Reloading Equipment
Reloading equipment is essential to making your own ammunition as doing so is very tool dependant. The more pieces of reloading equpiment you have the better you will be able to measure and control the ammunition you are making. There is a plethora of tools available for reloading, but not all of them are needed to begin. In fact, only a few pieces of reloading equipment are really essential. The absolutely crucial tools are:
-A reloading bench
-A reloading press
-A priming tool and shell holder if needed
-A set of dies and a shell holder for the caliber you plan to reload.
-Case lubricant
-A powder scale and, if you choose so for convenience, a powder trickler
-Case trimming and chamfering tools
-A reloading manual
-A dial caliper
Let me break down and explain each of these pieces of reloading equipment a bit more so you will know exactly what you are looking for.
The bench is where you will mount your press and spread your other reloading equipment out. The only way you will be able to reload without a dedicated reloading bench is if you are going to be using the Lee Hand Press, if so you will just need a table. Otherwise a solid bench is an absolute requirement.
The press is the mechanism that puts the required force into assembling the cartridge without you expending much effort. The dies and shell holder both mount into the press. Reloading presses come in several different styles, each with certain advantages and disadvantages. The press styles are:
Single Stage
Turret
Progressive
Arbor
Click on each link to learn more.
Many different companies offer reloading presses. Lee reloading equipment is the most affordable throughout the company's lineup. Hornady, Forster, RCBS, Lyman, and Redding are fairly similar in price and quality, with Hornady being slightly more affordable than the rest. Although all of the press brands mentioned here are good my preference is Lee. I own two Lee presses and recommend both of them highly, see my reloading bench for more information on the reloading equipment I use. I also recently acquired a Forster Co-Ax single stage press that has replaced my Lee Breech Lock.
A priming tool is needed to press the primer into the base of the cartridge. There are three primary types of priming tools; hand held, bench mounted, and press mounted.
Many reloaders prime their cases using a hand priming tool because they like being able to directly feel when the primer is fully seated in the primer pocket. This is known as bottoming out and is believed to make the ammunition more consistent. The Lee Auto Prime is by far the most common handheld priming tool. RCBS and other reloading equpiment companies also make good hand held priming tools. Hand held priming tools require a bit more effort than a bench or press mounted priming device, but you may like the convenience of not being tied to the reloading bench for every step. If so, the Lee Auto Prime is right for you. Several reloading equipment companies make bench mounted priming tools and they are all well reviewed. A bench mounted priming device is a lot like a very small press that gets screwed into your bench’s top, however, design of the tool is very different. Press mounted priming tools can be further divided into priming levers and dies. A priming lever will slide into the ram on your press (most presses come with these levers). To prime the case you simply insert a primer onto the top of the lever (they have a small cup to hold the primer), then you lower the ram until you feel the primer seat. The priming dies are much more convenient as all of the priming is done on top of the press. I used the priming lever for a while, but have switched to a priming die called the Lee Auto Prime II. Both systems work well, but the die is far more consistent than the lever. Primer feeders are commonly used with priming tools. Most handheld and all of Lee’s priming tools use a tray that flips the primers, a cover, and some sort of dispenser. Other reloading equpiment companies offer different styles of primer feeders. A primer feeder is convenient because it holds many primers, when you need one you simply click it out onto the priming tool. Check out the page on the Reloading Process for more information on how I prime cartridges.
The dies and shell holders are the only caliber specific pieces of reloading equipment. Reloading dies are screwed into the top of the press and serve specific functions. You will need several dies to reload each caliber; fortunately they are easy to find in sets. Sizing dies size the brass back to the correct specifications, a bullet seating die presses the bullet into the mouth of the cartridge, and a crimp die forms a crimp on the brass to hold the bullet more securley. Click on each link to learn more about the different types of dies.
Reloading dies can be had from all of the major reloading equipment companies including Lee, Hornady, RCBS, Lyman, and Redding. Reloading dies are universal for all except arbor style presses. Lee’s dies are the most affordable, but the other brands do offer more choices per caliber and are considered of higher quality. I personally use all Lee dies with the exception of the bullet seating die for my .308 Winchester ammo, which is a Redding die. Lee offers two unique dies that are of very good quality and, to my knowledge, not available anywhere else, the collet neck sizing die and the factory crimp die. I recommend both of these dies very highly for all ammunition including that meant for competition. For more information on the dies I use check out my reloading bench.
The shell holders mount on the ram of the press and serve to hold the cartridge as you raise and lower the ram. Shell holders are also used in off the press priming tools and case trimming tools. Shell holders should be of the same brand as the tool you are going to use it in, be that a press, priming tool, or case trimmer. This is because shell holders are not universal. Differences in measurements may cause issues with another brand product.
You will need a good case lubricant to put on the case when you size the brass. This prevents the brass from sticking in the die. Case lubricant is essential; a stuck case is very bad news. For more information on the use of case lubricant see the Reloading Process page. I personally use RCBS water soluble case lubricant with an RCBS Lubricant Pad, but Imperial sizing die wax is also very highly recommended.
A powder scale is required for reloading. You will use it to measure the amount of gun powder you pour in the cases. I advise purchasing the best scale you can afford, even as you are beginning in reloading. Scales are available in digital and balance beam styles, both typically measure in increments of 1/10th of 1 grain. A trickler is very handy piece of reloading equipment but it is not essential. A trickler very slowly drops a few grains of powder onto the scale and makes it much easier to get a precise charge every single time. I recommend all of the RCBS powder scales and the Redding trickler. I own a Lee Safety Scale in addition to my RCBS digital scale. The Lee scale will work, but I recommend upgrading as soon as is financially possible due to the measurements being difficult to read precisely and the scale being difficult to calibrate.
When a case is fired it grows slightly in length, if it grows too much then it will form an unexpected crimp on the bullet as the reloaded round is chambered. This can be very hazardous as it will raise pressures in the chamber drastically. It is absolutely essential to trim your cases back to a length that is within the specifications listed in your reloading manual. Case trimmers can either be very small and portable like the Lee case length gauges and trimmers, or they can be bench mounted devices. The Lee case length gauges will work fine for a beginner or for hunting; however, they are not the greatest for high quality ammo. This type of trimmer has a tendency to cut the case mouth slightly off of square. The best type of case trimmers are bench mounted. The Hornady Cam-Lock and RCBS Trim Pro are my two favorite case trimmers. Other companies make good case trimmers as well, but there are different things about them that I find less appealing, like the way the case is secured in the trimmer.
When you trim a case a slight burr will develop on the inside and outside edges of the mouth. You will need a chamfer tool to remove this burr. All reloading equipment companies except Lee make a very similar chamfer/deburring tool, I recommend Hornady’s Case Chamfer Tool. Lee’s case mouth chamfer tool is much smaller than other designs and does not cut as well. Using Lee's chamfer tool for more than just a few cases at a time cramps my hands. You can find more information on trimming and chamfering cases at the Preparing the Brass page.
A good reloading manual is an absolutely essential piece of reloading equipment. It is the Bible of your reloading, what it says goes. You can find more of what I have to say about reloading manuals on the Reloading Books page.
The last piece of neccessary reloading equipment is a dial caliper for measuring the overall length of the finished bullet. You must know how long the cartridge is before you shoot it as too long is unsafe. I used a digital caliper for a while, but it consumed batteries a lot faster than I wanted to replace them, so I purchased a dial caliper instead. For more information on determining what length to make your cartridges see the Load Development page.
So that’s the basic reloading equipment you need to get started. While you can piece together this equipment a bit at a time, my advice is to start out with a kit such as the Lee Breech Lock Anniversary Kit or
 RCBS Rock Chucker kit. They are fairly inexpensive and have all of the equipment you need with exception of dies, a trimming tool, a caliper, and a reloading manual. By purchasing a kit you save money up front. I personally started out with a Lee Classic Turret Press Kit, but have since upgraded a few pieces. I also own the Lee Breech Lock press, and recommend it highly for all rifle ammunition. For more information on what I use to reload check out my reloading bench.
After you have acquired the basic reloading tools you can choose either to pursue perfect match ammunition or to make very good quality bullets with what you have. If you opt for making match grade ammo you will need several more tools, to see what you will need for this check out the Advanced Reloading Equipment Page. Otherwise pick up some components and head to the Reloading Process page to learn how to make your own ammunition!
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