i want to get in to reloading i just need to know what kind of loader i should start off with if i have a few calibers to load and is inexpennsive.

( if any boddy is wondering what calibers im going to reload they are .223, 303 british, 30 carbine, .44 mag., 6mm, and 30-30.)

Also if anyone could tell me how you remove the spent primer from the case

There's a good article on reloading here.
http://www.beartoothbullets.com/tech_notes/archive_tech_notes.htm/49

There's several other articles on reloading in the Tech Notes too.
http://www.beartoothbullets.com/tech_notes/index.htm

Bye
Jack

Depends upon your budget a lot. Good equipment does not always mean expensive.

If your not concerned with money and have an unlimited budget buy the most expensive you can.

If you live n a budget and this is a hobby you would like to try then get Lee's anniversery kit for under $70 on sale at midway. Get Lee's die sets for your calibres, a set of Lee's trimmers for your calibres and powder, primers, cases and go for it.

I've been using this equipment for over ten years and have replaced all my hight dollar RCBS equipment with Lee. I've been reloading for 45 years plus now and can't recommend this stuff any better.

You can spend much or little and still get great ammo at the other end. Some folks whom drive BMW's would never think of getting a ford or chevy even though they will get you to the same place. Your budget your money.

i want to get in to reloading i just need to know what kind of loader i should start off with if i have a few calibers to load and is inexpennsive.

( if any boddy is wondering what calibers im going to reload they are .223, 303 british, 30 carbine, .44 mag., 6mm, and 30-30.)

You're going to get a bunch of opinions about which brand of equipment to buy. Since you used my favorite word "inexpensive", I'm going to recommend Lee Precision's tools ( www.leeprecision.com ). Since you mentioned loading both pistol and rifle calibers, I would recommend their "3-hole Turret Press". The only Lee tool I would not recommend is their powder scale- it's too difficult to set or adjust. Any other brand of scale would probably suit you better; RCBS, Redding, Hornady, Dilion, etc.

The instructions that come with a Lee Press (or dies, I think) explain the basic steps of reloading but you may want a more in-depth book. Lee's newest reloading book explains how to use their tools and includes some good info about internal ballistics as well as reloading data from all the various powder manufacturers on virtually every caliber. And... it's only $12~$13 at www.midwayusa.com

Good luck,

im looking at the three hole turret press at midway but what goes in the holes i understand that one of them press the brass around the bullet but what about the other two?

im looking at the three hole turret press at midway but what goes in the holes i understand that one of them press the brass around the bullet but what about the other two?

"Dies" go in the holes of the turret press, or 'hole' of a single stage press. The beauty of Lee's turret press is that you don't have to unscrew each die when you're done with one phase of reloading. For example; The 1st die that is used, resizes and de-primes the fired brass case. The 2nd die (when loading your .44 mag) would bell the case mouse to more easily accept a lead/cast bullet. The 3rd die, seats the bullet and crimps the case mouth tightly around the bullet, usually in a "crimping groove". Generally you only need a 2-die set for bottle neck rifle calibers. Straight walled pistol calibers, such as your .44 mag, will use 3-die sets.

With the turret press, you can also leave your dies fully adjusted, and remove the whole "turret" and store your dies in the turret. When you want to reload for a different caliber, you just pop in the turret, with it's already adjusted dies, and start cranking. You can also add what's called an "auto index" which will rotate the turret with each crank of the handle. This means that you can; resize/de-prime- prime with the 1st stroke, then flare and powder charge with the 2nd stroke, then seat and crimp with the 3rd stroke. In other words every 3 strokes you get a completed cartridge. This can be a little faster than the "standard" way of resizing and de-priming all your brass at once the doing the 2nd stage on all your brass, etc. With the turret press, you can add this feature later on, for only a few bucks and use it when ever you feel like it.

You might want to purchase Lee's reloading book first. This book explains these steps with the advantage of pictures. As they say... a picture is worth a thousand words.

oh cool thanks i was wondering what the auto index was

squirelhuntin,
check your local book stores, better yet used book stores or even gun shows for used and not abused reloading manuals. They are fun to read as well as good information. From there, you will get a good start on what you need.

For flat out inexpensive I would say get Lee Precision tools. The Lee Loader Kits are nice but for a few dollars more you can get Lee Hand Press and then the dies for each caliber you want to reload. The dies can be used in the Hand Press and in pretty much any press you buy later when you want to expand operations so long as it uses the standard thread size and pitch. MidwayUSA.com and Midsouthshooterssupply.com would be good places to start looking for prices.

I like the hand press and use it for everything from 22 Hornet to .416 Rigby so that should tell you it is pretty versatile. There are people who do not care for the Lee equipment. Thats okay. You said the magic word, "inexpensive" and Richard Lee set out to do just that. He made good quality tools for handloading that turn out quality handloads. His reloading manuals are kind of funny to read as he really likes his tools and has a little bit to say about what others have said about them, so the editorializing gets a bit thick, but at least you get the feeling that he cares. Kind of prickly sounding at times too. The good news is that he gives you the straight dope about things you NEED to know.

Good luck and have fun with it.

squirelhuntin...

The only thing that I will add over what HardBall has offered on the Turret Press is that I would go with the four-hole press with the Auto-Index. You don't have to use all the features now but you will eventually work into it.

Buying Lee's Moderning Reloading II is excellent advise especially if you are going to use the Lee equipment as it has some great info. You can buy the book for $10 from a place like Boses Guns. (http://www.bosesguns.com/index.asp?PageAction=VIEWPROD&ProdID=2503)

Also if anyone could tell me how you remove the spent primer from the caseEach caliber that you are going to reload for has a specific die set. In the die set there are dies that will size (reshape) your fired cartridge case, deprime (punch out the spent primer), and seat (insert) a bullet.