What type of press should I buy?

dirtystevegotone

New member
I am SERIOUSLY thinking about reloading my own ammo and I need some spiritual guidance. I will be reloading 9mm, 45ACP, and .223. I have been doing some research for a while now and really can't come to a conclusion on which brand of press to purchase. What is the expert opinion? FYI I have been leaning towards a RCBS single stage or a Lee single stage. Thanks in advance.
 
I think you need to determine the volume of reloading/shooting you normally do....I used to shoot a lot of handgun competition and bought a Lee 1000 progressive press that works well, but for general reloading and developing better than average accuracy loads, I like my Forster Co-Ax with Forster dies...

Once I find a combination that works well with my handgun ammo, I will apply it over to the progressive press and crank out a bunch of handgun rounds, but all of my rifle ammo goes through the Forster...
 
RCBS, Redding, Forster are all superb presses. I personally use a Forster Co-Ax press. I started reloading on a RCBS Rockchucker and have nothing bad to say about it at all. I just prefer the Co-Ax now.
 
There is a little bit of a learning curve to the nuances of reloading when starting out. For that reason I would go with a single stage press or at the most a 'turret' type. Even if you do upgrade in the future there will still be a use for that single stage press.

When you look through a supply catalog you see a whole bunch of stuff that's nice to have but not essential for reloading. If you had a nearby mentor your could really speed up the initial learning. The next idea is to right now get a reloading manual or book & start reading. They break the steps down & let you know the tools & procedures for each step. I find it a very enjoyable hobby far beyond any possible money savings. I say possible because many of us usually plow any savings on ammo into more shooting or additional reloading gadgetry/components.

Big thumbs up to the idea.
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Originally Posted By: dirtystevegotoneI am SERIOUSLY thinking about reloading my own ammo and I need some spiritual guidance. I will be reloading 9mm, 45ACP, and .223. I have been doing some research for a while now and really can't come to a conclusion on which brand of press to purchase. What is the expert opinion? FYI I have been leaning towards a RCBS single stage or a Lee single stage. Thanks in advance. .

With regard to Lee, you get what you pay for. I exclusively use Lee for metallic reloading, and it will work fine. However, I have the Lee challenger and broke the linkage on it. It would be cheap to repair, but I am too lazy so I use it as is for light work.

I also have the Lee turret press, and do almost all my reloading on that. It is nice to have a separate turret for each caliber, then you only switch plates and shell holders and you are good to go. The stroke is a little short for long cartridges, but I load .30-06 on it.

If you are the type that won't compromise on quality, Lee is not for you. Otherwise it is inexpensive and works just fine.
 
If you have already settled on a single stage press as adequate for your volume requirements, I would say it is impossible to go wrong with an RCBS Rock Chucker.

As a note about volume, I think this issue can be overplayed somewhat. Unless you are shooting in the high hundreds or into the thousands of rounds per month I can't see that it would be a good use of money to buy a progressive press straight off the bat.

If your reloading bench is set up in an efficient way and you understand the effective order of operations, it is not that difficult to crank out a hundrd or more rounds in an evening session. If my father and I work in tandem on depriming/resizing and then with one charging the cases with powder while one seats the bullets, we can crank out 500 or more rounds in a session.

The bottom line is that I wouldn't go into progressive territory unless you really need to. I would bet the vast majority of reloaders out there are using single stage presses even if they shoot thousands of rounds per year.

Also, to be honest, I find nothing at all wrong with the RCBS Jr. I picked up at a garage sale for $15. Works great.

There are plenty of used presses on the market and if you were to decide to upgrade later you won't lose much when selling one on.

Grouse
 
Originally Posted By: Flat Land CoaxerYou can never go wrong with an RCBS rock chucker!

+1

I have been using the same RC since I bought it new back in 1973. Untold thousands of round later it still works like it did when I took it out if the box. Pretty sure that by now it will be the last press that I ever buy.
 
Originally Posted By: flyinlizard1 FYI I think midwayusa is running a good sale right now on the rockchucker package..

This is good advice for a new reloader......
 
DITTO! Consider that in the future you might also start loading Rifle ammo as well. The single stage Rockchucker is probably one of the most versatile and dependable presses ever made.
 
Do as you see fit. I have Lee, RCBS, and Hornady, in single stages and progressives. They all work, for under $100 you can get a complete reloading kit in a Lee Breech Lock. Learn to use it and then if you want upgrade later....trust me you will up grade no matter what you buy if the passion for reloading takes hold.
 
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I really like my Lee Classic Cast. I used a Rock Chucker for six months before I purchased the Lee. The Chucker is a good press and never let me down but I have no regrets about buying the Classic Cast.
 
There are a couple of places runnig good specials right now for the RCBS RockChucker kit. I would highly recommend that kit. You only need a few other things and you can get started with that kit.

Progressive presses are great. However I would recomend that a beginner not buy a progressive to start with.

Take your time and learn all the ins and outs on a single stage press. Tom.
 
Well, to say that you guys are a wealth of knowledge would be an understatement. Thanks for the help on this topic, I think I will be picking up a RCBS sometime soon. And I am sure that I will upgrade to something else, human nature I guess. I will definitely throw out another feeler thread when I get going, as reloading is a completely new realm for me.
 
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