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Count me In!

Itsricmo

Itsricmo

.30-06
After a long awaited period of time... I finally got some reloading equipment to start my own shin-dig!
My family all bought me a Lee Precision Challenger Kit and Digital Dial Calipers for OAL. I already have some Powder, Primers and Bullets with my Brass... All I need now are 30-06 Dies!!! :D So, Oli, you can stop picking on me :) I finally "bit the bullet" lol (or my family did for me, either way!)

Once I get it set up or somewhat assembled I will throw up some photos!



~Rick
 
Thanks, Guys! It's only a single stage press, no fancy turret, but I think that is going to work out better for me.
I'll be able to focus on everything a little better, versus just cranking out shells
 
Great news, Rick! That's a fine press, and one you'll use for a long long time.

A turret press is simply a single stage that holds a full die set in a circle, each one already adjusted for the next step, so you really aren't missing anything, particularly for a rifle cartridge. FOR RIFLE AMMO (bottleneck stuff) after sizing the case down and depriming it with the first die you have to stop anyway to check for case length and trim them as needed. A TON of rifle shooters use nothing but single stage presses!

Progressive presses can crank up the output per hour but you'll rarely see .30-06 ever attempted on a progressive.

What powder do you have to start out with? What bullets and primers? Do you have a load manual?

I'm really excited for you!
 
Im still working on the load manual.. Probably going to go with Hornady, there are books laying around everywhere.
Bullets: 150grn Hornady Spire Point
Powder: IMR 4850
Primers: Winchester Large Rifle

This combination was given to me by my Uncle-in-law (if that is an actual title haha) and he said it works very well for him.
Winchester is also the only primer within about 100 miles of my house. So I am going to have to "make due" with what I got.
As for the C.OAL, I got them fancy digital dial calipers for measurement and full case resizing dies, not just neck. I think that will help out. I can't forget to lube them up >.< the press came with all kinds of case preparation stuff, chamfer, deburer, primer pocket, etc.... I am pretty sure I literally only need dies to go haha
 
That's awesome Rick! That's the set up I started with and I like it very much. Let me know what you think of the powder dispenser after you have used it awhile. Now you can start keeping an eye out for cheap brass to collect up...free is even better.
 
Rick,

The Hornady manual is a great book for .30-06 and .308 Winchester and .223/5.56mm reloaders because it contains distinct sections for each of those cartridges meant for stronger action guns like bolt actions, as well as safer and slightly downloaded "service rifle" sections for the M1 Garand and M14 and AR-15 match shooters and their gas-operated guns. Other load manuals do not offer that distinction in their load recipies.

And Hornady bullets seem to be really widespread on store shelves so it makes sense to use the load data that was developed with Hornady bullets.

Another manual you might try to acquire after gettin the Hornady is the Lyman which is just wonderful in itself for it's vast variety of info. If you had both you would be GTG for making almost any cartridge on the planet. Well.... almost..... :)
 
Thanks, Mike, I hope it is accurate! I know I have heard bad things about the scale it comes with, what was your experience with that?

Nitesite, I'm glad you approve haha :) I am going to make some FMJ rounds up, you know... just in case :lol: I am curious to see if you can get 150grn FMJ and 150grn SP to shoot about the same POA/POI without having to adjust the scope any. That will be a few months from now when I have everything stocked up and know exactly what I'm doing, so I don't blow my hands off lol
 
I should probably buy some freaking ointment! First it was the 12ga bug.. then the 1911 bug... and now the reloading bug! I am going to have one hell of a rash hahah
 
Rick,

The only drawback I have found with the scale is the pin (on the slide) that is supposed to lock it at the predetermined weight. If you double check a dispensed amount for weight and it's off, the first thing to check is that the slide didn't move.

The dispenser is ok and seems to stay consistent. I seem to get a little powder leakage when using HS-6. It seems to find a way out around where the dispenser rotates no matter what I do. The mounting bracket for it is a bit weak too.

I have been checking the powder weight on every 10th charge when doing bulk 9mm or .223. For .308 I have been checking every dispense for weight. I also do random checks for the overall length but have not had any issues.

Check, check, check and when you are sure it's ok then check again.
 
Excellent information! I will probably do every 5th charge for the 30-06. I'm not looking for super consistency but something that will take me out too at least 300 yards in my rifle. Which, in turn, is most likely going to require some rigorous precision, I'm sure. I did notice the mount for the dispenser was all plastic on mine, thought that was something new. My uncle has one that is like aluminum supported or some stuff... no biggy, I just will remember to take it easy!
 
great thread, been thinking about getting into it myself. gonna follow this one for awhile to build my confidence.
 
@oli700 hasn't poked his head in yet... I feel like the party isn't complete!

@dieselmudder - plenty of great people here that both, you and I, can learn from! I picked up some 2x4 and plywood to make a "makeshift" bench today! The one that was left in my basement has a huge slab of marble in it and doesn't leave enough room to mount the press. Lets see how this goes lol
 
We need some pics Rick!!! :-D

When I loaded '06 I tended to individually measure each charge with a scale and trickler. I know I was being over cautious but at the time I had only ever loaded handgun rounds and rifle rounds kind of scared me. Plus at the time I was trying to be ultra precise as I was trying to outperform the factory loads I had.
 
I recently changed from dry cleaning media to wet with stainless pins. It is great. 2.5 hours in a tumbler with a dash of Lemi-Shine and Dawn and brass looks like new. The insides are carbon free and if I lube, size and deprime - when done, the lube is gone (not needed for loading .223/5.56) the primer pocket is clean and with a quick oven dry I'm ready to roll.

I'm slowly re-cleaning ALL my brass. The HF tumbler has been running for weeks.

Bought a half pound of pins on eBay which is a great fit for the HF tumbler. Btw - pins HAVE to be in a tumbler.

Resisted for a looong time. Could not be happier.
 
just watched about 30 minutes of youtube video of reloading with that kit. looks like a pretty sweet beginner set up.
 
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