Reloading Setup at minimum cost

[sbjmg]

I want to hand reload .308 the cheapest way I can.

I am not looking at producing massive quantities nor do I shoot very often as ranges are quite a distance from me. So loading 50-100 rounds every couple months is what I am looking for. Which is why I am not looking at spending hundreds.

What is wrong with getting the Lee Deluxe 3 Die Set http://www.midwayusa.com/viewproduct...tnumber=148525

A nice rubber mallet and some scale. Would this be all I would really need other than components (brass, powder, primer and bullets).

What am I missing? Am I oversimplifying?

[BigBronco]

Sorry those dies you linked to require a reloading press to be used in. This is the one that uses a mallet. http://www.midwayusa.com/viewproduct...tnumber=735723

[BigBronco]

oops

[sbjmg]

Good catch. I should also add that I do not shoot match, and crazy accuracy is not essential. I would just like better than average retail ammo at a below average retail cost.

Thanks again.

[bumpo628]

Here's the cheapest single stage press you can get at $29.

http://www.grafs.com/retail/catalog/product/productId/7537

It can use the dies you mentioned.

[SixPointEight]

Here's the cheapest single stage press you can get at $29.

http://www.grafs.com/retail/catalog/product/productId/7537

It can use the dies you mentioned.

Or you can buy a lee hand press. I loaded on one for a year.

[bumpo628]

You'll need a scale and a case trimmer too.

The Lee Loader works fine. Richard Lee can crank em out in 40 seconds.

[chim-chim7]

A scoop of powder. Lol.

[iareConfusE]

You'll need a scale and a case trimmer too.

The Lee Loader works fine. Richard Lee can crank em out in 40 seconds.

That's pretty bad ***. Old man doesn't even need to use no stinkin scale!

[anto]

All steel frame & leverage!

$17.67!

http://www.midsouthshooterssupply.com/item.asp?sku=00047VBSR0084

OR


$31.72!

http://www.midsouthshooterssupply.com/item.asp?sku=00047VBSR0083

[RaymondMillbrae]

Even if the man in the video was using a measuring scoop, I still would have used a credit card or something flat to level out the powder charge.

Looked pretty dangerous to me.

Maybe he just did it for the video.

In Christ: Raymond

[rsrocket1]

Be very cautious about those Smart Reloader presses. There have been some very bad reviews about them being really poor in the quality control department. I would be much more comfortable with a $30 Lee "C" press than either of those Smart Reloader presses. If you want everything you need to start minus dies and consumables, either get the Lee Breechlock Challenger Kit or look at what's included and substitute the $30 Lee "C" press and buy the rest of the parts piecemeal.

Loading with the whack a mole Lee loader and scoop will produce a reload that will safely go bang and send the bullet in the right direction. If you are shooting soda cans, that's fine. It would also be fine for pistol ammo.

[sonnyt650]

I don't think you can get away from spending at least $100 where even the Lee kits with nearly everything you need will be up at that range. On top of that $100 you'll want to get a manual or few -- as they say a little bit of knowledge is a dangerous thing. Without a scale you're somewhere within 10% (from memory of reading the Lee manual) with most powders using published density, so for 40 grains of powder you're not sure whether you're high or low 4 whole grains relying only on the scoop size table. Even if you get the Lee scale with a kit, you'll want some sort of adjustable baffle because the scoops jump in 4.1 grain increments for Varget. A .308 takes effort to full-length size compared to say a .223, and you'll want to old-school oil and pad lube until you know what the effort feels like. I'll throw out the minimum number $150 for a kit with all the tools I'd want and a single manual to show me the ropes.

[rsrocket1]

The OP said he will be loading 50-100 rounds every couple of months. He could easily get away with the scoop and scale and trickle up each of his rounds. It only takes an additional 30 seconds for that step and he can even use a paper funnel to dump the powder into his cases once he gets the right load. I've made my own scoops just for fun out of old cartridges and can easily get within a couple 10'ths of a grain consistency with a rifle sized charge. But I think we all agree that a scale is pretty important.

[sonnyt650]

Don't get me wrong where reloading can be performed via that Lee Loader (?) with no other tools and information than provided in the little kit. In fact I did it for .223 nearly thirty years ago and I'm still here. It's only neck-sizing though which I didn't know at the time and so got mixed results in an AR, turning me off to reloading until just recently. Until you read a manual you have no idea what you're getting into, so a manual is a prerequisite regardless of the expected number of rounds to be reloaded. After you read a manual, if you still think a Lee Loader is the way to go I'm nobody to suggest otherwise.

True also you can cut down a .223 to act as a scoop or even just pinch it down to do double duty as a funnel as well. Personally though I'd eat the $20 Perfect Powder cost rather than fine tune a range of such scoop/funnels, then have to do it again when I changed powders or got a different batch. That's why I indicated he'd want it versus need it. Same with dial calipers -- eyeballing the OAL against the full-size drawing Lee provides works ok for some folks.