I'm getting ready to start accumulating reloading equipment and would like for y'all to take a look at my equipment list and see if there is a better option or a better piece of equipment that I overlooked. Like the title says I have no experience at all yet and would prefer to buy once. I want to make sure that the loads are consistent and repeatable. I will only be loading for only a couple of rifles at this time, a 6.5 Creedmoor and .243. Any recommendations or comments are greatly appreciated. Thanks!

Reloading Manuals / Books:
ABC's of Reloading
Hornaday
High Powered Rifle Reloading (YouTube)

Bench:
Harbor freight bench:

Press:
Forster Co-Ax Single Stage Press

Dies:
Bushing die for .0015 to .003 neck tension?
Bump shoulder back .002 - .003 goal is to chamber easily.
Whidden Gunworks 2-die set (full length and seating die) DOUBLE CHECK THE DECAPPING PIN SIZE FOR LAPUA SMALL PRIMER BRASS .057 MAY BE REQUIRED.
Hornaday Sure-Loc Locking Ring (No locking screw into the threads of die)
(Look into a degreaser / cleaning product to clean dies with)

Powder Dispenser / Scale:
RCBS Chargemaster 1500
Bushing inserts, get both sizes. http://texashuntingforum.com/forum/ubbthreads.php/topics/6330644/1
Powder Trickler as well?

Back up scale / double check Chargemaster:
Possibly a GemPro 250 to double check Chargemaster
Possibly a beam scale from:
Scott Parker (Sparker on accurate shooter forum)
Single Kernel Scales


Caliper:
Mitutoyo 500-193-30 AOS Absolute Caliper

OAL Gauge:
http://www.wheeleraccuracy.com/videos (Finding your lands)

CASE PREP:

Deprimer:
Co-Ax Press

Case Cleaner:
Franklin Arsenal Platinum Wet Tumbler
Media separator????
Lemishine, dishwashing soap, hot water (distilled?)

Neck Thickness / Bullet Run Out
RCBS Case Master Concentricity Gaging Tool
NECO Gauge

Neck turning tool:
More research needed...... May need shell holders....
Sinclair 4000 or 1500
K&M
PMA Tool
Get carbide mandrills

Case Trimmer:
Sinclair STAINLESS ULTIMATE TRIMMER and platform kit
Sinclair Chamber Length Gauge

Deburr
Pin Vise w/ 1.5mm drill bit (only use to remove any misc material in Lapua small 1.5mm BR flash holes)

Flash Hole Uniformer / Reamer
SINCLAIR FLASHHOLE REAMER - .062 (small primer)
SINCLAIR FLASHHOLE REAMER - .081 (large primer)

Primer Pocket Uniformer
Sinclair Deluxe Uniformer Kit

Neck Case Lube:
Frankford Arsenal Case Neck Lubricator????????
Imperial Dry Neck Lube Convenience Pack???????
6.5 Case Neck Brush for cleaning carbon (Possibly not needed??????)

Case Lube:
Imperial Case Sizing Wax 2 oz
Hornady One Shot Case Lube 5 oz Aerosol

Primer Tool:
Forster Co-Ax Single Stage Press
21st Century Super Precision Click Head Priming tool & Shell holder

MISCELLANEOUS:

Comparator:
SINCLAIR INSERT STYLE BULLET COMPARATOR with inserts and a
30° Shoulder Bump Gage Inserts
Extra Comparator Body in case I feel like checking the bearing surface of the bullet in relation to the barrel.

Bullet Puller:
RCBS Pow'r Pull Impact Bullet Puller Kit

Funnel:
Satern Powder Funnel 264 Caliber, 6.5mm Aluminum and Brass

Loading Tray:


Bullet:
Hornady ELD-X 143 grain or Berger 140g Hybrid (Possibly get a Whidden bullet pointer if select Berger)
Possible Nosler RDF

Powder:
H4350

Brass:
Lapua
Norma

Primer:
Small primer for Lapua Brass (no idea)
Federal 210M

Ammo Box:


Labels:


Cleaning:
Krazy Kloth

Chronograph:
Labradar
Ohler 35P or LabRadar later unless a good deal comes up
Get compressed air to clean it, make sure base / tripod is flat black, place
approximately 15' to 20' away add .75 per foot to get muzzle velocity.
Research tripods / mounting devices

Annealing:
Copper Creek Ammo, DJs brass service, or other such service.
Torch with the lights off and stop at orange red glow.
Giraud Cartridge Case Annealer?
Mikes reloading bench Annealer?
AMP Annealer?
Tempilaq 750 degree

Miscellaneous Tools:
Power screwdriver
Sinclair Remington Bolt Maintenance Kit
Steel Punch Set
Fix it Sticks or Borka torque kit
Mike's bore guide

WOW. That's quite a list. And some quality items.

The MINIMUM you need is:

Good press like RCBS or similar
Good dies that offer full length as well as neck sizing options
Micrometer seating die is nice to have
Good powder measure like the Redding #3
Good set of balance scales
Tool to chamfer and deburr cases
Primer pocket brush
Various funnels
Decent pair of calipers
Hornady headspace gauge w/appropriate threaded cases
Hornady OAL gauge

Anything over that is icing on the cake.

I haven't used the Whidden dies and am nor familiar with them. But if you load Berger bullets you may benefit from Redding micrometer seaing die with the available VLD seating stem. Just a thought.

I will offer this based on your list ...... Keep it simple. Get organized. Sort things on your bench so there is NO CONFUSION. Everything has a place and is never left anywhere else on the table. Only ONE powder on the bench at a time. Only ONE type of primer on the bench at a time. No distractions. A television has no place in the room in my opinion. Check your recipe twice before you do anything. Then check it again.

Unless you plan on a tight neck chamber I personally would not consider turning necks on the quality of brass you mentioned.

One other thing ..... drop the impact bullet puller and get a collet puller. Easier and your components aren't bouncing around inside.

And there's just something that I don't like about pounding on a loaded round .........

Before running you need to walk, since you say you have no experience before buying anything find someone with experience and equipment to walk you through the process. Buy components and go to their bench and have someone watch over your shoulder as you build your rounds. Having all the equipment in the world does not make up for experience. I love to reload and the tinkering that goes into it as you search for "the load" but make a mistake and you end up in a mess or dead. Creedmoor KISS principle cannot be stressed enough pay attention. A friend of mine a reloader for 50 years made a mistake this summer and he was lucky to just have a blown case, stuck bolt, broken extractor and soot on his face and hands. We worked backwards through the load and discovered the issue and it was due to not double checking the components before assembly, his habits lead to a mess but could have been a disaster. Find someone with experience or take the NRA reloading course before putting your money down on equipment. My opinion is free but might save your life in this case.

Picking up How to Reload books for the beginner is a great guide before you start the reloading hobby. It's the first thing I would do before I buy any equipment so I'd understand how the reloading process works.

X2

What you have there has nothing to do with a beginner list at all.

I concur with the others, buy the book, read it cover to cover twice, and then think about equipment. Neck turning is not needed absent a custom rifle with a tight neck, which you do not need starting off. Same for the annealer.

This is the best how to reloading manual I have read. Very detailed with lots of helpful photos.

http://www.buyzedikerbooks.com/products/handloading-for-competition

What kind of rifles do you have, and are you loading for hunting, matches, or other?

Look at the threads that have been "stickied" at the top of this sub-forum.

There are two that have excellent, extended discussions of this subject.

I've been hand loading for 30 to 40 years and don't have anywhere near what you want to buy. To actually start, pay attention to what Creedmoor posted.

I also have about 35 to 40 manuals including one caliber booklets. Some are classics from the 1960's. If it were me, and it's not, I would buy the Lee 2nd edition and read it. YouTube is a help but doesn't replace good books by the Pro's.

+1. What a finesse tool. Especially while you're learning to adjust seating dies, chances are high you'll be pulling & reseating a few bullets. Ask me how I know. I was in OP's shoes not too long ago.

Instead of buying every possible tool you THINK you might possibly need/like, I'd start out with the bare essentials. You will get a better sense on what might work better for your setup AFTER you get some experience.

And keep it simple out of the gate. Instead of trying for high-precision 6.5CM rounds with $$$ VLD bullets and match grade dies, why not learn the ropes on batches of cheap .243 target loads first?

Not too familiar with the chronos you listed, but I would recommend getting one that allows wireless comms with your smartphone. The Caldwell app works great on my android phone, even though mine plugs into the headphone jack with a long cable. If I don't already have it, I'd go bluetooth or wifi.

The press is, of course, the heart of the reloading bench. I did a whole bunch of research and the choice came down to Iron Press or the Summit. Being a southpaw, I wanted an ambidextrous press. I went with the Iron Press, mainly because the Summit was incompatible with collet-type bullet pullers. I just recently added a Lee Classic Cast to take the grunt work off the Iron Press, and a simple converter made it Lock-n-Load compatible. I like the fact that Forster Co-Ax is also ambidextrous, but its cartridge system is proprietary and looks like using a collet puller might be a bit awkard on it (I could be wrong about this). Just my $0.02

unless you're going to be shooting
competitively you won't need all the
benchrest type dies and such.
you can make quality ammo with a lee
hand press or a lee whack-a-mole loader
as far as that goes.
do yourself a favor and start with the
books and read all the way through them
as the others have said ^ ^ ^ before
you spend a dime on tools. there are
usually some used manuals at the used
book stores for less money. they won't
have the latest data, but you can get
that online anyway.
good luck

i should add that the web commandos
are full of "good" advice, but about
50% of it is pure b.s.
some of the "reloaders" on yoo-floob
are lucky they haven't lost a hand or
an eye yet. stick with PUBLISHED data
till you can tell who's full and who ain't

Good point. I can't tell you the times that I've read recipes online that were startlingly over pressure and obviously on the brink of disaster. When questioned the poster will usually disclose that they are getting cratered primers or loose primer pockets with the load. And yet they were recommending it to someone else.

Reloading isn't a game of how far you can "push the envelope". It's all about squeezing the most accuracy out of a gun while maintaining safe velocity.

the powder and bullet manufacturers spend
ten of thousands (or maybe hundreds of thousands?)
of dollars on r&d using equipment none of us
here would ever have reasonable access to.
it's just good sense to take their advice
concerning loads and load development.

For some people, though, it's an adventure to see how far you can push a load. There's a guy (man, I wish I could remember what forum he was on) who basically blows up guns to see what a particular cartridge and gun can take. He has extreme loads like 10gr of Power Pistol in a 9mm and it's always cool to see what happens.

For me, I got into pushing the envelope with my 9mm major loads for USPSA. Testing 7.0gr of CFE pistol with a 124gr pill and beyond would seem ridiculous looking at any load manual, but after checking 100+ rounds during my load development I didn't see a single pressure sign. The load manuals are intentionally not listing the practical "max" loads because not everyone is capable of working up extreme loads.

That said, I would caution against working up beyond "max" unless they are very experienced reloaders and actually have a purpose for a hot-rodded load. If you aren't doing long-range or competition shooting, there's almost never any reason to do it.

THERE ^ ^ ^ ^ I fixed it for you.

FWIW, I have one load for my 6.5 that is over published max and is very safe. And I know others who are using about the same load. So I recognize what you are saying about your competition loads and I do understand. But I think you'll agree it's an exception rather than a rule.

He does it with a string, lol. I'm going to be beating myself up all day until I remember the forum and name of the guy so I can share it with y'all.

For me, one main reason for getting into reloading is reduced power loads. When I first got my oldest into rifle shooting, he was very recoil sensitive and apprehensive about pulling the trigger on anything above .223rem. Being able to download to his comfort level helped him to concentrate on the fundamentals, instead of flinching and bracing for the unpleasantry of heavy (to him) recoil.

He has since gotten much more used to it and is even asking for more power for longer distance shots.

For myself, I work the load up to find the tightest group. I have zero interest in pushing the envelop. Even if it's safe, a hot load just encourages throat erosion anyway. If I need more power, I'd just start off with a more powerful caliber anyway.

Reloading gives me that flexibility that I cannot get with factory ammo. I started with pretty much just the Iron Press kit and a few Hornady custom grade die sets. Nothing beats getting your feet wet and hands-on experience to know what other equipment I want/need next. My reloading bench has grown steadily since, but with no frills and nothing more than what I actually need to make my job easier, quicker, or more accurate.

For example, one thing I realized right quick is the need for dedicated decapping dies. I find that I prefer to decap my brass before they go into the ultrasonic bath, and I'd rather not resize/decap at the same time on dirty brass. Start working the bench, and these things just come to me.

BTW, youtube can be very helpful at times. Hornady's own instructions vids on how to set up their sizing and seating dies was a godsent back when I didn't have a clue. Books and manual didn't help much... but following that bald bearded guy on the video, stopping and rewinding about 12 times got me going good.

I didn't purchase bushing dies and neck turning equipment until I had custom rifles to load for. OP definitely doesn't need half of the things he has listed. I started with the following and added to it as I added custom barreled rifles to my collection.

- RCBS rock chucker press
- chargemaster
- case trimmer
- hand primer
- tumbler & media
- chamfer/debur tool
- primer pocket cleaner
- dies
- powder/bullets/brass/primers
- reloading manual
- inexpensive caliper from Harbor Freight

Both iraqveteran8888 and demolitionranch do that, IIRC. Fun to watch, but it's just threatrics to get more view counts. These guys make a killing on YT clicks.

I found it!

https://thefiringline.com/forums/archive/index.php?t-81858.html

Clark on The Firing Line has some ridiculous loads. One notable example is 11.2gr of HS-6 pushing a 115gr bullet at 2027fps.

"First, let me say that if a primer is pierced, some metal goes up the firing pin hole. If a case blows down the feed ramp, before the firing pin is cleaned, then metal debris can come out of the back of the slide. If the shooter is wearing safety glasses, the bleeding will be above and/or below the glasses. This bleeding is called "MAJOR FACE".

In the work ups below look for the major face incident that caused me to switch to trigger string testing."

That is patently insane!

You left off the Prometheus.

Nothing wrong with buying good quality tools,but Keep it simple when starting out. Get the basics upgrade as you learn and improve. The money you will spend on several of these items would be better spent on bullets, powder, primers and brass.

That's a great list. Expensive but great. I bought a "beginners kit" and ended up upgrading most of it since it was crap. You have a list of good stuff so you will save some money in the long run.