Choosing reloading press...

[cerisecons]

Oops SHTF, typo, does it make sense now.

[Lead Waster]

the Lee Classic Turret is pretty hard to beat for the casual shooter.

I second this. I have an RCBS single and two 550bs, but I can say that the Lee Classic Turret will do you well for a long time, especially the casual shooter. way way less tedious than the single stage, and way less expensive than a progressive.

Perfect for a casual shooter!

But any strong single stage press by any company is good.

[Lead Waster]

Lol, oops zombie thread!

[M1NM]

This is a Ford or Chevy question. I drive Fords and only use RCBS loading stuff. You can start out with a Lee but eventually you'll want to step up from that KIA.

[JMP]

I've gone through hundreds of google posts on presses. Since I'm just a casual shooter, I'm going single stage to load 357, 40SW, 45 ACP. looking at Hornady Classic, Forster, but I hear great things about Redding but not many seem to own one. Why? Any other suggestions?

Redding makes very good reloading equipment. I have one Redding press, the Big Boss II, which I use for large rifle. cartridges It's solid and strong. I'd say that of the big name brands, Redding makes a press of better quality that others out there such as Hornady or RCBS in terms of the material used.

Where Redding really has a leg up on the other makers is in their dies. The Redding Competition dies are exceptional. I use the Redding Competition dies in every cartridge I have where they make a die set for it. Granted, they aren't cheap, it'll probably run about $400 for a die set with the bushings. There is an astronomical difference in the quality of rifle ammo you can put out between a Redding Comp set and the cheap $30 Hornady sets, which I have found to do nothing but break.

Therefore, it all depends on what your needs are. I think that Redding is most commonly used (especially the dies) among folks that want to make very accurate rifle loads. Pretty much the only way you'll get dies better than Redding Competition is if you go to custom dies.

OP, since it sounds like you are loading almost exclusively handgun cartridges, it probably wouldn't be worth it for you to get the good Redding gear. Pistols are inherently less accurate than files. Most of the folks that are heavily invested in Redding products are most likely bolt action rifle shooters that are striving for a high level of accuracy and precision.