Reloading for the first time

[baranski]

If you're starting out you COULD skip a tumbler. Shiny brass is a nice-to-have but washing it in hot water with a few drops of Dawn and maybe a pinch of Lemishine or something similar gets brass clean enough.

Not an RCBS press and not a single-stage but for the price, this setup might be worth considering:

Now that is a good deal.

[JackEllis]

Better hurry up before I buy it. I'd love to have a second press set up for decapping and sizing.

[ysr_racer]

tl;dr

OP, don't forget a caliper, bullet puller, and a cheap digital scale.

Smart Weigh GEM20

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00ESHDGOI/ref=cm_sw_r_apan_glt_fabc_RH12R45G7KXAHKJ9JJV9?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1

[Oceanbob]

[Divernhunter]

That is a great kit to start reloading with. I bought the RCBS Rockchucker kit in 1970 and still use it. It had some different items in it then. I now have 3 single stage presses and a Dillon 650.

[madstyle1]

You will need some calipers, but the cheap HF brand is ok to start out - they are as accurate as the expensive ones for your use. Eventually you will want to trim your brass too, but this kit will get you going.

I have calipers but not digital. Its the old the needle in the glass version.

[ar15barrels]

I have calipers but not digital.
Its the old the needle in the glass version.

Those are better than digital because you can read between the lines on an analog dial while digital has no lines so therefore less total resolution.

[madstyle1]

Those are better than digital because you can read between the lines on an analog dial while digital has no lines so therefore less total resolution.

Nice im set in that category then lol

[Fizz]

Those are better than digital because you can read between the lines on an analog dial while digital has no lines so therefore less total resolution.

Don't need .0000000000001 resolution for ammo. With analog you have parallax error, mechanical backlash, offset of dial face relative to the hand, mechanical wear, etc. If you want to get real into the weeds you can account for temperature effects on all of the above.

Then there's the human element of interpolating between mark readings. Then there's the fact that no piece of brass or projectile is exactly perfect so even if your measurement is perfect the material dimensions will be different even if measurements are the same.

I love me some analog calipers, but I can't think of any circumstance with ammo that these differences will manifest into downrange performance.

You want to get THAT exact, calipers are the wrong tool entirely and you need dial indicators in a temperature controlled environment.

[Fastattack]

Those are better than digital because you can read between the lines on an analog dial while digital has no lines so therefore less total resolution.

Plus, no battery to worry about. Ever.

Sent from my SM-A505U using Tapatalk

[ysr_racer]

I've been using the same analog calipers I bought from Dillon about 35 years ago. There a knob on the dial that lets you adjust it for accuracy.

In all this time it's off .001

Money well spent.

[RickD427]

That RCBS kit is a great start. You'll soon find yourself adding equipment to your reloading bench as you gain experience, but wait for the experience to come before you go shopping.

A single-stage press is the right choice for a beginner. It's plenty fast enough for a casual shooter. If you do move up to a progressive press, you'll still value the single stage for small jobs.

[madstyle1]

My Calipers lol

[madstyle1]

If I was doing it all over again I wouldn't buy kits.
1) Press (includes priming arms)
2) Digital scale and powder drop /combo
3) Calipers
5) Caliber specific trimmer (worlds cheapest trimmer on ebay and replace the endmill cutter)
6) Case prep center to chamfer, deburr, brush, clean flash holes, decrimp primers.

So if i was to piece together. Other than Dies is this everything needed to get it started? Hardware wise.

[heavyhaulin818]

OP, I’m just learning too and right away I found out how important a kinetic hammer/collet die is. I bought the Berry’s and have found it to be very effective plus the handle id wider and feels more secure in the hand.