What's Your Favorite Reloading Press To Use?

[DonMountain]

I see similar questions to this and always wondered what folks' favorite reloading press was to use? It could be any press type tool used for some stage of reloading some sort of ammo. Including rifle, pistol, shotgun ammo, or forming some part of the ammo like a lead boolet lubricator or a hand press like a Lyman 310 tool.

Mine is an old shotshell reloading press, a Pacific Model 260 from about 1966, set up for 12 gauge trap loads. It produces very good reloads and operates very smoothly for me. And is easy to operate without making mistakes.

How about you?

[seagiant]

Hi,
Here's a Bair like the 260 that I refurbed and made custom shot/powder hoppers.

The problem with this model (to me) is they are to "busy" meaning you are all over the loader for the different stages!

This was rectified with the Pacific 266 as you start on the left and work right for each up coming stage!

They are admittedly nice loaders and make a VERY nice shell!

[shoot-n-lead]

RL550B...by a longshot, even though I have had and used many different presses.

[IllinoisCoyoteHunter]

Star Universals.

[M-Tecs]

Dillon RL 1050.

[jmort]

Classic Turret

[trails4u]

I'm with jmort...... I just keep going back to it. It does everything I need....it's small, doesn't eat up my bench, and it produces good, consistent cartridges...rifle or pistol. Just can't get away from it... :)

[Boarhog]

161989Lyman All American turret, and rockchucker JR. 2.

[seagiant]

Hi,
Ha! Ha! Gotta love CAST STEEL!

[jmorris]

This one.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MrFhnDQ-eUU

[jmorris]

Even though I can beat it by hand it is still less work.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C-RxMulCqbQ

[Mike Kerr]

Dillon 550BB by far. Fast enough with reasonable effort. Precise enough with minimal effort. Simple enough for the average reloader to utilize. Versatile beyond market competition.

[rbuck351]

The Lyman AA with the 550b a close second.

[StuBach]

Love the Dillon 650XL. Easy to use, tons of option, smooth operation, reliable, has powder cop to make sure my bullseye doesn't double dose.

http://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20160226/4ad374799fb72ed4449a8e97996afc1c.jpg

Dillon 550b is a close second but missing the powder cop.

[Vann]

Mec Sizemaster

[dudel]

Easy. 550b, with the RockChucker a close second. Had a Cast Turret; but it didn't do it for me. Best thing about my CT, is that I didn't lose much on the resale.

[bandsmoyer]

Mec sizemaster

[Wayne Smith]

Right now it's a tossup between my TrueLine Jr and my Bair Brown Bair. For a single stage it's my Hollywood short Sr. Yes, I'm retro.

[Paul_R]

It really depends on what I'm doing but in general I'd have to say my Redding Big Boss II. Simple, smooth, super heavy duty, and has lots of room for my big fat hands.

http://i67.photobucket.com/albums/h312/pjriss/3900b3fd-d23f-43b1-9cf1-b4c4f0ea1ac2.jpg

[OS OK]

Pleasure = Lyman T-MagII….
Production = LNL….
Precision = Rockchucker.

[1bluehorse]

Ponsness Warren 375C.....best single stage shot shell reloading press made. It's always a pleasure using high quality tools. For metallic, I suppose my old Dillon 450 manual everything. Very versatile unit. Much prefer it to a 550.

[jeff423]

Progressive: Dillon 650
Single Stage: Forster Co-Ax

[slide]

Dillon 550b

[noylj]

Dillon 1050 or Hornady L-N-L AP or Forster Co-Ax.

[MakeMineLead]

Turret press: Lee classic Cast iron base turret

single stage: Redding Ultramag (Lee classic cast is a close second)

[wadcutter]

Lyman orange crusher.

[r1kk1]

This is a hard question to answer.

I have only one progressive a 450/550. It has been with me since the mid 80s. I have just about every shellplate for it. It still kicks ammo out with reliability and boredom. Great machine.

I have a turret press now and another one coming this year - both Hollywoods. The only turret press I know of that will do 50 BMG, swage jacketed bullets, etc. The Hoolywood Senior is an awesome 8 station press. I now use it in the RV. The other one coming is a 12 station Universal III. Both Hollywood's are cast steel not iron presses. The fit and finish as well as the workmanship is second to none. A lost art of building a quality reloading tool from days gone by. Nothing of current manufacture has appealed to me.

I have a cast steel single stage press - CH4D Champion. This is my goto press for heavy case forming, swaging, etc. My lightweight press is the cast iron Redding Ultramag with LNL bushing in it. I also own a COAX for load development it is the original quick change die press. My last press is a Summit with Arbor press conversion in it for Wilson dies.

I couldn't pick from any of these. They have all earned a place on the bench.

take care

r1kk1

[Efin]

Single stage: Rock Chucker - for development and small batches

Progressive: Dillon 550b, when I need more than a handful, but still have the control I like.

[Artful]

Dillon RL-300 - grand daddy to the 550B
or
Bonana Co-Ax
or
Huntington W hand press

That's as close as one as I get.

[Uncle R.]

My favorite?
Easy answer.
My favorite is the RCBS JR that my daddy bought for me as a Christmas present just about 45 years ago.
Still smooth and tight like the day it was new, still loads straight accurate ammo after many tens (Hundreds?) of thousands of rounds.
I just wish all of my other tools worked so well for so long.

Uncle R.

[Kevin Rohrer]

The press that gets used the most is my 550B. The kewlest press I own that I can't use enough is my Ponsness-Warren Metallic-II.

162066

[seagiant]

Hi,
Yep the PW Met II is a neat press!!!

Here's mine in early Bronze!

[Walter Laich]

SDB; bought it new for $129.95 (you can tell how long ago that was) and have been happy with it.

do have a single stage press for 45-70s

[smoked turkey]

Got to be my 40+ year old RCBS RC. It is still as smooth as silk and the ram as tight as a drum. Yes I've probably loaded thousands of rounds on it from 12 gauge shotshells to 22 Hornet and everything in between.

[tstowater]

As much as I like the 550B, the RC3 and the PW 800B, the favorite is still the PW 375C due to versatility and convenience of converting between gauges.

[mizzouri1]

rock chucker/ lee classic turret :bigsmyl2:

[556shooter]

For me it's my RCBS Pro 2000. Had it since 2000 and have loaded, well at this point I don't know how many thousands of rounds. It is a great press.

[seagiant]

Dillon RL-300 - grand daddy to the 550B
or
Bonana Co-Ax
or
Huntington W hand press

That's as close as one as I get.


Hi,
Yep, best loader Mike Dillon ever made (and lost money on!)

[Lefty Red]

T7

Jerry

[DonMountain]

Hi,
Here's a Bair like the 260 that I refurbed and made custom shot/powder hoppers.

The problem with this model (to me) is they are to "busy" meaning you are all over the loader for the different stages!

This was rectified with the Pacific 266 as you start on the left and work right for each up coming stage!

They are admittedly nice loaders and make a VERY nice shell!

Actually mine is not actually a Pacific 260 either. Its also the Bair version of it. But I never found out what they called it when it was for sale since I bought mine used from a guy that had traded up to a Hornady 366. But he wanted $250 for that 366 and I only had $50 in my pocket. So I took the old Bair press. And I am still using it after all these years!

[noisewaterphd]

I enjoy using my LnL, I love my Hornady 366's, and I really like using my Lee Classic cast single stage (as this means I'm likely working up precision rifle loads, which I love).

But, one of my favorite things about reloading is working up new loads for pistols. New powder, primer, bullet, new gun, etc.. For new load workups I always go back to my Lee Classic Turret. For this reason, the LCT is probably my favorite press to use.

I have a new infatuation with the 44 special right now, so the LCT is getting lots of love.

[MT Chambers]

Co-ax for sure.

[Ron in PA]

My Lock-N-Load AP Press162148

[warf73]

My favorite press...... well I have a couple.
For shot shells its a Mec 9000G
Single stage its a Pacific/Hornady (says Pacific on the side but has a Hornady sticker on it)
Turret press is a 550B (not true turret and not a true progressive)
Progressive its the XL650

They all have there uses and don't see myself selling any of them anytime soon.

Warf

[rda72927]

Single stage, RCBS A4 Big Maxx

[odis]

I've thought long and hard about this subject and I own 3 presses. My Rock chucker I bought in 1979 and it was my first, the 2nd press is a Dillon SD that I bought in 86 since I was working 6 days a week 12 hours a day, the last one I bought in 2013 and it,s a Redding Big Boss II. Since I'm now retired and my shooting range is 20ft from my back door I like the single stage presses the most. I use them both in conjunction to each other. I find the square deal boring to use.

[Beebee]

Ponsness-Warren Metallic-II

[reloader4410]

550 for 45 colt cowboy loads
550 for 32 h&r mag cowboy loads
550 for 44-40 cowboy loads
p/w375 for shotgun cowboy loads
at 500 & rcbs ammomaster for small projects.
lee hand loader & 310 nutcracker for decaping
my shooting buddy thinks im addicted to loaders, maybe.
happy trails to all fellow reloaders.

[s1120]

I have a old Lyman Truline Jr that was my dads. I use it for loading 38spc and love using the little thing. OK, so granted I size, and expand on a single stage, and hand prime... just use it to seat, and crimp [in two stages... ] But I just enjoy using it.

[Rod B]

My single stage Lee Classic Cast works very well.

[pworley1]

pacific 007

[coxa2]

RCBS pro2000 and an RCBS single stage

[CaptREDD]

Not mentioned often, but the Co-Ax has a loyal following....jes' ask anyone that owns one if its for sale...Those folks that use the Co-Ax will argue that its the best single station press...I think they(me too) are right...


REDD

[omegatacticalsupply]

I love my Hornady Lock'n'Load. The 500 free bullets didn't hurt either. I was using a Lee turret press, which worked well, but as the volume increased, it just became too painful to keep using - still a nice starter press.

[TXGunNut]

My old single stage RCBS press was made in 1980 and has given me quite a few hours of enjoyment and many, many thousands of rounds of good ammo. It's not a Rockchucker but I wouldn't trade it for one. I couldn't bear to unbolt my old friend from the bench to make room for it. I have another similar aluminum press mounted to a portable stand for loading away from home. There's a very early 550 bolted to my bench but the cover stays on for years at a time. It's not my favorite because using it is a bit tedious and tiring. When I was shooting 2-3 PPC matches a month it was a very good tool to have. Nowadays its only used to feed my carry guns so it doesn't get much use. When I do uncover it I can make a big pile of very good pistol ammo in a very short time so it earns it's keep.
I enjoy loading a few rifle rounds for load development on my old single-stage. Every now and then I load a "big" 50 round batch of hunting ammo to put on the shelf.

[MTSWAGER]

I like my 650 for bulk pistol and 223, For hunting and long range ammo i load on an old rcbs single.

[clum553946]

Dillon 650 for my auto pistols, RCBS for everything else. I'm not going to show pics of my bench as it looks like the "Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald" compared to everyone elses!

[L Erie Caster]

Whatever I am using at the time. As long as I’m reloading I’m happy.

[bgw45]

Dillon 550. Easy changeovers.

[rbuck351]

Aw, come on clum it can't be all that bad. I cleaned my bench up and took some pictures for the guys and one of them asked me how I had survived the tornado. If I had any feelings that would have hurt them.

[Le Loup Solitaire]

I prefer my C&H 3 station. It has served me for a very long time and is as tight as he day I bought it. LLS

[rbt50]

Dillon 550 and rcbs ammo master

[stag15]

Mine is a good ole' Rock Chucker

[Bullwolf]

My favorite reloading press to use is the one that has the dies already set up ahead of time for the caliber that I want to load. I love it when I don't have to fiddle around with the press and set everything up again.

If I was rich with more money than brains, I would set up an individual reloading press for each of my favorite calibers, ready to go just waiting for me to pull the handle.

The dies would be already adjusted the way I like with the rings locked down. Large or small primer seating set up ahead of time, and all the tweaking and adjusting done in advance.

I'd have a huge loading room and a really long reloading bench, and a dedicated press ready to go for every caliber I'd ever want to load.

Since I'm not rich, its often just a bunch of spare turret heads, and a Lyman T-mag or Dillon press. Depending on the volume required, and the day you asked me.


- Bullwolf

[Tracvision]

Rick,

Did you get your Universal III yet. Pix !!!! ??

Harold

[jimkim]

Most used and overall favorite: Lee Classic Turret.
Favorite progressive: Dillon RL300.
Favorite single stage: Old model RCBS RS.
Favorite shotgun press: MEC 600 JR, newer model.

[dryflash3]

Rockchucker if loading single stage.

Dillon 550 loading rifle progressive.

Dillon SDB loading pistol progressive. I have 3 of these.

[weasel 21]

2 Dillon 550b's, 3rockchucker's, 2 junior's, 1 Mec sizemaster77

[Mytmousemalibu]

I don't have a hoard of presses yet, working on it! I REALLY want a Hollywood!

With what I have now, easy, the Dillon XL650, Makes lots of good ammo in a hurry and is a pleasure to use!

I am eagerly waiting for my new Buchanan hand press!

Another that I have the hots for and would like to have, a Prazipress! Probably the number 1 top-end of precision single stage presses. Like on the order of $1000-$2000 to get one if I recall, dependent on model.

[r1kk1]

Rick,

Did you get your Universal III yet. Pix !!!! ??

Harold

Knot yet. Got to get to Ohio This year!

r1kk1

[Wincacher]

I've been using a Lyman All American Turret Press that I bought used in 1973 for 50 bucks. Still works like a charm.164784164785

[Ole Joe Clarke]

A Pacific single stage that I bought when I was a young guy, we have grown old together. It works better than I do.
A Pacific 266, 12 and 20 gauge dies, in better shape than I am.
A new Lee Classic Turret for pistols, it's still on probation, so far I like it.

Have a blessed day,

Leon

[Grasslander]

Decapping: RCBS RS 5

Resizing: Rock Chucker

Seating: Hollywood Senior

[Ken in Iowa]

No question, my Redding Boss (the original one)

I bought it new 30 some years ago, clean and oil the ram, oil the pins every season and go.

[44Vaquero]

My Lee Automator is the most fun for me because it's unique and strange to operate!

164846

It's now mounted on a 2001 Challenger as it would have been back in the day. Using it on the Lee Reloader was somewhat questionable at best?

And of course the 2001 Challenger press pops primers everywhere!

[midnight]

Rockchucker II for rifles
Lee turret for pistols & revolvers
Big Hornady for 50BMG
Lee classic cast to prime 50BMG
Ponsness Warren 375 for shotshells
Walnut Hill for bullet swaging

Bob

[bendad97]

My Redding T-7 Turret Press.

[smokeywolf]

Rick,

Did you get your Universal III yet. Pix !!!! ??

Harold

So he's the one that won that auction.

Was going to bid on that, got sidetracked and didn't remember about the auction until about 10:30 PM.

[crashdummy]

RCBS turret

[JimA]

Forster Co Ax since I just got it. I'm waiting on the LS jaws so I can use it for 45-70. The Lee Classic turret gets the most use for revolver stuff and the Hornady LNL AP for blasting ammo in my semi auto pistols.

[flyingmonkey35]

Mec 650 for 12 gauge

Lee loadmasters yup masters two of them for .45acp /9mm

Lee 3 hole turret for45lc

Rcbs rockchucker iv for rifle.

Lee single stage upside down for reasizin.


Haven't figured out what to do with my old Lyman yet.