Just getting started

[throttletony]

Good advoce on here so far.
I'll second (or third!) the notion that the Lee classic cast turret is very user friendly (not a tinkering nightmare).

I often use it as a single stage. I'll decap, size, and reprime a bunch of brass (200+ of 38 spl in one evening for example), and then later that week, I'll load them up.
You can buy a new turret head and just switch calibers quickly by changing the turret head, no recalibration/changing of dies.

Also, stay AWAY from the LEE progressive presses --- those ARE a nightmare and only the lucky few have one that runs well.

 

[looney2ns]

I'm sorry for my error, I meant the Lee Progressive not the turret. I shouldn't post when tired.
Post edited.

 

[Seancass]

I'm sorry for my error, I meant the Lee Progressive not the turret. I shouldn't post when tired.
Post edited.

Ah, then I completely agree! and I should know! I just bought a Lee Loadmaster progressive...

 

[King31]

Progressive or Single Stage is the hardest question to answer in my opinion. I debated it for sometime and finally went with a Dillon RL550b. Manufacturers like Hornady, Dillon, RCBS, and Lee all produce great products and each one has disadvantages/advantages over one another. With the Dillon you have to manually turn each stage, so learning at the beginning can be very educational and more comparable to a single stage. Once comfortable with the process and you start to reload more and more, especially in the slow winter months, your production might want to branch out. Why not just start with one press that can do it all? everyone is anti-progressive for some reason. Granted I havent loaded thousands upon thousands of rounds (yet), but as long as you use COMMON SENSE and stick to the published information you will be fine. Also besides buying a press a good scale, calipers, and other methods of quality control are very important. I'm not the most mechanically inclined but I'm not a dummy either. HAHA. In the end go with what you think YOU will be most comfortable with, do some research, and we all know if you are serious, it probably wont be your last press purchase. Good Luck

 

[looney2ns]

Go spend the day watching someone go through all the steps to load say....500 rounds on a single stage.
Keep track of the time.

Then go watch someone load 500 rounds on a progressive.
Compare the times.

Then make up your mind. I did this before my first press, and went right home and ordered the Hornady LNL progressive.
It was no contest in my mind as I wasn't looking for another full time job just to reload.

YMMV.

 

[throttletony]

Go spend the day watching someone go through all the steps to load say....500 rounds on a single stage.
Keep track of the time.

Then go watch someone load 500 rounds on a progressive.
Compare the times.

Then make up your mind. I did this before my first press, and went right home and ordered the Hornady LNL progressive.
It was no contest in my mind as I wasn't looking for another full time job just to reload.

YMMV.

This is actually pretty sound advice.
I reload to be able to shoot a couple hundred round every month or 6 weeks -- and almost all 38 spl, some 223, and now some 300 BLK.

If I were shooting any more than this, a progressive would be more appealing. Currently I have a little more time than money (not much of either), so the price tag is what sold me on the Lee turret press.

Edit to add: If I'm starting with primed brass (I usually do this in batches beforehand), I can load about 3-4 rds/min of 38 spl, sometimes a bit more and sometimes a bit less.

 

[Seancass]

Since we're on the subject:

On a turret, my rate is 250rounds per hour, which amounts to an actual production just over 200. Takes about 25 minutes for 100, then grab more bullets and primers.

I reloaded thousands of rounds on a Lee hand press(not bench mounted) before I got my single stage. I loaded a few hundred on that before I got the Lee Classic Turret. I've loaded around 6000 on that and still enjoy it. I don't expect to sell it. I can switch to a new caliber in a minute or so, which is great for getting ready for a range trip. Load a few, switch, load a few more, etc, then all the guns have food.

Like I said, if you shoot more than 400 rounds per week, you should look at a progressive.

 

[bulletsmith]

I'd like to add to the discussion that if you start with a single stage (like I did) you will almost definitely see the need to upgrade at some point. When that happens, keep your single stage! I couldn't get rid of mine fast enough, now I find a new interest in rifle ammo and had to go buy a new press.

FWIW I have a Lee loadmaster as well. When it works, it works well. When it doesn't want to play, it can be a bit of a pain. It kind of reminds me of the other person that lives in this house (shhhhhhh, don't tell her).

 

[jglevyjr]

Progressive presses are just sometimes temperamental. Maybe it's the reflection of the operator's mood, but single stage to me has always proven pretty much straightforward and much fewer problems.

 

[jglevyjr]

Also: if I just want to load a few rounds (like 20 test rounds for a new powder), I always use the single stage press. Takes too much time to setup everything on progressive for just 20 rounds. But if I'm doing 500 (like a previous posting said), it's no contest: go with progressive.

 

[craigkim]

Hey guys, I've been doing some looking into reloading ammo. However there are lots of different styles and brands... fairly confusing. Just curious if someone could give me some advise on how to get started and how you did it. As far as what Im looking to reload. 9mm, 44 mag, .22lr, 223/556, maybe shotgun shells... thanks in advance.

Of the calibers you listed, only 9mm makes sense to start with. I started reloading, oh, a month or so ago and jumped right in with a Dillon 650 reloading 45 auto. Plan on spending more time trouble shooting and problem solving than you actually do reloading for some time if you go that route. This last weekend I had to take it completely apart and reassemble it, only to find that the primer seating mechanism had loosened from the machine and just needed tightened again..... spent about 5 hours studying, cleaning, basically exploring the operation, which will pay off in the long run. I was still able to produce 250 rounds with it, in about a half hour after I had it back together, but there was a fair share of frustration and bewilderment to get to that point.

Everyone told me this and I didn't listen. Start with a single stage press at first, then upgrade to a progressive after you are sure it is for you. By doing that you will learn RELOADING first, then working a progressive press second.

I will probably reload 9 at some point, but your cost savings take longer to make sense on 9mm than 45 IMO.

EDIT: 44 might make sense, but I was saying from a volume standpoint it will be easier to shoot a higher volume of 9

 

[jglevyjr]

Start with a single stage press at first, then upgrade to a progressive after you are sure it is for you. By doing that you will learn RELOADING first, then working a progressive press second.

I agree: perfect explanation on why to start with a simple-to-use press. Learn how to make quality ammunition first without the frustration of a sophisticated press, then learn how to operate/manage/maintain a complex press.

 

[Chaplain45]

I took a class at Profire Arms which was very helpful. I started on a Dillon 550b about a year ago and am well pleased. It sounds like the 650 takes a lot more to operate. Just my

 

[jglevyjr]

I used to have a Dillon 650 (and a Hornady Lock-n-Load progressive). Lots of frustration learning the 650 idiosyncrasies and parts and how to adjust (fix) it when things get out of alignment. Once it’s running smoothly, you can really pump out loads of ammo, but then something gets out of alignment and you have to adjust it (read: frustrated). And you really need to keep spare parts on hand, like the myriad of tiny springs in the primer system. Now I just use my Dillon 550b and RCBS Rockchucker. For me, things just seem to work with these presses with relatively little fiddling, and so I only crank out maybe 300 rounds per hour on the 550b, but that’s plenty for a week at the range for me.

 

[LarryC]

A lot of great advice above! My son and I have been reloading for well over 20 years. We started out with a single stage LEE, then purchased a Lee Progressive. Since then we have accumulated about 5 or 6 single stage presses including RCBS Rock chucker, Lyman orange crusher, and even an old Hollywood. About 4 years ago or so my son purchased a Hornady L&L with all the accessories and tooling needed to reload about 35 calibers (cost was well over 2K).

In my opinion ALL of the presses made today will do a good job of reloading any pistol round (and in almost all cases all rifle rounds). Lee equipment is by far the most economical and I would certainly recommend it, especially for a beginning re-loader. We have dies made by just about everyone in the Industry, and I have personally measured these using very accurate tools. I found the Lee to be as accurate dimensionally as the other dies (measured to .0001" accuracy). Can't say they will last as long or have the exact forms of some of the other dies, but we have never worn one out after several thousand rounds loaded.

We have RCBS, Lee, Foster, Hornady, Wilson, Dillons, Lyman, and other dies sets (many bought when I purchased of reloading equipment and supplies in large lots at estate sales). I can't say we have even used them all, some are in obsolete calibers or calibers we don't shoot.

But for the average shooter, I don't think the brand even matters. If you are shooting competitively and a 1/8" or 1/16" variation at 300 yd means a lot, it might be advisable to have dies custom made to fit your rifle chamber, but many other things matter a lot more than the press and die set!

In addition to a press and dies, you will need a method to clean used brass, either a Tumbler, or Vibratory cleaner (and cleaning media), Primer pocket cleaners / reamers for the primer pocket size you use, and deburring tools for the brass, a decent scale and powder trickler, a caliper and or Micrometer to measure OAL's and bullet diameters, and a bullet puller for disassembling mistakes (We use a "hammer type", works well for us and is pretty inexpensive). Lee does sell "kits" which includes much of the above for beginning re-loaders.

I learned to reload from reloading manuals, when I started there were no "classes", but I certainly would not recommend against taking a class if you can find one available. I would advise purchasing at least a couple of reloading books, Hornady, Lyman, Hodgdon manuals etc., all are great sources of information and each has some different answers to questions you may have.

One other thing, IDENTIFY any reloads you make with the date loaded, bullet type and weight, Powder number and weight, Primer brand and number and any other information you may want to track like "new brass", "once fired", "range brass" etc.

I realize the above sounds expensive and complicated but it really isn't near as bad as it sounds. Once you begin reloading if you are like us, it becomes an interesting hobby of its own! At this time (after many years and buying LOTS of new and used equipment and supplies, my son and I can cast bullets for just about any caliber we own (and we collect firearms), we have 3 casting pots and 40 or 50 bullet molds, a heated lubrisizer, several hundred pounds of lead, Ultrasonic, vibrator cleaners and tumblers, a large stock of primers, powder, bullets and ammo etc. It really makes us more comfortable knowing we won't run out in a SHTF situation or market shortage.

 

[bdybdall]

forgot to mention: I also had a Dillon 450 (the ancient predecesssor to the Dillon 550B). I purchased it many years ago (I think in the late 1970's or early 1980's). About 2 years ago when suddenly I couldn't find any 9mm ammo at Gander Mountain, I went to the attic, found my old 450 and it had been sitting idle for so many years its piston had frozen solid. I sent it back to Dillon; they honored their no-BS warranty by sending me a brand new 550B! Great guys at Dillon (and Hornady support is also very good).

How can I get that to happen to mine so I can get a 550?