Need some advice from you experienced fellers.....

I'm finally pulling the trigger on getting into reloading. I've had a lot of conversations with folks both young and old and have listened to everything I've heard. I have watched dozens of hours of You Tube videos on reloading. My question is....if you weren't on a tight budget what kit would be your first and why? I know ya'll have probly been asked this question plenty in the past and I'm sorry if you just took a long breath after reading this, again. I'm liking Lee, and I'm liking a turret press. I will start off with reloading for 223, 300 BLK, 243 Win, 22-250, 30-30, 25-06, 6.5 CM, & 300 WM for rifles. I'm thinking I may want to reload hand gun ammo too...380, 40, 45, 38, & 357 mag. I want to spend my money right the first time. Help LOL.

RCBS

Not on a budget, don't buy a kit.

Forster Co-Ax press is THE WAY! Especially for loading a large variety of cartridges such as yourself.

Order Hornady lock rings for every die. You can swap dies without losing a thousandth of setting. I know of no other press that allows that.

For speed of loading an RCBS Chargemaster. It does make very good ammo. For ultimate charge weight precision and still on a budget, a quality beam scale.

Dies: Hornady, RCBS, Redding. FL bushing dies, and a seater die for each cartridge.

Forster hand trimmer on a budget, with the full pilot kit. Not on a budget, Giraud case trimmer. It'll trim, chamfer, debur 50 cases in 5 minutes.

Read reviews of hand held chamfer/ debur tool if going with a manual case trimmer.

RCBS hand priming tool.

MTM Case Guard ammo boxes, with the real hinges, not the strip of plastic. For each 50 pieces of brass, but another box. They do not go bad, and are dirt cheap.

Read reviews on flash hole debur tools, get one.

Primer pocket brushes, get a small rifle and a large rifle.

Spend as much as you can on a good caliper.

Hornady headspace gauge kit.

Hornady bullet comparator for all your calibers.

RCBS is always a good choice. I'd look at Redding also. Actually, though, I wouldn't be inclined to buy a kit because kits always come with stuff I wouldn't use.

I would recommend a Dillon 550, I just bought one for my rifle and some hand gun.
The Dillon 650 is better for high usage pistol cases or 223.
I don't have any problems with lee a pro 1000 that has served me well.
The main difference is that the caliber conversion cost less for the 550.
Look at the cost of the 550 compared to the 650 s.
The Dillon no quibble warentee is far superior .

I'm not sure I'd suggest a Co-Ax for a beginner, but much worse mistakes have been made. And nix those Hornady lock rings---Forster makes lock rings made to be compatible with the Co-Ax press. I think they are probably better on any kind of press, though. The bullet comparator is just about a 'must," but you can get by just fine without the headpsace gauges.

I wouldn't recommend a progressive for a beginner either. Definitely.

Thank you guys for your input. Back to the drawing board.

+1 on RCBS..Forget the kit & start with what you need.

It would be hard to go too far wrong with the RCBS Rock Chucker Kit for $249 at Natchez. You're not going to set any land speed records for fastest reloading with a single stage, but it's a solid press that works well and can do nearly any cartridge you want.

If you're more interested in speed than precision, a Dillon 450 might not be a terrible option.

I've loaded thousands of rounds on a lee turret press. They are an excellent choice for a wide variety of calibers such as those you listed.

I don't care about speed, I want precision & accuracy. I'm anal. I'm one of those guys that measure at least twice before I cut LOL.

If accuracy is more important than speed, definitely get a single stage press. Much stiffer than a turret, so sizing and seating will be more exact. JMHO

For years I've handloaded for .22 Hornet, .222, .223, .22-250, .243, .257 Roberts, .270 Win., .270 WSM, 7MM-08, 7MM Rem. Mag., .30-30, .300 Savage, .308 Win., .30-06, .303 Brit, 7.62x54r, 8mmx57 JS Mauser, .45/70 and probably a few I've forgotten using 2 single stage presses. I started out with an old RCBS my dad gave me years ago (that now resides on my oldest son's loading bench) and ended up getting a Lee Classic Cast. I do all my pistol loads (and bulk .223) on a Lee Turret.

My point is, keep an open mind and research. You'll hear a lot of folks cheerlead for a certain maker as being the best. My loading equipment is a mixture of just about all of them out there, collected over 30 + years. I like Lee, but I use a lot of Hornady, RCBS, Redding, etc. ad nauseum. I use what works for me. You will do the same.

JG's list is a good one. If it were me, I'd start with a single stage and go from there. Buy a good reloading manual. I like Sierra and also have Hornady, Nosler, Barnes, etc. READ THEM ALL.

I don't know what's so difficult about a Co-Ax. And I don't know what's so poor quality with Hornady lock rings. Both have done excellent work for me. And the Co-Ax was purchased from a friend, so no owners manual. But looking at the press, it was self explanatory.

JG's list is a good one, pretty spot on. On the Forester COAX press, I've never used one so wouldn't know one way or the other. Personally I am an RCBS Rockchucker kind of guy because that is what I have always used, and it is super solid. I do agree with either Hornady or Forester lock rings, either makes life much easier. Personally I really like Forester dies too. Or Redding, or RCBS. Not very crazy about Lee or Hornady dies except on pistol. And for sure get the Hornady comparator tool. That thing is at the top of the list for getting dies set up fast and easy.

I have an RCBS rock chucker it will make better ammo than I can. I don't care for high speed or volume of ammos so single stage even for pistol ammo is ok with me. If your going to want to crank out and shoot a bunch of pistol ammo you will want to do that on a progressive unless you have a lot of time to spend.

I will also say if you plan to load for all of those calibers your are looking at a pretty big time dedication to do it.

The only drawback for a beginner usin a Co-Ax is that getting online help could be a little more difficult. Plus, there are accessories that just won't work with that press so making purchases of accessories can lead to complications and frustration. Otherwise, I'd recommend it for sure. It's the best available IMO.

Just to be clear. I agree the RCBS Rock Chucker is an outstanding press, and always has been. A man could buy one when he was 18 years old, and he would have to put it in his will when he was an old man, because it would still be turning out excellent ammo.

When I was using a single stage press, and then an RCBS turret press, I had timing marks on die body, lock ring, and on the press. Screwing dies in and out, that's what I had to do to ensure the die landed exactly where it was supposed to.

With the Co-Ax, and the Hornady lock rings, there are no timing marks. Slide the die and lock ring into the slot, and go to work. Now that I'm loading for 9 rifle cartridges which equals 18 dies, and two pistol cartridges, which equal 12 more dies, for a total of 30 dies, the ability to change dies quickly and not lose a setting is paramount.

To support your statement, there is one thing the Co-Ax will not do for me. It will not allow me to use a Grip-N-Pull bullet puller. Therefore I've got an old Pacific single stage press, with no die in it, bolted to the bench next to the Co-Ax. That's pretty much all that Pacific press does.

Thanks again for all the advice guys!

You couldn't buy my Co-Ax unless it was for more than I could replace it for I did buy a Hornady Cam lock bullet puller for it and it works fine and beats a kinetic hammer I used to use.

Having said that....if I was loading high volume (ie .223 or pistol) stuff I'd buy a Dillon progressive press. I've actually thought about buying a Dillon and modifying it to do highly precision loads.

As JG said...nothing wrong with an RCBS press either....but the Co-Ax is the cat's meow.

Yup, 2 tools I can't get along without are the Hornady Bullet Comparator and the Cam Lock Bullet Puller.

Now y'all got me sniffin' at that Forster Co-Ax...

Just buy it. You will thank us later, I promise.

I'll never go back to a conventional press, myself.

Someone quick, write this down....Judd, JG and RR all agreed on something You can normally find 2 of the three of us agree but you have the trifecta on this one

Pretty weird, huh?

Did the eclipse happen early, and throw everything out of whack?

I agree with FiremanJG's list and offer the following for consideration.

Hornady rings screw parallel to the die threads rather than perpendicular (in) to the threads. Forster rings are the same. Since I have Coax I opted for the Forster rings... maybe they are a different thinkness but I haven't measured. The Hornady rings have flats to get a wrench on them whereas the Forster rings do not but I don't know how that matters if using them in a Coax. They are comparably priced I believe. Moving on, the Wilson/Sinclair trimmer is great. Check it out. And, lastly, check out Satern powder funnels - they come in two varieties, multi-caliber and caliber-specific and are Aluminum. I got the caliber-specific variety and like them a lot.

I can't imagine why people would suggest the Coax is a poor choice. The only regret one could have about a Coax is not getting one. In a separate thread, if anybody cares to, I'd be curious to hear cons of the Coax (for all skill levels but in particular for a newcomer as RiverRider said "I'm not sure I'd suggest a Co-Ax for a beginner").

I'll check it out, thank you.

If money is not an object I would go with firemans list but would start with and stay with a single stage RCBS for rifle ammo and a powder trickler to use with the beam scale. Then later add a progressive press for high volume pistol and AR ammo.
For someone just starting out the rockchucker kit is a bargain. You will need some of other tools to go with it though. Learning the basics with quality but simple gear and learning what you want to upgrade is a good route to take. It will be your bench tailored to your ammo needs then.

Ok now I see why, RR & JG.

Just got finished watching a few vids of the Co-Ax in action. Suddenly my world may have just gotten a bit bigger.

Don't know why, but in all the years I've been loading I never took a closer look at that press. Pretty darned nifty.

Oh, boy...

Time to upgrade, I did a few years ago. Wanted one for years before finally biting the bullet so to speak

I think you may be right, my son has been trying to talk me out of my Classic Cast for the last few years.

That may be just the excuse I need...

I think this is as good a place as any to talk about that.

I haven't said the Co-Ax would be a poor choice, but a beginner may find that it makes things more complicated. To begin with, when you look over general basic reloading instructions, they're all oriented toward a conventional press. That could induce some confusion. Like JG, I found that a Grip-n-Pull type bullet puller could not be used. Certain press-mounted stuck case removers can't be used. Some press-mounted primer pocket swagers cannot be used. There may be more stuff that isn't compatible...I haven't tried every accessory available, yet, and I wouldn't be surprised to find more. For that reason I did equip myself with an RCBS Jr press since I gave away my Rockchucker when I bought my Co-Ax.

I guess it all really depends on the individual...how mechanically inclined you are and how well you can visualize, how well you can understand written explanations, even how well you can use the Google-foo, and other factors. Having a mentor can go a long way too. But for the guy who decides to pick up the hobby on a whim, never heard of headspace, and never cracked open a reloading manual, and has no nearby mentor to coach him, it may be the worst choice of all besides a progressive.

All just my opinion, of course.

I didn't want to derail the point of the orginal post which was not specific to debating types of presses alone.

I had typed out the majority of a nice response and decided to heck with it - I started with a Coax (not too long ago) and Google. I've bounced only a couple questions off of a couple people. Because of my incredibly high IQ I've figured pretty much everything out (that I've needed to so far). I'm just that brilliant (said with much sarcasm - If I can grasp a Coax then I think everybody can)!

Not trying to be a j@ck@$$ and I appreciate your opinions.

Cheers.

Yall keep it coming, I'm all ears....

OK, which one and why?


RCBS CM Juan

Or Two

The whole thing- # one. But get it a Natchezz or somewhere where it's not $350!

If he buys a Rock Chucker, and loads for all those cartridges on his list, you know what's gonna happen?

He will end up selling it, when it's as much trouble as it is to swap dies. Lose money, and then buy a Co-Ax anyway.

Y'all remember my list? It included headspace gauges. Skinnerback has already sent me a PM stemming from this thread. I'll be more than happy to answer any questions, as soon as possible, for any other PMs he sends me.

Co-Ax is still the answer.

Thanks Chad, I'll look at Natchez.

Absolutely. I think I saw them on sale for $229 just the other day. Just bear in mind, though, 1998 was just the other day to this old fart.

I truly appreciate everyone's help! I've been watching videos and reading on all of these presses and I do believe I'm sold on the Co Ax.

What does the brain trust here recommend for a good caliper?

You can get a very usable digital caliper for $25 or less. If I was rollin in the dough, I'd get a Starrett, though.

Thank you Sir. Not necessarily rolling in the dough but I've been putting in a butt load of overtime to be able to save up for all of this. I'm one of those "cry once" type of guys LOL. I'll take a look at that caliper you recommended.

As soon as I can get someone to come get my ex's big heavy arse piano out of here I will have that spot open for my bench and shelves. I was thinking about building a bench and shelves, but was also thinking about just buying one of those ready to go work bench set-up's from Lowe's. I dunno, still thinking on it....

I use an American Starrett, just sayin.

Well...knowing that, then I'd encourage you to go for the Starrett, and the Co-Ax too. Just know that the Co-Ax will impose a few restrictions on you, but you've heard about some of them and it's nothing major.

Also, what books and manuals do you guys recommend?

I've always thought Lyman's manuals are very good. I'd start with that one, but the more the better.

A few years ago I would have said Lyman as well and its still a good one but Nosler manuals have more data with recent released powders along with Hornady. Those are the top three until Sierra catches up with an up to date one.

ABCs of reloading is another to add to the list. Not a manual but good instructions front to back

There is so much free data available I'm not sure I'd buy a manual for the data, but the rest of the info in a good manual makes a good resource.

Coax press and Whidden dies, LE wilson case trimmer or Giraud, anything giraud is great, pretty much everything fireman said. The equipment is easy to find, good luck on finding quality powder like H4831, H4350, H1000 just to name a few.

Thanks guys.

OK. Let's talk tumblers.....what's the best brand and medium?

If you don't plan on running your brass in the sand and dirt, you don't need one.

I would only add Suppressed AR to that list.

Been happy with the Hornady vibratory, walnut shell, and polish.

Yeah, and that nasty stuff takes 24 hours in a vibratory, or 3 hours in a stainless tumbler.

I will be recovering quite a bit of brass from several ranges/places that I shoot. They'll need cleaning for sure.

and yes several calibers shooting suppressed.

Great point! You're right.

For dial calipers, Starrett or Browne & Sharpe. For digital, Mitotoya (misspelled, but that is what the majority of folks I worked with in machine shops used).

Lyman and Speer are the manuals I use most. Also have Hornady, an old Lee and a few others that are all good as they have different articles on various loading topics.