Reload newbie

[jglabe]

I have always loaded single stage. I always thought maybe I will get that 650. Sometimes I still have those thoughts.... Once you get proficient at reloading on a single stage, you can actually do it pretty fast. The fact is, I will probably never get a progressive press. I like reloading too much!

[Bastard]

I have both a single stage & progressive presses, they both have their advantages/disadvantages.

as someone who is going to be just starting out, I highly recommend getting a single stage kit, possibly the RCBS or Hornady... hell even the Lee (not a fan)

[stilly]

After doing some reading on the subject. I would like to try reloading my own brass. my question is what is a good entry level press, tumbler, etc.. for .45 and .9mm ammo. I have looked at the different types of equipment and have seen prices from 300 to 1000 for a press alone. I would like some guidance from my fellow calguners.

Thanks

Wow. I did not see it so I will say it...

READ THE STICKIES AT THE TOP OF THE FORUM!

LoL. Now that that is done; personally I tell EVERYONE to get a Lee Classic Turret NOT the aluminum one, but the CLASSIC CAST 4 hole turret. It has an arrow shape to it and it is heavy and works great. I am REALLY having a hard time buying a progressive press because this LCT will pump out about 150+ rounds per hour. Actually, if I prime ahead of time and resize ahead of time, when it comes to making loaded ammo I get about 1 every 10 seconds so that pushes it to about 300+ an hour. But it is fun and I get to look down at my feet and see a pile of useable ammo sitting in a box after dropping down the tube. Hella cool...

I have NEVER regretted buying my LCT and for those folks that tell you to get a RCBS Rock Chucker Supreme Kit, well, those kits are gonna cost a bit more, but later on down the line you can buy a piggy back kit and upgrade those kits to a progressive for about $375 more. It is crazy but cool and works good. You also need to own several books to cross reference and check data. Lyman and Lee have good books. GL and come back to ask questions when you have them.

[Clever]

Wow. I did not see it so I will say it...

READ THE STICKIES AT THE TOP OF THE FORUM!

LoL. Now that that is done; personally I tell EVERYONE to get a Lee Classic Turret NOT the aluminum one, but the CLASSIC CAST 4 hole turret. It has an arrow shape to it and it is heavy and works great. I am REALLY having a hard time buying a progressive press because this LCT will pump out about 150+ rounds per hour. Actually, if I prime ahead of time and resize ahead of time, when it comes to making loaded ammo I get about 1 every 10 seconds so that pushes it to about 300+ an hour. But it is fun and I get to look down at my feet and see a pile of useable ammo sitting in a box after dropping down the tube. Hella cool...

I have NEVER regretted buying my LCT and for those folks that tell you to get a RCBS Rock Chucker Supreme Kit, well, those kits are gonna cost a bit more, but later on down the line you can buy a piggy back kit and upgrade those kits to a progressive for about $375 more. It is crazy but cool and works good. You also need to own several books to cross reference and check data. Lyman and Lee have good books. GL and come back to ask questions when you have them.

And how is your accuracy or do you just plink.

[Eljay]

And how is your accuracy or do you just plink.

The difference between any of these presses isn't accuracy, it's speed.

[RubiCrawlerLJ]

Looking to start reloading 300 AAC Blackout so I've been hitting the forums for insight and recommendations. Been the frugal SOB that I am, I've narrowed my choice of loader to Lee's Classic Turret press and just my luck I found Lee's Classic Turret press kit for $186.95 + $50 for the Lee V-LTD Pacesetter 3-die set.
Question, at this price would it be worth to buy a second kit and set it up for 45 ACP?
Just how much of a PITA is it to change from rifle to pistol on the Classic Turret press?
TIA

[Bastard]

I believe that it is just a die switch on the Lee turret.

the Lee turret was technically my first press, I bought it new off a buddy of mine who actually sold it to me thinking it was a single stage... once I got it home & opened the box to discover it was the turret press.
looked at it, looked at the quality of metal - put it back in the box & sold it.

[edrex]

Just how much of a PITA is it to change from rifle to pistol on the Classic Turret press?

No trouble at all. Buy an extra 4 hole turret for each caliber ($11 here) so you can leave your dies in place. Switching calibers just involves changing out the turret and the shell holder. I only have one powder dispenser so it takes an extra minute for me to switch that over too. All in all, I've really enjoyed my Lee Classic Turret.

[Jasonaspears]

It really depends on your funds available and your time available to reload. I use a single stage for both pistol and rifle current but have a digital scale and dispenser to make the charging process easier. A progressive press is in my near future for high volume loading of pistol and 223 but for my precision rifle rounds, I will stay with the single stage press. Heck, you can get a very basic setup from lee with a hand loader, scale, etc completely set up for a single caliber.

[alex45auto]

I use Dillon 550 for high volume handgun loads and RCBS Rock chucker for my low volume rifle loads (like 300 Blkout). I usually load around 500 round of 45ACP in an hour out of the 550. If time is an issue, get a Dillon. Great customer service.

[RubiCrawlerLJ]

No trouble at all. Buy an extra 4 hole turret for each caliber ($11 here) so you can leave your dies in place. Switching calibers just involves changing out the turret and the shell holder. I only have one powder dispenser so it takes an extra minute for me to switch that over too. All in all, I've really enjoyed my Lee Classic Turret.

Thanks, I'll hold off on buying a second press for now and pick up an extra turret , dies and powder dispenser.
How's the saying, "you need to learn to walk before you can run"!

[johnny1290]

My 2 cents:

I learned on a Lee Pro 1000 doing 9mm.

What I'd do differently: Have bought a Hornady LnL progressive, and run it like a single stage (just one station) until I figured out what I was doing.

The Hornady is around $410 delivered from Midsouth, and I got $150 worth of bullets from Hornady, so it's not much more than a turret. You need a $25 electronic scale, calipers from harbor frieght($5-50), dies $35, and a shell plate $30.

Now you have a press that's excellent quality, and you can load rifle or pisol, as fast or as slow as you want, and can upgrade to your hearts content.

With a turret it's slow, and you can upgrade it slightly to less slow but it'll never be as fast as the LnL, but close enough that you won't want to spend the money to upgrade, which at this point will have been just a few dollars difference, and you're stuck with a lesser piece of equipment.

My pro 1000 could do 350 RPH, but rattled and needed constant futzing and tapping here and there along with fixing jammed primers mainly. It works, but for a first time reloader figuring out the press quirks *and* how to reload was nearly too much.

Even after I figured it out it and did the mods it was still a pain.

Yes the turret, the internet fav, looks much nicer but it's still a turret and for the slight price difference between it and a LnL there's noooooo contest.

JMO.

[Enfield47]

Thanks, I'll hold off on buying a second press for now and pick up an extra turret , dies and powder dispenser.
How's the saying, "you need to learn to walk before you can run"!

When you are ready to order the extra turret make sure to order one for each caliber you plan to reload for. It makes shipping more palatable that way too.

For a powder dispenser I highly recommend the Lee auto disk and pick up a riser and the the double disk kit too if you are reloading rifle rounds up to .308. If you are doing rifle rounds also pick up the rifle charging die. The auto disk consistently throws a very accurate charge you won't be disappointed.

[uhlan1]

you will need to decide which is more important to you:

your time or your money

If you have allot of time and want to fully understand the fundamentals, get a single stage

If like me, you do not have an entire day to spend reloading, get a progressive. Once you are comfortable with the various aspects, you can reload a few hundred rounds in a couple of hours

Any progressive can be use as a single stage, or load one round at a time around the stations until you become proficient

A progressive you will grow into. A single stage you will grow out of

But a single stage will be used to augment the progressive that you will invariably buy, should you determine reloading is for you and you become afflicted with reloading disease. To which there is no known cure

This. Great advice I shoot a God awful amount of pistol and knew I would outgrow a single stage quick (not that they don't have their own benefits). So I got the LnL and just ran around one round at a time for a long while before going full progressive. And when I did, it was a while before I was trying to set any speed records..

[RubiCrawlerLJ]

My 2 cents:

I learned on a Lee Pro 1000 doing 9mm.

What I'd do differently: Have bought a Hornady LnL progressive, and run it like a single stage (just one station) until I figured out what I was doing.

The Hornady is around $410 delivered from Midsouth, and I got $150 worth of bullets from Hornady, so it's not much more than a turret. You need a $25 electronic scale, calipers from harbor frieght($5-50), dies $35, and a shell plate $30.

Now you have a press that's excellent quality, and you can load rifle or pisol, as fast or as slow as you want, and can upgrade to your hearts content.

With a turret it's slow, and you can upgrade it slightly to less slow but it'll never be as fast as the LnL, but close enough that you won't want to spend the money to upgrade, which at this point will have been just a few dollars difference, and you're stuck with a lesser piece of equipment.

My pro 1000 could do 350 RPH, but rattled and needed constant futzing and tapping here and there along with fixing jammed primers mainly. It works, but for a first time reloader figuring out the press quirks *and* how to reload was nearly too much.

Even after I figured it out it and did the mods it was still a pain.

Yes the turret, the internet fav, looks much nicer but it's still a turret and for the slight price difference between it and a LnL there's noooooo contest.

JMO.

Valid points, especially since I was entertaining buying two Lee Classic Turrets, one setup for 300 AAC BLK and another for 45 ACP.
I guess I'll have to do some more number crunching to price out caliber swaps for both presses. Good thing I am not in a rush to spend money!