Looking to buy a loader

[Fjold]

For a single stage press I'd say the Hood but I heard Charlie isn't making them anymore so the Haydon or the Harrel would be the next choice.
For turret presses the Harrell hands down.
For progressive presses I think that Dillon is the top.

[thebloodsonthewall]

I recently got a Dillon 550b. I like it. Everything works great except I am having problems with the primer set-up. I think I am going to call Dillon about it next week if I can't figure it out before then. Once everything is adjusted and set-up it is really easy to use. I was going to get a single stage press and spend as little as possible but I decided just to do it right. I ended up spending $500 I think but to me if was well worth it. I plan on loading thousands of rounds a year so I didn't want to get something that I am going to want to replace in a few months or a year.

[ar15robert]

Been using a single stage rcbs rockchucker for 10 years.I can do 50-60 easily in one night can do more if i spent more.But a night here and there i can stock up pretty good.Also do 300win mag,30-30 as well.

I use a dillion sdb for .45 auto

[jandmtv]

i say get a dillon 650 and dont look back, buy once, cry once.

but if you want a great single stage turret press to start on, get a redding T7

[Ceemack]

The place to start is with a solid single-stage press--either the RCBS Rockchucker, the Lyman Crusher, or the Redding Boss. The Lee Classic Cast is an option if money is tight, but they seem a little rough to me. The extra fifty bucks for the higher-end units would be well spent, since you'll probably have the thing for several decades (I've had my Rockchucker for nearly 25 years, and it'll probably go for 25 more).

Rule number one on buying reloading equipment is to buy the best quality stuff your budget can handle, because if you buy the good stuff it will last for many, many years.

A single-stage is where you learn the reloading process, but more importantly it's where you will do your load development, both now and in the future. Contrary to popular opinion these days, reloading isn't like baking cookies: you can't just find a recipe someplace and start cranking out rounds. Once you pick out a powder and a bullet, you'll need to work up from a published starting load to either your desired powder charge or the published maximum, whichever you hit first. You do this by loading a few (as in 3 to 5) rounds at the minimum powder charge, a few at .5 grains more, a few at .5 grains more than that, and so on (use .2 grain increments for handguns). You take these to the range and fire them in order, checking each fired case for signs of excessive pressure as you go.

And if you decided on a different bullet (even if it's another brand of the same style and weight), or a different brand of primer, or a different powder, you need to go through this process again. For example, I worked up a good load using 748 and Winchester 55 gr. FMJs; I haven't been able to find Winchester bullets lately, so I switched to Hornady--and had to go through the same process all over again. 748 is burning as cleanly as I'd like with the WSR primers I used the first time around, so I'll next be going through the same process again with CCI magnum primers.

You could do this on a progressive press, but the fact is you probably wouldn't--it's just too inconvenient. You'll just use somebody else's recipe (and brother, I've seen some scary ones posted), or you'll take a few tenths of a grain off of a maximum load posted somewhere. And that would make you a danger to your rifle, yourself, and (most important) the shooters at the adjoining stations when you're at the range.

So a proper reloading bench for a high-volume shooter mounts two presses: a single-stage for load development and a progressive press for production. If you don't shoot big volumes, the single-stage is all you need.

And you buy the single-stage first. Get a stand-alone powder measure to go with it, and the powder scale and dies that you'll need regardless.

[ar15barrels]

you can't just find a recipe someplace and start cranking out rounds. Once you pick out a powder and a bullet, you'll need to work up from a published starting load to either your desired powder charge or the published maximum, whichever you hit first.

Actually, you can if you are not looking to load to maximum pressures or develop a specific accuracy load.
Just don't load anywhere near max loads.

[Ceemack]

Actually, you can if you are not looking to load to maximum pressures or develop a specific accuracy load.
Just don't load anywhere near max loads.

Sure you can--just like you can point an unloaded gun at your own head and pull the trigger. You'll probably be just fine.

But then again...

It is entirely possible to exceed maximum safe pressures well below the published maximum loads. It isn't common, but it can happen. I've seen it with my own eyes--with a .223 load, ironically.

That's probably why every source of published reloading data specifies a starting load and instructs the use to begin with the starting load and work up.

Too many of today's reloaders have that kind of cavalier attitude toward basic reloading safety. They figure if they watch the Dillon video all the way through and split the difference between the starting load and the maximum they're good to go.

Kind of like the guy they took away from the range in an ambulance one day because he blew up his rifle.