I'm a newby...

[ICDUCKS]

On this site and to reloading...
I'm just jumping into reloading. I've acquired a few things and need to get a few more. Was hopin' to find a really nice used RCBS Rock Chucker Supreme press but I've been lookin' for a while now with no luck.
So far I've got a RCBS 5-10 scale, RCBS TrimPro trimmer kit, Hornady LNL powder measure, and a Hornady GS1500 digital scale. I also have a Sierra Edition V 4th printing,Hornady 7th edition,Nosler 5th and 6th Edition,Speer number 13 and Lyman 49th Edition reloading manuals. I'm going to order a 6" Dial Caliper from Harbor freight.
I'm going to be loading(For right now) for my 7mm-08 and my 300 SAUM. Any advice and or suggestions would be greatly appreciated.


P.S If ya got and extra Rock Chucker Supreme kickin' around let me know...

I think I like this place already!!!!

 

[jfh]

Welcome, ICDUCKS. This is an honest site, with no undue behavior. I like it for my reloading interests.

I'll refrain from further comment, since I don't load your rounds--but I imagine someone will come along who does.

Jim H.

 

[ICDUCKS]

Thanks for the welcome Jim!

 

[Cherokee]

Another welcome to you ICDUCKS. Don't load those rounds, someone should be along that does,

 

[kingmt]

I'm not sure I found the question. I'm a little confused if your asking anything except for a press. If that is what your asking for there is a buy, sale, & trade section.

 

[Old krow]

Welcome to the forums!

I'm not advocating this particular press, just found this running a scan on ebay.

You might also look at the Redding Big Boss or the Lee Classic as well. I have the Redding Big Boss II and am very happy with it.

I don't load either of those so, my advice; be safe and have fun.

 

[LiveLife]

ICDUCKS, welcome to THR and wonderful hobby/passion of reloading.

I'm going to order a 6" Dial Caliper from Harbor freight.

I highly recommend you DO NOT buy the dial caliper from Harbor Freight. Instead, get their digital caliper. I have one and the quality is much better and measurements are repeatable.

I have looked at their dial calipers and the quality is very inconsistent and I could not get a repeatable .001" reading from them (one time, I tried more than 15 calipers on the shelf and gave up due to inconsistent readings).

If you still want a dial caliper, I would order a "brand name" caliper from major online vendors like MidwayUSA (they will still be made in China, but with better quality control). I have a dial caliper I bought 16 years ago from MidwayUSA and it still produces consistent repeatable measurements.

 

[rfwobbly]

Welcome aboard !!

 

[ICDUCKS]

I highly recommend you DO NOT buy the dial caliper from Harbor Freight. Instead, get their digital caliper. I have one and the quality is much better and measurements are repeatable.

I have looked at their dial calipers and the quality is very inconsistent and I could not get a repeatable .001" reading from them (one time, I tried more than 15 calipers on the shelf and gave up due to inconsistent readings).

If you still want a dial caliper, I would order a "brand name" caliper from major online vendors like MidwayUSA (they will still be made in China, but with better quality control). I have a dial caliper I bought 16 years ago from MidwayUSA and it still produces consistent repeatable measurements.

Thank you for your info!

Thank you all for your warm welcomes!!

 

[ICDUCKS]

I'm not sure I found the question. I'm a little confused if your asking anything except for a press. If that is what your asking for there is a buy, sale, & trade section.

I think they were responding to where I said Any advice and or suggestions would be greatly appreciated...

 

[gamestalker]

Are those harbor frieght caliper's really that bad? I have one and it gives me very consistent reads. Maybe they've stepped down in quality since I bought mine many moons ago?
Any how, the press is probably going to be one of those keep looking around until you find a good deal on a good quality one. I found one a while back at a garage sale for $25. It was an RCBS Rock Chucker and I bought it even though I already have a good RCBS press.
Welcome to the High Road!

 

[Furncliff]

I have two calipers the digital is from HF on sale it was really inexpensive. I have been completely satisfied with it. Don't forget one of these...

also...
http://cgi.ebay.com/RCBS-Rock-Chucker-Supreme-Press-NEW-/180640273289?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item2a0effd389#ht_953wt_907

 

[LiveLife]

Are those harbor frieght caliper's really that bad? I have one and it gives me very consistent reads.

I have two calipers the digital is from HF on sale it was really inexpensive. I have been completely satisfied with it.

The digital caliper is fine and I am happy with the quality/performance. It's their dial caliper I have issues with. If you are thinking about buying one from HF, make sure you verify whether they produce repeatable measurements in .001". Take some FMJ bullets and after you zero the caliper, your readings should be consistent and repeatable (.355", .400", .451" etc.).

 

[Sky King]

I have a Harbor Freight near me and I went there and looked thru the boxes and purchased one of the dial calipers. I've had no problems with consist reading from mine. I had a digital caliper but tired of having to replace the batteries from it not getting turned off. So when it finally broke I purchased the dial from Harbor Freight.

 

[Funshooter45]

You need to start thinking about dies and start looking for them now. The ideal setup means having both a FL sizing die and a neck sizing die along with a seater die. You can neck size only 3-5 times but then you'll need to do a full length sizing. A lot of people say that the Lee neck sizing mechanism is superior to others and gives enhanced accurarcy to boot. It sounds reasonable but I can't verify that. Easy to find all kinds of dies for the 7mm-08. It will be tougher to find dies for the SAUM. Those calibers never got popular around here and I can't remember ever seeing any dies on the local shelves for SAUMs. You can order them from Midway or Natchez, but often they don't have them in stock, so it would be wise to start looking now. For dies, either Lee or RCBS is fine. Hornady is good as well. No need to spend extra money on super fancy competition or limited edition dies. Just basic dies will work fine.

The RCBS press you mentioned is good and if that's what you really really want, that's fine. But when it comes to single stage presses, they all work the same and last forever. Personally, I wouldn't get too hung up on which one I got. I use a Lee Classic single stage and it's great. My buddies have RCBS and Redding single stages and they work the same way, which is perfect. If I saw a great deal on any of those or a Hornady single stage I would snap it up and not worry about it.

You need to think about how to prime your cases. Some presses allow you to do it on the press while you are sizing. That's fine. But you really need to have a hand primer anyway. Lee and RCBS are the most popular by far and they both work well. If you opt for the RCBS, get the Universal model. It costs quite a bit more, but it's easier to use. The Lee is way cheaper and it works well too though.

Good to see you have a 5-10 scale too. I have one of the Hornady 1500 scales and didn't like it a bit. It was not consistent at all. I finally spent the money to get an RCBS Chargemaster scale and am completely satisfied with that.

For rifles, it is probably best to get at least one loading block to set the cases in as you go through various stages of the process.

You need to decide how you want to lube the cases when you do FL sizing. There are a lot of options, but the easiest is to get a tin of Imperial sizing wax and be done with it.

It's never too early to think about powders, bullets, and primers. There are an endless variety of powders to choose from, but 2 powders that will work very well in both of your rifles are Hodgdon H-4350 and Varget. You will end up tetsting those 2 anyway at some point, so get some. For most folks, they tend to like 120-140 gr bullets in their 7mm-08 loads and the 160-180 gr bullets will work good in the 300 SAUM. I personally get the best accuracy from Sierra bullets, but the Hornady bullets work nearly as well for me. I havent had good results with Speer bullets, but others have. Some people like Noslers but they are expensive for target work. Be aware that if you use Barnes bullets or any of the other solid copper bullets, they are a different beast in terms of load data.

 

[mdi]

I've had the opposite experience with HF digital calipers. Had one that ate batteries (expensive battery too), and got corrosion in the battery compartment, and bounced between metric and standard scale. I much prefer a dial anyway (I started long ago with vernier calipers). Right now I'm using a Lyman dial caliper (don't know the manufacturer though) 'cause I lost my Mitatoyo (sp) and HF dial calipers in a move last year.

 

[altitude_19]

Check ebay. Also, I don't know about falling in love with just one press. Try making a list of ACCEPTABLE candidates, set a SOLID price cap, and pick up the first one that falls in your lap for the right bid. Let's say a Rock Chucker, Hornady, Lee Classic Cast, OR Lyman Crusher with a max price of $75. IF you're trying to low-ball the project, you can save BIG on ebay. I've been buying dies for 1/3 their MSRP there.

 

[dbarnhart]

I see good used Rock Chucker presses on Craigslist and Backpage all the time.

 

[altitude_19]

Yeah, given the chance to go back, I would definitely buy a lot more used equipment. Woulda saved TONS of cash.

 

[ICDUCKS]

Thanks guys!!!
I have a set of dies for the 300 already and will get some for the 7-08 soon. I do need a neck die for the 300 though...
ALOT of good info from you guys!!! KEEP IT COMING!