Reloading gear

Hi All

Been considering getting into shooting the 500 Fly and looking at a LG rifle in 6mmBR or one of its variants. So my question is what exactly do I need for reloading purposes as I know absolutely nothing in the area. I see the guys at the range with fancy presses and I see adds in magazine for Neck turners or trimmers.
I like to buy once and use it for years rather then buy an entry level unit and then find you need a better model in 12 months time, also you will always find a buyer for the good stuff is ever selling.
So what do you recommend and how much is it going to cost me?

Looking forward to the repsonses.

Cheers

Dave Dundas
Rimfire shooter

Hi David,

That is a big question and has many directions :)

My suggestion would be to start with the following - Lets assume you buy a LG in 6BR

A good Press - I really like the Forster Co Ax

A quality set of dies.  I like redding competition series, but there are plenty of good ones out there.

A set of scales and powder thrower.  Top end is something like the A&D FX120I and auto thrower.... but a chargemaster, or even a simple thrower and good beam scale will get you going.

A quality set of digital callipers and a set of bullet comparators (hornady lock and load set are good enough).

A modified case and OAL gauge (again hornady is fine).

Some reloading trays

A bullet puller (the hammer type kinetic ones are cheap and effective.

A Priming tool (a hand one, I don't like the ones on the press)

A champher and debur tool

A powder funnel kit

A couple of boxes of Lapua 6mmBR Brass

AR2208 Powder

CCI-BR4 Primers

Your favourite 95-108 grain projectile (probably copperhead 103's or berger 105's).

A good reloading manual (and time to read it).

A solid bench to do it al on and you are good to go.....

There is plenty more you can buy, but I wouldn't start out with neck turning, meplat trimming, pointing, concentricity gauges or the like until you have mastered the basics and are getting good results.  You can then chase the eternal pursuit of perfection..... but it very much abides by the law of diminishing returns.

Cheers

Anthony

Hi Dave, I have a word doc that I can provide that has all the stuff I think is worthwhile having and where to source it. Drop me a line and I will provide it. No surprise that Annie and Stuart of BRT and Luke from Pro-Cal feature on the list!

Cheers.

Dave

Thanks Anthony and Dave for your excellent input.


So much for me to read thru and understand.

Looks like I will have a very big learning curve indeed, its not all hard work I expect as it the search for accuracy can be enjoyable even thou is often frustrating.

There is so much gear that it would cost a small fortune so will keep my ear to the ground for anyone getting out of the game and selling their stuff.

I will spend some more time at the centrefire matches and chat with the lads to learn some more tips and tricks.

Cheers

Dave

Hi Anthony

Been looking up some of these items you have mentioned. The Forster Press is impressive and I found heaps of video's on Youtube etc.
I have a couple question regarding the powder throwers\scales as these seem very expensive.

I looked at the RCBS Chargemaster which is both a dispenser and measurer, still expensive and far from the best out on the market. What accuracy are the top Fly shooters looking for in their measuring? To me accuracy to 1 grain should be enough but I lot of these throwers\dispensers go far beyond this.

Thanks

Dave

Hi David,

Look, it is one of those questions....how accurate is good enough.... 1 grain is WAY too course for any precision reloading in my opinion.

For me, 0.5 of a grain is good enough for factory class / long range hunting etc, this can easily be achieved with a charge master or good thrower.  The charge master with some little mods (mcdonalds straw and simple reprogram, leave it on to warm up, minimise any draft etc) is good enough for +/- 0.1 grains.

A very good set of balance beam scales will get this same level, just MUCH slower.....

The top end scales will measure accurately to the individual kernel of powder (0.015 grains with AR2208).... Law of diminishing returns.... it is a lot more money between +/- 0.1 and 0.005 absolute .... no real difference on the target at 300m and only minimal at 500.  There is plenty more to spend that sort of money on before a top end scale, but if you want to take the buy once philosophy, go for it.

Otherwise a charge master will probably do you for a long time and you can sell it if and when done with it (I still use mine to throw the basic charge before trickling up on more accurate scales and then for factory class or hunting rounds).

Cheers

Anthony

Cheers

Anthony

Hi Dave, if you do go for a charge master, I suggest you run it from a battery. I ran a test once after I scored a lab scale for a good price, over time the charge master loads varied by up to .25 of a grain, even though they had been dispensed and trickled to the target weight, you could see the .25gn variation in a sine wave on the test weighed charges. Running on a battery brought the weights back to +/- .1gn

Just pay attention when you are setting up the battery and don’t reverse polarity on the battery terminals...chargemasters do not have reverse polarity protection....don’t ask me how I know this...I just know...

Cheers

Dave

Thanks Guys


I understand the  reason for running off a battery as its a more stable power source. The  240v  we get served these days is very poor and  varies in voltage and frequency as demand changes.
A Chargemaster or similar would  be  more in my budget and would be good enough for my long range shooting skills.
I love the  Forster reloaded that Stuart sells, I watch some you tube video's and reviews which was all positive.

Again, just going to have to save some bucks and keep learning as I go.


Dave

All

Been doing more reading and talking to other F class shooters and found many were throwing a charge\powder just under the desired weight then using a Trickler to come up to the desired weight. Do many of the Fly shooters use this method?
If so what model Trickler do you use?
Of course you still need an accurate scale, but might be cheaper than buying a top of the line Auto thrower that is accurate enough.
My old RCBS digital scales packed it in after many years and needed to weigh some stuff so just ordered a GemPro 250 which is accurate to 0.02 Grains, they had a good review in Accurateshooter so went that way as thats all the budget would allow for at the moment.

Cheers

Dave

Hi Dave, that is what I do, I was lucky enough to get a lab scale for a good price, so I use a powder thrower to throw the initial charge in the pan and then use a Dandy trickler to bring the charge up to weight.

https://dandyproductsllc.com/

Cheers.

Dave

Thanks Dave

I had not thought about an electric trickler so will  add that to my  list of possibilities.  A friend had made the suggestion that seeing that I would be loading so few cases per year that I could cut down a larger case (.308) to a smaller size which just hold enough powder to be just short of you desired charge, then trickly the remainder. I liked the thinking and I certainly don't wont to fork out on a promethius till a get well into things.

Its also a case of not being able to buy every thing all at once,  this month I committed to a number of bricks of R50SC, a Wind probe and also got a scale which I will use for various tasks.

Looking froward to Batemans.


Cheers


Dave