First press selection

General Firearms Reloading & Ammunition
1

Gents, I’m looking to finally start reloading (been shooting for almost 10 years now) since I’m now shooting more .308 and .300BLK. I also shoot .223, 9mm, and a little .45ACP… I’m mostly looking at loading for .308 and .300BLK now.

With that said, I’m looking to set this thing up in apartment with limited space available to dedicate to it.

Both the .308 and .300BLK aren’t calibers that I expect to need to load more than 100-200 rounds of at a time, currently. If I start shooting USPSA again and load 9mm… well, that’s a different story.

Given the circumstances… what would folks recommend for these needs?

I’m torn between the Lee Turret press and a Hornady progressive press. With the current Hornady bullet promo, and the fact that the press comes with a powder dispenser… it really puts this progressive at being about $100 more than a turret/single stage press.

I have no intention of using bullet and case feeders with anything, for what it’s worth.

What’s the general consensus? Any reason not to spend the extra $100 and go progressive right from the start?

It seems like most progressive loaders are doing more pistol than rifle ammo, does that really matter?

I’m not shooting benchrest competitions with any of these calibers, just looking to make range ammo that can keep up with factory quality and take the sting out of the price.

Thanks in advance!

2

I’d get a progressive press. I started with an RCBS single stage and got a Dillon 550 a year or two later. In hindsight, I should have just gotten the 550. I don’t think I’ve used the single stage once since I got the Dillon, I mainly just loan the RCBS out to friends now when they start getting into reloading.

3

The dillon is more expensive but totally worth it. Single stage I would go rcbs. I use the single stage rcbs , it’s slower loading pistol. But for precision rifle it’s great for me.

My next one will be a dillon progressive for sure it will make loading pistol alot faster. That purchase will be after the elections, iam waiting to see who wins and if there’s going to be a run on ammo,powder etc. If its going to disappear for years again I will stay with the single stage till it comes back.

I can’t see why you wouldn’t go progressive first other than cost. And maybe single stage might be easer to setup and learn on. Thats about it.

4

If you can afford it, buy a RL550B. If money is an issue and they are having a promotional offer, you can’t go wrong with RCBS.

I have owned a Lee Progressive, two Dillon Square Deals and a Dillon RL550B over the years. The Dillons have been the most reliable and the RL550B has been the most versatile. For most rifle cartridges I weigh each powder charge and use my RL550B like a single stage press.

When I lived in a very small apartment, I mounted a Dillon Square Deal B to a small thick table that I could shove into a corner when not being used. When I wanted to reload pistol ammunition I moved the table out in an area where I had enough room to maneuver and weighted down the table with barbell plates to steady the table.

For reloading precision rifle cartridges you can’t go wrong with a RCBS single stage press. For both handgun and rifle you can’t go wrong with a RL550B.

5

I have a Dillion 550 for my .45 and 9mm loading but still use either a single stage RCBS Rock Chucker or turret press for rifle rounds. I find with the turret or single stage press I have to check my powder throws less often than the progressive.

Sent from my LG-LS995 using Tapatalk

6

Another very satisfied Dillon RL550B owner here…

It was my first press, after 20 years it’s still my only press, and I would do it exactly the same if I were starting new.

7

Just fyi, cabelas had their rcbs supreme kit on sale this weekend for $265 it may still be. Thats a good price.

If you can’t find a dillon progressive local you might check out brianenos.com website for a package deal.
Or contact dillon directly.

8

Get the Dillon 550. You will be more than glad you did. I’m not going to say it’s cheap compared to others, but it will let you reload anything. I originally got mine when I was shooting USPSA. I normally do 400 rounds per hour once you get in the groove. Since I have gotten into bolt guns I considered buying a Rockchucker like everyone uses, but decided against it.

Now that being said, I have upgraded my Dillon with machined heads, micro powder measures, baffle/polishing, shell plate etc.

I currently load 338 LM on it. I have a dedicated head that I screw in and leave it until a whole batch is loaded up. Then return it to the pistol heads. Refitting the press for the 338 is simple with micro dies and a dummy round.

The most important upgrades for the dillon are the roller handle, once you have it you will never look back and the machined heads. Instead of the drop pins holding them in place, they have set screws. The dillon heads are sloppy compared to these. It helps your COL greatly in being more consistent. A Dillon is the best investment you will ever make into reloading. 30 years from now Dillon will still replace parts on it, and it will outlast your lifetime. It’s the best progressive loader for a reason. And with a few upgrades it can be a great single stage also.

There a lot of other things to buy along they way, once you get into reloading.
Chargemaster - I can’t live without it
Stainless media tumbler - why did I buy corncob all those years ?!?!?!?!?!?
Giraud Trimmer - no more hand trimming/ deburing.

The only people who don’t like a Dillon, are the ones who want a bigger Dillon. 550–>650 etc.
10 years from now you could sell it for 5 bucks less than you paid for it.
It will last longer then you will.
Customer support is outstanding.

If money is an issue, I would recommend saving longer. Or if your not sure where this will lead you, the rockchucker is a good buy. You must remember that reloading is a long haul endeavor. For these things to pay off many rounds need to be reloaded. The “sting” is at the beginning in reloading, it’s not cheap when you first dive in.
And not to forget when things dry up, many of us reloaders will be shooting still, while the box people look at empty shelves. This means stopping by the gun store and picking up primers/powder whether you need it or not a box at a time, you will generate a large stockpile over time this way.
Even though I have bought some pricey additions the last few years, they have paid for themselves. Go price 338 LM ammo in Lapua brand. It will make you cry. Round count on my barrel is right at 450 rounds. 450 x $7 = 3150
Its hards to beat price on pistol loads unless you have lots of free brass, but rifle rounds make up the purchase price very fast. Do the math and calculate how many rounds of 308 you are going to shoot using 308 gold medal match. You will be able to reload for half that easy. So thats $1.30 a round X 1000 rounds = $1300. If you do not buy a press, how much will it cost you the second year ?? $1300 Now imagine 5 years down the road how much you will have saved ??? $3250. That number alone warrants buying a good press and still have money left over after powder/primers/bullets.

Reloading is king, but you must enjoy it also, which I do. If I get burned out, I don’t go into the gun room for months. Then it hits me again and I find my lost love over again. It is a very rewarding hobby after you get setup properly.

If you decide on a Dillon, I will buy you 1 machined head as a gift. http://www.uniquetek.com/site/696296/product/T1333

9

I bought the LNL AP. I like it well enough. I only reload pistol calibers right now, but I have started to gear up for .223. I have only one complaint with the LNL AP and that is the LNL bushings don’t “return to zero” for a lack of a better term on caliber conversions. The tool heads with Dillon seem like they would be better in this regard. They slide into a horizontal slot ensuring a consistent depth of the dies. The LNL bushings are 1/4 turn screw on and they can be off on depth by .005 for the seating dies.

I know you said that you don’t want a case/ bullet feeder, but if you get into volume loading for you 9mm the case feeder or bullet feeder will be appreciated. It made a huge difference when I added the “$28 bullet feeder” to my press. Your left hand only has one job bullet or case instead of both. Look into the price of the case feeders for the Dillon and LNL AP. If my memory serves the LNL press is cheaper but the case feeder is more expensive. So that is something to consider in the long run.

I’m happy with my LNL but to do it over again I would probably have saved for another few months and gotten a Dillon 650.

Sent from my XT1254 using Tapatalk

10

I’m just starting out too. Got a NIB RCBS Supreme kit for $220 on ebay.

11

All of these reloading threads seem to go the same way, on every forum it seems.

I give two examples of presses I’m looking at, state up front that I’m looking to reload multiple calibers in smaller quantities in a compact setup, then everyone just recommends a Dillon anyway that I have no interest in (one of the most expensive options to reload multiple calibers on, designed for very high volume loading). No comments yet on the Lee Turret, either.

Why are people recommending a Rockchucker over the Lee Classic Turret? What does that particular single stage press offer over other single stage presses?

12

That’s good deal on a great single stage press with pretty much everything else you need to get started. I went the same route when getting started.
Can’t go wrong IMO !

13

I have no experience with the Lee Turret, but I have a great deal of experience with the Lee Pro 1000 progressive reloader. After it had some wear on it, I had multiple problems with the reloader. I had so many problems with my Lee progressive reloader that I gave it away.

I have a few shooting buddies that use Lee single stage equipment for reloading rifle ammunition and they have had good luck. I would avoid Lee’s progressive equipment.

14

Sorry it’s all just personal preference. In the single stage press the rams bigger on the rock chucker than the hornady single stage,or at least mine is over my friend who bought the hornady single stage. Theres tons of people who use the hornady press and love it. Theres absolutely nothing wrong with either.

Just fyi which ever (kit) you buy. Thats not all you need ,there will always be something else as you move forward. First thing is a good STRONG bench of some kind. The bench will be the largest thing in your room. You can’t get away with useing some light plastic table very easly.

What your running into here is these guys reload on a massive scale etc , and are going to recommend the dillon becouse its great and they don’t have time to use the single stage when reloading 2000 pistol rounds for a match. So if times not a problem then you can use whatever you want. Its not for me so I use a single stage. The turret would be a bit faster even then mine. Also iam not worried about resale I don’t sell things ,in 47 years I’ve sold one gun to pay some fines I got when I was a kid and to this day have regrets on doing that. I should have washed fire trucks…lol

Ps…does hornady make a turret press or just progressive? The only thing I use by lee are there dies basically,i don’t know anyone useing thier presses and haven’t heard very much good about them. As far as presses I would stay with hornady,rcbs,redding or dillon.

15

You mentioned a fully progressive press in your OP. The two big players are the Hornady and Dillon. There is a reason people recommend Dillon up front. Many of us have been in the same shoes. Like I said I bought the Hornady progressive like it a lot and still would look into a Dillon if I did it over. It’s like buying a Colt up front, vs getting a bushmaster.

You say low volume now, but down the road things could and often change. I shoot quite a bit more now that I reload. Mainly because I can afford to now that I reload.

You already mentioned loading 2-3 calibers on the press, I explained the caliber changeover on the Dillon will be easier. Unless you load large quantities of each at a time, the constant setting up of dies will add to your reloading time.

The RCBS is going to be a more robust press than the Lee. In my experience with the exception of dies, Lee products are not as well built as RCBS, Hornady, etc. That’s why the suggestions.

In the end, you are going to buy what press you want. I did. Even though everyone told me to save up the extra scratch for the Dillon. Now I’m invested in a press with a much lower resale value and some less than desirable characteristics.

The 550 or 650 will be all the press you really ever need and if you do decide to sell you won’t take a bath.

Sent from my XT1254 using Tapatalk

16

I learned the hard way a long time ago, when buying reloading equipment buy it once. Buy quality equipment you can afford and augment it with more quality equipment as funds become available.

17

Good advice right there.

18

Sorry if I said too much. I reload everything I have on a Dillon 550. I originally started shooting USPSA single stack about 9 yrs ago.
If you are wanting the most compact press(footprint) out there, get a Rockchucker. I am one of the few in my area that has a Dillon…and I am the only one reloading 338 LM and 6.5 CM on a single stage setup on the 550. Everyone uses a Rockchucker for a reason, they are built like tanks and last forever. Save your money to spend on the other things that will teach you how to make better loads.

Please do not be offended on the Dillon referrals. There are many that were once in your shoes. As WE look back, it would have saved us money to just get the right press the first time. That being said, choose the right press for YOU. You can always get a progressive later on if you want volume.

As you begin to reload, you will learn how to make your rounds more accurate…it just comes with the territory. As long as you are loading less than 100 rounds at a time, a single stage is ok. It takes a long time to process 100 pieces of rifle brass at a time when you first start out.

My recommendation is:

Rockchucker press - already stated in other posts they are made well
A digital scale - a balance beam is time consuming
A Tumbler - gotta clean them puppies up corn cobb/walnut media from pet store
Calipers - digital
Imperial sizing wax
Manuals

19

I bought my Dillon 550 20 or so years ago and had zero reloading experience at the time. It is my one and only reloading setup and I have never regretted it. sometimes I load just a 100 rounds, sometimes I load a few hundred at a time. It has been absolutely reliable and versatile to my needs.

If you are thinking progressive…my two cents get the Dillon.

20

So, there are a few points that I’ll make which influenced my decision.

  1. Hornady is running a great promo now (500 free bullet heads with any of their presses).
  2. I work for a Hornady dealer and generally speaking try to buy products personally that I can review/recommend to customers of mine. In this instance our pricing as a LE dealer didn’t hook me up with any discounts worth looking at beyond current sale pricing via known reloading retailers.
  3. I work for a LE supply company, so I can buy loaded new factory ammunition for pretty cheap… eliminating the volume of .223 and 9mm that I’ll want to load. .300BLK and .308win are calibers that it’s much easier to save money on by picking up the brass, and are calibers that I shoot in lower volume than 9mm/.223.

The only reason I considered a progressive was that after the Hornady promo, the price to get it was very reasonable (for a progressive). Considering that a Dillon is literally more than twice the cost after your set it up with shell plates for the different calibers (and not having the free bullet promo) and it’s a non-starter for me.

Being that I’m just getting started in this game, have a limited space to set it up in, and am going to be loading in smaller batches, I opted to get the Hornady Classic kit (single stage).

At current pricing, it’s $250, with that I get ~$150 worth of .308 bullet heads, so I’m into a scale, powder dispense, powder trickler, press, priming tool, case neck deburring tool, and manual for about $100. If I redistribute that $100 across the components I would need to buy anyway with a Hornady LnL or Dillon… then I’m basically into the single stage press for ~$20.

Should I decide I don’t like single stage loading, I can set that press up for it’s own operation (depriming before tumbling, for example) or set it up at a friends house/ cabin as a spare.

This ended up saving me a good chunk of money, so I spent the difference (and then some) on powder and primers that Cabela’s had for 10% off this weekend.

I can understand and appreciate that a Dillon may be an excellent choice for high volume pistol loading, but that’s not something I have a need for currently.

Thanks guys