Hi guys! A while back I had a ton of questions about a Winchester 94 in 30-30. Since that time I've bought the rifle and put about 500 rounds through it, and the truth of the matter is that this is getting quite expensive! It is addictive though, and it's getting hard to keep gas in the truck and bullets in the rifle, so I'm looking to start reloading my own ammo. I was looking at a Lee Classic Reloader just to get started learning, its 15 bucks and it says it has "everything I need" so I was curious about you guys' tips or advice in this area. Thanks alot for your help!

 

I use to think my .30-.30 was expensive to shoot too till i got my .45 long colt Ruger Vaquero.
http://www.ruger.com/Firearms/FAProdView?model=558&return=Y

Those .30-.30s are fun to shoot though, what are you shooting in them. I usually shoot the Wincheter Super XP2'scause I can get them for about $10 for a box of 20. if i am shooting at something that I want to inflict some damage I use Remington Core-lokt 150 grain loads.

 

I do my own reloading, pistol only, and to be honest, I have never been happy with any of the Lee products I have bought.
Also there is a lot more to reloading, than just a press. You need a scale, don't want to use too much or too little powder.
I don't know what all comes with the Lee, but I am sure for $15 it isn't a lot.
I suggest you get a reloading manual first to see exactly what you need, and how to proceed with starting reloading.
There are two companies I can say I have used their products and and would not hesitate to buy again. Those are RCBS and Dillon. Especially Dillon. Theirs is about all I buy any more.
As far as reloading rifle, it is not as simple as a straight walled pistol.
All I can say is read up on it before you buy anything, or find someone you know and trust to teach you how to reload safely.

Edit: Here's another thread to get you started. A lot of good advice in this.

https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/s...ight=reloading

 

I've had my RCBS reloading equipment for over 20 years now, and am totally satisfied with it. I've reloaded .30-06, .357, and .45 Long Colt with it and have not had any problems. The really neat thing about the Dillon equipment is that they always have a good-looking chick in the ads! Seriously, Dillon makes some nice stuff. If you want to be real safe and save some money to boot, don't buy a progressive machine. Reload one step at a time, and you'll be rewarded with accuracy and safety. If you're going to reload several hundred at a time, you may want the progressive reloader. But reloading's supposed to be fun, why make it into a rush job? Besides, you'll save some moeny you can use to buy more guns!

 

I have reloaded 1000's of rounds through a Dillon. 45, 30-06, 30-30, 9mm, 30 carbine. A very well built, easy machine to use. Had mine for over ten years.

 

The Lee stuff works - it just isn't fast and one advantage is you learn what the process involves. It's very hands-on. I'd compare it to the model T. Does the job and gets you there. It's made for entry level reloading. If you keep reloading, you will ultimately get something more expensive.

Another benefit to the slower process - the time you spend reloading is time you can't spend shooting and that saves you money too!

The other outfits are faster, better built, have more options, etc 'bout like an '05 F350 compared to the model T.

 

I have a rl550b from Dillon. Dillon has first rate customer service. A very nice machine.

 

As stated above, there is more to reloading than just getting' the stuff and 'having at it.'

I've been reloading since 1978. Everything from .357 to .30-'06 and a lot of cartridges in between. (Some beyond the '06, too.)

I started with a RCBS 'Rock Chucker' and a Lee 'Auto-Prime' priming tool, along with the appropriate dies and a powder measure.
Heck, when I first started, I used a powder 'trickler' and the scale ONLY to dispense powder.
Talk about S L O W!

I now have a Dillon RL-550B. I load everything on it now, except when working up a load. Accuracy is great with the Dillon.

Get a couple of loading manuals, do some perusing of the internet to learn more about it, buy your equipment, then crank out some safe loads.

With the Dillon, I can produce 350 rounds per hour of .45 acp without breaking a sweat.

 

Dillon all the way you can't beat the warranty and the equipment is excellent. I have use both RCBS and Dillon and the Dillion is the better by far. Hvae had a Dillon for 20 years now and it's still under warranty.


http://dillonprecision.com/default.cfm?

 

mtflat, one of the reasons I will not purchase Lee again is that it did not work. I had a bullet mold for .38 that when I used it, it warped. This from molten lead. I ended up getting an RCBS mold which I am using to this day.
As far as my reloading press, it is a Dillon RL550B, which was converted from the original RL450. Had this for about 20 years now. There are more expensive and cheaper Dillons, but I like the 550.
fordmarshall111, don't get into this thinking you are going to save a lot of money right away. It takes time and money to get into this properly and safely. One main reason to get into this is to try different loads, bullets, powders, and cases to get what you want to shoot with. Not what the factories think you want.
Good luck on whatever you try.

 

I started with the Lee "Pocket?" reloader, this one was the one where you had a set of hand tools and used a hammer to resize etc. Really really slow and more than a couple popped caps in my face forced me to move up to a Lee Indexer. I still use it and it has been working just fine for over 20 years. I will say that I prefer to manually advance the press and do just one operation at a time in batches, ie resize all cases, then prime all then add powder to all cases in the bullet block then...

On the cheap, I would recommend just using the little powder scoop that probably came with your die set. Or if it didn't the scoops are really cheap. They are good enough for plinking and even moderate accuracy. A small powder funnel helps, so does a bullet loading block.

Get a hand primer, I forget what mine is called(Autoprime?) but I think it also is a Lee and fits in your hand and has a primer tray so you don't have to stop for each primer. One warning... if the primers get hard to seat, you better check what is going on. My primer eventually got worn on the cam section. I had just one more load of bullets to load so I figured replacing the cam could wait. Well, it is really exciting to have a whole tray of primers go off in your face. SO GET SOME SAFETY GLASSES OR WEAR YOUR PRESCRIPTION ONES. Also wouldn't hurt to have an apron or shop smock. I had no injuries since I had my glasses on and a sweater with long sleeves.

GET A RELOADING MANUAL, READ IT, FOLLOW IT, START AT THE LOW END OF WEIGHT, DON'T GO FOR THE FLAMING STREAK FIRST LOAD. SAFETY FIRST, CHECK AND CHECK AGAIN.

Get a little case lube pad and a decent case tumbler. This will save you a lot of time and result in nicer cartridges.

Clean and lightly lubricate your die set when you are done.

Reloading is fun and can save you money, I think, all depends on whether your shooting stays the same or you shoot 10 times as much because it costs half for bullets. I have gone to the range and shot almost $500 worth of reloaded ammo down the range, course would have cost me over $1,000 if they were factory loads.

Later when you decide you like doing reloads, you can step upto scales, tricklers, cadillac presses and dies, automatic powder dumps, case trimmers etc. But to start all you really need is a scoop, dies, maybe a press. A hand primer will speed you up, a powder drop speeds things, a case loading block will allow you to go into medium scale production.

Always protect your eyes. If it doesn't "Feel Right" stop and inspect. Double check the cartridge before puttin the bullet in. I have had a couple double loads sneak in over the years, kids can do that to ya.

Good Luck, many of us love doing it and then it becomes a nasty habit which will force you to buy new guns and other toys so you can extend what you reload, not a bad thing in most cases.

Jim Henderson

 

Hey Fordmarshall111!

As you are a fairly new shooter who is looking to try out reloading and will load specifically for one rifle, I would seriously advise stepping up just a bit from your current plans.

Look at Lee's "Anniversary Reloading Kit". Lee's stuff is decent, perfectly adequate quality, and they are just about always the lowest cost. The Anniversary kit has all the essentials to get you rolling -- a very decent single-stage press, scale, funnel, Auto-Prime tool & shell holders, a powder thrower and even some case lube. You just have to buy a set of dies for .30-30 and you're set. and one version even comes with their very informative book, which will clear up most of the hows and whys of what you're doing.

That kit will only set you back $79 right now at Midway. A set of Lee's Pacesetter dies will cost another $19, and that includes the Lee Factory Crimp Die (.30-30). The FCDs are such a good idea that many MANY reloaders buy them seperately to add to their other brand die sets.

If you are going to stick with rifles and a moderate amount of shooting (not benchrest competition or blazing through handgun rounds for IPSC) the stuff that kit comes with will do for you just fine for a long time. I started out with that kit and still use just about all of the componants 15+ years later.

If you work up to a heavier shooting regemin, or want to do more intricate work, you probably will upgrade in one or another direction (either a progressive for speed or expensive single stage like Forester or Redding for hyper-accuracy). Or, if you get addicted and start cranking out lots of rounds, you may wear out or break parts eventually - then you might even want to look at an RCBS/Lyman/??? single-stage. However, I don't know anyone who started with the more basic Lee stuff who has ever claimed to feel like they wasted the money on it. You can load reasonably quickly (not like the hand-held loaders), you can load ammo that is certainly more accurate than your rifle will be able to take advantage of (if you study the manuals and load development guides carefully you'll almost certainly be able to cut bench groups in 1/2 over factory ammo -- unless your rifle is abnormally good, or abnormally bad!), and you will load many 1000s of rounds before you wear out even the servicable parts of the press.

These days I load most of my rounds on a Dillon 550B and there is a world of difference, but I'm also running through 100-200 rds. of .45ACP a week currently. That would take several nights of work to put together on a single-stage press, but 20-40 min with the 550. But I still use the scale to check my charges, the press to size cast bullets, and the whole kit to load small quantities of rounds in calibers I haven't set up the 550 to do.

Anyway, all this to say, you probably don't want to blow a lot of cash on a brand new "sub-hobby" -- and you shouldn't jump into complex, multi-step processes until you have a pretty complete understanding of the principles, and you can immediately spot what "right" feels & looks like. But you also don't want to be stuck with the "Flintstones" version of a loading set-up which will frustrate you and make the whole thing seem not worth it.

My $0.02. And WELCOME to another addiction!

-Sam

Oh, and get to know Midway. (www.midwayusa.com) There are other places to buy equipment and componants, but they've got EVERYTHING and are pretty reasonable with prices -- and run sales all the time.

P.S. - One of my proudest days, back when I'd first started reloading, was when my little sister shot her first deer with our Great Grand Pop's .30-30 - using one of my loads! The load was a cool little light round - a .308" Sierra 125 gr. Flat Point Hollow Point, over something around 32 gr. of IMR 3031. Not much recoil but a terrific close-range, thin-skinned game round. And the flat-point bullet is safe in the tube mags of a lever-action.

 

Here are some links for you to take a tour thru shopping for your loader. I have had the LEE products and they will get the job done but there are no frills. My main reloader is RCBS. If anything breaks or wears out, just return it to RCBS and they will send you another. Hard to beat that warranty. My Rockchucker has probably seen close to a million rounds of ammo loaded with it. My lil Bro is a trapper by trade and we both shoot in competition so we go thru several thousand rounds a month for the last 32 years. There is one thing I will tell you, only reload when you can focus on reloading. Don't be thinking about trouble at work or with a girlfriend or etc. One mistake can kill you. Stay focused. Develop loading habits that takes the chance of a mistake out of the equation.
http://www.midwayusa.com/midwayusa/a...page=index.htm
http://www.natchezss.com/

 

Jim:


Well said!!!

 

Reloading is a great way to save money in the long run, but plan on spending a few hundred to get some good but basic reloading equipment. The Lee loader may have every thing you "need", but will leave you wanting more. I have been reloading for over 20 years, and have used several Lee products in that time. Most of them have worked ok, but its kinda like having and using a set of wrenches made in China. After you break the 1/2" and buy a Proto to replace it you know what a difference in quality there is. For a single stage reloading press RCBS is hard to beat