Home Forums Reloading Big Game Rifles Help....I want to Reload

I've started making a little money and have my gun collection built up pretty good. I shoot a lot and it is getting to be expensive. I need opinions on if the LEE Anniversary Kit in Cabela's Shooting Catalog would be good to start with. It's only $74.99 and I can't afford the elaborate stuff. If this kit will get it done, but not quite as fast or as easy that's okay, I don't mind. Plus I need to learn the ropes anyway. Any help would be appreciated since I don't really know much about it, but I know it will be cheaper on ammo and I get to tinker a lot more than with factory ammo. Thanks........GH<P>PS--I will reload .30/06, .30/30, .40S&W, .357, .243, .280...if that helps

Greenhead you can get along with that kit for awhile, But you probaly end up replacing<BR>the press and the powder scale. I bought the same kit 5 years ago, only i paid 65.00 for it from my local gun store. I replaced the press with a lee turret press and the powder scale with a rcbs digital one.<BR>I still use the powder measure it works good<BR>but i WEIGH each and every load. [img]images/icons/cool.gif" border="0[/img]

I started last winter, handloading.I got the Lee kit, it's great value.You need a trickler, and you can use a flash hole uniformer . Later I bought a used RCBS 505 scale for cases.Mixed lots and headstamps play havoc with load devolopment.I still use the powder scale for powder.My mentor said " the money saved can used on other things,like fly rods"with a wife and a budget that is good logic. [img]images/icons/smile.gif" border="0[/img]

GreenHead -- I have not personally owned or used the major equipment items that come in the Lee 35th Anniversary Kit, but I know several who have and they have been reasonably well satisfied.<P>Dies are another fairly large investment since you are loading for six different cartridges. I can't recommend the collett neck sizing die that comes with the Lee Deluxe rifle 3-die set, but their Pacesetter rifle 3-die set is a pretty good set of reloading dies. The Pacesetter die set includes a shell holder, a full-length sizing die, a seating die, and the Factory Crimp die in the rifle cartridges you mentioned. For less than $20, these dies are a good value.<P>For your handgun cartridges, the Lee carbide 3-die set at a little over $20 on the average is also a good value. This set includes a shell holder, a carbide sizing die, an expander die with a hollow expanding stem (for dumping a powder charge at expanding time if you so desire), a seating/crimp die, and a powder dipper which is useful for any number of things other than scooping up powder.

I would bet that you could get RCBS equipment or Redding used via garage sales or the classifieds. I suspect that after you use the Lee eqipment for a year or so, if your reloading expands, you will want to upgrade your equipment. I did, but that was 40 years ago and I used Lee hammer type dies. Since then, I know they have improved and I do know, absolutely that Lee stands by their products. I have personal experience with Lee and it has all been good. You could do worse buying the Lee equipment.

OKShooter - You said you couldn't recommend the Lee collet neck sizing die, is that because you don't like it or because you don't have experience with it. Thanks

GreenHead, I just started out too a few months ago reloading for my .300 Wby. I got the RCBS Master Reloading Kit and HIGHLY recommend it. At $219 (Natchez), it isn't too expensive. Honestly, it has already paid for itself. Also took my first game animal with it in May: a blonde black bear. There is a lot of satisfaction in it!<P>Good luck!

Thanks for the responses guys. I'm still pondering which to get. I think I'm going to do as Rolly stated and look at some garage sales, the classifieds have had nothing in them for a while. We've got a gun show in town this weekend that I may can pick up something at today. Muley Stalker, when you started did you just kind of "wing it" so to speak? How much did you know going into it or are you learning as you go? The reason I ask is because I don't understand everything or really know what to do yet. I guess that is what the manuals and yall are for. Anyway, congrats on you bear with your handloads, I beat that was exciting. Keep the posts coming as they are very helpful......GH

GH,<P>I have had a LEE setup for going on twenty years. Nothing wrong with any of their stuff. I would probably pick up a different powder measure, but other than that, you can't go wrong. IMHO the Redding powder measure is the best on the market. It will cost you almost as much as the anniversary kit from LEE, but it is well worth it. I'm not knocking the RCBS, Lyman or other brands. I have dies or other accessories made by all of them. But the simple fact is that the LEE stuff will perform as well when compared on an equal basis.

GH,<P>I have had a LEE setup for going on twenty years. Nothing wrong with any of their stuff. I would probably pick up a different powder measure, but other than that, you can't go wrong. IMHO the Redding powder measure is the best on the market. It will cost you almost as much as the anniversary kit from LEE, but it is well worth it. I'm not knocking the RCBS, Lyman or other brands. I have dies or other accessories made by all of them. But the simple fact is that the LEE stuff will perform as well when compared on an equal basis.

I would suggest you get a set of hornady reloading manuals and read them! The first couple of chapters will do you a world of good in figuring out what equipment you will NEED, then you can work on getting what you want. Plus it has load development info, hey nuthing like killin' two birds with one stone.<P>I have not had good luck with lee dies, I prefer RCBS, but there are pleanty of people out there who love em'. so... it's kinda presonal preference. I would suggest the RCBS kit from Natches or Midway USA, I have had one that has seen 30 years work and still going strong.

GH, I knew absolutely NOTHING when I started. It's a lot of fun and I am sure glad I got into it. I got all of my info from the good folks here and the manuals. The RCBS kit comes with a Speer manual. I'd also picked up the Hornady and Nosler manuals. I use the Nosler more than any of them. GOod and to the point. I guess I like it because I shoot partitions more than anything else. Just got the dies for my wife/s 3006 and will start reloading for that this week.<BR>fun stuff, just be cautious and triple check everything.

Greenhead,<P>One thing I've heard from several posters on different boards is that you can get reasonably priced used equipment on e-bay. If your garage sale and gunshow hunts don't have what you want, check them out.<P>I bought an RCBS pistol reloading kit almost twenty years ago and still use it. I've added to it over the years, but I still use the press, powder measure, dies, and accessories. Buying quality tools upfront will save you lots of money down the road. It's a hobby for a lifetime.<P>Good luck.

Clint -- If I had no experience with the Lee Collet sizing die I would have said nothing about it.<P>I have tried them in three different cartridges now (6.5x55mm Swede, 7mm RemMag, and 30-06 -- the 7mm set is mine), and they simply do not resize the necks enough for a good tension fit.<P>Yeah, one can hone the mandrel down fairly easily or contact Lee for a smaller mandrel. That's okay for an experienced handloader, but these kind of complications are nothing that a new handloader needs.<P>GreenHead -- It might be beneficial to you to visit my website <A HREF="http://www.ammoloading.com" TARGET=_blank>www.ammoloading.com</A> and click on New Handloader.

OKShooter - Thanks for the information, which neck sizing die do you use? Do you always crimp cartridges for your bolt actions?

Greenhead,I have one bit of advice for you:I think all the cartridges you listed will use one shellholder.When you start accumulating dies from used market-an excellent idea-you may get shellholders with some of them.Pick one shellholder and put the rest in your spare junk box[you will have one before long anyway so start now]and forget you have them.<P>Shellholders vary in height and once you have your dies adjusted,a different shell holder can cause you to turn out loads that wont chamber in your rifle.Good luck.

Clint -- I use either RCBS or Redding neck sizing dies. Typically I will buy the RCBS Competition 2-die set (if offered for the cartridge) and add either the RCBS or Redding neck sizing die. If RCBS doesn't have a competition die set for the cartridge, I will buy the Redding 3-die set which has the FL and neck sizing dies.<P>I go with the RCBS competition set simply because I like their seating die better than other competition dies. One also doesn't always need to go this route simply because of a cartridge change. For example, the 7mm competition die can be used to seat bullets for virtually any 7mm cartridge. If I don't need a new competition seating die, I will opt for Redding's 3-die set. (Yeah, this gives me an extra seating die.)<P>Short cartridges like the 7mm-08, though, will require a height extended shell holder. This is because the RCBS competition seating die has a slot in the side of its body through which one drops the bullet. The die cannot be adjusted down far enough with short cartridges like the 7mm-08 if a standard shell holder is used.<P>I don't always crimp my rifle cartridges. When I do crimp, though, I use the Lee Factory Crimp Die. Since I do not ever seat and crimp in the same operation, it is just as convenient for me to use the Lee FC die.

OKShooter - Thanks for the help. I started loading about 6 yr ago and you have helped several times on the old board. Like a lot of folks I started with the Lee and worked up. I have started using Forster FLS and I really like their seating dies. I have been using the Lee collet neck dies and it appears I had better go back to the RCBS neck die. The fun thing about reloading is about the time you think you know what your doing you find out you've only scratched the surface. There are a lot of us out here that appreciate your help. Keep the information coming.

Clint -- I haven't tried this because it is not worth the aggravation to me, but some I know and others I know of have chucked the Lee mandrel in a drill and spun it inside some 400 grit emery cloth. I am told that this mostly polishes the mandrel but will hone it down enough so that the neck will get a good grip on the bullet.

OKShooter - Thanks for the tip, I'll give it a try.