I think its time I get my own press..

the noobie

New member
Last few years every time I had a break from school I would go home and crank out as much ammo as possible at my parents house. Finally done with school so wont have a lot of time to make it home so I guess its time I get my own reloading set up.

What would be an ideal first press? My dads press is an RCBS RS2 and it does great but it takes forever to load handgun. I just dont know if I can cough up $500+ for something like a hornady lock and load progressive. Do they really make reloading that much faster? I know my buddies Dillon can really crank out the rounds but I wasnt sure about turret or progessive presses.

Currently only reload 9mm, .223, .357, have the stuff for my hunting rifles but dont shoot them enough. Will likely be adding a 6.5 creedmoor within the year after I get my reloading set up. I wont have the space to have a full dedicated reloading set up so I will need something that can be tucked away under a bed or in a closet when not in use.
 
How about an arbor press setup? Fits in a shoe box when you're done. Couple that with a chargemaster or something and you're in business.

I don't know if you can load pistol ammo with Wilson dies but I can't see why not. I might know this... if I owned a hand cannon.
 
I've had a Dillon 550B for decades now, and it makes the loading MUCH faster. I can do around 500-600 rds/hr in pistol rounds once I'm set up w/ primers in tubes, dies in the press, shell plate & powder measure set, etc. Bottleneck cartridges go a bit slower I think. And I use it as a single stage for loading just a few rounds or working up loads. Lifetime, no BS warranty just as they claim too. If you can cough up the $$ for one, I'd recommend it.
 
I got my son-in-law a Lee Classic Turret. Works fine for both pistols and rifles and with the auto indexing set up it can produce about 150 rounds of pistol ammo per hour. We use it single stage for rifles.
 
Originally Posted By: CZ527How about an arbor press setup? Fits in a shoe box when you're done. Couple that with a chargemaster or something and you're in business.

I don't know if you can load pistol ammo with Wilson dies but I can't see why not. I might know this... if I owned a hand cannon.

Ive never really looked at presses like that, theyre compact but is there any other bonus to them?
 
Originally Posted By: Mike BI've had a Dillon 550B for decades now, and it makes the loading MUCH faster. I can do around 500-600 rds/hr in pistol rounds once I'm set up w/ primers in tubes, dies in the press, shell plate & powder measure set, etc. Bottleneck cartridges go a bit slower I think. And I use it as a single stage for loading just a few rounds or working up loads. Lifetime, no BS warranty just as they claim too. If you can cough up the $$ for one, I'd recommend it.

Im sure in a year or two I will upgrade to a Dillon I just cant fork out the $$ when I need to get all my own equipment minus dies.. Thats why I was looking at single stage but wasnt sure about progressive or turret.
 
Originally Posted By: RamjetI got my son-in-law a Lee Classic Turret. Works fine for both pistols and rifles and with the auto indexing set up it can produce about 150 rounds of pistol ammo per hour. We use it single stage for rifles.



How has it been? I was looking at the Lee presses but keep seeing reviews of the bushings becoming warn and getting a lot of splop in the press. Kind of made me nervous but at their price they would get me going then I could deffinately get a Dillon or something similar in a couple years.
 
Also, watch the used market - classifieds, facebook, craigslist, etc. A buddy picked up a a never used, and very accessorized 550 for a song a few yrs ago. Lifetime warranty makes it a no-worry situation, and you may find a deal with the other essentials for a single stage set-up price, and still be useful for life. JMHO.
 
Originally Posted By: the noobieOriginally Posted By: CZ527How about an arbor press setup? Fits in a shoe box when you're done. Couple that with a chargemaster or something and you're in business.

I don't know if you can load pistol ammo with Wilson dies but I can't see why not. I might know this... if I owned a hand cannon.

Ive never really looked at presses like that, theyre compact but is there any other bonus to them?

I don't feel like you can make straighter ammunition than what you can with an arbor press. That's why they're so popular with benchrest shooters... well that and they're highly portable.

I don't like progressive presses. I am much more concerned with quality than quantity. I don't feel that you can mass produce near perfect ammunition. It depends on what you want.
 
Originally Posted By: CZ527
I don't like progressive presses. I am much more concerned with quality than quantity. I don't feel that you can mass produce near perfect ammunition. It depends on what you want.

I'm with you there. My RCBS Rock Chucker has served me very well for almost four and a half decades. Oh, but I wish that I had a nickle for every time I cranked that handle! I could pay off the national debt!
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I've never used anything but a single stage press. I have two RC3's that I size on one and seat on the other. If I load quantity, I usually resize all my brass at one time. Then prime all of it. When I start dropping powder and seating bullets, it goes pretty fast.
 
A progressive press is an excellent tool for high volume loading. Today's models are very efficient and if you use one you simply have to accept the fact that they require a bit more attention over time than does a single stage press. In essence, you can't just keep mindlessly pulling the handle without periodic checking for quality. But that is something that you should do with any type of press.

For serious hunting purposes using rifle cartridges, I use a single stage press, but for that purpose I'm generally not loading a large volume at one time. For precision reloading, a good arbor press trumps a standard C or O frame singe stage press. For me portability is not an issue favoring an arbor press as I don't reload at the range.
 
I got my son-in-law a Lee Classic Turret. Works fine for both pistols and rifles and with the auto indexing set up it can produce about 150 rounds of pistol ammo per hour. We use it single stage for rifles.
 
i started on a single stage press. they're great, especailly as a learning tool, but if you're a high volume shooter with limited time tp spend at the reloading bench, as you've found they tend to be more time consuming. Once you've got the process down, and you're comfortable with your reloading abilities, there's no reason not to venture into the world of progressive presses.

i started my journey on the road to progressive presses with a Lee 1000. Decent machine, and make good ammo - but ideally they're more of a one trick pony. Caliber changes can be time consuming, especailly if you've got to change out the priming system, and being a 3 position press limits your options on die placement.


i saved up and plunked down for the Hornady LNL progressive, and then down the road a case feeder to go along with it. If you're going to be reloading a variety of calibers you can probably skip a bullet feeder system since from what i can tell they're fairly time consuming to do caliber changes for.

one thing about progressives is you dont always have to run in what i call full progressive mode - ie: single pass, go from empty fired brass to loaded ammo, in a single setup. I'm not suggesting that theres anything wrong with that, but just so you can see the options available to you.


especailly with the case feeder in play, i still find myself using it somewhat like a single stage press - especailly during the prep stages. I like to decap my brass before i put them into the tumbler so that my pins clean the primer pockets. So i'll usually process my brass in batches, and run each batch of brass through my press in the following stages.


first pass: primer removal with a universal decapping die
second pass: sizing
3rd pass: priming
4th pass: powder, bullet, crimp (if necessary)

now you can usually combine what i do as 3rd and 4th together, but i find that it allows me to not have to keep track of if the primer feed tube is full/empty when i'm doing the final reloading processes of focusing on the powder and bullet.


i can tell you that going to a nicer quality press like the Hornady is leaps and bounds beyond the capabilities of the Lee 1000, both in respect to rounds per hour, and the ease of operation with 5 turret positions in play. Its nice to have a powder check die thrown in there, and crimp as part of the loading stage if needed.

YMMV
 
Originally Posted By: Plant.Onei started on a single stage press. they're great, especailly as a learning tool, but if you're a high volume shooter with limited time tp spend at the reloading bench, as you've found they tend to be more time consuming. Once you've got the process down, and you're comfortable with your reloading abilities, there's no reason not to venture into the world of progressive presses.

This ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
 
Thanks guys that's why I'm torn. For the .223 sitting down to turn out 200 high quality rounds doesn't bother me on the single stage. The accuracy pays off. But sitting down to crank out 1500 9mm on a single stage is horrendous. I guess if I had my own press I could do a little every night. Where in college I went home twice a year for the holidays so it was always a mad dash to get as much as I can.

I've been watching for a used press. Every night I check around but nothing yet. Dad has a spare powder thrower and case trimmer I can use so I guess I could spend a bit extra for a press.
 
Originally Posted By: Mike BI've had a Dillon 550B for decades now, and it makes the loading MUCH faster. I can do around 500-600 rds/hr in pistol rounds once I'm set up w/ primers in tubes, dies in the press, shell plate & powder measure set, etc. Bottleneck cartridges go a bit slower I think. And I use it as a single stage for loading just a few rounds or working up loads. Lifetime, no BS warranty just as they claim too. If you can cough up the $$ for one, I'd recommend it.

x2
 
Originally Posted By: Tbone-AZtry Craiglook.com

http://claz.org/classifieds?q=progressive+pistol+press

This site looks at all Craigslist and other sites for used things on sale. (time saving)

I agree with you about the pistol stuff, but, found that once you have your own press now all the time, loading 100 or 200 isn't that bad, and a few times of that, and your going to fill an ammo can just fine. (for the average shooter)


Yea it is true, I have just been itching to get back into action pistol shooting. Im afraid if I get back into that I wont be able to keep up. If the girlfriend ends up getting into it then a Dillon may be in order.
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