SmallCaliberCentral

So with all of this B/S going on down in the states and the price of everything on the rise, i though about getting into handloading. Now i have been lookin online and have seem many types of loaders. But what does a guy start with. I would personally like to buy somthing good so i dont have to buy it again. I have been doing alot of reading and have found alot of information on the RCBS starter kit, and Also alot of info on the Hornady and the Dillion 550b. Now what do you guys think a guy should start out with. I have abuot 12 rifles that i can buy die's to reload for and i shoot them all about the same(about 200-300/year/Rifle) and some more or less. Any infor would Help. Also any accessories a guy should buy so he has them down the road? BTW i like the site as it has alot of usful information and these .204's are a fun rifle for hunting either gophers or yotes.

Kiel

Go with a Forster CoAx. Single stage and takes seconds to change dies. You don't load enough to warrant a progressive setup.

I prefer Redding, Forster, Hornady, & RCBS dies (in that order).

Preference of the Hornady, Redding, or RCBS powder measures (with baffle and micrometer adjustment).

Like the Forster case trimmer for small lots of trimming. Lee for higher volume (the stud & cutter type), or a Possum Hollow for high volume.

LOVE the RCBS prep station.

Prefer the VLD inside chamfer.

I agree with Acloco except I own a rockchucker press . My next press purchace will be a Forster coax press. Buy quality the first time. Cry once ! Get on the list a few post down for the free reloading dvd , it help me when I started. Lurking around this site sure does not hurt either, lots of great info can be found here . Enjoy

Without starting a major war..and not knowing more specifics,,, age, etc...I look at your question a little differently...Since you are in Canada, it may be a moot point anyway...

I've shot handgun action competition for may years and recently (within 5 years) started getting into three gun matches and loading for 3 ARs as well as my bolts. I have an older Lee Progressive set up for my handguns and wish it could be adapted to feed my ARs..

I have a Forster Co-Ax and dies that turn out some really excellent rounds, but wish I could justify a Dillon 550 and the attachments for my .204s and .223s.

I think a lot of it depends on how long you are thinking you will be reloading and at what rate of use...(I'm over 65 and my potential for needing high volume is limited more every year). If I read your post right, that was 12 firearms but not sure if it was a total of 200-300 rds per year or 200-300 rds per year, per firearm....in which case a progressive would be your best bet...

OldTurtle wrote:Without starting a major war..and not knowing more specifics,,, age, etc...I look at your question a little differently...Since you are in Canada, it may be a moot point anyway...

I've shot handgun action competition for may years and recently (within 5 years) started getting into three gun matches and loading for 3 ARs as well as my bolts. I have an older Lee Progressive set up for my handguns and wish it could be adapted to feed my ARs..

I have a Forster Co-Ax and dies that turn out some really excellent rounds, but wish I could justify a Dillon 550 and the attachments for my .204s and .223s.

I think a lot of it depends on how long you are thinking you will be reloading and at what rate of use...(I'm over 65 and my potential for needing high volume is limited more every year). If I read your post right, that was 12 firearms but not sure if it was a total of 200-300 rds per year or 200-300 rds per year, per firearm....in which case a progressive would be your best bet...

Well As for age im 23. I do alot of shooting on my days off of work. I usually work 3 weeks and then a week off. As for shooting, I can usually put 2-300/year through each rifle. I think last year alone i put 10 box's through my Marlin 357/38 lever action. And my 300 Win mag i put about 5-6 boxs through it also. The biggest reason i want to get into handloading is the amount i spend on a shells. I think last year i spent close to 3k on shells alone, not including the purchase of some rifles. M neighbour was also lookin and said he would slipt the cost with me as he shoots his 22-250 everyday(he runs a feedlot with abut 600 head plus his own). And his nephew also shoots a 22-250. So i meen when were gonna sit down and load some shot, im not talking abut making 100-200 at a time, Im thinking more or less 500-1000 at a time. We have alot of guys in the area that reload and some were more then welcoming to show me how. But i would like to find something that i only have to buy once. I dont mind spending money on the stuff cause i look at it as an investment for years to come. So the one time fee isnt a big deal.

OldTurtle wrote:Without starting a major war..and not knowing more specifics,,, age, etc...I look at your question a little differently...Since you are in Canada, it may be a moot point anyway...

O and BTW, there is no war here, just lookin for opinions.

Thanks again

Im up in Sask as well I don't think you're going to save much when you take into the cost of completly setting yourself up to reload with quailty reloading components. The one thing you will gain is the abililty to tailor a load to your rifle and load bullets which you can't find in a factory box.
If you're wanting a Dillan set-up here in Canada get ready to spend some serious coin. Ive got a Lee Classic cast which can handle a 50 BMG, its a solid press and now comes with a turret which I wish I got.
If you're looking for some used equipment I suggest hitting some of the canadian gun forums, you can find some good stuff for 1/2 the price of new.

Cheers!!

scott_r wrote:Im up in Sask as well I don't think you're going to save much when you take into the cost of completly setting yourself up to reload with quailty reloading components. The one thing you will gain is the abililty to tailor a load to your rifle and load bullets which you can't find in a factory box.
If you're wanting a Dillan set-up here in Canada get ready to spend some serious coin. Ive got a Lee Classic cast which can handle a 50 BMG, its a solid press and now comes with a turret which I wish I got.
If you're looking for some used equipment I suggest hitting some of the canadian gun forums, you can find some good stuff for 1/2 the price of new.

Cheers!!

Ya i know the equiptment isnt cheap but im not worried. I found a complete dillion set up for around a 1k with shipping and a digital scale and such and the first set of dies.

Also what about the hornady stuff. I was lookin in the new predator xtreme mag and there stuff doesnt look to bad. And i think it is reasonalbly priced stuff too.Plus with that new promotion a guy can get 1000 rounds with there progresive sysem(only 600can from wholesale) and it looks like a nice set up. But i can really find much info on them.

Also what canadian forums are there. I haven't been able to find any good ones. And thanks for the advice again guys and Scott_R, well have to go line up some dogs one day if your interested.

Kiel

Well I have been handloading for 20 years and thats including the years that my dad taught me how to handload on a lee handloader during black powder cartridge shoots, and I have two set ups in my gun room. One is for target shooting, and one is for large volume varmint shooting. The first is my single stage press which is a lee cast press. Now I know that lee is a name that everyone classifies with cheep but it has served me well and produces highly acurate rounds. I also use that setup for my big game loads. Now my high volume setup is a Dillon 550b. It by far is the best progressive on the market with the best warenty there is. When they say a no BS warenty they mean it. I to use Forster dies and other Forester products in my loading but that Dillon progressive is the way to go if your wanting acurate rounds. Now I love rolling my own and spending time at the bench but I love shooting more and also my father-in-law HOTSHOT got me started in progressive reloading when he let me use his Dillon. So if you can see your self shooting more than 500 rounds a summer at anything that would be classified as varmint, and I am talking about the animal type varmints, then a dillon in my opinion is the way to go. If not then a good single stage set up like Forster, or Redding is the ticket. Either way get into reloading and you will never look back at another factory round again. These fine people on this site will not lead wrong and they give good advice. Thanks for your time and Ride Up!!!

Thanks for your opinion on the dillion. I would like to get into it as it will be cheap and from what i have read about the dillion on various sites, it seems like alot of volume loaders use the dillion and swear by it. Well im gonna look into a dillion i think and ill keep you posted on what i decide to go with.

The Dillon is a great choice and I think you will be very happy whith it. Ride Up!!!

Shane Gould

We have a Dillan dealer here in Sask, his name is Doug Rainer and he runs "Rainer Shine gunworks" and is located near Leader Sk. Great fellow to deal with and has pretty good prices, he also deals in rifles so maybe you'll come home with a Dilan progressive and a new varmint gun

Cheers!!

Well its been a long time since i updated. I ended up not going with a progressive press. I went with a RCBS single stage press and so far so good. I havent had much time to reload but i did up 150 rounds today to go try once the weather smartens up. I found that my rifle really likes the 40grn stuff. Im gonna try and figure out what my gun likes the most and go from there. Its suppose to be nice tommorow so i might get out to do some shooting.

204saskman: You can try over at http://predatorhuntcanada.ca/forum/
great bunch of guys over there and Todd Bartell and others have tons of info. It's pretty quiet over there now cuz things don't usually pick up until predator season starts.
I know that they do have one sponser from Saskatchewan. Prairie Gun Traders. Don't really know anything about them but they are local for you.
There's a ton of Canadian content over at http://www.canadiangunnutz.com/ as well. This site is usually quite busy.

Sorry to stray from topic, but where are you guys getting your powder from in sask lately. wholesale don't have much of any powder/primers unless you shoot pistols or bmg. Russles in Cow town wont ship powder. cabella's/SIR out of stock on most of their common stuff as well.

BOGGAN wrote:Sorry to stray from topic, but where are you guys getting your powder from in sask lately. wholesale don't have much of any powder/primers unless you shoot pistols or bmg. Russles in Cow town wont ship powder. cabella's/SIR out of stock on most of their common stuff as well.

What do you need? I have been getting mine from various stores down south here and so on. Its in short suppy but i can get some stuff if you need and i can help ya out if need.