Went to Cabelas today for socks

[Meatwad]

And walked out with this....



Now I have a some questions.

1. What the hell did I get myself into?

I'm sold on the kit yet. The past few days I was kicking around buying just the press and piecing together the rest as I really would get the charge master scale and powder measure. A fellow forum member had told me check out Lee. I was asking the guy at Cableas questions about the Lee to some of which I knew the answer to check his knowledge as he seem to be steering me away from Lee. I asked if you can use any die like RCBS, or Hornday in the Lee press. He said he wasnt sure so he opened and tried screwing in a die without the Breech lock bushing and said looks like you can't. So I grabbed the bushing can screwed it in and suprise, suprise it fit. I told him I plan on loading 9mm, .45 colt, .30-06, .223, and probably a popular varmint round a bit later on. He to go with the Hornady press then as it the wasn't durable enough for the .30-06 and would last as long. Now I'm not going to be spending hours every night reloading but I'm all gung ho so I will probably do my far share in the first few years. So my question 2.

2. Was that informaiton accurate about the Lee not being durable enough for the .30-06 over time?

3. Wet or dry tumbling. I have been watching a bunch of youtube videos and have been very impressed by the wet tumbling method. Seem like a few extra steps but I belive it will be quieter and I don't want all the dust. Plus the pins last forever. Again the guy at Cabelas was pushing me towards the corn cob media (perhaps because they dont sell the pins) but he said that the pins will damage the necks of the cases (dent and bend them). I didnt hear anyone even mention that in reviews of the media or the videos on you tube.

4. If you wet tumble you should decap first correct? So a universal decapping die is a must?

Sorry for the long post. I will have more quesitons for you relaoders. I know this isnt a reloading forum so I apologize. Going to start setting up a shop in the basement this weekend will post pictures.

[pokey]

you did fine. changing/resetting dies is the drawback of a single press.
get a bunch of the quick changers. the lee equipment ,to quote his book
is only 3 or 4 times stronger than you need, while some are 10 or more times.
thus the price difference. for what it's worth i've never seen a broken press,
worn out yes, of any make.

you got the right tumbler for wet/steel pin media, that runs heavy and will
tear up a light vibrator. yeah decap first.

oh, i'm running one of these lately, with a bunch of extra turrets, i never rest dies,
just pop out a turret and pop in another. plenty strong so far.

http://www.midwayusa.com/Product/814175 ... rret-press

[pshort]

Nice sox !!! Did you get any? If not, you may have to go back!!!!

Paul

[Bullard4075]

That outfitter was a moron. I know I work there too.
Lee dies are fine quality. The only problem I have with Lee
dies is they use a rubber o-ring to lock the die in adjustment and
it doesn't hold adjustment removing and reinstalling the die.
Dies by Lyman,Lee,RCBS,Dillon and virtually all others use a 7/8x14
thread and interchange between different makes.
The press (any press) sans abuse will outlast you. Yes, a Lee press
is made lighter (aluminum) but is very durable for any but the most
prolific reloader.
Wet case cleaners are much the rage. Among their advantages are a fast
cycle (8 minutes or so) and cleaning the primer pocket and inside of the case.
They clean (but don't polish) the outside of the case but the pocket not so much.
Cleaning the inside of the case is needless and simply marketing.
The steel pins will not harm your case in any way.
When the cycle completes one is left with wet cases.

I recommend the cheapest vibritory (dry) case cleaner you can buy, I don't know of a poor one.
Use ground corn cob media - I really do like the green Lyman - it in my experience it polishes brighter.
The ground up nut shell media is better (I'm told) for really dirty (range pickings) cases but in my use of it
for 20 years or so it is much dirtier especially as it ages and breaks down leaving a red ( I used the red Lyman)
dust on the cases. The media lasts for a very long time and after wearing can be refreshed with a capful or two of
polish or as I do use new media as I only fill my cleaner with half the big $15 Lyman bottle at a time.

Write more later, have to go watch Blue Bloods.

[TedH]

That's a lot better than socks.

[AJMD429]

I use my Lee turret with dies in the $7.00 turrets so I don't have to readjust them every time. I have a Dillon and a Rock Chucker but the Lee is tough and fast and my favorite. The Dillon is better if I want to load LOTS of something, but even with the micrometer powder-bar I installed, takes more setting up time. The Rock Chucker is better for something I want to go very slowly with and supervise each step. ALL are plenty strong and will outlast me.

Basically all the major brands of presses all work so well that is why we get so hard core about our own favorites.

[octagon]

I went to Bass Pro last week for some fishing line for two reels. 450 dollars later, I had it.

[sore shoulder]

Sales guy definitely didn't know what he was talking about. However the breech lock single stage isn't the best press for reloading semi auto pistol ammo just because it will be so slow. Like others here I'm a big fan of the Lee turret press. I have my turrets set up with thier own powder measures for pistol and .223 so there is no setup time at all. Bigger cases its just the dies but still infinitely faster. And for high volume the auto index feature is nearly as fast as a progressive without the side affects.

[Meatwad]

Yeah, I do realize that this will not be the fastest for reloading the pistol ammo but I am just looking learn right now and by almost everything I read people said start with a single stage if you are just starting out. Others though said just jump right into a progressive. I'm that kind of person though I want to learn the skills step by step. Maybe I will progressive when I end up shooting more because of this thing.

[sore shoulder]

You won't be wrong using that press.

As far as starting on a single stage, yes that is the best way. The turret press can be used in the exact same manner as a single stage, except instead of changing dies, you simply rotate the turret to the next die. It takes a single stage to the next level without the complications of a progressive.

[M. M. Wright]

Buy your sox at Bass Pro. Their LIFETIME marino wool socks are $10 per pair and you never have to buy them again. When they wear out just trade them for a new pair. I have 10 pairs.
I think you did fine for your first reloading adventure. I like Dillons vibrator with crushed walnut hulls for media. I add a little polish and once in a while some turpentine, not too much, just a capfull or so. I buy 50 pound bags of well plug hulls. Well usually I get it from some roustabout and it doesn't cost me anything.
When you get around to buying a progressive, buy a Dillon. I promise you it will last almost indefinitely and produce a loaded round with every pull of the handle. Mine is only a 550 but is plenty fast enough for an IPSC or SASS shooter. It will do 30-06 and 7 mags too.
Did you buy a load manual? You need several but start with the Hogdon as it has most other powders listed too. Maybe it's the only one you need. Oh, you definitely need a digital scale too. I don't have one but wish I did.
Blessings

[mikld]

As noted above the salesman didn't know much about what he was selling (if he knew as little about any other product as he knows about reloading, he wouldn't have a job). Nuttin' wrong with Lee equipment, their aluminum press will prolly last longer than most folks will reload.

[olyinaz]

I went to Bass Pro last week for some fishing line for two reels. 450 dollars later, I had it.

I resemble that remark...

[Blaine]

Cabela's is a danger to my budget

[Chuck 100 yd]

What BlaineG said +1 ...

I have no issue with adjusting dies. After 50 years of reloading I can do it in my sleep.
I experiment with so many bullet/case combinations that almost every batch will require adjustments of some kind.
You can buy a big box of crushed walnut shells from Harbor Freight reasonable. I buy the fine stuff and find it don`t clog flash holes at all. I may have to pick media out of one or two out of 100. I like Dillons
polish the best. My Thumblers tumbler is way too small to do as much brass as I shoot but I think mine is one of the ones ment for beginners to polish rocks in. The barrel only holds about a quart of brass and media.
Have fun!

[Meatwad]

Well bench is for the most part finished. I still need some bins, and I think I'm going to pick up a cabinet drawer for underneath.



So the dies said to clean them out with a solvent before using as the facotry oil can mess up the the powder. how do you go about doing that and what solvents are you all using?

[Blaine]

IPA works pretty good....Non-CL2 brake cleaner outside is decent.