"NEW" to rifle reloading - Advice on Press

[mallardsx2]

Ok so I have to admit that I have reloaded many rifle shells but it was with a lee single stage loading kit.

I know there are lots of you guys on here that are WAY more knowledgeable than me on this topic.

I am looking into reloading for my 300 WSM.

Leaning towards RCBS Rockchukker style.

Should I get the single stage or should I get the Turret head style?

A- https://www.cabelas.com/product/RCBS-reg-Rock-Chucker-Supreme-Press/728427.uts?slotId=8

or

B- https://www.cabelas.com/product/RCBS-reg-Turret-Press/733681.uts?slotId=14

For the sake of argument lets say price doesn't matter and I want consistency.

 

[Slugz]

Couple things come up here.
First. Maybe 10 years ago many turrents had some movement in them. Some companies even sold a kit to fix this. I haven't seen this in a while. That's what drove the argument vs the two before. The question was can you get the accuracy needed consistently. I think now a days yes. My bench rest crazy friends use both, will argue the points every weekend, and all shoot lights out. I sit on the side line and poke at both sides for my own entertainment.

Second. I think it then comes down to style of reloading. I personally do each step separately, compete the step then move on to the next. Clean brass, resize if needed, primers set, powder, bullet set. All separately in groups of 25 at a time.

Third. Quantity and calibers reloaded. If you are just reloading to hunt and target practice for hunting. Single stage. If you are only reloading for 3-5 calibers. Single stage.

Fourth. Experience level. Better when starting out to do one thing at a time. Ensure your quality control procedures are set in stone first.

All that said I think single stage is the way to go to start out. Maybe some day go to a turrent. Either way plenty of them out there to upgrade later to produce a ton of ammo in the future.

 

[Colorado Cowboy]

First....

I have 3 Rockchukker presses (one is a turret) and they are one of the best single stage presses out there. The turret style gives you the advantage of keeping all your dies and possibly a powder measure mounted on the press at the same time...much more convienent.
I also have extra plates for different calibers. The primer feeder is great too. I load .38 spec & .45 colt on the turret and can easily load 200 rounds per hour.
Buy the turret style!




B



Slugz has some good points. Whatever you choose, you can't go wrong. RCBS has great customer service...I have never paid for a broken or damaged part on any of their stuff. Call them, explain the problem and parts show up in a few days!

 

[HogsFly]

I like RCBS and Hornady presses. The simpler the press the better for me, and I prefer to load for rifle vs handgun. My 7-stage RCBS is setup indefinitely at a friend's place, as I find the progressive presses mind-numbing.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[JimP]

I have a old Lyman turret head press and and would hate to even try to think of how many rounds have been reloaded on it.

RCBS is one of the best in the business, you won't go wrong with either press.

 

[280ackimp]

Sir,
We all have adopted habits and tendencies that shape what we do and use for reloading.
I have progressive presses for shotshells and some handgun calibers, my 41 and 454 I load on single stage presses. I do this because I shoot far less of these calibers than 9, 38 or 45.

Handloading for accuracy is a discipline that is a worthy pursuit. I worked in a gun shop a hundred years ago and befriended some very knowledgeable shooters who were also practical on some topics but not others. You can get as deep as you want but for hunting some steps done by competitive benchrest shooters is not going to give you a return for efforts in the field.

The benchrest crowd will laugh at my choices but here it goes;
1. I buy Redding Products.

2. My press is the Redding Ulitmag. As simple as is sounds the design allows me to reach the ram and shell holder without maneuvering around frame/post. Its silly but when you feed the press a cartridge with powder and you bump the post/frame you spill the powder...clean up sucks and re-measuring is not fun.

3. My dies are Redding. I have experience with Lyman, RCBS and Lee. I have seen concentricity problems with all of them. Forster brand is another option. The concentricity factor is a huge issue, if your run-out is excessive your groups will suffer.

4. I weigh each powder charge for my rifles and some handgun. consistency is key
5. I segregate brass by manufacturer -consistency - or see #7
6. prep your brass, trim and chamfer to uniform lengths as needed - consistency
7. buy NOSLER brass to start with is is prepped well - sorted by weight! it saves time
8. I seat primers by hand ...not by press

Get to know the Sinclair web site ....they are great help and have great tips and accuracy products.

Consider the Kits Redding sells they are a good value.

I would be happy to help if you get into handloading....its fun and challenging and you get to own the deeper & whole process of the hunt from load development to skinning the animal !

Cheers

 

[280ackimp]

Hogsfly
nice set up !!!

 

[mallardsx2]

Is having the same kind of brass crucial to accuracy? I have a hodgepodge of brass for the 300 WSM. 1/2 Winchester silver cases 1/4 federal silver cases 1/4 federal brass cases.

Trimming to the exact length and sizing the shoulders to the head spacing of the gun, does it really matter is you full lenth re-size if your shooting them out of the same gun?

Not being smart, just seriously asking because I truly dont know.

To make matters worse (back to the question above) this ammo has been fired through 2 different guns. Both browning but I cant put an empty in my gun that was fired in my wifes gun. (Bolt wont close)

Should I be Full length resizing or just resizing the neck and shoulder?

Showing my ignorance to rifle reloading here in this post for sure...

I'm not a guy who needs .5" groups at 100 yards. I'm ok with 1" ish groups as I dont plan to shoot over 400 yards.

I'm trying to save some money in the long run because paying $40/box for bullets is getting really old.

I guess the real question is is it worth it if I only shoot a box of shells a year?

I have a lot of other brass I have accumulated over the years. 30-30, 308, 243 etc etc. Though maybe I could reload them as well to save costs.

I know i'm all over the place with this post but just looking for further suggestions/advice.

 

[JimP]

You will find that with reloading comes a lot more shooting, at least while you are building your load data.

But for a person that only shoots one or two boxes of shells a year and get acceptable accuracy out of their rifles with factory loads then I would say just keep buying the rounds over the counter, even at $40 a box. Where you start saving money is when you start shooting a round that cost $100+ for a box of twenty. My .340 Weatherby loves Barnes 225 grain bullets. The factory rounds cost a little over $100 for 20 rounds and I can reload the same round for a little over $1.00 a round once I have brass. So this is a no brainier.

 

[mallardsx2]

I reload shotgun shells and 9mm shells because it saves me a TON of cash in the long run because I cast my own bullets and make my own shot. So from the cash saving point I understand. I just haven't mathed out how much cash a guy saves by reloading 300 WSM shells to the fullest yet.

 

[mallardsx2]

Looks like I could recover the money after about 50 boxes of shells.

 

[Colorado Cowboy]

As you found out there is a pretty big tolerance on chamber sizes. I only shoot brass in one gun and once this is accomplished, I only neck size from that point on. I really don't care for the plated (nickel) cases, they are a little more brittle for me and I have cracked a few of them.

I would use only one brand of case for your and a different brand for you wife's. You will be able to tell them apart for reloading in specific guns.

 

[280ackimp]

Sir,
mix and match brass is not ideal. The different manufactures represent different case wall thicknesses and web thicknesses (area around the primer cup) this causes variations in case volume. So to me it matters. A safe powder charge in a higher volume case may be very unsafe in a lower volume case. If you spend the $50-60 on Nosler cased the are uniform in case volume capacity, have been chamfered and the primer pocket depth has been uniformed. Trimming is done to uniform the length of brass after firing this helps regulate pressure by preventing the mouth of the cartridge jamming up against the chamber throat.

As to full length or neck? Full length will ensure functioning in all chambers, bring the brass back to factory specs from an outside dimension perspective.

You will not save money if you only shoot a box or two a year. If you dont shoot much it may make more sense to buy a case of ammo to lower your costs?

Other calibers are easy, they require shell holders ($3.00 ea) and dies, good dies are $40-$50 a set. Also you will find that a few different powders will be needed for the aray of cartridges you listed ...$25 per pound.

I load for 30 cal rounds and the 300 wby is $80-125 a box. My cost after tool investment is about $8.00 with premium bullets (swift). The 280 AI and 257 AI I shoot required handloading years ago as they were not commercial rounds.

It will save you costs and allow you to tinker with loads and get bug hole size groups if you want.....
you wont save money if your a box or two a year guy.

 

[Colorado Cowboy]

The problem with full length sizing is it stretches the case every time you size it. Eventually the brass gets thin and cracks at the base.

For years my Dad always FL sized his cases for his 30-06. Eventually he experienced a case failure and pulled the head off the case leaving most of the case in the chamber. We were on a wilderness pack-in deer hunt and he had a rifle that was out of commission. My Dad started carrying a tap and an extension to fit on a 1/4 drive ratchet. He used it several times. He just wouldn't change.

No need to f/l size if you shoot the empty in the same rifle.

Just sayin..................

 

[JimP]

Another thing on reloading for a hunt. Check all the rounds that you are taking with you for that hunt and make sure that they will chamber in your rifle. I know of more than one hunt that was ruined by a case that wouldn't chamber when it was needed to.

One thing also on that note. When I went to Africa for my safari I made sure that all 60 rounds that I took would chamber in my rifle. My problem was that to chamber the rounds it caused a little bit of noise when the bolt closed. The rounds had their shoulder just barely pushed back just enough to chamber them but it took a little bit of force for the bolt to close and chamber them completely. This was the first thing that my PH picked up on when I first chambered a round to take a shot on a animal.

So if I ever do go back to Africa I will full length size all the rounds just so that they slide into the chamber just like a factory round. it is surprising at how alert those animals are to even the slightest noise.

 

[280ackimp]

Colorado...very good point !
Neck sizing is a great way to go if your not feeding multiple rifles. I have 284 Win neck size die and after 5-6 case loadings I found that I needed to run them thru a Full Length die because of base expansion. For that reason I have gone back to an almost FL process. I understand that this is a big concern/challenge with some belted mags so for my WBY I have set up FL dies as prescribed by Redding, then as suggested by Redding I've backed out 1/4 or 1/2 of a turn so the shoulder doesn't get worked. I always cycle and chamber my rounds thru the gun they will be used in for a trip. I also agree, no nickle !

Working the brass full length should give the average guy 8 or so reloads before cracking occurs ?

 

[Colorado Cowboy]

Colorado...very good point !


Working the brass full length should give the average guy 8 or so reloads before cracking occurs ?

Probably more. It depends on how hot you are loading and how much pressure you are dealing with. The hot loads will stretch and grow more than lower pressure rounds. My Dad shot pretty mild loads and his trouble started at around 20 loadings.

Lots of pros & cons on this subject. Whatever works for you, by all means keep doing it.

 

[280ackimp]

Your dads sounds like a frugal guy ...20 loads ! my gosh ...

Hats off to him !

 

[Colorado Cowboy]

I have loaded some of my 25-06 cases over 30 times just experimenting trying to set a threshold.

 

[Slugz]

I'm getting 17-21 out of what I call standard calibers. 243, 7mm-08 and 30-06. For the most part only the neck. I visually check each one also with a fine tooth comb before it goes into the good to reload brass pile.

My 7mm RUM........I'm seeing issues right at 7. For that reason I toss it after 6.