new to reloading, advise please

[mtnman]

I've wanted to reload for years, never pulled the trigger. now that i just bought an remington xp-100 in 221 fireball(buck fity a round!) i want to get into it.
Is the Lee classic turret press kit and good way to start?
Also, does 221 fireball use standard bullets like 223?
thanks

[Divernhunter]

The 221 uses bullets like the 223. without looking it up I would say probably 40gr bullets would be best to start with.
"I personally" would not use the lee. Others have and have been happy and others upgraded fairly fast.
I started with RCBS (before lee started making presses and such) and have been very happy with it. I also see no reason for a turret. Changing dies takes 30 seconds and with true locking rings(not the ones from lee) once set the dies never need readjusting. I batch process my brass so changing dies is not often. No need for a crimp on that round so a standard 2 die set works fine.
Hand prime your brass while watching TV.
If you are near me I would be glad to help you get started, set up your dies/press and show you some tips. I have been reloading for many years for many different cartridges but 221Fireball is not one of them. PM me if interested.

[mtnman]

The 221 uses bullets like the 223. without looking it up I would say probably 40gr bullets would be best to start with.
"I personally" would not use the lee. Others have and have been happy and others upgraded fairly fast.
I started with RCBS (before lee started making presses and such) and have been very happy with it. I also see no reason for a turret. Changing dies takes 30 seconds and with true locking rings(not the ones from lee) once set the dies never need readjusting. I batch process my brass so changing dies is not often. No need for a crimp on that round so a standard 2 die set works fine.
Hand prime your brass while watching TV.
If you are near me I would be glad to help you get started, set up your dies/press and show you some tips. I have been reloading for many years for many different cartridges but 221Fireball is not one of them. PM me if interested.

thanks, i appreciate it.

[Calguns77]

I also see no reason for a turret. Changing dies takes 30 seconds and with true locking rings(not the ones from lee) once set the dies never need readjusting.

I agree about Turret presses. I would save the $100+ and stick with a single stage. Especially for your use.

I'm actually a huge fan of Lees breech lock bushing system and the lock ring eliminator bushings are great, nothing like their standard "lock rings". I like the sytem better than my Hornady set up tbh.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B003ISVWC6

https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B008M5PNLQ/

[FLIGHT762]

Have fun loading for the .221. It's a nice cartridge. My only advice is to buy ALL of the brass you can when it is available. You'll be glad you did.

Ask any of the .284 Winchester, 30/40 Krag, .358 Winchester, .351 Winchester, 405 Winchester, 6.5 Remington Magnum, .358 Remington Magnum, 7MM SAUM, .225 Winchester, .30 Remington, 32/40 Winchester, 25/35 Winchester, etc. etc., etc. shooters.

[stilly]

The 221 uses bullets like the 223. without looking it up I would say probably 40gr bullets would be best to start with.
"I personally" would not use the lee. Others have and have been happy and others upgraded fairly fast.
I started with RCBS (before lee started making presses and such) and have been very happy with it. I also see no reason for a turret. Changing dies takes 30 seconds and with true locking rings(not the ones from lee) once set the dies never need readjusting. I batch process my brass so changing dies is not often. No need for a crimp on that round so a standard 2 die set works fine.
Hand prime your brass while watching TV.
If you are near me I would be glad to help you get started, set up your dies/press and show you some tips. I have been reloading for many years for many different cartridges but 221Fireball is not one of them. PM me if interested.

That is solid advice except for one teeny tiny little detail.

Turrets are faster. The Lee Classic Turret is the fastest and safest turret on the planet before you hit progressive.

AND while I do certainly agree with you that a more heavy duty/quality setup might very well be an RCBS Rock Chucker with some quick change dies (From Hornady or does RCBS make them finally?) The fact still remains that with a single stage, you are BEST in running in batches, a batch of ten, a batch of 50, a batch of WHATEVER, but the larger the batch, the more efficient you are at it. In a turret, you have a batch of ONE. Unless you really work hard at treating it like a singlestage (and thus slowing yourself down) you do not necessarily need to worry about spilling powder or dripping sweat or whatever inside the shell (but you can still swat at flies or skeeters and put them into the shells before you seat your bullet). With a turret the shells stay put from start to finish. There is no OOPS knocking them over. They sit down and you pull the handle 3 times, maybe 4 and you have a completed round. I am fairly certain that everyone can agree that having those three or four dies setup and using it like it is intended to be used will give you the safest option as far as powder handling, priming and other stuff when you contrast a turret to a single stage press.

Another thing, now that I think of it, the priming on that Lee Classic Turret is superb. It holds about 200+ primers in the dish, it does NOT stack them so they blast each other (for the most part) and since the entire priming apparatus is made of plastic, you do not need to worry about crushing primers or flipping them or anything. IT JUST WORKS. And it is operated by hand and slides right off if you do not need to prime. Damn I wish the Loadmaster had a priming setup similar to the LCT because if it did it would beat EVERYONE for that price. I have done over 10k, closer to 20k+ at this point, on that LCT and I NEVER knew what a flipped/smashed or sideways primer was until I loaded 9mm on the Loadmaster... And then I worked on getting it fixed. Now Lee is making a new progressive press.

So there ya have it. If you are making ammo for a gun you intend to do regular ammo dumps on or you can burn through 300+ rds in a few minutes, then you should consider a turret, or else slow your trigger finger down or get a bolty instead.

BTW OP, what ever possessed you to get a 221 fireball? Was that all they had? Did you walk into Turner's and ask to buy an ARF and they told you THAT was the last one before they are illegal to be sold anymore and you took it for $1500?

Just curious. I do not know anyone that has ever had a hankering for 221 fireball and ran out and bought it. Usually it is, hmmm, eyeballing that .221 fireball to have a look and see the ballistics before I go for it. Hmmm, checking around for best prices and parts, hmmm, I think I found it, but checking for components now and brass... Okay, I think I will pick it up (6 months later, they are completing a first payment on it) after waiting for it to go on clearance and then clear up space on a CC to make it fit before it goes off sale...

[wpage]

Lee all the way. Do your research and decide...

[mtnman]

I already have decided, i will go with the leee turret classic kit. I appreciate the info though. I will also make my own 221 cases from the mountain of 223 cases i have. The 221 cases at 65 bucks a hundred it too high and i dont mind making them.

[mtnman]

That is solid advice except for one teeny tiny little detail.

Turrets are faster. The Lee Classic Turret is the fastest and safest turret on the planet before you hit progressive.

AND while I do certainly agree with you that a more heavy duty/quality setup might very well be an RCBS Rock Chucker with some quick change dies (From Hornady or does RCBS make them finally?) The fact still remains that with a single stage, you are BEST in running in batches, a batch of ten, a batch of 50, a batch of WHATEVER, but the larger the batch, the more efficient you are at it. In a turret, you have a batch of ONE. Unless you really work hard at treating it like a singlestage (and thus slowing yourself down) you do not necessarily need to worry about spilling powder or dripping sweat or whatever inside the shell (but you can still swat at flies or skeeters and put them into the shells before you seat your bullet). With a turret the shells stay put from start to finish. There is no OOPS knocking them over. They sit down and you pull the handle 3 times, maybe 4 and you have a completed round. I am fairly certain that everyone can agree that having those three or four dies setup and using it like it is intended to be used will give you the safest option as far as powder handling, priming and other stuff.

Another thing, now that I think of it, the priming on that Lee Classic Turret is superb. It holds about 200+ primers in the dish, it does NOT stack them so they blast each other (for the most part) and since the entire priming apparatus is made of plastic, you do not need to worry about crushing primers or flipping them or anything. IT JUST WORKS. And it is operated by hand and slides right off if you do not need to prime. Damn I wish the Loadmaster had a priming setup similar to the LCT because if it did it would beat EVERYONE for that price. I have done over 10k, closer to 20k+ at this point, on that LCT and I NEVER knew what a flipped/smashed or sideways primer was until I loaded 9mm on the Loadmaster... And then I worked on getting it fixed. Now Lee is making a new progressive press.

So there ya have it. If you are making ammo for a gun you intend to do regular ammo dumps on or you can burn through 300+ rds in a few minutes, then you should consider a turret, or else slow your trigger finger down or get a bolty instead.

BTW OP, what ever possessed you to get a 221 fireball? Was that all they had? Did you walk into Turner's and ask to buy an ARF and they told you THAT was the last one before they are illegal to be sold anymore and you took it for $1500?

Just curious. I do not know anyone that has ever had a hankering for 221 fireball and ran out and bought it. Usually it is, hmmm, eyeballing that .221 fireball to have a look and see the ballistics before I go for it. Hmmm, checking around for best prices and parts, hmmm, I think I found it, but checking for components now and brass... Okay, I think I will pick it up (6 months later, they are completing a first payment on it) after waiting for it to go on clearance and then clear up space on a CC to make it fit before it goes off sale...

I love odd guns, i bought a savage striker bolt action pistol because i couldnt find an xp-100. I then sold it last year to a calgun member because 308 in a pistol was not much fun to shoot. I love the look of the nylon stock on the XP, plus being a lefty, the bolt is on the right side unlike the savage. I didn't want to pony up 1500 plus for the later XP in 223 and really didnt like the 14" barrel or the stock. Forley gave me a fair deal and threw in 100 rounds of remington accutip ammo and 50 once fired cases. THe tirger on this thing is amazing, one week and its out of jail....His sale is below, it was made in 1968.It came as described, in EXCELLENT condition

http://www.calguns.net/calgunforum/showthread.php?t=1283841

[stilly]

I love odd guns, i bought a savage striker bolt action pistol because i couldnt find an xp-100. I then sold it last year to a calgun member because 308 in a pistol was not much fun to shoot. I love the look of the nylon stock on the XP, plus being a lefty, the bolt is on the right side unlike the savage. I didn't want to pony up 1500 plus for the later XP in 223 and really didnt like the 14" barrel or the stock. Forley gave me a fair deal and threw in 100 rounds of remington accutip ammo and 50 once fired cases. THe tirger on this thing is amazing, one week and its out of jail....His sale is below, it was made in 1968.It came as described, in EXCELLENT condition

http://www.calguns.net/calgunforum/s....php?t=1283841

WELL I must say- THAT is one sexy ***** of a gun. Even I would take that deal...

Good for you. But it only holds 1 round...

I am glad to see that this was no Turner's in Colton purchase where that guy gets slapped on the back with a salesman of the day award after pressuring you into buying an ARF in .221 Fireball...

I DO like my ARF pistol, but I like my AK pistol too. I just feel so, hmmm, NAUGHTY when I am holding and shooting either of them.

Since this is a bolty though, you could have gotten away with a neck sizing die prolly and the single stage as well. I do not forsee dumping more than 5 RPM in your future with this thing. Either press should do just fine. Good choice though.

[pacrat]

I love odd guns, i bought a savage striker bolt action pistol because i couldnt find an xp-100. I then sold it last year to a calgun member because 308 in a pistol was not much fun to shoot. I love the look of the nylon stock on the XP, plus being a lefty, the bolt is on the right side unlike the savage. I didn't want to pony up 1500 plus for the later XP in 223 and really didnt like the 14" barrel or the stock. Forley gave me a fair deal and threw in 100 rounds of remington accutip ammo and 50 once fired cases. THe tirger on this thing is amazing, one week and its out of jail....His sale is below, it was made in 1968.It came as described, in EXCELLENT condition

http://www.calguns.net/calgunforum/s....php?t=1283841

Enjoy your XP. I do mine. Wife bought it for me from Weatherby's in 1973. That looks exactly like mine, right down to the fixed 4x EER Loopy. The Fireball is a smoking pistol round. I get right at 2,950 FPS out of mine with 45 Gr Sierras. Longest game shot, was a rock chuck that forgot to duck at 257 yds.

[mtnman]

WELL I must say- THAT is one sexy ***** of a gun. Even I would take that deal...

Good for you. But it only holds 1 round...

I am glad to see that this was no Turner's in Colton purchase where that guy gets slapped on the back with a salesman of the day award after pressuring you into buying an ARF in .221 Fireball...

I DO like my ARF pistol, but I like my AK pistol too. I just feel so, hmmm, NAUGHTY when I am holding and shooting either of them.

Since this is a bolty though, you could have gotten away with a neck sizing die prolly and the single stage as well. I do not forsee dumping more than 5 RPM in your future with this thing. Either press should do just fine. Good choice though.

It is 1 round at a time, yes. I'll be ready for the next commifornia ban from the Libtards, lol. I wont only be reloading 221. i have a gen 2 ruger precision rifle on the way from GB, so i will be experimenting with 308 loads as well and some others too. I have wanted to experiment 22-250 for my Savage 12BVSS but have only shot factory stuff until now.

[jimmythebrain]

Make sure to anneal the cases cases when converting from 223 to 221 fireball.
You may also have to inside and outside turn your cases.
New 221 Brass is not that expensive compared to amount of work, time and reduced lifespan of converted 223 cases. Plus the cost of the forming dies.

Either way will work though. I bought new cases but also bought the stuff to reform brass into 221 fireball in case the supply of new brass runs out.

[pacrat]

Back when I got my XP. 221 cases were hard to come by. So I made them from .223.

http://www.midwayusa.com/product/737441/lapua-reloading-brass-221-remington-fireball-box-of-100

At 72 cents a case. Believe me when I say "Not worth it".

[mtnman]

Make sure to anneal the cases cases when converting from 223 to 221 fireball.
You may also have to inside and outside turn your cases.
New 221 Brass is not that expensive compared to amount of work, time and reduced lifespan of converted 223 cases. Plus the cost of the forming dies.

Either way will work though. I bought new cases but also bought the stuff to reform brass into 221 fireball in case the supply of new brass runs out.

I had planned to Anneal, i have watched many videos on youtube, but i till take into consideration your point.How does resizing 223 shorten the life? How much can you reload factory 221 brass?
thanks