Thinking

[chknlyps2]

Now you guys and went and done it. The head Janitor is watching.

Maybe he wants to learn to reload and is watching for reloading tips.

[jpm804]

Been shopping around for a lee turret press or kit and while FRSreloading had better prices their shipping seemed a little high.

Ended up goin with midway since they had some coupons and went with the kit and dies , in total with shipping it was cheaper. Thought I'd throw it out there to give more options if your shopping around...

Actually, if OP shops at FSreloading, they can get the Lee Classic Turret for, WOW. On sale right now for $99.99

https://fsreloading.com/lee-precision-classic-turret-press-90064.html

Pay no attention to the "out of stock, expected in 3 days" message at the bottom, that just means it will take another day or two to ship it, but in my last case, they said that to me and they shipped the item the next day. FSRELOADING.COM is your best friend when you are new to reloading and you wanna test the waters. You can get all things Lee there and for a cheap price. They have the best prices online, next to them is titanreloading but they are a bit more.

CGT80: How much was that Hollywood again? I have been checking fleabay but one guy was asking like $600. I forgot, can you swage on that if you wanted to? Did it have some extra stabilizer that also came down on the backside to brace it for swaging as well?

FP: Next week baby...

[Tom-ADC]

Too late probably but Grafs has them for $86 and that includes shipping no taxes.

http://www.grafs.com/retail/catalog/product/productId/8270

[stilly]

Been shopping around for a lee turret press or kit and while FRSreloading had better prices their shipping seemed a little high.

Ended up goin with midway since they had some coupons and went with the kit and dies , in total with shipping it was cheaper. Thought I'd throw it out there to give more options if your shopping around...

How much was it with coupons and all? I like Midway but sometimes their shipping sucks when compared to the non sale items. Of course, when you get those free shipping or discounted shipping coupons it does make it a LOT easier to shop there.

When I go to FSreloading I will typically buy a batch of things. this last time around I got two sizers and the 6 cavity mold so it worked for me.

Amazon prime would be good for shipping too, but amazon tends to be about $10-$20 more for the press.

Too late probably but Grafs has them for $86 and that includes shipping no taxes.

http://www.grafs.com/retail/catalog/...productId/8270

No. That is not the same press. That is the cheaper aluminum press. I never liked the look of it and later I found out that the flatter one costs more because it is worth it.

The one at grafs would be this one: http://www.grafs.com/retail/catalog/...productId/7555

Watching....


Waiting....

HANDS UP! DON'T BAN!

[Tom-ADC]

Just goes to show how little I know about Lee presses sorry I couldn't help.

[jpm804]

How much was it with coupons and all? I like Midway but sometimes their shipping sucks when compared to the non sale items. Of course, when you get those free shipping or discounted shipping coupons it does make it a LOT easier to shop there.

When I go to FSreloading I will typically buy a batch of things. this last time around I got two sizers and the 6 cavity mold so it worked for me.

Amazon prime would be good for shipping too, but amazon tends to be about $10-$20 more for the press.

Midway has coupons for 10 off 100, 20 off 200 and 30 off 300 , good until 4/18.

If you take the lee Classic turret as example it was more at midway at $111.99 with $13 shipping and add $10 off so $115 shipped. FRS was $99.99 plus $26.95 shipping.

I was looking at Amazon also with prime shipping but tax would have to be collected.

I ended up getting the lee Classic kit - $209 ( was gonna get most of the stuff in the kit except for the scale) and it was cheaper than buying each part individually ... Got some dies and other items to get me to $300 exact to get $30 off and shipping increase was only $16 from $13 so that wasn't bad. I was suprised midwayusa prices on Lee stuff was pretty competive and in stock ... Ordered late last night and got shipping notice this morning.

[1859sharps]

Ah the age old question Whether to start with a single station or a progressive press. I would ask the OP, did you learn to walk one step at a time or did you come onto the world doing the 4 minute mile?

Did you learn to ride a bike by disingenuous a tricycle first or was your first bicycle outing the Tour d' France.
Loading on a progressive press is akin to being a machine operator. Think of the single station press as your apprenticeship period. Should you load bottle neck rifle cartridges you will be glad you have one.

100% disagree. highly outdated advice.

somewhere around 20 years old I bought my first reloading press, a Dillion 550b, took my time, asked questions, read the books, learned the steps.

There is ZERO reason someone can't safely learn to reload right from the get go with a progressive and do so safely.

[jonzer77]

I started with a progressive press the Dillon 550B and wish I started with a Lee turret press. There are just so many little things that can go wrong with a progressive press. When you are new to reloading having something simple means you can focus on getting the basics down instead trying to figure out the 20 different things can go wrong with the press.

I agree. I was given a lee pro 1000 for Christmas and the first thing I did was buy a single stage press to learn on. You really learn each step that way and it gives you a better feel for using a progressive press. Besides, the single stage will still be used so its not like you are wasting money.

[CGT80]

CGT80: How much was that Hollywood again? I have been checking fleabay but one guy was asking like $600. I forgot, can you swage on that if you wanted to? Did it have some extra stabilizer that also came down on the backside to brace it for swaging as well?

FP: Next week baby...

My dad's dad (my grandfather) bought the Hollywood press. It may have been new at the time. They do not go cheap. Mine has all 7/8 threaded holes. Some have a few large holes for large caliber or shotgun reloading Mine does not have the brace for swaging and I don't know if it is rated for it. It does put most single stage or turret presses to shame for size and it feels very sturdy. The top turret is around an inch thick and is probably cast iron although I thought steel was stronger for those type of applications. The body is cast iron as well. Mine is one of the bigger ones, but there is one that they made that dwarfs mine.

There are some die hard Hollywood fans who snatch up these presses. One guy has 30 or so of them. They have their good points and bad points. The technology was not as advanced as it is now and the thinking is a bit different now. The priming system is slow and a bit of a pain, but it always worked. If you like old stuff that is built well, then a hollywood might be for you.

Here is mine:

[stilly]

My dad's dad (my grandfather) bought the Hollywood press. It may have been new at the time. They do not go cheap. Mine has all 7/8 threaded holes. Some have a few large holes for large caliber or shotgun reloading Mine does not have the brace for swaging and I don't know if it is rated for it. It does put most single stage or turret presses to shame for size and it feels very sturdy. The top turret is around an inch thick and is probably cast iron although I thought steel was stronger for those type of applications. The body is cast iron as well. Mine is one of the bigger ones, but there is one that they made that dwarfs mine.

There are some die hard Hollywood fans who snatch up these presses. One guy has 30 or so of them. They have their good points and bad points. The technology was not as advanced as it is now and the thinking is a bit different now. The priming system is slow and a bit of a pain, but it always worked. If you like old stuff that is built well, then a hollywood might be for you.

Here is mine:

THAT is certainly a massive turret. I have only really seen the ones with the large 1" holes and the 7/8" combo'd with adapters to make them all 7/8".

ONE day I will have one, I really like how it looks like an I-beam from the side with things attached to it...

Midway has coupons for 10 off 100, 20 off 200 and 30 off 300 , good until 4/18.

If you take the lee Classic turret as example it was more at midway at $111.99 with $13 shipping and add $10 off so $115 shipped. FRS was $99.99 plus $26.95 shipping.

I was looking at Amazon also with prime shipping but tax would have to be collected.

I ended up getting the lee Classic kit - $209 ( was gonna get most of the stuff in the kit except for the scale) and it was cheaper than buying each part individually ... Got some dies and other items to get me to $300 exact to get $30 off and shipping increase was only $16 from $13 so that wasn't bad. I was suprised midwayusa prices on Lee stuff was pretty competive and in stock ... Ordered late last night and got shipping notice this morning.

Ahhh. Now see, what I would have done was ordered enough things to make up for that discount. BUT, I also would not spend $300 at midway so you got me there.

Well that is good that it worked out well for you. I have loyalty to FSreloading in case you can not tell and yes, I SHOULD be looking at prices and overall out the door costs, but that loyalty thing kinda makes me biased. Of course, Midway is not bad, you could have gone there and gotten the kit plus a 5-0-5 scale.

I wish there was a cool place to buy RCBS stuff. I have had to hunt them down on Fleabay and other places and make judgement calls on new vs used stuff. I have done well so far. In fact, I might even say that I have gone as far as to start turning green.... Well, maybe purple with that set of Dillon dies I got yesterday.

[kalapa]

There's really no reason why you just can't start with a progressive. It sounds like you're leaning that way anyway, so just go for it.

[stilly]

Oh boy...

[Tom-ADC]

There's really no reason why you just can't start with a progressive. It sounds like you're leaning that way anyway, so just go for it.

Yep this, you start off loading one round at a time with the 550B you manually advance the case from station to station much like a turret press once you get that down pat, try two then three and then good to go.
There are a lot of youtube etc to watch and the Dillion DVD to me is top notch for a learning tool.

[LynnJr]

No

(If I were really good, they might let me sew patches right-side-up.

)

Yeah if you were really good you would notice I didn't sew anything.
Just because a person knows how to reload and shoot that doesn't guarantee they call spell quote or rotate pictures on a phone.
Darn shame but true.

Edit: notice what my Smartphone did to the word can.

[Capybara]

So we can now add "Newbie learning on a single stage vs. progressive" into the Calguns pantheon of heatedly argued/debated/hot buttons?

1. AR vs. AK
2. Glock vs. 1911
3. Commie vs. American guns
4. All bolt action rifles besides the Remington 700 are a waste of time?
5. Bullet button vs. Featureless

Which other ones am I missing?

As a colleague of JJ805, Big Bronco, CSACanonneer, Bumslie, IntoForever, Bubbala, Chknlyps2 and others who have all forgotten more about reloading than I have learned over the past couple of years, and having taught, talked with and discussed the finer points of reloading with dozens if not hundreds of students at reloading clinics, I will say this. If you are an average or below average reloading student when it comes to concentration, safety mindedness, thoroughness, anal retentiveness and mechanical aptitude, you should begin with a single stage or turret press. It's exactly what I did, I have an LCT for pistol and Lee Classic Cast for bigger rifle calibers. I agree with Stilly and the others, the LCT is the ideal press to learn on and an amazing value.

If you are objectively above average in those qualities, sure, start with a progressive. Lots of people have and have had great results. But be honest and frank with yourself about your competency and abilities in the areas listed above, especially with thoroughness, safety mindedness and mechanical aptitude. Progressives require more mechanical ability than a single stage or turret to get up and running and to keep running accurately. Nobody can dispute that. You can see the same story all over the web, newbie starts out with a progressive and accidentally reloads wrong, incorrect, a ton of squibs, poorly seated primers, double fills, etc. then has to spend hours trying to figure out where it all went wrong. Deconstructing ammo is a PITA and expensive and if you don't catch your mistakes, it can be a disaster.

I would posit that the argument over which to begin with is moot point. The real issue is what are your abilities and skills? If you are good enough, go for a progressive. But the majority of new reloaders aren't and would be much better served learning on a single stage.