Upgrading - looking for more presses

[koyote]

Well, presses and stuff.

First, what I have- I have a Lee Hand Press, which is actually a pretty useful tool

And a breech lock challenger kit.

I'm using the lee scale, the "perfect" powder measure (which isn't really that bad except with something like trailboss where I'm going up and down 4 tenths at a throw!!!!).

Basic lee sizing and primer cleaning tools.

While I have the lever prime thingy and the ram prime, I'm doing all my priming with an auto-prime and an auto-prime XLR super whoopdee.

I wish the hand press had a breech lock, but I bought it slightly before the new one came out :( -- I wonder if I ordered the new casting.... if it would fit. That'd make my son's day. He's the king of decapping.


I am definitely looking at getting another press, or two. I'm going to need to size boolits once I get started casting, and I've often got multiple things going on when my son is helping size and decap while I'm loading. And all the other reasons everyone has for wanting more presses.

Since I load a lot of .38, I had considered jumping to a progressive, but am thinking I should settle back a bit and wait on that. I've only been doing this for a few thousand rounds.


I'm not...stuck on Lee, but at the current price range and given that I'm holding off on going progressive right now, I'm looking at mostly Lee.

Another challegner? A C frame? A turret?

I'm intending to get an autodisk shortly, and imagine I will end up with 2 or 3. Since the Kit prices are so attractive, the turret with standard autodisk is looking good, though excessive as I don't need to duplicate the rest of my stuff. There also appear to be disadvantages compared to the pro autodisk.

Right now I'm loading, or will be loading once I get boolits, redcoats, and the mailman with my dies- in rough order

.38 special
.44 special
.32acp
7.62x54R
8mm mauser
9mm
.45 auto for a friend
45-70

I'll definitely be adding .223 and 7.62x39 this year, and might be adding a few others as the bucket fills with guns. (may the gun show spirits favor me with a decent 25-20 soon!)

I kinda like having "pistol" and "rifle" areas, but mostly-

since half yall have over a dozen presses set up, where am I going from here????

[btroj]

The smartest thing you said was that you want to wait til you have more experience before getting a progressive. I think of a progressive as a press for someone with the experience to know what is going right or wrong. Not a press for a beginner. I was happy to see you say that.
I have one press I use for almost everything umless I load it on my Dillon. I don't have a problem changing dies, it is not difficult. I would work on getting the dies you need first. A press with no dies is not helping you any. Make a list of the tools you need and work on that before duplicating any items. Many here have multiple presses but they have been acquired over years and years. Don't rush to get multiple presses.
Keep it simple for now, work on what you need. Once you have that you can get the "wants" to go with the "needs".
I think you have a good handle on what you need. That is a big start.

[koyote]

I think half of it is wanting to have another press around for my son to work alongside me, and half is thinking I can get a bit more speed (with safety) in putting out rounds on a turret.

The autodisk is definitely coming up. Probably- since I'm priming off press, the turret won't give me anything over that. Maybe I'll score a really cheap C frame for my son to use, they seem to be floating around a lot.

[fryboy]

ummm i like the breechloack/locknload concept but then one needs inserts for every die , before that kind of system was popular i fell in love with turret presses , having several dies set up to go was kind of nice , then came interchangeable turrets , i've always kept at least one old stout single stage and i've also graduated to progressives but my main squeeze is a turret , the lee isnt bad , the classic turret is better , one can set one up semi progressive and load handgun ammo fairly fast ( way faster than a hand press or single stage ) natchez often has great prices on lee BTW

[Bret4207]

Consider the Forster/Bonanza Co-Ax press. The only thing you can't do is use the very long die set up, like the push through sizers. Other than that I think it's about the ultimate single stage.

[Digger]

ummm i like the breechloack/locknload concept but then one needs inserts for every die , before that kind of system was popular i fell in love with turret presses , having several dies set up to go was kind of nice , then came interchangeable turrets , i've always kept at least one old stout single stage and i've also graduated to progressives but my main squeeze is a turret , the lee isnt bad , the classic turret is better , one can set one up semi progressive and load handgun ammo fairly fast ( way faster than a hand press or single stage ) natchez often has great prices on lee BTW

Yes , the Classic Cast Turret is an excellent machine ... received mine from Kempf's online .
They put together kits and options that are quite good , one of their deals include a set of die's of your caliber pick.
The Lee Cast turret is good to start out with as you can use it just like a single stage for as long as you prefer then set up for semi progressive turret with four strokes per round as some of us prefer so as we can keep ultimate visual and physical control over each stage .
Just depends on your demands as some of us just want to put out the rounds for expediency or the others of us enjoy the reloading and "casting " just as much as the shooting.
The turret that Lee has price wise is hard to beat for what you get in ability .
digger

[troyboy]

The turret will get you what ya need. If you are really wanting another that would suit your needs well. Once you go progressive........ It is so much faster. For most pistol that is my preference. The thing is it gets expensive for each caliber conversion so I think unless you shoot a lot a turret is the best compromise. And you can load most rifle calibers with it as well. So I just said a whole lot without saying a thing. Buy the turret and it will serve you very very well.

[koyote]

I enjoy the reloading. But I enjoy it enough that the system using the perfect powder measure is bugging me a lot.

I'm also curious about moving to on press priming. my handheld autoprime is capable of getting an occasional primer sideways or even flipping one, which is annoying but nothing major since I always check for the primer before putting the case in. The autoprime XR is thus far, while looking clunkier- more reliable in feeding with an obvious visual check that I like. Using a turret and going semi progressive would leave me with the ability to have the one round all the way through the cycle control, which I like, and I'm sure the Lee autoprime type priming system is reliable, or it wouldn't sell, but... how reliable and how visually reliable?



For shooting, I'm running a couple hundred rounds a week in pistol calibers- closer to 3 boxes a month in rifle right now. Wife is in the box a month stage with pistol, and I'm loading a hundred or two a month for a friend. Certainly a progressive isn't really economical at that level, and I do think I want to learn much more about presses before I decide to look at one of those.

As my son gets older and we find a centerfire firearm or two that he can handle, that will increase as well.

[7of7]

In looking at what you want to reload, and adding 223,.. I would say get a progressive. I currently have a RCBS Rockchucker, and a Dillon 550B. The priming system on the Dillon works good.
you have the option of loading one round, with 4 pulls, or going fully progressive. Setup, you will have to do either way you go, and it really isn't much different in concept for any press. If you are loading lead bullets, you need to adjust the amount of bell you put in the mouth of the case, adjust your powder charge, seating depth, and if you crimp.. the amount of crimp you want to do.
With the Dillon 550B, once you have the toolhead set up, you don't have to do much except check the charge when you reload after it has been setting, or you have loaded a different caliber.
You can actually work with your son, on the Dillon, as one of you can load the brass, and the other can load the bullets.. just make sure all hands are clear when raising the ram.. I have done this with my son, and it is fun..

[Char-Gar]

I have four presses on my bench, but none of them is a progressive. I bought a Dillon once, but sold it quickly. They just don't suit me and I have no need of producing a large volume of ammo.

1. My main press is a 50's vintage cast steel 'RCBS A2
2. I also have a Redfield turrent, that is used for handgun ammo.
3. I also have an old Herters U-3 that I bought on Ebay. It is a long story and selling the extra parts that came with it, but in the end I had a whole $1.00 in it. It is a good old single stage press.
4. The last piece is an old black Pacific Super C I bought on ebay for $20.00. It was missing the handle so I turned one out of a piece of P17 Enfield barrel. Turns out the handle on the Redding screws in and works just fine.

So, as you see, I don't have a great deal of money invested in presses, But they are all brute strong and do everything I need a press to do.

I prime everything in an RCBS hand held primer and use an old and very accurate Hollywood Micrometer measure. I am afraid, I am stuck in a 50s and 60's reloading time warp, but it works for me.

[cptkeybrd]

I use a classic cast turret and a rcbs jr. The lee turret is a great machine and does all my pistol stuff. 380, 38,357,40sw,45. It works great, get the micrometer part for the powder measure and extra turrets for each caliber, and leave them set up. Makes great bullets

[Wayne Smith]

Just last fall I set up my reloading room, almost all bought either here or off eBay. I have a TrueLine Jr., a Hollywood Sr., a Bair Brown Bair, and my original RCBS JR3. I have 2 1010 type scales, one RCBS and one Lyman, and a smaller Lyman scale. I have 2 Lyman 55 measures, one a BP measure, a Bair pistol measure, and a Belding and Mull measure plus my original RCBS. All this plus a Huntington hand press - for under $2000. There was some other stuff bought and given to Arisaka99 as well in that mix.

My point is don't overlook old used stuff. This equipment rarely wears out, especially well made presses. I have a universal spring loaded shell holder insert for the Hollywood and could get them for the Brown Bair but am using the screw stabilized inserts for that. The Trueline Jr. was mostly to play with but I'm really enjoying using it.

Yeah, I am something of an equipment freak.

[jaguarxk120]

Your so very right about the used presses. I just passed up a Herter's press that was built like a tank, I think it had four large mounting holes two to hold it down and two to secure it to the front of the bench. The guy wanted $15 for it but right now I'm out of bench space.

But as you say bargens are out there, I have a texas turret and a RCBS A2 bought at show's and I didn't pay over $40 for each one. And both in great shape. Well built and made of cast iron/steel.

One save a lot of money by shopping, just knowing what to look for.

[Doby45]

I am about to sell my whole Loadmaster setup, which I have used to successfully load thousands of rounds of ammo. I started on the Loadmaster and have just recently gotten into a position that I could get a Dillon 650. I have a lot of respect for the Loadmaster but it's sell will be partially funding my Dillon. ;)

It will have no dies, but it will include:

The press
Brass collator and case feeding parts
3 or 4 tool heads (can't remember off top of my head)
45ACP/308 shellplate
40/9mm shellplate
223/380 shellplate
38SPL/357MAG shellplate
Large and small primer assemblies
Spare parts
Light to look in case after powder charge.

Would not include the powder measure.

So other than a powder measure you would only need your dies and you are good to go..

Looking at $250 Shipped PM me if interested.

http://i22.photobucket.com/albums/b327/Doby45/Mobile/b8620037.jpg

[firebrick43]

I would recommend the lee classic cast press, without the breech lock as it primer catcher is very nice, better than the breach lock. Get hornady lock rings and die changes are nearly as fast as a breach lock, plus you can use 1 1/4" dies in the future is you get into the big bore guns later. The only press better is the coax but almost triple the cost. The safety prime system is very nice and is why I put this press above the redding bigboss 2, which does have nicer paint for twice the cost?

The safety prime is wonderful and comes with a large and small primer system so change over is in seconds. The only fault is that you need to keep 5+ primers in it as the last few won't feed reliably as they require the weight of other primers above to feed.

The lee classic turrent is nice as well, nearest thing is the redding t7. Don't get a Lyman tmag (I unfortunately bought one) or a rcbs turrent, they are not as solid and flex more than the lee cast or t7 and their priming systems suck in comparison as well as having less leverage.

I highly recommend waiting on any progressive until you have loaded 5000+ rounds and then only if you actually shoot 750 rounds plus a month.

[Duckiller]

Rockchucker or a Lyman SPAR-T turrret. Buy something used. Saves real money and a heavy cast single stage press is never going to wear out. RCBS is going to go broke replacing parts on my Rockchucker for my great grand children and children haven't produced grand children yet. About two years ago I bought a Dillion 550B. Have had assorted problems and a nasty customer service rep. The Rockchucker is reasonably fast in producing large quantities of ammo and I think I have better quality control.

[squirrelnuttz]

I'm using a 30 year old Lyman Omag or Orange Crusher single stage, it's the press I learned to load on with my Dad, and my kids will do the same in a few years. It was purchased new by my Dad in 1980 or so. Good stuff lasts. Does me great for the majority of my loading needs. Primarily now for rifle cartridges.

However, I did buy a Dillon Square Deal B setup, and I like it very much. Well worth the money, though conversions and toolheads are pricey. For high volume, it's great.Customer support and service from Dillon has been excellent. I only wish it was a 550 in a way.......once you get good ammo going out of a progressive, you'll only want more caliber conversions.

I've found so far that good tools are worth good money,and are worth shelling out for, because you generally only have to do it the once.I'm not rich by any means, but I want the best value I can afford. Buy junk, get junk.

[Phillip]

If you plain to reload allot of different calibers, I would go with a simple progressive. Like the Lee classic Cast Turret Press. There 100$ new and the four hole plates are about 12$ each.

So you want to change the caliber, just change the plate with out a bunch of setup. Now it is not as fast as a full progressive press like a Dillon, but it will still help you out put allot more that you are doing with a single stage press.

Now if there one caliber that you always shoot allot of (1000+ week), say like 45ACP, I would go with a full progressive like a Dillon or RCBS/so on.

[koyote]

I don't see the Lee stuff as...low quality. Oh, I can tell my breech lock Challenger isn't the end all be all of O frames, but I'm not seeing where I'm going to need much beyond simple spare parts.

The Lee classic cast turret is on my list, mostly for .32acp and some other calibers I'll want more detail work on than a progressive will give me. But I have another one coming first.

I've passed up a couple die sets in pistol calibers I need because the $15 or $20 used price tag wasn't worth it compared to getting a Lee carbide set new. Whatever you say about the presses, the die sets are a great value.

Right now it's about 250 rounds per week of .38, and a varying number oif .44 specials depending on load development and frustration with load development ;)

Once I pick up another .44, and the other .38 that's on hold for me, I'll likely be wanting to do batches of more than 50 of each at a time. (a progressive for .38 would already be a real plus, and I'd probably end up shooting 350 rounds a week if I had that going)

I'm just edging into shouldered rifle cases, and that will likely be single stage for a long time.

[Tracy]

I recommend the Rockchucker. The reason is not only is it a great press, but it has the RCBS warranty. It is guaranteed to last forever, or at least for as long as RCBS still exists. Generally if you have any kind of problem, you can call (toll free) or email RCBS and they will just send you the parts you need to fix it.
I remember when Lee used to run ads making fun of RCBS' warranty and heavy-duty presses. Now they make a cast iron press themselves, but it still doesn't have the RCBS warranty.
I have other presses (Herters, C-H, Lyman) but for the beginner I always recommend the Rockchucker as the best value. Not only do I know from experience that they are a great press, I figure any manufacturer with a warranty like that is gonna try a little harder to get it right the first time.
I do buy some Lee stuff, just not their presses.

[44Vaquero]

Stick with Lee, I have tried Hornady, Lyman, RCBS and I keep heading back to Lee. The Bang for the Buck cannot be beat! If you take care of your investment they will last a long time! My Load Master was purchased in 1992! Apart from a couple of up grades I have never replaced a single part on it!
The 4 position turret press would be a good investment and several Lee Reloader presses too. The light C frame press is perfect for de-capping brass and sizing bullets. I own 2 or 3 of them and a 3 station turret press.
One small piece of advice for all beginning reloaders: Pay attention to how much pressure you are using on the lever. If it seems like you are forcing the tool something is wrong! Stop, and look for problems!! This saves lots of time that would be spent waiting for replacement parts.

It's great that you have your son involved too! Great bonding time, all 3 of my kids(ages 10, 14 and 17) work on my bench from time to time.