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Looking to start reloading for an AR15 platform need advice
- Thread starter Keven
- Start date
X2 on Jasons comments.
As for reloading, it's not horribly difficult to setup the dies. Hell, most dies come with instructions in the box (read them, they're short and a good start). Also, start scouring you-tube and reading a reloading manual (buy at least one and reference the known reloading websites for comparison).
I taught myself to reload by reading, reading, reading, reading some more and watching various online videos.
Best of luck with the lee products... let us know how they work for you.
As for reloading, it's not horribly difficult to setup the dies. Hell, most dies come with instructions in the box (read them, they're short and a good start). Also, start scouring you-tube and reading a reloading manual (buy at least one and reference the known reloading websites for comparison).
I taught myself to reload by reading, reading, reading, reading some more and watching various online videos.
Best of luck with the lee products... let us know how they work for you.
Sign up for Kittery Trading Post's email specials. A little while back they had 25% off and free shipping for in-stock merchandise. I picked up 2 Rockchuckers for $117 each shipped, and added a scale and a set of dies to get the order to $300 to qualify for a $50 rebate from RCBS.
I ended up spending $250 for $400 worth of stuff.
I later sold one of the presses and the scale on ebay for a total of $260.
I also found out why people on ebay are willing to pay over the list price: They don't have a credit card.
I ended up spending $250 for $400 worth of stuff.
I later sold one of the presses and the scale on ebay for a total of $260.
I also found out why people on ebay are willing to pay over the list price: They don't have a credit card.
This.
Follow the instructions on each set of dies. Sometimes they are a bit different. Also, use a matching shell holder to the set of dies. Sometimes mixing brands, can be screwy with headspace measurements. Take into account cam over, if applicable. Cam over is where some presses reach their max height, then drop a little when the handle hits the stop. Others hit max height when the handle stops.
ITS TIME FOR A MANUAL I think you buddy is the last person you need to consult then......the lee die set works just fine. Follow the instructions. The problem you will run into sizeing rifle brass on that little press is it flexed a lot. It will give you a false sense of a full stroke. Does your buddy have this press also?
You don't need small base dies.....get a Wilson case guage or a rcbs precision mic set up your dies right.. I hope things work for you. I get lee stuff to work but except for dies I buy used cheap.
Note on switching shell holders....yes you can run into problems. Although I found with the use of my rcbs mic the rcbs work well with my lee dies.
When it comes to hornady or rcbs and reading I have not had any issues with their parts. Both my lee 223 and 7mm jap shell holders are loos fit and will slip past the case rim....lee sent me free replacements but they didn't do well either? Lee did give me a free shipping discount on some other stuff to compensate my troubles. I mailed the crappy parts to them. I received a thank you we will look into it email....that was 3 years ago.
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We seem to have started down the same path. I too bought the little $30 Lee press and use it to this day. Works fine on straight walled pistol calibers but ran into it's limitations when I tried to size and deprime some 7.62x39. I knew if I tried to force the Lee to do this task it was going to break. So I looked for a bigger, better press. I too chose the Redding Big Boss. But the used RCBS for half the price I came across at Riley's won out in the end.
To summarize: You probably have to get a better press for sizing your 5.56 and at that point why do anything on the sloppy little Lee?
To summarize: You probably have to get a better press for sizing your 5.56 and at that point why do anything on the sloppy little Lee?
Well not all will be lost because I will just use it for my 9mm or 38. Though there is a guy on youtube that actally likes this press for loading .223's he said he liked the short stroke it had. Go to 30:54 to cut to the chase and see this press in action.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SXYCHd75a6I
I reload a lot of .223. I'd never do a single round on that press. The short stroke sucks for resizing.
I'm one of the bigger Lee users here and even I think that press should be eliminated from production.
I'm one of the bigger Lee users here and even I think that press should be eliminated from production.
Yeah you been against this press from the beginning and I think you said it was only good for crimping and maybe it will collect dust on me too. But that guy in the video sure liked it and said he wanted to by another one.
Good luck Keven. Read up a lot so you don't kill yourself or wreck your rifle.
You know how your friend makes rounds that sometimes won't chamber and get stuck? That's going to happen with the press you bought.
I know you were able to find a video with a guy that liked it, but there are a lot of people here with a fair bit of experience loading for ARs that have tried to warn you off it.
You know how your friend makes rounds that sometimes won't chamber and get stuck? That's going to happen with the press you bought.
I know you were able to find a video with a guy that liked it, but there are a lot of people here with a fair bit of experience loading for ARs that have tried to warn you off it.
I reload .223 and 300 Blackout on a progressive press. If cases need trimming, do do that on the fired brass before putting it the press. Done that way, it is fewer steps than pistol. With pistol you also have a flare die (unless you have a setup to flare the case using the powder feeding die). On my Hornady Lock n Load Auto Progressive press, .223 goes like this:
Stage 1 upstroke decaps and resizes
Stage 1 downstroke primes
Stage 2 upstroke dispenses powder
Stage 3 seats and crimps.
Stages 4 and 5 are unused.
Every cycle of the handle produces a finished round.
The powder measure reliably drops within a tenth of a grain. The resulting ammo has 1 moa or better accuracy.
Piece of cake. I started on a single stage when I was learning and then moved to a progressive. I kept the single stage thinking that I would use it for rifle too. Then I found that rifle was no more difficult than pistol on a progressive and haven't used my single stage press since.
But a single stage press is certainly cheaper than a progressive. And you do have to spend some time getting the progressive adjusted just right. They are designed to crank out a lot of high quality rounds in a short time. And they do it.
If you are a 100 round a month kind of guy, save yourself some money and stick with single stage. I prefer to do 500 to 1000 rounds per sitting with the progressive.
Romokid
NES Member
Huh, I was kinda taught to trim after re-sizing, but to each his own. I do put my rifle brass on the progressive press, after I have re-sized, trimmed and re-primed, to powder drop, bullet seating and crimp (I just give it a little kiss with the LEE FCD.)
You can trim them first when you don't care if they all come out the same length.
You buddy sounds like hes doing it his special way with out reguard to the directions. If you take your time follow directions jams or shifty ammo is not common. Yes we all might run into issues but your friends problems have nothing to do with the money spent on the press. Sounds like your friend would have issues with the lee or a Dillon 1050...
Hmmmmm maybe Kevin is really the friend who after frustration with expensive stuff thinks its easier with cheap stuff. Wink wink........I lost my smiley collection? Hmmm where that go?
The RCBS Rockchucker doesn't cam over. I guess you can't believe everything you see in a video.
richc
NES Member
I too was a newbie reloader five years ago. I made every mistake known to mankind. But I'm a stubborn bastard and, with the help of a few posts here on NES, I made my way.
You buddy's ammo problems sound like newbie issues. Yup, I had them in .223. I was not pushing the shoulder's down enough resulting in lots of issues. Slowly but surely I came around and got it all working, and understand most of it these days.
It takes persistence. And training if you can. I chose the path of learning myself. If I had to do it all over again I'd probably go to a class. There's a lot of little things you only learn the hard way, and a class can help you get over that hump.
Or you can walk miles on broken glass like I did...
You buddy's ammo problems sound like newbie issues. Yup, I had them in .223. I was not pushing the shoulder's down enough resulting in lots of issues. Slowly but surely I came around and got it all working, and understand most of it these days.
It takes persistence. And training if you can. I chose the path of learning myself. If I had to do it all over again I'd probably go to a class. There's a lot of little things you only learn the hard way, and a class can help you get over that hump.
Or you can walk miles on broken glass like I did...
inerlogic
NES Member
TL;DR
go with the RCBS rockchucker, the thing is a tank, your granddaughter will pass it on to her son.....
start off with single stage, get the process down, then you can invest in a progressive as your volume increases (or if you switch to pistol, 300 pistol rounds single stage is a PITA) but i can crank through 200 .223 rounds in no time with my rock chucker....
read whatever EddieCoyle posts in this thread and follow his advice, if you haven't taken his metallic cartridge reloading class yet... TAKE IT....
go with the RCBS rockchucker, the thing is a tank, your granddaughter will pass it on to her son.....
start off with single stage, get the process down, then you can invest in a progressive as your volume increases (or if you switch to pistol, 300 pistol rounds single stage is a PITA) but i can crank through 200 .223 rounds in no time with my rock chucker....
read whatever EddieCoyle posts in this thread and follow his advice, if you haven't taken his metallic cartridge reloading class yet... TAKE IT....
