Any hunters reload their own ammo?

[fsr_racer]

My dad has been talking about buying the dies for other people to reload ammo for him. He is retired now and I have been wanting to get him a nice retirement gift. This past week I was over at his place bear hunting all week and got lucky on Friday. Two years ago he paid to have a shoulder mount done for me and my little brother, who also killed his first bear the same year, so I didn't want anything done with the hide and thought someone could use it to train their dogs. As he was skinning it he kept commenting on what a nice coat it had, that I may never see one that nice again, and he was going to pay to have a rug done. As soon as we were done we were on our way to the taxidermist to have a rug made, for $1000. Holy crap!

I want to get him everything he needs to get started reloading his own ammo. I was looking at the following kit.
http://www.cabelas.com/product/rcbs...er%3BSearch-All%2BProducts&Ntt=realoading+kit

It seems to have everything except the dies and casing holders for specific calibers. Reviews are pretty good, except for a few minor issues like primer extraction. Some say that one company makes a better scale, one makes a better primer tool, etc... I could piece together a kit based on those individual reviews, but I would prefer to get an all-in-one kit.

Any advise would be appreciated. Thank you.

 

[redwing_al]

you can't go wrong with the set up. I have all RCBS equipment and make some damn good quality ammo. I have much of the same equipment that I bought second hand. It's had 1000's of rounds put through it and it simply doesn't wear out.

I say go for it.

 

[Michigan_Wolfman]

Plus one on what redwing_al said. You can't go wrong with a RCBS reloading kit. My Dad reloaded some of my .40 Smith and Wesson brass for me using an RCBS kit, and I've actually found that the reloads he put together for me shoot better than factory ammo.

 

[WarrynPeace]

Honestly, buying the kit is a great start, but yes eventually if your dad really gets into it, he will likely wish to purchase a hand primer and a different scale, ect. Think of it like homebrewing, you bought him the get started kit, he liked it, now he wants a better brewpot, a better thermometer, a conical fermenter. The two hobbys are honestly very similar you can go all out and melt lead and make your own bullets and recycle brass, or you can brew an extract recipe...

 

[fsr_racer]

Thanks guys. I'll pull the trigger on this kit, pun intended, and if he wants to expand or look for better individual components that'll be up to him.

Great analogy WarrynPeace.

 

[WarrynPeace]

Glad to be of assisstance. I hope you and your family have a Merry Christmas.

 

[nubrun]

That looks like a solid kit, but IMO it seems overkill to start with. The electronic powder dispenser is driving that price up considerably. I would recommend a kit like the following:
http://www.midwayusa.com/product/937051/rcbs-rock-chucker-supreme-master-single-stage-press-kit

Same press, but has a balance beam scale, and solid hand primer, which works great and saves a ton of money to buy him the dies he needs, plus a second reloading manual (you can never have enough). The onyl thing you would need to add is a case trimmer, which is probably another $80.

 

[nubrun]

Honestly, buying the kit is a great start, but yes eventually if your dad really gets into it, he will likely wish to purchase a hand primer and a different scale, ect. Think of it like homebrewing, you bought him the get started kit, he liked it, now he wants a better brewpot, a better thermometer, a conical fermenter. The two hobbys are honestly very similar you can go all out and melt lead and make your own bullets and recycle brass, or you can brew an extract recipe...

What would you upgrade in the linked kit? It has the hand primer, electronic scale/dispenser, and trimmer? The only upgrade I could see would be going to a turret or a progressive.

 

[Brickman]

You can get the electronic scale and powder dispenser from Natchez for about $290. I bought is separate as it was cheaper than the kit. Plus I could stack rebates that way.

http://www.natchezss.com/rcbs-chargemaster-dispenser-and-scale-110-volt.html

Mark

 

[DurtyChemist]

What would you upgrade in the linked kit? It has the hand primer, electronic scale/dispenser, and trimmer? The only upgrade I could see would be going to a turret or a progressive.

I wouldn't really upgrade anything. I started on a single stage and I still have it along with a Dillon 550B that was too good of a deal for me to pass up. The trimmer, case prep center and scale are great for a rifle reloader and EXCELLENT for a brand new loader. He will make one round at a time, focus on the important details, have enough automation to keep his interest and he can expand as needed. Having to manually charge every single case, clean each primer pocket, hand lube case necks and trim by hand could be a little too much work for a new reloader. With this he is setup for rifle reloading with enough automation that the extra work with rifle reloading won't seem like much.

Hand priming is for 50% of reloaders I think. The other half seem to prime on the press. Your father has both options. I prime on the press when I used my RCBS. I prime on the press for my Dillon. I hand primed for a while watching TV until I realized I got bored/didn't focus when I hand primed while doing other tasks.


The only thin I see missing from this kit is an inertia puller. I use the RCBS hammer and the shell holders fit inside the thing so when you break that little rubber band o-ring thing it comes with you don't need to buy a replacement. The shell holder you use to prime/decap is the perfect replacement.

 

[nubrun]

I wouldn't really upgrade anything. I started on a single stage and I still have it along with a Dillon 550B that was too good of a deal for me to pass up. The trimmer, case prep center and scale are great for a rifle reloader and EXCELLENT for a brand new loader. He will make one round at a time, focus on the important details, have enough automation to keep his interest and he can expand as needed. Having to manually charge every single case, clean each primer pocket, hand lube case necks and trim by hand could be a little too much work for a new reloader. With this he is setup for rifle reloading with enough automation that the extra work with rifle reloading won't seem like much.



Hand priming is for 50% of reloaders I think. The other half seem to prime on the press. Your father has both options. I prime on the press when I used my RCBS. I prime on the press for my Dillon. I hand primed for a while watching TV until I realized I got bored/didn't focus when I hand primed while doing other tasks.





The only thin I see missing from this kit is an inertia puller. I use the RCBS hammer and the shell holders fit inside the thing so when you break that little rubber band o-ring thing it comes with you don't need to buy a replacement. The shell holder you use to prime/decap is the perfect replacement.

I still have two single stage presses, I think everyone needs at least one. I started with a RCBS Jr SS, and then upgraded to a lee single stage (the classic I believe, and about the only lee product I would recommend besides dies) when I had to resize military 30-06 cases.

For reloading hunting rounds a single stage is great. I hand prime all rifle rounds, and load on a SS. Hand priming is great since it allows me to feel loose primer pockets and cull the brass as required. I will admit that any pistol stuff gets loaded and primed on the LNL-AP. Loading pistol stuff on a SS gets old real quick.

I also agree on the bullet puller, it sucks when you realized you have a problem and have to toss a round.

It's a great hobby, there is always more to learn and try.

 

[Mismost]

I started on a single stage and still use it....I just like the one step at a time method. To me handloading is about making one perfect round, not a race to 500 or 1000.

I'm not retired like your Dad, but I still have enough time to take my time. In my case I reload simply to make my rifles as accurate as possible....that means making 5 rounds test batches to work up or down to the most accurate round in THIS rifle. Tinkering around....if your Dad tinkers, he will love this gift. But...just in case....gift certificate with a picture of the reloading kit....just a thought!

 

[MNSmitty]

I have a couple presses. A Lee single stage, a lee Pro 1000, and a Hornady LnL. The pro 1000 was the first press I bought. worked just fine.
My single stage does my rifle rounds, .223 and .270
The Hornady LnL gets my 45 and 9mm done. I also cast my own 45 bullets. Sure makes shooting much cheaper.
The Pro 1000 doesnt get used much anymore...

 

[fsr_racer]

Hmmmm... He owns several different calibers small to large. Would the Rockchucker accommodate a wide range?

 

[flars]

Hmmmm... He owns several different calibers small to large. Would the Rockchucker accommodate a wide range?

The Rockchucker, like any other press, will handle all calibers. You will need to purchase individual shell holders for different calibers. They are not expensive.

 

[krackin]

The Rockchucker is tough enough to do case forming too. Mine goes back over 40 years.

 

[nubrun]

Hmmmm... He owns several different calibers small to large. Would the Rockchucker accommodate a wide range?

The rockchucker would be a fantastic press to start with. Even if he upgrades to a progressive, he will still use it to load precision rifle rounds.

The Rockchucker is tough enough to do case forming too. Mine goes back over 40 years.

I have an old RCBS junior press that has to be at least that old. They are good presses and will always have a place on the bench.

 

[DurtyChemist]

Hmmmm... He owns several different calibers small to large. Would the Rockchucker accommodate a wide range?

As others have said he will be good to go for everything except 50 caliber rifle. With a solid RCBS reloading book/internet he should be able to know when he would need a new she'll holder for a different case size. Sometimes you can use the same part for multiple rounds like 9/38/357 or 308/30-06 and save yourself a few bucks.

 

[DurtyChemist]

How did this to over? Jumping up and down or just an 'oh cool' reaction?