First reloading bench setup, what’s missing?

[Chukwithak]

Friend of a friend and couple others have offered to teach me how to reload but I don’t want to ask them for assistance building my bench because I care about quality and precision, hence why I want to reload, while they are “ok” with enough to get by.

This is my current “have purchased” list and wondering what else I need to get in order to start reloading for 7PRC.

Matchmaster die
RCBS Rock Chucker press
Mitutoyo 6” calipers
Autotrickler V4 with A&D fx scale
Area 419 funnels
Henderson neck trimmer
Powder
Casings
Bullets
Primers
Spray lube
Frankford Tumbler and media
Frankford media separator
Garmin Xero
Kestrel 5700X Elite

Any thoughts and options as well as “upgrades” are appreciated. I’ve seen some upgrade stuff from A419 and UM but unsure what they do so haven’t pulled the trigger yet. TYIA

 

[Coyotefurharvester]

How many rds a month/year , hunting, competition or long range plinking?

 

[Dgd6mm]

Scale
Powder drop
Caliper
Reloading manual
Chamfering tools
Priming tool
This is for starters.

 

[Kracken McGraw]

That’s going to be a heck of a list, I’ll start with primers, powder, and bullets.

 

[John Kloehr]

I could spend a lot of your money. Certainly at least one reloading book, I buy every one I find.

Brass tumbler
Accurate scale
Calipers

I have not actually started reloading yet, getting close. Have guidance from a bunch of good folks.

For some sports, a chrono is handy but accuracy is often more important than getting minimum power factor. Especially when you get so fast that you need more power to cycle the gun faster.

I have been buying stuff off and on for years, now finally assembling the press. I would have to spend some time in the gun room to get a full list of what I have collected.

 

[Big Mc]

Friend of a friend and couple others have offered to teach me how to reload but I don’t want to ask them for assistance building my bench because I care about quality and precision, hence why I want to reload, while they are “ok” with enough to get by.

This is my current “have purchased” list and wondering what else I need to get in order to start reloading for 7PRC.

Matchmaster die
RCBS Rock Chucker press

The rabbit hole is so deep Welcome to the club.. Tommy Mc

 

[Coyotefurharvester]

If 20-30 rds a session, wouldn't need a powder drop. Do need case lube whether 1 rd or 1000.

 

[Chukwithak]

How many rds a month/year , hunting, competition or long range plinking?

Hunting and NRL style shoots as well as general shooting for practice. We hunt in the Frank a lot so our average shot is around 400 yards and have killed out to 600.

Scale
Powder drop
Caliper
Reloading manual
Chamfering tools
Priming tool
This is for starters.

This was my mistake. I was having a problem posting through chrome and copy pasted here but didn’t realize it only pasted half of what I had wrote. List up top was updated.

That’s going to be a heck of a list, I’ll start with primers, powder, and bullets.

Have those, I messed up when pasting into the thread from chrome. Thanks!

 

[SpencerC87]

You'll also need some comparators, a bullet comparator for measuring your seating depths and a headspace comparator for measuring how much you are bumping the shoulder when sizing brass. There are several ways to do both, but, I use Whidden ones and more recently have started making my own. Some guys like the Hornady stuff, I'm not much of a fan of their products, choice is up to you.

One thing you'll learn sooner than later, there are a LOT of "better mousetraps" out there. Reloading seems to be worse than golf for the gimmicks, just be sure to research different things, or better yet have a mentor that won't bullshit you.

 

[bobinpa]

There is a wide spectrum of "reloading". At the entry level, you can open any reloading manual and follow the steps explained and reload good enough to hit a target at ~100 yards. OR You can take it to the other end of the spectrum and precision reload.... There are different tools needed if you want to take it to a precision level, so, in my humble opinion, you need to decide where you want to end up. Do you want 1.5" group at 100 yards or do you want a tiny little 5 shot ragged hole? I say this because I spent a ton of money buying tools 2 or 3 times to progressively get better tools. If I knew what I was getting into, I could have bought a lot of that stuff ONCE.

 

[Chukwithak]

There is a wide spectrum of "reloading". At the entry level, you can open any reloading manual and follow the steps explained and reload good enough to hit a target at ~100 yards. OR You can take it to the other end of the spectrum and precision reload.... There are different tools needed if you want to take it to a precision level, so, in my humble opinion, you need to decide where you want to end up. Do you want 1.5" group at 100 yards or do you want a tiny little 5 shot ragged hole? I say this because I spent a ton of money buying tools 2 or 3 times to progressively get better tools. If I knew what I was getting into, I could have bought a lot of that stuff ONCE.

I’m definitely a precision and meticulous guy. Buy once cry once.

 

[WileyG]

I'd add a good LED light bar or strip lights. White light is really good for me/my vision when sitting at my bench.

 

[Mastershot]

Friend of a friend and couple others have offered to teach me how to reload but I don’t want to ask them for assistance building my bench because I care about quality and precision, hence why I want to reload, while they are “ok” with enough to get by.

This is my current “have purchased” list and wondering what else I need to get in order to start reloading for 7PRC.

Matchmaster die
RCBS Rock Chucker press
Mitutoyo 6” calipers
Autotrickler V4 with A&D fx scale
Area 419 funnels
Henderson neck trimmer
Powder
Casings
Bullets
Primers
Spray lube
Frankford Tumbler and media
Frankford media separator
Garmin Xero
Kestrel 5700X Elite

Any thoughts and options as well as “upgrades” are appreciated. I’ve seen some upgrade stuff from A419 and UM but unsure what they do so haven’t pulled the trigger yet. TYIA

Looks like a picture of your bench is missing.

 

[Hipshoot]

LIFE INSURANCE!

 

[Clancy]

Imperial case lube (chunk the spray lube stat) shoulder and bullet comparators.

21st century priming tool (best, period)

Nylon brushes for the necks.

Primer pocket gauges.

 

[64Rambler]

You're missing a good priming tool. Derraco PCPS is about the most for the least - same precision as Primal Rights for a third the cost, but is rim referenced, as is the PR unit. At the other end, the LEE ACP is base referenced, and can be made adjustable (

).
A good set of comparator tools for both shoulder and ogive - again, Derraco had a great set for low cost.
A case trimmer that does all 3 steps at once is a huge time saver. Forster 3-in-1 are nice. Henderson and Giraud are top notch.
Good luck on your journey!

 

[D Coots]

You have most of what you need. Learn your way into this hole, not spend your way in.

Like a couple guys said, find a mentor.

That's Critical .

Later

Dave

 

[Kracken McGraw]

https://21stcenturyinnovation.com/buy-online/ols/categories/primer-pocket-uniformer
While at 21st Century, I really get a lot of https://21stcenturyinnovation.com/buy-online/ols/products/moly-dry-neck-lubeuse out of these two things.

 

[jds holler]

Loading blocks, and small bins to contain loose brass. jd

 

[Dave Berg]

There are a couple things that made a big difference for me that took years to figure out:

Primer pocket uniformer: There are plenty on the market but the only one that made a difference to me was Sinclair. They're non-adjustable carbide that will last forever. I used them in a $20 cordless screwdriver when the brass was new and after every firing to clean the pockets. They even have one specifically for Lapua PPC/BR small rifle that is unique to the best of my knowledge.

Primer seater: It's no longer manufactured but the RCBS APS Press Mounted priming tool made a major difference for me. I had one permanently mounted on a Lee Classic single stage press with the handle at maximum length. I could feel the primer cup hit the bottom of the pocket and could flatten the primer as much or as little as desired. Made a dramatic difference in extreme spread for me. The tool itself shows up on Ebay from time to time. Everything else like APS strip loader and extra strips (which you only need a few of) are still available from RCBS. I probably have all this stuff around here somewhere if I didn't give it to Jake.