Looking to start reloading for an AR15 platform need advice

[Keven]

Not sure If I should go single stage or progressive. I shoot low volume 100 rounds a month and for all I know at this rate reloading may not even be worth the expense. But I feel like trying it out but one thing I don't want to do is buy junk and I don't want to over spend either so any suggestion would be appreciated.

Thanks.

 

[dhuze]

Progressive presses are fine. They are great for pistol ammo and if you ever decide you need to load competition grade ammo you can always buy a single stage later on. I started with a Lee Pro 1000 progressive and now I also have an RCBS Rock Chucker for competition loads and I still use the Lee for pistols.
I also have a Dillon progressive but if you are on a budget the Lee Pro 1000 is a better buy for the money.

 

[Romokid]

If you are only going to load for a rifle right now, I would just stick with the single stage. There are too many steps for .223/5.56 to do on a progressive press if you are looking to stay on the low side of pricing. I use a single stage for .223, resizing and de-prime then trim off press then re-prime on press. (see what I mean by too many steps to try to do on a progressive) I'm not saying you can't do it on a progressive press, but you will end up spending more than you probably would like. For a single stage press I would stick to RCBS or Hornady. I have a Lee breech lock that I got at the time for a great deal and I didn't have a lot of spare money. Now that I have saved up, I will probably grab a Hornady in the near future.

 

[Keven]

Progressive presses are fine. They are great for pistol ammo and if you ever decide you need to load competition grade ammo you can always buy a single stage later on. I started with a Lee Pro 1000 progressive and now I also have an RCBS Rock Chucker for competition loads and I still use the Lee for pistols.
I also have a Dillon progressive but if you are on a budget the Lee Pro 1000 is a better buy for the money.

The Lee Pro 1000 for $175 seems like a good deal, when you use this press what powder do you use for the .223? It also states that it comes with 1 die do you know what one? I guess I trying to figure out what other dies I need.

 

[Keven]

If you are only going to load for a rifle right now, I would just stick with the single stage. There are too many steps for .223/5.56 to do on a progressive press if you are looking to stay on the low side of pricing. I use a single stage for .223, resizing and de-prime then trim off press then re-prime on press. (see what I mean by too many steps to try to do on a progressive) I'm not saying you can't do it on a progressive press, but you will end up spending more than you probably would like. For a single stage press I would stick to RCBS or Hornady. I have a Lee breech lock that I got at the time for a great deal and I didn't have a lot of spare money. Now that I have saved up, I will probably grab a Hornady in the near future.

Well I am also debating getting two cheap Lee Single stage press's they are only $28 each.......so say $60 there a die set is $40 and that puts me at $100 but then I would need a case trimmer and a powder measure.

 

[xtry51]

Do not start with the cast aluminum Lee single stages. I use a Lee turret which works fine, but also have one of the cheap single stages. The only thing it's useful for is crimping. Get a cast iron single stage.

For .223 powder I use R15, IMR4320 and surplus 844 & 846.

 

[Keven]

Do not start with the cast aluminum Lee single stages. I use a Lee turret which works fine, but also have one of the cheap single stages. The only thing it's useful for is crimping. Get a cast iron single stage.

For .223 powder I use R15, IMR4320 and surplus 844 & 846.

Does it flex too much or crack? Thanks for the info.

 

[mac1911]

Kevin....before deciding on presses decide on a few things.
1. What is your purpose for reloading.
2. How much time do you have
3. What rifle do you have and are you looking for accuracy or just plinking.

I will answer my own questions.
1. I wanted to save money on more accurate ammo plus I was tired of driving around to 5 shops wasreing a sat to find 500 plus rounds of "match" ammo. Before any shortage this was a issue. So instead of relying on the shops to have what I want I make what I want. My current cost on "match " loads is 31 cents vs 18$+ for "match"
2 I have more time to load than shoot....approx 10 hrs a week to load vs getting out 1 time a month.
3. I have a rock river arms national match with a factory claim of 3/4 moa. I cant deliver that but off the bench my reload hover the 1" group zone.

So I use a hornady single stage purchased in kit form.
Trimmer
tumbler
Case gauge
set of calipers

As for lee......I don't think its a wise choice for someone who is uncertain if reloading is for them. I find lee to a little more quirky and less forgiving to heavy hands or those with mechanical skill. Plus if you decide reloading is not for you lee resale sucks. Hornady, Dillon, rcbs, Lyman will give you a better return.

 

[mac1911]

Well I am also debating getting two cheap Lee Single stage press's they are only $28 each.......so say $60 there a die set is $40 and that puts me at $100 but then I would need a case trimmer and a powder measure.

I don't know what "press" is 28$ unless your talking the lee classic reloader which is not a press and by no means a fun choice to reload 100 rounds for your AR..those classic loaders have there place. I use one for 32sw and 38sw. Also have one for 45 long colt if I ever getvone of those....
This is the only lee press I would buy.....I got mine used for 35$ http://www.titanreloading.com/presses/lee-classic-cast-breech-lock-press. I use it to deprime and to decrimp with the rcbs primer pocket swag tool

 

[jasons]

Not sure If I should go single stage or progressive. I shoot low volume 100 rounds a month and for all I know at this rate reloading may not even be worth the expense. But I feel like trying it out but one thing I don't want to do is buy junk and I don't want to over spend either so any suggestion would be appreciated.

Thanks.

I would start on a single stage if I were in your position. Even if you someday start shooting a lot more and decide to buy a progressive, I bet you'll still find yourself using that single stage pretty often. It won't be wasted money.

 

[mac1911]

If your looking to load cheap plinking ammo my most current price.
Hornady 55gn fmj bulk 6000/540 or. 09 per bullet.
8lbs varget 180$ comes to. .125 cents per powder charge.
primers. 03 cents ea
Or 25 cents per round.....its shoots much better than wolf or tula.
You can get less expensive powders just have not seen any that work well in the AR. I have surplus powder which cuts my per round price by 6 cents.

So if you buy 6000 bullets @540$. Enough primers to load them @ approx 200$, 3 8# jugs of powder @ 540 you can load 6000 thousand rounds for 1280 bucks @ your 1200 per year shot count that's 5 years worth of ammo vs 2400$+ you will spend on brass cased ammo @ 40 cents per round....minus the equipment expense and you save about 800$

Reloading isn't 100% about loading as cheap as possible. Its about loading better ammo for less money than buying cheap ammo. Its also about loading what you want when you want it vs wishing the gun stores with in 50 miles might have what you want and don't really care about ordering in your specific ammo?

 

[Keven]

I don't know what "press" is 28$ unless your talking the lee classic reloader which is not a press and by no means a fun choice to reload 100 rounds for your AR..those classic loaders have there place. I use one for 32sw and 38sw. Also have one for 45 long colt if I ever getvone of those....
This is the only lee press I would buy.....I got mine used for 35$ http://www.titanreloading.com/presses/lee-classic-cast-breech-lock-press. I use it to deprime and to decrimp with the rcbs primer pocket swag tool

Well I was thinking about buying two of theses so my dies would always be set in place, but not sure if they are strong enough?

http://www.dreamtone.org/reloading/press.PNG

 

[jasons]

Well I was thinking about buying two of theses so my dies would always be set in place, but not sure if they are strong enough? http://www.dreamtone.org/reloading/press.PNG

I would spend a few extra bucks and get one that has some sort of quick change die system. I like (and use) the Forster Coax, but there are others as well. The Hornady for example.

 

[mac1911]

Well I was thinking about buying two of theses so my dies would always be set in place, but not sure if they are strong enough?

http://www.dreamtone.org/reloading/press.PNG

I think you will lead yourself into disappointment with that press.

 

[Keven]

I will look into the better made cast iron press.

Thanks.

 

[Fixxah]

Get a Rock Chucker.

-Proud to be dad every day, a licensed plumber most days, and wish I was a shoemaker on others.

 

[xtry51]

Does it flex too much or crack? Thanks for the info.

Lots of flex and no positive cam over. I second splurging on a Rockchucker. You'll be very happy and resizing will be effortless.

If you want an in between, get the Lee 4 position Turret. I love mine.

 

[Keven]

Lots of flex and no positive cam over. I second splurging on a Rockchucker. You'll be very happy and resizing will be effortless.

If you want an in between, get the Lee 4 position Turret. I love mine.

That Lee 4 pos Turret does have good reviews on it; Are you also using the Lee powder drop?

How do you like the primer feeder on the Lee?

 

[xtry51]

That Lee 4 pos Turret does have good reviews on it; Are you also using the Lee powder drop?

How do you like the primer feeder on the Lee?

I'm using the autodisk with the adjustable charge bar for .223. Works fine +/-.1 grains with ball org flake powders. It doesn't like stick powders as much +/-.2gr there.

I hand prime all my brass. I have a Lee and RCBS. The RCBS has a nicer handle. The primer system on the Lee Turret is not reliable.

 

[mac1911]

You can get some good info here http://loadmastervideos.com/ poke around on the forum link on the left. They have info on most lee products. The guys over on cast boolits. Com seem to use a lot of lee products. Although the guys over there are frugal and most likely bought their lee presses used for pennies on the dollar .
Why not take a reloading class to see if its even something you would like to do. It becomes a hobby in its self.

 

[edhead35]

I would go with a single stage. Hornady lock n load or an rcbs, etc. You can build up a nice basic kit for short money.

Best investment you can make is take a class like EddieCoyle 's class.
Www.Massreloading.Com

When you need to upgrade you will always use that single stage for load development and for the Pre progressive operations on rifle rounds.

 

[dhuze]

The Lee Pro 1000 for $175 seems like a good deal, when you use this press what powder do you use for the .223? It also states that it comes with 1 die do you know what one? I guess I trying to figure out what other dies I need.

It comes with the die you tell them you want. You can buy others and you can buy plates so it just takes a quarter turn to swap them out without having to set them up again.
I use AA 2520 for my .223/5.56.

 

[MAshooter1]

Keven,

I was in a very similar place about a year ago (Pre-Sandy Hook). I ended up going for the Rock Chucker since it's an O frame press (if you look at it you'll know why) and thus will not deform, bend or break under lots of reloading cycles. Plus you can use it for larger calibers if you want...

I also bought a Hornady LNL for pistol, and I now use that for .223 loads as well when I want to load volume plinking ammo. I'd like to do a repeatability test between the Rock Chucker and the LNL but I don't really have the appropriate gauge for it (gauge off ogive of bullet as opposed to OAL/Overall Length). I suspect the two are very close.

 

[Keven]

How about for the bullets I am a little confused about crimping and the difference between bullets with a cannelure and ones without??

 

[MAshooter1]

How about for the bullets I am a little confused about crimping and the difference between bullets with a cannelure and ones without??

Easy. I haven't been able to tell a huge difference between the two but I prefer bullets without a cannelure for precision shooting and with a cannelure for bulk plinking.

Essentially, there are two different styles of crimp: roll crimp (for cannelured projectiles) and taper crimp (no cannelure). The roll crimp rolls the mouth of the brass into the cannelure, while the taper crimp compresses the side of the bullet and squeezes it to keep it from coming out.

 

[Keven]

Easy. I haven't been able to tell a huge difference between the two but I prefer bullets without a cannelure for precision shooting and with a cannelure for bulk plinking.

Essentially, there are two different styles of crimp: roll crimp (for cannelured projectiles) and taper crimp (no cannelure). The roll crimp rolls the mouth of the brass into the cannelure, while the taper crimp compresses the side of the bullet and squeezes it to keep it from coming out.

Is my die selection then dependent on the bullet type I choose?

 

[MAshooter1]

Is my die selection then dependent on the bullet type I choose?

Not really. Most dies can do either a roll or taper crimp. By example, the RCBS die set I bought for .223 Rem (5.56) can do either crimp. I would buy a 2-die set when you're just getting started and then depending on where you want to take your adventures, buy a micrometer seating die from Redding (which is what I did). The 2-die set does a good job of educating you on how to set the press up and get making ammo; save the micrometer die for later when you get comfortable.

 

[Keven]

Thanks for the info.......I am getting close to making my initial purchase.

 

[MAshooter1]

Thanks for the info.......I am getting close to making my initial purchase.

If you're getting into reloading...don't go for the cheap stuff initially. The way I saw it, I didn't want to regret buying stuff I couldn't use later. I can load ANY caliber except .50 cal (which I don't ever expect to own) on the RC, and use the LNL for mass producing pistol and .223 ammo.

 

[EddieCoyle]

Go with a Rockchucker or L-N-L Classic instead of the Lee single stage. I had one and ended up giving it away.