Economic Reason to Reload

[ForTehNguyen]

thought you needed a scale to confirm the powder hopper is dispensing correctly and to calibrate it. Dont you need a tumbler too if you want to reuse fired brass? And for rifle rounds you need a caliper and case sizing tool I believe

[jonny4523]

Originally Posted by ForTehNguyen

thought you needed a scale to confirm the powder hopper is dispensing correctly and to calibrate it. Dont you need a tumbler too if you want to reuse fired brass? And for rifle rounds you need a caliper and case sizing tool I believe

Yes, I use a scale for 'quality control' to make sure my powder thrower is throwing the right amount of fuel. And yes, you need a tumbler too. But the tumbling media is reusable. I don't have enough experience to answer the rifle part though.

[EricCartmann]

To start you won't need a tumbler nor scale.

The Lee volume dipper get's it pretty close, and the Lee charge chart is underpowered so you don't have to worry about overcharging. Just fill her up, then use a straight edge, such as a sturdy peice of paper to scrape off the top. You will be surprised how accurate this method is. The Lee chart says Varget is 23.5 grs for the 1.6cc dipper, and it is always within +/-.1 cc

A tumbler is a must if you plan to reload in bulk. For low quantity stuff, you can clean your brass while you are trimming your cases. Just take steel wool, and a lil dab of car wax and turn on the drill and your brass will be nice and shiny.

[rockerz71]

Originally Posted by jonny4523

And yes, you need a tumbler too. But the tumbling media is reusable.

I haven't done this yet but supposedly when your media gets old there are certain types of stuff made for bird and reptile cages that you can buy in bulk for cheap at petsmart. Also tearing up pieces of dryer sheets and mixing them with the media is cool.

[New2Arms]

great info in this thread. Thanks!

[jonny4523]

Originally Posted by rockerz71

Also tearing up pieces of dryer sheets and mixing them with the media is cool.

Does it make them smell like cotton-fresh goodness?

[Bearcreek]

It helps block static cling so you don't end up trying to double feed in the gun or pick up too many bullets when loading the mag.

[JoshXD40]

Ok I have a question about getting started reloading. I have a friend with a couple Dillion reloading presses and they were a breeze to use. I have another friend with a Lee progressive press that did ok, but no where near as smooth and fast as a Dillion. I know there is about $250 difference for the Dillion, but is it worth it in the long run to go ahead and get the Dillion loader? I would just hate to buy a Lee and be unsatisfied and end up buying a Dillion later after already spending the $150 for the Lee. ANY HELP???

[ForTehNguyen]

if the price difference is only $250 and youre in reloading for the long haul, id say do it

[EricCartmann]

walnut shells and corn husk is the cleaning media used in tumblers. you can buy them at gun shops, but it is way cheaper to get it at petsmart. it is a preference what guys like to use.

in general corn husk is used to remove the dirt and grime while walnut is used to polish the brass, but I have seen guys used walnut to do both, and i have heard guys using corn husk to polish. i find corn husk with a capful (found this info via the internet) of car wax does a pretty good job in polishing. some guys like their brass really shiny so they put it in the tumbler longer, up to as much as 6 hours, for me 2 hours is good enough.

used dryer sheets are also a good addition as they will collect a lot of dust and keep the cleaning media fresher longer.

for really grimy brass, i have heard dawn dishwashing soap in a bucket of water works really well. just empty bucket into spaghetti strainer and hand tumble out the excess water and place in the sun to dry

really shiny brass looks cool but you really don't need your brass that shiny. the point of shiny brass is like polishing the cyclinder heads of your car, it is to make it smooth. brass needs this smoothness to go in and out of the dies easier, and also so the gun can reliably chamber and eject. But after shooting 5 rounds in your gun, the ultra smooth brass is pretty uselses as your chamber fouled up anyway; that is why i only polish my brash just enough where it feels nice and smooth.

if you don't have a tumbler, putting the brass on a $4 lee lockstud with shell holder into a motorized drill and using 00 steel wool will more than do the trick. You can do this while you are trimming the brass that way it won't take much time. If you want really shiny brass, just add a lil dap of car wax on the steel wook and it will be ultra shiny.