New member from NM

[Culpeper]

Ha! Fat chance. It'll cost K at least a mountain dew or two when we meet up at Camp Perry.

I'm not dropping any hints mind you but it would be a sad day not to see a Dane on the firing line at the Vintage Match. (sound of foot stomping and throat clearing)

[Klhsteeler]

Yes...I'm looking into buying a reloader. I have been looking at the Hornady Deluxe kit.....thoughts? I comes with just about everything and a book. I have a healthy list of dies to purchase also.

I really appreciate all your responses and advice! And have taken it to heart!

Yes..the script RR means unsafe to fire. I've not seen one in person but always inspect as to not spend a good deal of money on something I cannot shoot! I love to collect the old bolt action rifle but I do not want a wall hanger! I love to shoot them!!!

I posted some pictures of the Dane.

I think I am going to go ahead and buy up all the 30-40 I see because you guys are right....I will own one!!! Lol!

[Whig]

I am partial to the Dillon Precision reloading equipment. Their No B.S. guarantee is the best! I have called with many questions and problems over the years, had an old reloader of my deceased brother's refurbished and cleaned by them years ago and they have never charged me and always been very patient with answering questions and getting problems corrected. I recently had trouble with a Lee collet die I used for sizing thousands of .223 and they gave me crap and finally send out a new decapping pin that bent real easy after I told them Dillon wouldn't treat me like this! So, customer service, especially for a beginner, is very important.

I don't know how the Hornady system stacks up but you can't go wrong with Dillon!

Good luck in building your Krag collection. Keep us informed.

[FredC]

For a newby at reloading getting the whole package shipped at once might be good thing. I just tried to find a 45/70 shell holder and went to 3 or 4 different sites to find one. Putting things together piece meal may be hard. I do have a Redding 30/40 die set I could sell if that helps but I will keep the shell holder as I use it with my 35/40. The world is getting weird.

[Whig]

There's also the whole debate about single stage vs progressive loaders. Most of us who have reloaded for years have both. I have a Lee single stage which has worked great for large quantities of cases like .223. I have an RCBS Rock Chucker I use mostly for reloading rifle cases, many to my greatest precision ability, long distance shooting, etc. The progressive Dillon I use for all hand gun reloading and .223.

All depends on your interests, future plans and cash available.

Redding dies are the best!. I have a few for precision work and my .30-40 Krag reloading.

Someone who needs Krag dies should take advantage of Fred's offer!

[butlersrangers]

I have a hodge-podge of Lee and RCBS equipment. I have some Hornady Dies. It all works good.

In better times, gun-shows were a good source of cheap 'used & not abused' re-loading equipment.

.30-40 Krag is a re-loader's dream. Most of my ammo is partially 'neck-sized'. This extends life of brass.

Some correct early military rifles (such as, .303 British, 6.5 mm Arisaka, 8 mm Lebel, and 7 mm Mauser) have liberal chamber 'clearances' or the cartridge dimensions evolved, over the years. There is no point in fully re-sizing nicely 'fire-formed' brass.

I am fortunate, the local gun-shop has the powders, I use, and large-rifle primers. They are not gouging customers.
I accumulated a good stock of brass and bullets over the past few years, from Graf & Sons.
(However, I do not buy on the scale of some members).

[Culpeper]

K, check your pm for a krag link.

Your path will be different but I use a single stage Corbin press and RCBS dies for my reloading fun. Sure it's weighs 50 pounds but hey it will handle .17 caliber to .50bmg. I have thought about transitioning to redding dies in 2021 or 2022 so I will see how the money works out.

The main rule of all this is buy once, cry once. You may want think about a

....aaaaaaarghhhhhhhh

[butlersrangers]

Wow .... three weeks ago a pound of IMR-4895 cost me $30, at the local gun shop.
That was $3.00 more, than I paid for a pound of IMR-3031, I bought in mid- December.

I was going to pick-up an extra pound, today. The price had jumped to over $60!

No thank you. I'm good; I can wait.

[Local Boy]

Hi MN and welcome to the KCA!

A few years ago I happened to stumble upon a Dillon RL550 progressive being advertised on a local for sale site. It was one of my rare "OMG this a good deal" buys that included everything I needed and then some. It's primary purpose is for loading pistol rounds that I use in Cowboy Action Shooting competitions (.32 HR, .38 Special, .45 ACP, .45 Long Colt and .44-40). In fact, I'm just now coming to the end of my 3 (1lb) bottles of Alliant Bullseye powder that came with the purchase of my press. So in certain applications your gun powder can sure go along way... but alas all good things must come to an end and unfortunately your gun powder as well. Main issues I've had with press are having to deal with primers in some way or another... either with feeding a new primer or dispensing with the used. Regardless, most problems I've had have been easy fixes and overall I like the system.

As Whig mentioned earlier...I believe most individuals will start with a progressive/single stage press or vice-versa. Along with my Dillon progressive I have an RCBS Single Stage Summit press that I use for large caliber rounds (30-40 Krag up to 500 BPE). Me thinks that you have better product consistency that leads to better accuracy as Whig suggested.

As far as dies... I have an old Pacific die set, Lee, RCBS, Hornady and Dillon dies as well. By far my favorite are Dillon dies and especially carbide sets if you loading straight sided pistol rounds (saves time not having to lube the cases). All in all I've had no problems with any of them.

As far as gun powder... I just go with what the recipe calls for. I'm still a NEWB and don't have as much expertise as some of the other members when it comes to various powders/loads and such. I think many of the members experiment with different cartridge components until they determine what their firearm enjoys being fed.

By far the best advice I've received about reloading is right here on the KCA website. Many members have much to offer when it comes to anything KRAG! So good luck, happy reloading and remember to heed the advice of Deacon Culpeper..."Buy now or cry later"... the soothsayer has been preaching that for years!

BTW: When I was just getting into reloading a friend of mine suggested that I sit down with a 'Lyman Reloading Handbook' and read it from cover to cover... then do it over again.

[Culpeper]

I'm back. Hoo! Don't go in there. Let it air out for a few hours

Anyway as I was about to say think about a tumbler for your brass. Oh I know what you're going to say, "Pffft! Clean my brass? That's for the weak.". So in case you have not picked one out consider the following types.

ultrasonic
vibratory
rotory

Plenty of videos and other information at all the usual places. I bought a Thumbler Tumbler for my pruposes. It does alright as a wet tumbler. Built to last. Then I discovered the Extreme Tumblers Rebel 17 Ammo Reloading Tumbler

https://www.amazon.com/Extreme-Tumblers ... B00IOE5K5Y (link is for picture)

https://www.midwayusa.com/product/101298344/ (link is for picture)

The difference is the Rebel 17 is built with ball bearings and the Thumbler has plastic "bearings". It's a guy thing for me. Had I seen the Rebel I would have gotten it. Over built and tough as a hawk in a coop full of crippled roosters. So I thought I had bought once and cried once but it seems I will need to cry a second time (the price). The Rebel will last for, what, five or six generations?

Of course shop around for the cheapest price. And just because something is the "cheapest price" it may not be once you figure in shipping and (gasp) tax.


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