can add up.
Reading about all of these items, including pressure signs, is one thing. Actually calibrating your eyes to what is good and bad is best to be taight by an experienced person from the get go.
A comfortable room or station makes reloading much more fun.

Thanks for the tips, I appreciate it.

I didn't see calipers.

And this would be very helpful for exact bullet seating depth.
http://www.midwayusa.com/product/348...ith-14-inserts

as well as this:
http://www.midwayusa.com/product/479...ith-comparator

I do have calipers, and just added those 2 to my cart, thanks

honestly, I prefer a beam scale over an electric scale since it has been my experience they are more accurate, and not effected by room temp., lighting, etc... A simple 5-0-5 or 10-10 will work .

do you have a case trimmer on the list, it's hard for me to read

order 2-3 reloading trays specific to family of cases: 223 family, 243 / 308 family, pistol cases, etc...

ABC's of Reloading - $20
Modern Reloading by Richard Lee - $20

notebook or binder to log all data in and take excellent notes !!

From the Dollar Store : clear plastic small food containers for bullets, brass, cleaning supplies, patches, etc...

Office Depot : DYMO label printer , label all containers which makes reloading easier and the bench more user friendly

Bounce dryer sheets - removes static cling from brass, powder, funnel, powder measurer, etc..

I prefer Imperial Die Sizing Wax over the spray lube , 1 can will last you 10 yrs

for your rifle - bore cleaner B(utches or Montana Extreme) , quality bore guide , quality cleaning rods and brushes, bore cleaning foam, patches specific to caliber and bore, etc....

with the $$$ your spending to get started, buy Lapua brass .... the QC and concentricity exceeds American brass which improves accuracy. No brainer in my opinion

I do have a case trimmer in the order, I also recently ordered 2 Lucus bore guides and 2 Dewey cleaning rods. I plan to get some good brass for the 308 in the future but I am stuck with Hornady for the 6.5 CM unless you know something I don't? Where can I order cartridge specific reloading trays? I didn't see those at Midway or Brownells?
Thanks for all the tips, I appreciate it.

[trophy8]

The modified cases have threaded case heads specific for the caliber. If youll be check the OAL and loading for the 6.5 cm then thats the case you buy.... same with any other caliber. they are cheap $5-10. What i prefer now that i had one done, is to keep a fired case from your rifle, and have the base threaded to go on your OAL gauge. There is a guy that can do it on here but i forgot his name. I had a guy from snipershide do mine. It works great. and i THINK nosler was going to start making 6.5 cm brass? heck, idk who it was but im pretty sure someone other than hornady is making it now.

[rhale]

The modified cases have threaded case heads specific for the caliber. If youll be check the OAL and loading for the 6.5 cm then thats the case you buy.... same with any other caliber. they are cheap $5-10. What i prefer now that i had one done, is to keep a fired case from your rifle, and have the base threaded to go on your OAL gauge. There is a guy that can do it on here but i forgot his name. I had a guy from snipershide do mine. It works great. and i THINK nosler was going to start making 6.5 cm brass? heck, idk who it was but im pretty sure someone other than hornady is making it now.

Ok thanks. It is Nosler making 6.5 CM brass but I could not find it in stock right now. It was also twice the price of Hornady, do you think it would be worth the cost?

[trophy8]

Ok thanks. It is Nosler making 6.5 CM brass but I could not find it in stock right now. It was also twice the price of Hornady, do you think it would be worth the cost?

If your goal is accuracy then yes it makes it well worth it. Hornady brass, while i do think it is better than winchester and remington, is not very high quality. Lots more prep work needs to be done to hornady cases.

[rhale]

Do I need neck sizing dies? The sets I ordered have a Full Length and a seating die but no neck sizing. Thanks

[scissorhands]

Do I need neck sizing dies? The sets I ordered have a Full Length and a seating die but no neck sizing. Thanks

do you need it? no. I use a FL size die, but im only bumping back the shoulder .002"

[snipermedic]

Order lee deluxe set if you can . I use those whenever I can . If you shoot only one rifle per caliber and it's a bolt action then neck sizing is the way to go. It can possibly be more accurate and give you more case compasity. But the big advantage is no need to lube and less case wear. I hate when I haft to lube and full length resize. But even with neck sizing every 5 to 10 firings you will need to re full length size .