Suggestions on reloading

[blksheep 466]

Hey all,

 

Santa and my wife gave me the Lee Classic Turret Press kit for Christmas along with a .223 and 30-06 die kits.

 

This is my start in reloading. My questions are these...

 

Deprime/resize...is it easier to get a single stage press and do that on there?

 

Case trimmer...what kind.

 

Tumbler...what kind?

 

What's a good powder to start with for .223 55 gr?

 

What kind of primers to start?

 

What else do I need to start?

 

I am either building a table or using a stainless steel table. Issues with static with the steel table.

 

Thanks for the help.

[Heavyopp 167]

223 won't be so bad to size on the lee -- 30-06 may be a workout

 

as for the trimmer and tumbler -- depends on what kind of volume you plan to do and if your a buy once cry once guy

 

nothing beats the giraud trimmer and nothing beats a wet tumbler setup but both do cost for initial startup -- I can help with a tumbler if interested

 

I use ramshot Tac for 55grn 223 -- and cci small rifle primers

 

 

did that lee kit come with a load manual?

[blksheep 466]

It did come with the manual.

[Respect2A 0]

Just started loading rifle myself. On my phone so I'm not going to go thru the whole thing. I've loaded a lot of pistol rounds but man does prepping rifle brass suck

[Bt Doctur 188]

The first thing you need to get are RELOADING MANUALS and read them 10x over  at least until you understand every little thing about reloading.

Most dies will resize , knock out the primer and and inside neck size.

Second die seats the bullet and crimps the case

IMR 3031 and IMR  4895 covers a range of bullet weights

[carl_g 568]

I have a lee classic turret and I have only reloaded 9mm so far. I am gathering all the stuff now to start 223. With the lee pro disk powder measure it likes ball type powder. The extruded stuff supposedly does not meter consistently. From all the reading that i have been doing, H335 is a good powder with your set up for 223. I hope that helps a little.

[Worn_Holster 2]

You should probably separate your brass prep and reloading operations. Once you're working with ready-to-go brass, your multi-stage press should cruise along nicely.

[blksheep 466]

You should probably separate your brass prep and reloading operations. Once you're working with ready-to-go brass, your multi-stage press should cruise along nicely.

That's what I was thinking. A single stage with the depriming die.

[T Bill 649]

Deprime/resize...is it easier to get a single stage press and do that on there?

You can deprime and resize in one step, if you going to trim this is a must.

 

Case trimmer...what kind.

Depends on number of cases. I still use a Lyman as it helps kill time. A WFT trimmer would not be a bad idea,

 

Tumbler...what kind?

Wet or dry, your choice.  How clean do you want your brass.  I find a dry one (Have a Lyman) works for me (half corn cob, half walnut shells, and a little Nu Finish Polish)  Other prefer wet, a bigger expense for start up.

 

What's a good powder to start with for .223 55 gr?

Still using W748, works for me

 

What kind of primers to start?

CCI or WInchesters

 

What else do I need to start?

Deburring tools, primer pocket cleaner, Bullet puiller, Media separator.

 

I am either building a table or using a stainless steel table. Issues with static with the steel table.

 

Thanks for the help.

[carl_g 568]

Just take the auto indexing rod out and use a separate turret with a universal depriming die. No need for another press. By taking out the indexing, you are in essence making your turret into a single stage.

[njJoniGuy 2,131]

For decapping/sizing bottle-neck rifle brass, you will absolutely need to lube them.

I highly recommend Imperial Sizing Wax. A tiny bit goes a long way and a single tin will last the casual shooter many years.

http://www.midwayusa.com/product/519525/imperial-case-sizing-wax-2-oz

 

For my non-match .223 rounds I use Hodgdon H335 with both 55 and 62gr bullets.

[SmartAss 11]

Deprime/resize...is it easier to get a single stage press and do that on there?

 

The Lee Turret press can easily and quickly be configured to a single stage press by removing the auto indexing rod.

 

 

Case trimmer...what kind.

 

Little Crow works well...
http://www.brownells.com/reloading/case-preparation/case-trimming/case-trimmers/worlds-finest-trimmer-308-winchester-sku749013296-45315-101631.aspx?cm_mmc=cse-_-Itwine-_-shopping-_-Little%20Crow%20Gunworks%20Worlds%20Finest%20Trimmer&gdftrk=gdfV21820_a_7c187_a_7c1021_a_7c749013296_d_749013292_d_20591

 

The Giraurd is probably the best...

http://www.giraudtool.com/prod02.htm

 

 

 

Tumbler...what kind?

 

I started with a dry tumbler and ended up building a wet one.

 

 

 

What's a good powder to start with for .223 55 gr?

 

Availability in these times. W748 and Varget are excellent powders.

 

 

 

What kind of primers to start?

 

Availability in these times. Do not use Remington 6 1/2's for .223.

 

 

 

What else do I need to start?

 

Caliper, scale, funnel, books (lots of reading and research), puller, case lube, rifle case gauges, trimming and deburring tools, primer pocket swagging tools for mil brass.

 

An autodisk riser and die plate for each caliber. This way you won't have to re-adjust whenever changing calibers.

http://leeprecision.com/auto-disk-riser.html

http://leeprecision.com/4-hole-turret.html

 

Extra auto index squares, clamp and depriming die with extra rods. You will definitely break these parts when learning the use of the press...

http://leeprecision.com/decapping-die.html

http://leeprecision.com/square-ratchet.html

http://leeprecision.com/auto-index-clamp.html

 

 

Regarding rifle (assuming you got the deluxe kit that already comes with the powder and priming setups)-- 

 

Rifle powder through die

http://leeprecision.com/rifle-charging-die.html

 

Double disk kit

http://leeprecision.com/double-disk-kit.html

[Heavyopp 167]

For decapping/sizing bottle-neck rifle brass, you will absolutely need to lube them.

I highly recommend Imperial Sizing Wax. A tiny bit goes a long way and a single tin will last the casual shooter many years.

http://www.midwayusa.com/product/519525/imperial-case-sizing-wax-2-oz

 

How do you apply this stuff?  

[Neted 0]

I'm just getting started also. I've read it's better to start slowly and prep your brass prior to the multi function progressive process. Try going to to http://lee-loader.com and http://forums.loadmastervideos.com. These forums are small and not as active as here but there are several really knowledgable people there to answer your questions.

 

BTW I bought the lee loadmaster and am planing on reloading .223 and .45 ACP now expanding my calibers later on.

 

 

 

Ed

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk HD

[njJoniGuy 2,131]

How do you apply this stuff?  

You lightly swipe the tip of a finger across the surface of the wax, then pick up a piece of the brass and rub it between that finger and your thumb.

A tiny bit goes a long way! It's slicker than sh*t.

 

After you size, you dry tumble the brass to remove any traces of the lube and you're ready to continue the process of bottle-neck rifle brass prep.

[tony357 386]

Make sure you use the appropriate reloading data for the powder MFG  and type..  Not sure if you saw the 7&7 mixup with the 444 marlin.. A new reloader used aliant reloader 7 in place of accurate arms #7..  KABOOM.. 

[Jon 264]

Hey all,

 

Santa and my wife gave me the Lee Classic Turret Press kit for Christmas along with a .223 and 30-06 die kits.

 

This is my start in reloading. My questions are these...

 

Deprime/resize...is it easier to get a single stage press and do that on there?

 

Case trimmer...what kind.

 

Tumbler...what kind?

 

What's a good powder to start with for .223 55 gr?

 

What kind of primers to start?

 

What else do I need to start?

 

I am either building a table or using a stainless steel table. Issues with static with the steel table.

 

Thanks for the help.

 

Your Lee Classic Turret is a single stage press with an auto-indexing rod. Take the rod out and you have a single stage press, no need to buy another. Also, I resize .338 cases on mine without any issues, so .308 won't be a problem.

 

For trimming if you don't want to invest a lot up front, get the Lee case length gauge and shellholder($5 per caliber), Lee case trimmer and lock stud($7), and Lyman case prep multi tool($21). With this setup you can use any drill/driver and process rifle cases quick enough.

 

Any dry media tumbler should be fine to do the job.

 

The only powder I use in .223 is Varget, but I charge cases one at a time by hand with a funnel. Varget will not meter through a powder measure at all, so I can't recommend it if you want to charge cases on the press.

 

Any small rifle primers will be fine.

 

A good extra to have is a kinetic bullet puller since you will make mistakes and need to pull rounds apart. This type of puller is hard to use for large volume bullet pulling, but sufficient for small volume.

 

If you want/need help setting up and getting started let me know, I should have a little free time towards the end of January and I still need to get you that stock.

[A-Tech 8]

You lightly swipe the tip of a finger across the surface of the wax, then pick up a piece of the brass and rub it between that finger and your thumb.

A tiny bit goes a long way! It's slicker than sh*t.

 

After you size, you dry tumble the brass to remove any traces of the lube and you're ready to continue the process of bottle-neck rifle brass prep.

That sounds like an awful lot of work to me. I just mix 4oz of liquid lanolin into 16oz of 99% ispropyl alcohol and spray a couple squirts on 100 or so cases, roll them around and let them sit for 5 minutes and start sizing and reloading.

[carl_g 568]

Where are you finding the lanolin? Is online the best bet?

[A-Tech 8]

Where are you finding the lanolin? Is online the best bet?

Yes amazon for both the lanolin and 99% ispropyl

[carl_g 568]

Yes amazon for both the lanolin and 99% ispropyl

cool thanks

[NJKen 23]

Heres my little bit of advice... If you are going to go into reloading for the long haul and load bottle neck rifle cartridges skip all manual trimmers!  Go rite to the giraud trimmer http://www.giraudtool.com/prod02.htm.  When I first got back into reloading i didnt think I needed anything like this.  To make a long story short, afer wasting over $250 on various trimmers I purchased the Giraud one.  I dont know why I messed around with manual trimmers.

 

Two good ball powders that I have used in the .223 are Winchester W748 and Hodgden CFE223.  I think they are similar since they run so close in load data.  For my accuracy loads I get better results with Hodgdon Varget but that is a stick powder.

 

I prefer the sizing wax method for (either imperial or the hornady both seem to be about the same, just a different color). for small batch riffle cartridges.  For doing large batches I break out the old school lube pad.  For strait walled brass I prefer the hornady one shot or RCBS case slick spray lubes. 

 

I will second the DO NOT USE Remington 6 1/2 primers.  Just read the box and it tells you not to use them on the .223!  Any other primer and you should be OK.  Try to use the same primer that was used in the load data.  If you cant get them then use the best substitution you can find.  Use a standard or a magnum where required.  Even if you flip flop them your loads will probably be just fine but there is specific situations that one is a better choice.  Read as much as you can in your reloading manuals and you will start to figure out why.

 

The most important advice is this.  We all where new relaoders once.  Never guess, always ask or look it up.  It is a fun and rewarding hobby.   Also remember this : buy once, cry once.  That is a very true statement.

 

 

Ken