Reloading supplies help

[Madbowh]

Any advice/ opinions are welcome and appreciated.

I've been into reloading a little while with my old man but doing it on my own now and not sure what places are good to get supplies from.

I have a Lee press, I'm not looking to spend astronomical amounts of money.

Sonic cleaner, what and where under $100
Dies, trimmer, priming(12th primer by hand I dropped them all)

I've got places for ammo and powder,I used to order and reload when I went to my dad's.

A good place to find recipes, detailed recipes.


Thanks in advance

 

[MUP]

Midway USA, MidSourh Shooters supply, Natchez Shooters supply.

 

[Jcalder]

Agree with mup on places to get stuff.

I personally would not get a sonic cleaner to clean brass. There's better ways.

Loads aren't exactly universal. Build them to fit your needs. One thing you can do is search the web and find out what others are doing using the components you plan to use. Give you ideas on what works and what don't. Start low and work up.

 

[Madbowh]

How would one clean the brass other than a sonic cleaner?

 

[MUP]

How would one clean the brass other than a sonic cleaner?

https://www.cabelas.com/shop/en/frankford-arsenal-platinum-series-rotary-brass-tumbler-lite?ds_e=MICROSOFT&ds_c=Cabelas%7CShopping%7CSmart%7CCatchAll%7CGeneral%7CNAud%7CHigh%7CNMT&msclkid=3e48ba5a62ad1d2e81b8d9e4baab3ae7&gclid=3e48ba5a62ad1d2e81b8d9e4baab3ae7&gclsrc=3p.ds

 

[DaveTN]

You might want to see if you can get primers at a cost you are comfortable with before getting anything else.

I wish I had done that.

 

[Omega]

I too recommend the FART, Midsouth has them on sale ATM, get one that fits your desired capacity.

$89.99 Frankford Arsenal Platinum Series Rotary Tumbler LITE 110V (Stainless Steel Media Tumbler)
Specifications and Features:

• Smaller, more compact design
• Easy ON/OFF function
• Holds up to 300 pieces of .223 brass
• .87 Gallon Capacity (3.3 Liters)
• Works great with stainless steel pins
• Leak-proof cap design
• Clear viewing window in cap
• 3.3L capacity

Needs pins or chips IMO, to clean the insides and primer pockets better but not entirely necessary.

$189.99 Frankford Arsenal Platinum Series Rotary Tumbler (Stainless Steel Media Tumbler)
Features:

• Brass comes out cleaner than brand new brass
• No media required, only water and brass cleaning solution
• Stainless steel media can be used to improve the cleanliness of the inside of the cases and the primer pockets
• Tumble up to 1,000 cases of .223 brass or up to 30 lbs.
• 1.85 Gallon Capacity (7 Liters)
• Clear viewing windows for checking the cleanliness of your brass during tumbling
• Includes sifting caps for sifting pins out of brass
• Also works well to use the Quick-N-EZ media separator to separate the pins
• 0-3 hour timer switch - allows user to select the duration of time to tumble
• Dual layer drum is robust, while the internal rubber lining provides protection for your brass while dampening the noise from tumbling
• Includes 5 lbs of stainless steel media (over $50 value)
• Includes a sample packet of Frankford Arsenal Brass Cleaning Solution (Additional solution sold separately)
• Maintenance free geared drivetrain (No belts to replace!)

I would also get the magnet, indispensable IMO.
$16.99 Media Release Magnet (For Stainless Steel Media)

Get your powder and primers local to save on hazmat, if you must order online, maybe you can find someone local to order with you to share the costs.

 

[Jcalder]

Some like the fart system. I prefer a vibratory tumbler.

 

[DaveB]

I personally would not get a sonic cleaner to clean brass. There's better ways. .

JC has this exactly right. I paid for two of them. Neither lasted 15 months. The number of rounds you can do at a single time is greatly exaggerated.

Get the Franklin Arsenal dwarf or mini, exact description escapes me. I still own a Lyman tumbler but it is getting very little use.

The Lee handheld priming tools are okay only because the competition is much worse......the square one is a disaster, the round one is out of production. I finally popped for the RCBS fancy Auto Prime and I found extra primer tubes on ebayo. You can thank me later. Yes, it costs double, maybe triple the hand held ones. It does a better job, you don;t get hand cramps, and if you pay attention to set up you'll never lose another primer.

I use a Lyman trimmer. comes with all the pieces you need.

Dies stick with RCBS. The price premium is just not enough top drive me into lee or God FORBID Hornady hardware.

Get a universal decapper die.

Hodgdon and Nosler load data. Alliant if you like the Reloader line of products.

For a sleeper suggestion, take a hard look at Shooters World powders and reload info. Very pleased with 223 stuff.

 

[backyardtndeer]

Midsouth is honestly about my favorite to do business with. They will hold orders for you if items are on backorder or if you opt to pick up in their store, and they WILL adjust pending orders over the phone if you see something comes in stock that you needed. Unless the order is packed and ready to ship you can modify it. Powder valley is lousy in that regard, they will absolutely not combine shipping on orders or modify them.

Graf's is good. Pretty easy to deal with and they also will adjust orders. Natchez is better than midway imo, but you are kind of at the mercy of finding components and sometimes don't have much choice.

As far as sonic cleaners, I have a Hornady, and it does a decent job. Been a few years back I bought a fart, and the sonic cleaner hasn't been used for brass since.

 

[ML_Hunter]

I buy alot of my reloading stuff from gun shows. Plus you can find powders that aren't easily found there as well.

 

[fullstream]

I buy alot of my reloading stuff from gun shows. Plus you can find powders that aren't easily found there as well.

Found varget & 4831sc at last gun show I went at $50lb much cheaper the ship with hazmat fee.

 

[Madbowh]

Found varget & 4831sc at last gun show I went at $50lb much cheaper the ship with hazmat fee.

Never thought of gun shows

Thanks for all the input.