Oops, I did it again... (bought another gun!)

[egclassic]

I agree that if you're shooting competition, match is the way to go. But I don't think every round you shoot needs to be match grade either.
Either way, your cost per round will go down the next few times because you'll already have the expensive part, the brass.
Just getting into reloading, I wouldn't necessarily get the match grade components at first. Get a few hundred / thousand rounds under your belt first. Once you get the hang of it, move on to the match grade. Just a thought!

 

[Chris]

I agree that if you're shooting competition, match is the way to go. But I don't think every round you shoot needs to be match grade either.
Either way, your cost per round will go down the next few times because you'll already have the expensive part, the brass.
Just getting into reloading, I wouldn't necessarily get the match grade components at first. Get a few hundred / thousand rounds under your belt first. Once you get the hang of it, move on to the match grade. Just a thought!

Yes, and that's what I was thinking as well. I can get some standard rounds and just put them through the rifle (the barrel needs to be broken in anyways) to get the feel for things, which is definitely what I intend on doing.

I'll probably do that as I'm learning to re-load. I need the equipment first, and the more I keep looking at equipment the more tempted I am to spend big bucks on something like a Dillon Super 1050. Sure, it's not necessary, but it seems like it makes the reloading process even quicker.

 

[egclassic]

That would be an awesome press for sure.
Just make sure you get the proper case preparation tools also. A go/no-go gauge is a must for sizing properly.

 

[Chris]

That would be an awesome press for sure.
Just make sure you get the proper case preparation tools also. A go/no-go gauge is a must for sizing properly.

Yep, I need to come up with a comprehensive list of every single thing I need.

It will be an initial investment, but I think in the long run it will pay for itself.

 

[egclassic]

Yep, I've built mine up piece by piece over the years. I may be totally off base, but I thought most bench rest shooters reload using a single stage press. Turret presses are great for pistol but with the extra steps loading for rifle seems a single stage would work better. I have both, but I still do most of my rifle on the single press. Again, that is just me and I have never used a Dillion so that could be it as well.

 

[Chris]

Just make sure you get the proper case preparation tools also. A go/no-go gauge is a must for sizing properly.

I was under the impression that go / no-go gauges were only required for head spacing (i.e. adding a new barrel), are they also required for reloading?

Yep, I've built mine up piece by piece over the years. I may be totally off base, but I thought most bench rest shooters reload using a single stage press. Turret presses are great for pistol but with the extra steps loading for rifle seems a single stage would work better. I have both, but I still do most of my rifle on the single press. Again, that is just me and I have never used a Dillion so that could be it as well.

You would know more than me on this, I know not much of anything yet.

I'd love to hear input from others on this as well. Most of the rounds I will be reloading are going to be 6.5 Creedmoor and .308 Winchester rifle rounds. So yes, I obviously want to be looking at the right setup for that sort of round.

I spoke with Dillon and they do indeed offer dies for both of those calibers.

 

[Rob5589]

You do not need a go-no go gauge. You do need a chamber depth tool so you can determine chamber depth and lead length; I use a Sinclair. Loading anything but "match grade" ammo will be a waste for long distance shooting. Remember what I said about standard deviation. And "match" means different things to different people. Generally it is a match grade bullet, match grade brass, and precise powder measurements. And a round matched to your chamber as far as distance of bullet ogive to chamber lands.

I read stuff all the time about guys that spend big money on a "match gun," high end scope, etc, but shoot crappy ammo then bitch about how the gun is a POS. Quality in, quality out.

A buck a round is a good price for match ammo. Buying 500+ rounds at a time will save money and will likely be of the same lot. There can be small variations from lot to lot so best to have the same lot numbers for best consistency.

You do not need a progressive press for precision ammo. It is better on a single stage press. Progressives are for volume, not precision. Best to start out with match type micrometer dies. No need to spend money twice. I use Forster which are great for the money. Redding is very popular, RCBS comp dies are nice, too.

 

[egclassic]

Put it this way, I prepare my .223 and .308 rounds by batches of 100. After sizing them with RCBS dies, I'll have a few that are a no-go. I found this out the hard way when I was shooting my .308 bolt action one day. I chambered the round but the bolt just wouldn't close. I had to smack the bolt back with a block of wood to eject the round. When I got home, I threw the round in the gauge and sure enough, the shoulder was not set back far enough, even though most if not all of the other rounds were fine. Now I check each and every piece of brass with the gauge, before priming, or seating a bullet because it's a lot easier to correct it before its a loaded round. Bullet pulling sucks!

 

[egclassic]

Rob is correct, My mistake, this is what I had been calling a go/ no-go gauge, actually a headspace gauge.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B002RJURSM/?tag=wranglerorg-20

I still use it everytime, regardless. It also lets you know if the case needs trimmed.

 

[RaymondT]

These guys are steering you right. Progressives are for volume, not accuracy. Basically guys who compete with autoloaders. A good single stage with tools/dies from Sinclair would suit that rifle. I use the Redding collet dies for my tight-neck chambered 300WM.

 

[egclassic]

You could also buy a 4 or 5 hole turret press that allows you to disable the auto indexing feature and then you'd have a good setup for both pistol and rifle.
Here's another invaluable tool I have on my bench and it saves alot of time when prepping rifle brass:

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B004TABTWU/?tag=wranglerorg-20

It never ends Chris! and you thought Jeeps took all your money!

 

[StG58]

This is a great discussion, with a lot of very good information presented. You guys are way beyond my experience level in a lot of respects, but I do an entirely different type of shooting. With that said, accuracy starts before you ever put a round in the chamber.

Consistency = accuracy.

The goal is to have the shooting system react exactly the same each and every time the sighting system is put on target and the trigger is pulled. Weights, dimensions, powder lots, primer lots, air temperature, humidity, elevation, that extra cup of coffee in the morning, your mental attitude, cold bore / hot bore, brass condition...the list goes on. Spending a ton of money on reloading gear does not guarantee that you will produce "match grade" ammunition. Meticulous record keeping and a thoughtful process from start to bullet on target goes a long ways though. Each incremental gain in accuracy involves an order of magnitude increase in care. It can be frustrating if you have expectations of purchasing the best of the best, by reputation, and head out to the range for a day of shooting with very poor results.

Hook up with a good local shooting club where they do the type of shooting you are interested in, @Chris, and start putting rounds down range. You'll collect a few shooters as you do. Look at what they are shooting and how they shoot. Ask a lot of questions and do a lot of watching. Did I mention keeping meticulous records?

Start out at shorter ranges and shoot a lot. When you get to the point where you are shooting near one hole groups at the selected range consistently, move out to a longer range. Your technique is going to have a lot more to do with accuracy than your rifle and ammunition will.

 

[Chris]

Okay, I was confused about single stage versus progressive reloading presses. You guys shed some light on that for me, as did this article:
http://www.sinclairintl.com/GunTech...-is-right-for-you-trade-/detail.htm?lid=16062

So it sounds like what I want (if I want to take up long range precision shooting) is a single stage press. It will take longer to push out rounds, but in the end, they will be much higher quality (and likely more accurate) rounds, since each one will be getting the individual attention it deserves.

The progressive press sounds cool, but I think that if I want to go out and shoot crap tons of rounds, I'll use a cheap round like a .45 ACP or 9mm. Something that I'm not going to care about reloading as much.

I'm going to rely on you guys a bit for some guidance here. I am making a list of all the things I'll need to start out and learn, and one of the things I'd like to do if possible is get some sort of a "kit". I was looking at something like one of these:
http://www.sinclairintl.com/reloadi...s-pro-pak-deluxe-reloading-kit-prod38410.aspx
http://www.sinclairintl.com/reloadi...lock-n-load-classic-kit-deluxe-prod54062.aspx

Now obviously I'm still going to need other things in addition to that "kit", but my hope is that I can get a kit that includes at least a majority of the stuff I need, as this might be better than piecing everything together individually, and would hopefully save a little money as well.

It never ends Chris! and you thought Jeeps took all your money!

No kidding man... You're telling me!

 

[Chris]

Hook up with a good local shooting club where they do the type of shooting you are interested in, @Chris, and start putting rounds down range. You'll collect a few shooters as you do. Look at what they are shooting and how they shoot. Ask a lot of questions and do a lot of watching. Did I mention keeping meticulous records?

Start out at shorter ranges and shoot a lot. When you get to the point where you are shooting near one hole groups at the selected range consistently, move out to a longer range. Your technique is going to have a lot more to do with accuracy than your rifle and ammunition will.

Yep, I was looking at joining the range in Albany. They have 200 yards which should be more than enough to get me started. I'm certain I'll be able to find some guys there who have a lot more experience than I do, and won't mind showing me the ropes.

I qualified Expert multiple times while I was in the Army, but we only did 300 meters at most, and that was using a gas impingement M4, not a rifle like this.

So, I have some of the basics, but I know nothing about re-loading, which is what I'm hoping to pickup. I'm not just going to toss this 6.5 Creedmoor brass, that's for sure!

 

[egclassic]

This is a great discussion, with a lot of very good information presented. You guys are way beyond my experience level in a lot of respects, but I do an entirely different type of shooting. With that said, accuracy starts before you ever put a round in the chamber.

Consistency = accuracy.

The goal is to have the shooting system react exactly the same each and every time the sighting system is put on target and the trigger is pulled. Weights, dimensions, powder lots, primer lots, air temperature, humidity, elevation, that extra cup of coffee in the morning, your mental attitude, cold bore / hot bore, brass condition...the list goes on. Spending a ton of money on reloading gear does not guarantee that you will produce "match grade" ammunition. Meticulous record keeping and a thoughtful process from start to bullet on target goes a long ways though. Each incremental gain in accuracy involves an order of magnitude increase in care. It can be frustrating if you have expectations of purchasing the best of the best, by reputation, and head out to the range for a day of shooting with very poor results.

Hook up with a good local shooting club where they do the type of shooting you are interested in, @Chris, and start putting rounds down range. You'll collect a few shooters as you do. Look at what they are shooting and how they shoot. Ask a lot of questions and do a lot of watching. Did I mention keeping meticulous records?

Start out at shorter ranges and shoot a lot. When you get to the point where you are shooting near one hole groups at the selected range consistently, move out to a longer range. Your technique is going to have a lot more to do with accuracy than your rifle and ammunition will.

YES! Keeping a log book, spreadsheet whatever, is Key. Nothing worse than shooting a great group and not remembering your recipe, seating depth, powder used etc.

Chris, how about this,
http://www.midwayusa.com/product/520469/rcbs-turret-deluxe-reloading-press-kit

If I'm not mistaken, it can be used as a single stage for the precision rifle rounds, and a turret for faster loading of the pistol rounds.
I would confirm that before buying, but it would kill two birds. Loading pistol rounds on a single stage sucks because it is painfully slow.
I started out with just a single stage press, then I bought a turret press that the indexing mechanism can be disabled, so its good for both. Good thing is, you have options.

 

[Chris]

YES! Keeping a log book, spreadsheet whatever, is Key. Nothing worse than shooting a great group and not remembering your recipe, seating depth, powder used etc.

Chris, how about this,
http://www.midwayusa.com/product/520469/rcbs-turret-deluxe-reloading-press-kit

If I'm not mistaken, it can be used as a single stage for the precision rifle rounds, and a turret for faster loading of the pistol rounds.
I would confirm that before buying, but it would kill two birds. Loading pistol rounds on a single stage sucks because it is painfully slow.
I started out with just a single stage press, then I bought a turret press that the indexing mechanism can be disabled, so its good for both. Good thing is, you have options.

I'll have to inquire about that. You're right, if it could serve two purposes and function as a single stage and a progressive press, that would kill two birds with one stone!

As for logs, I will definitely keep those when I start re-loading.

I assume reloading is often times about experimenting with different settings such as how many grain, the amount of powder, type of powder, brass, etc.?

 

[Rob5589]

Out of those two you posted @Chris, I like the Redding. Sinclair is awesome as far as reloading gear. Been using them for years and have never had an issue. I use Midway a ton as well. I have never used a turret style so I cannot comment. They do look convenient however, since there is no swapping of dies. Although once the die is set, it is a seconds only swap. A quality match die, one that holds the bullet straight when seated, is more important than the press itself.

Honestly, I would start with 500 or more rounds of match ammo and start shooting. Work on technique; hold, trigger, body position, recoil control, etc. Reloading adds a whole bunch more variables to deal with. You will need to "work up" a load tailored to your rifle, which will take some time. If you cannot hold great groups, you will not be able to determine whether or not the loads you are trying to develop are working for your gun. Eliminating as many variables as possible is of great benefit.

 

[StG58]

+1

The best, most consistant ammo in the world is of no use if you can't shoot. Factory ammo, for the most part, is pretty good these days. Your military training is a good start, but long distance shooting is a whole 'nother world.

 

[egclassic]

I'll have to inquire about that. You're right, if it could serve two purposes and function as a single stage and a progressive press, that would kill two birds with one stone!

As for logs, I will definitely keep those when I start re-loading.

I assume reloading is often times about experimenting with different settings such as how many grain, the amount of powder, type of powder, brass, etc.?

Keep in mind, it still won't be a true progressive press, but it will be way more versatile. Progressive usually means for every pull of the handle, one round is completed. Turrets do not work in the same fashion, but are still faster than single stage only.
Oh, and you're going to need a bi-pod for that rifle!:qmeparto:

 

[Kyle_W]

Wow. That's what a high class Remington 700 costs. Impressive! And it looks sweet. Very nice purchase!