Home Forums Reloading Big Game Rifles New to reloading

I have managed to avoid reloading anything for nearly 30 years. However, a recent search for a new rifle has gotten me considering 7mm WSM, .270 WBY, and 7mm STW, along with probably others I don’t know about. Most of these are either completely unavailable or expensive to buy. So, here I am. I was looking at a turret press but all of this seems pretty pricey to get into. It has me considering ditching those off rounds and sticking to common and easy to find ammo. What is the absolute cheapest way I can get into quality equipment and reloading?

A lot of people like Lee products.

Look for a used single stage press like a rock chucker and the dies you need. They come up here on the forum pretty regularly. That's what I did.
Have fun with handholding, it's a blast! (so to speak)

Good advice above....

My experience some 35 years ago..... I bought a RCBS kit. Got started with that.

have slowly added tools as i needed them.

Have a dedicated reloading bench place. There are no kids around now.

Have a records notebook for each of the 5 cartridges i reload.

Have 4 manuals plus Internet for procedures and advice.

Advise you to begin with one cartridge, become proficient, and then expand.

Find a mentor if you can.

Reloading is a fine hobby. Be safe. Enjoy.

If the cost of a press seems pricey just wait till you buy powder, primers and brass if needed. 1000 primers and a pound of powder will be more than the press and with premium bullets being 40-50 bucks a 50 be prepared for sticker shock.

FWIW, I live in San Antonio. If interested, I'd be happy to walk you through the process and show you what I use. That should give you a better idea of what all you need to get started.

The RCBS Rockchucker kit is about double the Lee price, but that's where I would recommend starting if you can swing it. everything in the RCBS kit is better quality, I still use most of my Rockchucker parts after almost 20 years.

The heart of metallic cartridge reloading is the press. Invest accordingly.

You don't have to spend a ton on a press if what you want to do can be handled with a basic set up.

For several years now I've been using a small Lyman C-frame press, $89 pre-Biden if I remember right. Unlike several other inexpensive presses its parts are made of cast iron and steel. I use it for cartridges up to "30-06 family" size. It has plenty of leverage and stiffness for the full length sizing I do, and I have no problems assembling very straight cartridges.

If I was going to load large cartridges or do heavy case forming and the like, then I'd consider something like a Redding Ultramag. If leaving a number of dies set up all the time was important to my operation, then maybe a Redding T7 or an Area 419 Zero if I was feeling flush.

Horses for courses.

Stay away from the cheaper LEE presses.

I bought a used old 1978 Rock chucker on ebay for 150 bucks shipped, you can get a stellar one if you're patient. Dies ? Buy Redding once. A turret press ? Lyman All American. Lyman trimmer, unless you use a Lee collet neck die and Redding body die. The presses are not good with the exception of the classic cast but are better off with a tougher RC2. I screwed up my Lee classic with suck cases, don't have that issue any more.

You will save tons of money handloading. Bahahahahaha

After I started to work in maintenance after working in construction, I introduced my two teenage sons to hunting. The classic all round cartridge for BC is the 30-06, moose/deer. I believe in practicing shooting, so we went through a number of boxes of ammo. I quickly realized I had better learn to reload. I bought a Lee Anniversary reloading kit and 30-06 dies. Twenty years on, some thoughts.

The Lee kit worked well , and was 1/3 the cost of a RCBS kit. It did everything. You just needed the dies and a trim guage. But get an RCBS trickler, as well.

Then I saw the possibilities, a 308 Norma Magnum only costs pennies more to reload than a 30-06 . Loaded 308Norma costs like Weatherby branded loaded cartridges.

Next came the understanding that any cartridge I could get dies and brass for,was fair game.

For rifles, a single stage press is fine. You will likely move on from some of the Lee kit. And you will have enough experience to know which is the good stuff.

The Lee Classic turret is a great press and hard to beat for getting started. I recommend one over a single stage especially if doing more than one chambering\cartridge.

Once you get a die set up you don't need to touch it again. Set up your decapper sizer, bullet seater - I don't use a dump for rifle- I do for pistol. Just remove the 4 hole die holder, grab another one set for a different cartridge, and rock on. Removes the tedium of a single stage die setups. Lee has great short, to the point, videos supporting their products too.

You don't have to use it as a progressive if you don't want. Very sturdy and won't cost an arm and a leg.

One 'extra' thing to get that comes in super handy is a Hornady Cam-lok bullet puller. Not much but saves aggravation. Don't need it often but always glad I have it when I do. I do prefer the RCBS scale over the Lee. Equally accurate but the Lee takes forever to settle.

Good luck and enjoy. I am sure several here happy to help by pm if you prefer.

I don't think I shoot enough to justify it. The round that prompted this post is the 7mm WSM. That SOB is expensive even if you reload. Really too bad.

But, for grins, if I bought the lee classic turret press, and I wanted to reload 7mm Rem, what else do I need to make that happen that is not part of the kit?

Powder
Brass
Bullets
The die set for 7mm Rem (but not sure if I need the 3 or 4 piece, what's the difference?)

Anything else? I'm trying to get by on the bare minimum. I am a beekeeper and I know that when I started, I ended up using a fraction of what I 'needed' according to the other experts. Therefore, I'd like to make sure I get exactly what I need and then add to that if I ever find that an additional item would make things a little easier.

A means of inserting the primer. There are attachments to presses as well as hand held tools.
Powder is measured by weight, so a means of weighing it.
Cases are resized in a press by a die, a Full Length resizer die .
Bullets are seated by a die in the press, too. A Seater die

Cases after they have been expanded by firing then shrunk by resizing expand length wise, thus they must be trimmed to length.

You should take rabst up on this offer. Having someone show you the ropes is invaluable.

Reloading equipment is pricey when purchased new, I buy used off the secondary market (eBay, gunshows, estate sales) never paying more than 50% of retail prices.
That controls reloading costs for me, bought my first reloading setup that way 45 years ago and have continued to acquire equipment that way ever since.

The problem with buying used equipment when you are inexperienced, you don't know the good stuff from the stuff it's better to pass on by. That's where an entry level kit is so good , and that's where the Lee kit is a deal. Both cheaper and with more capabilities. . I put together a kit for my eldest son, I gave him my Lee Challenger press and a Lee powder measure. But the scale , an Ohaus 5-0-5 in some other colour than RCBS, ,a RCBS trickler, and dies. All these I picked up for less than 25% at a couple of big gunshows. But I knew what I was looking for and at.

And yes, you can wear out a RCBS Rockchucker press. I was in my buddy's reloading room and pushed the ram up to the top and wiggled it . "Your press is worn out." The next time I was in there,he had replaced it with a couple of Redding presses.

IF the person selling the press has the knowledge of the item he or she is selling, then you won't have a problem. I ask questions and can tell if the guy or girl is just flipping something or actually knows what they're selling. I can tell after the first question whether or not it's worth asking the second question. Yeah the OP is in experienced but he can ask questions here to know what to ask buying off ebay, I'd stay away form Amazon unless it's brand new stuff. Redding presses are nice but Lyman turret as just as good. As long as a used RCBS RC ram barly move side to side in the casting and the linkage is solid, then he's good. You can get a used RC2 for a decent price too.

buy your self a reloading kit (i used a Lyman turret press kit) and a good caliper and your off to the races. you can buy stuff that you think it will be great to have instead of your old stuff. i have a Hornady L-N-L Auto charge powder digital scale and dispenser that is better than two Lyman balance bean scales or a Lyman universal trimmer adapter is better than a hand crank trimmer.
i bought a Lee Classic Cast Press to take over my Lyman turret press. i don't need the turret anymore. i only reload 50 cases at a time, not like the hundreds of rounds that i used too. "take it slow and you'll be alright" is as good as advise i give.


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