reloading questions

[savage308]

I am getting into reloading and i have a couple of questions. I have already decided on the kit Im buying its the hornady lock n load kit

There are two hornady case tumblers the 110 volt and 220 volt which one is better and what is the difference?

If i buy a RCBS trim mate case prep center is there anything else i will need for case prepping?

What do i need for starting to reload and what else is good to have?

i don't have anything yet. what should i get?

[YBNORMAL]

Did you read the sticky in this subforum yet?

[savage308]

yeah and i forgot about it

[Steeltown Joe]

The 110 V tumbler is the one you want ! Plugs into reg. household outlets !

Steeltown

[max384]

First off, great decision to start reloading! You may find that it becomes as much of a hobby as shooting guns in the first place (which led you to start reloading). It happened to me.

If you don't have any reloading equipment yet, buy a 'starter kit.' Most of the reloading companies sell these kits and they'll save you a ton of money over buying each piece of equipment individually.

First thing you should buy is a reloading manual or two. Lyman's 49th is my favorite. Lee also makes a good one. Read the reloading sections in the front of the books before you do any reloading. You'll be glad you did.

After you've done that, you're gonna need (in no particular order):
-press
-dies
-components (bullets, cases, powder, primers)
-tumbler (110V!!!! 220V is for Europe)
-scale
-powder thrower or funnel
-a priming tool (unless your press has one built in, which I believe most, if not all do - I just don't have experience with hornady presses)
-case lube
-case trimmer (as far as I know, the trim mate does not trim brass, it just processes them after trimming, I haven't used this though, someone correct me if I'm wrong)
-inside and outside chamfer/deburring tool
-case neck brushes
-primer pocket brush (optional in my opinion. I quit cleaning out primer pockets long ago)
-the items listed in red are included in the RCBS trim mate if you decide to get that.

I believe I've listed everything you'll need, but if not, someone will mention it, I'm sure.

Which Hornady lock n load are you looking at? The classic or progressive? If you're looking at the progressive press, I would highly suggest against it. It is very expensive... and you don't know if you'll even like it. Second, there is a lot of different things going on at the same time and it can be very confusing for someone who has never loaded before. I would suggest a single station or turret press to start with. If you don't like reloading, there isn't as much time and money invested. Also, a single stage or turret belongs at every reloading bench IMO. If you're trying to make precision rifle rounds or you're only making five or so rounds at a time to test a load, it's much better to do that on a single station or turret, rather than getting a progressive set up for five rounds (especially if your gun doesn't like the load).

Good luck!

[arjohnson]

Good choice, if your going to get into reloading get a progressive press. take your time learning how to use it, read the directions and follow the reloading manuels.

[dk99358]

Max has pretty well nailed it. I'll second his suggestion for the Lyman manual.

Also, if funds are tight, and you're not picking up cruddy range brass, you can skip the tumbler for a while, just use a rag to wipe the case lube off. Also, check around on tumblers, they are pretty much the same. Cabelas has one on sale right now for about 49 bucks, the Frankford Arsenal brand from Midway or Grafs is a lot cheaper than the Hornady. When it comes time for new tumbler media, you can get ground walnut at Pet Smart type stores. I think corn cob is available too.

I usually use a small screw driver to scrape the crud out of the primer pocket while I'm inspecting cases instead of a brush. But like max said, that's kind of optional.

You'll need the funnel right away, a powder measure can be purchased later when you're sure of what you're doing. I like RCBS for this.

Dale

[brian]

-tumbler (110V!!!! 220V is for Europe)
Good luck!

the difference is Hz's between the US and Europe. we us 60hz they went with 50hz.

your washer and dryer, more than likely run on 220v.

if you have 220v wired where you're working, it would'nt hurt to run the tumbler on the 220v.

[max384]

the difference is Hz's between the US and Europe. we us 60hz they went with 50hz.

your washer and dryer, more than likely run on 220v.

if you have 220v wired where you're working, it would'nt hurt to run the tumbler on the 220v.

Even our washer and dryers that run on 220v still use 60 hz. They also use completely different plugs. If he was going to get the 220v tumbler, he would need to either get a transformer and plug into 110v or get an adapter (I've never seen a European 220v to US 220v plug adapter).

Furthermore, a motor meant to run on 50hz will run faster on 60hz... which may either burn out the engine or, at the least, decrease the life of the engine. Conversely, if a 110v (60hz) motor is plugged into a voltage converter that converts 220v to 110v, the cycle speed with still be 50hz and the motor will run slowly.

Long story short. Buy 110v!!!

[savage308]

First off, great decision to start reloading! You may find that it becomes as much of a hobby as shooting guns in the first place (which led you to start reloading). It happened to me.

If you don't have any reloading equipment yet, buy a 'starter kit.' Most of the reloading companies sell these kits and they'll save you a ton of money over buying each piece of equipment individually.

First thing you should buy is a reloading manual or two. Lyman's 49th is my favorite. Lee also makes a good one. Read the reloading sections in the front of the books before you do any reloading. You'll be glad you did.

After you've done that, you're gonna need (in no particular order):
-press
-dies
-components (bullets, cases, powder, primers)
-tumbler (110V!!!! 220V is for Europe)
-scale
-powder thrower or funnel
-a priming tool (unless your press has one built in, which I believe most, if not all do - I just don't have experience with hornady presses)
-case lube
-case trimmer (as far as I know, the trim mate does not trim brass, it just processes them after trimming, I haven't used this though, someone correct me if I'm wrong)
-inside and outside chamfer/deburring tool
-case neck brushes
-primer pocket brush (optional in my opinion. I quit cleaning out primer pockets long ago)
-the items listed in red are included in the RCBS trim mate if you decide to get that.

I believe I've listed everything you'll need, but if not, someone will mention it, I'm sure.

Which Hornady lock n load are you looking at? The classic or progressive? If you're looking at the progressive press, I would highly suggest against it. It is very expensive... and you don't know if you'll even like it. Second, there is a lot of different things going on at the same time and it can be very confusing for someone who has never loaded before. I would suggest a single station or turret press to start with. If you don't like reloading, there isn't as much time and money invested. Also, a single stage or turret belongs at every reloading bench IMO. If you're trying to make precision rifle rounds or you're only making five or so rounds at a time to test a load, it's much better to do that on a single station or turret, rather than getting a progressive set up for five rounds (especially if your gun doesn't like the load).

Good luck!

the single press from hornady