Hand press?

[.223]

I want to get into reloading to save on ammo costs, but I don't have the space for a full press. With that in mind, is the Lee hand press worth it? All I would need for now are .45 ACP and .223, with .308, .357 mag, and 7.62x39 in mind for the future (though by then I may have the space for a better setup).

[What Just Happened?]

Wow. A hand press. Could you get a single stage or turret press instead?

[tlillard23]

you should clarify. a hand press is a field portable type thing that you can reload with. you can carry it in your back pocket.
It is not (should not be confused with) a single stage press. I had 3-5 hand presses, I thought they were a neat little trinket, not a usefull tool.

[dustoff31]

Just to be sure, you're talking about the hand press that uses regular dies, rather than the Lee Loader? Correct?


I've never used one myself, but a guy I know and whose opinion I have confidence in said this:


I use a hand-press (LEE) almost exclusively. My bench presses gather a lot of dust.

The most difficult I have encountered was fired 7.62X51mm mil-surp brass that I suspect came from a full auto weapon. But I was still able to do it. Both my 7.62X51mm's are bolt rifles, so I did not have to go the small-base route. But no, it was not fun! But, do-able. And it makes your arms stronger, which makes your rifle lighter!

Otherwise, brass from an AK or SKS pose no problems, or have been easy for me to re-size.

I have not had problems with large magnum cases either, both .338 WinMag and .350RemMag.

.223/5.56X45mm brass should pose no problem.

Carbide/Tungston Carbide dies should make it easier to size difficult cases in a hand press, as will a good quality case lube. Perhaps use a bullet-resizing lube. ??

[brando]

Hand presses suck if that's all you're going to have. I use one occaisionally when I just want to decap brass in front of the TV. When I got started reloading I was in a small apartment and didn't have a lot of room. I bought a Frankford Arsenal portable reloading stand, mounted a Rockchucker Supreme on it and went from there. It's a small stand that easily breaks down to fit in a closet. The real trick is you're going to need at least a stable desk to do your power charges and weighing. I tucked my keyboard away, did my powder work, then spun around to the stand and seated my bullets. Easy.

[TonyM]

I couldn't imaging running a bunch of brass through a hand press. I would imagine you would have forearms like Popeye in no time!

[guimus]

I have one that I use (as noted above) to do repetitive tasks while watching tv/movies/etc. and it really does give you a little upper-body workout.

I also use it to reload small quantities of ammo when I don't want to set up my turret press (I live in an apartment and have the press bolted to a 12x12x1 board and c-clamp that to a work table.

Break even point for me is around 50 rounds...more than that and it's worthwhile to set up the real press. That said, the quality of the ammo produced is in no way inferior.

[rksimple]

Thats all I used to use in my 400 sq. ft. aptartment. Only used it for pistol calibers, though. Rifle calibers would SUCK! If I had it to do all over again, I'd go with the portable reloading stand and a rockchuker.

[Parag]

When I got started reloading I was in a small apartment and didn't have a lot of room. I bought a Frankford Arsenal portable reloading stand, mounted a Rockchucker Supreme on it and went from there. It's a small stand that easily breaks down to fit in a closet.

How stable is that stand? From the pictures, it seems as if plastic parts would tend to wobble and flex quite a bit.

-- Parag

[.223]

Nope, I'm not talking about a single stage. Just a little press that I can place out of the way when not in use.

I'd love a turret press, but I barely have the space for my safe here as it is. I don't plan on firing more than maybe 250-500 rounds per month in the coming months, anyway, and it would definitely give me something to do with my hands besides smoke.

[What Just Happened?]

Is that 250 - 500 rounds per caliber or in total?

If it's total, then the hand press won't be too bad. So long as you don't mind the exercise.

If it's 250 - 500 rounds per caliber, then you might need something faster.

[ar15barrels]

Find a friend with space in his garage that would be willing to share the space in trade for the use of the reloading equipment.
Then buy a real press.

Short of that, get one of those portable stands.

[chiefcrash]

you could build one of these: http://www.surplusrifle.com/shooting...ding/index.asp

only set it up when you're reloading, tear it down when yer done...

[WolfMansDad]

The hand press is great if you live in an apartment. It only gets stiff and hard to use if it gets dirty or your cases are too dry. I use hornady one-shot for case lube, liberally applied to my rifle cases, and my hand press requires very little force for resizing/decapping, priming, or bullet seating. Pistol dies are usually carbide and don't need lube, and those are easier to reload than rifle cases, in my experience. (I reload .223, 7mm-08, and .45acp.)

The lee loader, the little kit where you use a hammer to seat the primers , works too, but it's not good for reloading in volume. Neither takes up much space.

[Cazach]

The actual footprint of most reloading presses is less than a square foot. (probably more like 9" x9") Where you need the room is for all of your raw components, tools, gauges, scale, etc. Given that you have to have these items, I don't see a huge benefit with the hand press. (unless you reload in the field).

Buy a press, mount it to a piece of hardwood and clamp it to your kitchen counter or something similar when you use it.

You will have more versatility and ease of operation.