Topgun 3006

Where do they say their brass has to be sized before using? If you shoot a case once, you can just neck or partially resize them as long as they are going to be used in that one gun. One or the other at a minimum is necessary in order to seat the new bullet in the case with the seating die. If it's going to be used in another gun then a FL sizing is required. PS: If you're serious about starting to reload, buy the RCBS kit package with almost everything you need to get started and save yourself a lot of money and headaches!

White Oak 06

At midway USA site in the notes part .

I understand now about reloading brass from my rifle.

What is the best approach for reloading my factory 3006 vanguard s2 ?

Ridge Runner

you can size new brass in a lee loader.
the causes of the defects you found are
1) improper annealing of the cases
2) dented shoulders during loading (doesn't hurt anything, fire them the dents will be gone)
3) different seating depths were just irregularities in the ogive of th bullets most probably unless the bullets slipped due to lack of neck tension.
RR

Nomercy448

Don't waste your time with the Lee Classic Loader Kits (i.e. the kind that you whack with a hammer!). At the very least, get a Lee hand-press kit, or a Lee Anniversary kit (something around $150 delivered to your door). The hammer whacking kits almost went the way of the dinosaur, if it weren't for these "preppers" running around these days thinking their 3 bedroom house on a quarter acre is gonna be he alamo someday, you wouldn't even see those hammer kits at all. You'll have DAYS invested in loading a hundred rounds on the hammer kit. The Single Stage anniversary kit, the Lee Classic Turret Kit, or the RCBS and Hornady single stages kit are good investments. I run a Lee Classic Turret these days, and even taking my time and going pretty slowly, I crank out 150-200rnds per hour, and the whole shebang fits on a 2'x2' bench - still using my "temporary solution" reloading bench right now.

To answer that question, you really gotta answer the question: What are you wanting to do with your Vanguard 30-06? Hunting? Paper punching? 0-300yrds? 0-800yrds? What volume will you be shooting?

If you're only shooting a box or two or less each year and only hunting CXP2 game like whitetails at ranges under 300yrds, then there's no reason to reload at all. You'll be money ahead to stick with factory ammo. If you're shooting a box or two every weekend, then reloading will pay itself back for you.

If you're shooting long ranges, then reloading starts to make sense also (which assumes you're also shooting pretty high volume to be proficient at long range shooting).

So... What do you want your rifle to do for you?

White Oak 06

Well , no I'm not going to punch paper !
Just for hunting out to 200 yards maybe longer later.

If I can learn to reload and get sub moa, I might not ever have to buy factory ammo again , it's hard to find it when there's a shortage.

Finding factory ammo that's sub moa in my rifle is expensive as well.

I can go through the trials and find what works and then it might pan out to where it will be hardly any expense at all !

Just reload as I go when I need it !

I'm tired of bullets spinning inside casings from a 40.00 box , seating depths being different and ammo that won't chamber.

Nomercy448

You'll be very hard pressed to reload for 30-06 just to shoot deer to 200yrds and ever break even on cost.

A much better option for you would be to find someone locally that would be willing to reload for you. You cannot legally pay anyone to reload for you, but you can provide components and they can produce the ammo. If they do it in one big lot, you'll never need to restock on ammo in your entire life of shooting a box or two each year for deer hunting.

The ~$40 hammer whack Lee Classic kits are not a suitable reloading solution, and you won't make consistent ammunition with it. I bought a couple of those kits when I was in college thinking that I could seat bullets at the range (most 100/200yrd competitions are loaded at the range), but the consistency of the ammo was terrible. You will not get consistent seating depths or neck tensions with that kit. No questions asked - this is a waste of money.

At a very minimum, the "scissor style" Lee hand press is your only "minimalist option," and even still, it doesn't compare to having a bench mounted press. The Lee Hand Press doesn't save enough money over the Classic O-Press single stage to be worth buying either (own two of them for seating bullets at the range when testing loads).

So run out the numbers:

If you're shooting a box or two every year and just deer hunting, then you're talking about $40-50 a year for factory ammo.

Versus a minimal kit for reloading:

Case Prep:

• Case length gauge Lee gauge = $7, but these SUCK if you're doing much volume (need parts from Lee Anniversary kit below)
  
• Chamfer & deburr tool: Take your pick = $10
  
• Primer pocket cleaner: Take your pick = $5-10
  
• Tumbler & Media: Lyman 1200 = $60, media = $15-30
  
• Case Neck Brush: Take your pick = ~$10 in with brush and handle
  
• Case Lube Pad: Take your pick = $10

Reloading:

• Press Kit: Lee Anniversary kit = $130, has a press, a safety scale, a press mount primer, a and a hand case trimmer and lock stud. The powder thrower in the kit sucks, but will work to throw ~80-90% of your charge, then trickle in the rest. The scale/balance is super slow, but keeps you safe.
  
• Set of dies: Lee Pace-Setter 3 die set = $30 for standard cartridges like 30-06
  
• Trickler: Take your pick = $15-20

Miscellaneous tools:

• Calipers: Cheap yet functional set = $20
  
• Cartridge trays: Want at least two, take your pick $5-10 each = $20
  
• Bullet Puller: Hammer style or press mounted = ~$15-20

Components:

• Bullets: 20-35cents a piece = $30 for the first 100
  
• Brass: 50-75cents a piece = $60 for the first 100
  
• Primers: ~3cents a piece = $35 for the first 1,000
  
• Powder: ~24cents per shot = $28 for the first ~100-125rnds (H4895, loading 50-55grn each)

Total cost for the first 100 bullets = $515

Comparatively, that'd be about $100 for factory rounds.

But that's only 100rnds, which if a guy shoots 2 boxes a year, is only about 2.5yrs.

Since moderate loads in the .30-06 should let you get around 10 loads before they all need to be replaced, you'll only need powder and bullets to to get you to 1,000rnds, at the cost of about $60 per 100rnds. 9 reloads at $60 per hundred, plus the $515 start up, that's $1055 for 1,000rnds.

Factory ammo would be right about $1,200 for 1,000 rounds.

So at 2 boxes a year, 1,000rnds would last you 50yrs of shooting/hunting, just to break even between factory and reloading! At 4 boxes a year, it's 25yrs to break even. Not to mention the many hours that you spent in the act of reloading, rather than simply buying a couple cases of ammo off of a shelf.

Even if you go on the cheap with those crappy hammer whacking kits, you need a LOT more than a $40 kit to actually reload. You'll find that that first 100rnds is going to cost you somewhere in that $500 ballpark, even trying to get in on the cheap, so you might as well go with a real press kit.

Saving money via reloading only works out if you're shooting high volume or shooting non-standard cartridges or wildcats where you might have $5 per shot in factory ammo instead of $1. If you want to reload for the fun of it, fine, if you want to reload for the accuracy, fine, but don't be mistaken that you're going to save any money reloading your deer hunting ammo.

EDIT: I'll also tell you that if you find yourself reloading for 25-50yrs, you'll have a he11 of a lot more invested in your equipment. I've been reloading for just under 20yrs and have been through 5 different press set ups, and although I've never added it up, I'm certain I have over 5 grand into my tooling alone - really hoping it's less than $10k. I'm VERY certain I have far more than that into the ammunition/component costs, as I've ran more than $10k in reloaded ammo through a few of my individual guns in that time.

White Oak 06

You are right about the expense and I have changed my mind about the classic Lee loader !

I hung up my guitar from 28 years of playing music , so I need something creative to do !

Maybe I can find a used press that someone took care of !
Who knows I might shoot more !

Load for a friend when I learn this craft and they could share the expense on some things !

I appreciate the time and help, everything is duly noted.