Reloading press accuracy , run out testing

[doulos]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=txJ2bfFqxSk

I dont know if any of you have seen this. I thought it was interesting. He compared a few different presses including the Forster Co-ax , Mec Marksman, an RCBS and a Lee.

here is another he did on press alignment.....also interesting
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VQAp-MT62Ag

I thought both were well done ...what do you think?

[tazman]

Watched the first one. The results were interesting in that all the presses gave nearly identical results when using the same dies. Less than .0002 difference between the lot of them.
Seems the manufacturers are making some great equipment these days.
Perhaps the best use of your money is to get really good seating dies.

[country gent]

I have thought about turning up a set of points one 7/8 14 threads and one with the bottom of a shell holder on it. Screw one point into die thread and snap the other into the ram and carefully raise. Small misalignment would be visible to the naked eye even better would be with some magnification. Would be like the scope ring alignment bars sinclairs sold.

The rough part of this is once you find out the press isn't in alignment. what do you do? Theoretically it could be set up in a mill or lathe and the threads bored out to bigger and a sleeve made to bring back to 7/8 14. This will be a major job setting up and getting right. Press will need to be stripped down a mandrel turned to fit rams bore snug and indicated in square in both axisis. THe the ress indicated in to the ram hole reaching thru the threaded hole to the ram bore. Then the threaded hole bored out 1/4" bigger and tapped to the fine thread. A bushing with this thread od and a under sized bore locktited in place. then alignment checked and this hole bored and threaded 7/8" 14. A lot of work to fix the problem.

The other route would be to set up in reverse and bore and bush ram bore to the die thread. This would be a much longer bore to cut. But with brass bushings it would be quickly rebuildable. Add a grease zerk here and the press would be improved.

Another place seldom checked is the actual ram it self. If bent or warped it will cause misalignment.

[jmorris]

The dies and components make more of a difference than what press you use.

[EDG]

All the press has to do is be straighter than the slop in the shell holder.
You could put a flat pusher in the ram and the alignment would mean very little. Wilson dies produce excellent results with no press threads or shell holders.

[RED BEAR]

Since there is play where the sell holder snaps into press and play where case goes into shell holder i just wonder how much this matters. Can you really tell the difference? I know that i can be a bit of a perfectionist it annoys the devil out of my wife. I have been using the same lee press for more than 40 years and a while back i did rebuild it made sure there was no play and everything was trued up. It took a bit of work to get everything lined up just so. For the life of me i still can't tell the difference. Everything was quite close to start with. I used to weigh every case every bullet every charge trimmed every case uniformed and deburred the flash holes everything had to be just so. Was asked one day by my nephew how much difference it made so i thought i would find out. Now i still weighed the charges but left out the rest and to my surprise i couldn't tell any difference. Now i am no bench rest shooter and i will not claim to be a good shot any more bad eyes and arthritis in hands. But i gave up needing everything to be just so and just enjoy my range time.

[doulos]

I thought the test was interesting. He tried hard to keep the variables down. And the MEC was the winner in his tests for run out. But they were all pretty good when good components were used.

[tazman]

The issue I have with tests such as this is they only tested one press of each brand. Who's to say that the next press they test might be much better or worse than the one next to it.
Test 10 otherwise identical presses and see how much difference there is. I doubt they will all be exactly the same.
Every manufacturer makes an occasional product that is poor in comparison to their best example.

[Petrol & Powder]

I have to agree with posts #4 & #5.

[Lloyd Smale]

Ive loaded on many presses. From cheap lee hand presses to rock chuckers to co-axes to progressives of about every brand. Im not a bench rest shooter so .001 inch difference in groups size means nothing to me. that said ive never seen any of my guns do better because of the press I used to load ammo. Dies? Maybe. Components? Absolutely. I always kind of chuckled at the co-ax claims that it self centers. Basicaly saying a sloppy press is better then a tight one. Who knows?

[doulos]

I agree Tazman and Loyd. First Im sure there are manufacturing variables in presses from year to year and lot to lot. And I agree Loyd about the Co ax claims. The self alignment because the die floats does make sense. But the MEC accomplishes the same thing with a floating shell holder. And cheaper than the CoAx. Who knows is right. I just thought it was interesting because I had never seen anyone test presses like that,

[georgerkahn]

For my experience, perhaps maybe 30 years back I noted an inconstancy for a semi-auto handgun I had at the time's reloads. It turned out that -- I was using a Lyman 4-station All American Turret press -- the turret itself had, when the station being used had pressure on it, enough "wiggle" to make a several-thousandths variation -- again, enough to significantly affect my loads. My fix? I learned there's a screw I previously never new existed ;) on underneath the turret, in rear opposite station being used, to tighten and minimize/eliminate this slop. Since, albeit that particular firearm's long gone, the up-down possible movement -- I noted a bit even in a "C" type press I had -- has been something I always try and keep an eye on.
YES -- a good seating die (complementing others) surely is a "plus" -- but, to my thinking, that there is as close to zero movement/variability in entire press while being operated is paramount for repeatability.
Just my two cents or so :) on the subject....
geo

[dragon813gt]

I find these tests interesting. But what does it mean to results on target? You’d have to have two of the same press w/ different run outs to test. And even then everything else would have to be equal die setup and component wise. I don’t think you’d find any difference on target. Unless the press so bad as to be almost unusable.

[doulos]

I find these tests interesting. But what does it mean to results on target? You’d have to have two of the same press w/ different run outs to test. And even then everything else would have to be equal die setup and component wise. I don’t think you’d find any difference on target. Unless the press so bad as to be almost unusable.

I would think a benchrest or long range shooter might see the difference. They seem to strive for the zero runout. I dont know if the average guy shooting groups at 100 yards would see the difference between .001 and .0007 runout. Im not sure.

[Dan Cash]

A lot of testing with some false assumptions built in. Author credits the Lee collet die with making case neck concentric with rest of the case by centering with flash hole. Flash holes are not always on center. As stated by others, the test only examines one press of a type/mfgr. so does not demonstrate overall propensity for run out and then, regardless the outcome of these tests, if the firing platform is not sufficient to benefit from the accuracy in ammo manufacture, what difference does it make, e.g. zero run out ammo fired in a well worn SKS?

[str8wal]

Interesting, but there are too many other variables to make this anything to worry about, IMO

[Three44s]

The dies you use and your technique are the things you can better control. The particular press less so.

For one thing the average person does not have the tools or the training to test their particular press and make no mistake, you could likely take ten presses of the same brand, model etc and get ten different results even if you measure them yourself.

I got a little concerned about my cheap little RCBS Jr. I bought back in 1975 because I felt some slop so I bought a Redding BOSS. I gained compound linkage in the process. Now I have little to tell that I gained much else but I think I gained something.

As far as dies I like the collet die from Lee. Not going to attribute better alignment on it but I did shrink groups with my 22-250 of that time to it. I measured it, I bank on it.

But as far as alignment issues I prefer the Hornady New Dimension seater die and one trick ........

The “trick” is in seating the bullet and what I learned from reading, then doing and measuring run out of loaded rounds and it involves just barely starting the bullet, partially withdrawing the ram, turning casing 45 to 60 degrees reinserting the cartridge and doing another mini-push just seating the bullet ever so little, withdrawing the ram and rotating the casing another 45 or 60 degrees and mini pushing the bullet slightly deeper once more. After about the third push or so I figure I have milked the process enough and go ahead and seat the bullet all the way to it’s intended seating depth.

I find that this works best with casings that are adequately beveled on the inside of it’s mouth and better still using a VLD tool.

I also find that pushing the bullet into the casing too far on each mini push tends to defeat the effect of seating bullets in better alignment. It is better to make the seating steps less deeply in the begining because if one is more aggressive from the get go, the casing neck has more grip on the not yet straight seated bullet yet.

I use a runout tool and measure the effects of my technique and am satisfied that my system works for me.

Proper credit should be attributed to Rick Jamison who used to write for Shooting Times in a regular feature about handloading. I learned this trick from his column many years ago.

Also note this applies to jacketed rifle bullets. I do not prescribe to hand gun loading or as of yet, cast boolit seating yet but that might change.

Three44s

[Fishoot]

You guys probably already know this, but here goes: For a casual shooter or hunter press alignment and bullet runout are not consequential. To shoot varmints at long range or to shoot competitively, a shooter wants the best (most consistent) loads that can be achieved. Eliminating variables can increase a competitor's confidence and contribute to better scores whether it's due to load consistency or increased confidence.

[mdi]

I very rarely watch any youtube videos on reloading. Some give me a headache with the camera wobbbling and jumping around. And then there's the guy that talks for 5 minutes and says nothing. But the biggest complaint is anyone can post a video and be an "expert" and I've seen Bubba doing some questionable things and once or twice some dangerous practices.

For experienced reloaders, those with their BS meters working correctly, these can be entertaining, but should be taken with a grain of Bullseye...

I have to admit there are some decent videos by component manufacturers or equipment manufacturers but they are outnumbered by the worthless videos...

[jmort]

Excellent video
It reaffirms, as noted above, that components are most critical and that a $100 Lee will do everything the CO AX or Rockchucker will do for a fraction of the price.
Hopefully this will lessen the hot air blowing around.

[dragon813gt]

I would think a benchrest or long range shooter might see the difference. They seem to strive for the zero runout. I dont know if the average guy shooting groups at 100 yards would see the difference between .001 and .0007 runout. Im not sure.

Benchrest shooter isn’t going to use a reloading press. They have specialized equipment. Long range, maybe, but will you see a difference when the MOA circle is rather large at 1000 yards? The press is one of the least important factors at this point.

[1hole]

As Lloyd and others have posted, a careful statistical sample of ONE of anything is meaningless, including presses, dies, etc.

Next, BR shooters who have rifles and dies and and scopes costing some ten times what the rest of us shoot don't expect a press to force anything into alignment, in fact they know a bit of press-shellholder slop is an advantage to accurate reloading with threaded dies.

Consider that a press has a very simple job: push cases into and pull them out of the dies. Dies are what makes the ammo, the press hardly makes a lot of difference in our accuracy.

Custom BR dies are unthreaded and they work cases as tiny amount as absolutely needed. Our sloppy factory (SAAMI) chambers demand dies that significantly over work our cases to insure the end ammo will function in every factory firearm ever made.

But, consider this - a round tapered plug (case) will always self center into a round tapered hole (die) UNLESS the cases and dies are rigidly held off axis when they are jammed together.

Loosely held round parts will precisely align themselves IF they are allowed to do so. It's that single fact that drives BR shooters to use hand dies and arbor presses because they just can't get looser than that!

When we get a worn press-to-ram fit many of us are eager to get a new press just when the current press has finally worn in enough to allow our cases and dies to come together properly!

Moral; don't sweat your press, if it works it's good. Do sweat the dies, how you prepare your cases and how well you develop your charges and seating depth.

[doulos]

There must some real believers out there in the floating die Co Ax camp. I say this because as we speak a USED Forster Co ax just sold on ebay for $410 bucks. You have to be kidding.

[dverna]

I bought my Co-Ax when they were <$70 new. It may not be the best press out there but it has produced great results for me. And it suits my weird way of reloading. I find a load that works and stay with it. Hardly ever change bullet style or weight so the seating die stays put most of the time. Just use it for rifle loading. I prime off the press so that hassle is gone. Not needing to find the right shell holder is a minor but nice plus.

[Lloyd Smale]

there not a bad press. Ive owned a couple myself. That said they sure wont do anything a rock chucker wont do as well. Yes there easier to swap dies in and out of but you can convert most any press today to lee or Hornady snap in bushings. 400 dollars for one used??? spend a 100 bucks more and get a 550. most versatile press on the market and will load ammo every bit as accurate as a co ax and do it 10 times faster. Might give a 100 bucks for one and certainly not more then a new rock chucker costs.
I bought my Co-Ax when they were <$70 new. It may not be the best press out there but it has produced great results for me. And it suits my weird way of reloading. I find a load that works and stay with it. Hardly ever change bullet style or weight so the seating die stays put most of the time. Just use it for rifle loading. I prime off the press so that hassle is gone. Not needing to find the right shell holder is a minor but nice plus.

[doulos]

there not a bad press. Ive owned a couple myself. That said they sure wont do anything a rock chucker wont do as well. Yes there easier to swap dies in and out of but you can convert most any press today to lee or Hornady snap in bushings. 400 dollars for one used??? spend a 100 bucks more and get a 550. most versatile press on the market and will load ammo every bit as accurate as a co ax and do it 10 times faster. Might give a 100 bucks for one and certainly not more then a new rock chucker costs.

What calibers are you loading on your 550?

[dverna]

What calibers are you loading on your 550?

I have two 550's and as far as I know the only caliber I cannot reload on it is .25ACP. But then I do not reload anything exotic. If there is a caliber you need to reload, go to the Dillon site and check...or call Dillon. It is likely the best press for the buck if you want reliable operation and some speed. I have never heard of anyone trading their 550 for another make. Even when I upgraded to the 650 (now gone) and the 1050's, I kept the 550. And then added another 550. Beware it does not autoindex...that is its biggest fault IMHO.

[Baltimoreed]

Interesting thread and videos but as an average shooter I’d invest my money on my components, dies, quality brass, bullets and the best optics that I can afford to go on my rifle. Sounds like some folks shoot to reload as opposed to reload to shoot.

[country gent]

I believe there's a way to work around this press run out issue. that may be fairly easy and quick. Purchase a +.010 7/8 14 tap. Tap press thread out with the oversized tap. Now when setting up run die in and size to desired depth. leave ram up and case is in the die holding alignment set lock ring. The +.010 tap will give .005 radial movement to the die to align and the lock ring should hold it. The old trick of an o ring under the lock ring would also allow for some self adjustment to squareness.

The oversized tap and o ring would allow for most misalignments to be adjusted for on a lot of presses. A +.015 would be more room but is a lot harder to find. The tap would probably be $30.00-$40.00 but could be reused many many times for other presses.

[doulos]

Im just reloading my ..45acp and .38 special on my 550. Just wondering who is doing rifle rounds.

[dragon813gt]

Im just reloading my ..45acp and .38 special on my 550. Just wondering who is doing rifle rounds.

Only rifle I load on one is 223 but the brass is prepped first. It speeds things up. But the main reason I use it is because it’s less pulls of the handle compared to the LCT. I have the pieces to load other rifle rounds on it. But I don’t shoot them in enough volume to make it worthwhile.

[tazman]

I have been getting very good accuracy with the ammo from my Lee Classic Cast Turret press. I don't have a run out gauge so cannot say how straight the rounds are. Must not be bad because the results I get would suggest things are good.
The interesting part is the slop in the turret. The turret moves vertically quite noticeably when the press reaches max rise. There has got to be a horizontal component there as well. If not in the turret, there will be in the shellholder.
Apparently it is just where it needs to be.

[flashhole]

Technique and practice are far more influential for low runout than the press.

[Lloyd Smale]

personaly only rifle loading I only do 223 308 and 30 bo and some straight walls like the 444, 4570 50ak ect. on a 550. Even most of my 223/308 is done on a lock and load with a case feeder because its faster. Most of what I do with those rounds on a 550 is load development where I only need to load 10 or 20 rounds with different bullets or powders. I do most of my bolt action stuff on a single stage. But that said you can load anything on a 550 and use it just like a single stage press if you want to.

[1bluehorse]

I don't do bench rest or any other type competition shooting. I'm not even that good a shot. Can't compete with those on this board that shoot those 1/2 moa 2 and 300 yard shots I read so often about here, let alone those 1/2 inch and better 100 yard groups. :veryconfu However I do like to "construct" rifle my reloads to be the very best I can make. I uniform primer pockets, flash holes and even turn case necks to "clean" them up to very small variance. I have bullet comparators and the Hornady gauge to set my bullets where I want as to the lands and also measure the shoulder "bump". I have and use a concentricity gauge to measure case necks (prior to turning) and runout of both brass and finished rounds. I also use Forster comp. dies and find them excellent. It hasn't "improved" my shooting ability one bit as far as I can tell but like I said I'm just an "average" shooter. But I do know that the rounds I load aren't the problem and probably not my rifles either. As far as presses go, use want you will, tell yourself it doesn't matter if you want, perhaps it really doesn't, but I'll keep my Co-Ax and not be trading up to a Lee Classic Cast or Rockchucker any time soon. Actually I have a LCC on a bench by itself, use it for things I don't want to do on the Forster. And just to let you know it isn't a Lee thing with me I have and use a Load Master press for 9mm, I use the RCBS Pro 2000 for everything else. I had a Dillon 550, sold it.

[44magLeo]

I was leafing through a December 2018 issue of Handloader Magazine. In the back is a column In Range. by Terry Wieland.
In this column he talks about something very similar, our American ability to build Quality Tools.
One example he uses is that Redding came out with their T-7 turret press in2002. Sierra Bullets bought one to load test ammo for ballistic testing.
They used it for 15 years and loaded over one million rounds of ammo with countless times of rotating the turret. In 2007 Redding got the press back. They used two dial indicators to display the amount of run out this press had. They don't say the amount but do have a pic. I can't tell by the pic just how much but it looks like not much.
This is after the years and millions of rounds. I think this shows that Redding knows their stuff.
I have had Redding products for years and like them a lot.
Leo

[MT Chambers]

Checking the run-out on Lee presses is important because eventually most will run-out and buy a good press.

[Livin_cincy]

I have been getting very good accuracy with the ammo from my Lee Classic Cast Turret press. I don't have a run out gauge so cannot say how straight the rounds are. Must not be bad because the results I get would suggest things are good.
The interesting part is the slop in the turret. The turret moves vertically quite noticeably when the press reaches max rise. There has got to be a horizontal component there as well. If not in the turret, there will be in the shellholder.
Apparently it is just where it needs to be.

You are on target with your observation on the design of the press.

[Lloyd Smale]

LOVE IT!!! Id bet 1/2 of us here who do a lot of progressive loading started with a pro 1000 or loadmaster that is just a bad dream today.
Checking the run-out on Lee presses is important because eventually most will run-out and buy a good press.

[Hamish]

I have been getting very good accuracy with the ammo from my Lee Classic Cast Turret press. I don't have a run out gauge so cannot say how straight the rounds are. Must not be bad because the results I get would suggest things are good.
The interesting part is the slop in the turret. The turret moves vertically quite noticeably when the press reaches max rise. There has got to be a horizontal component there as well. If not in the turret, there will be in the shellholder.
Apparently it is just where it needs to be.

"Slop" is my single biggest aggravation with this press in that COAL has to be watched a harder. That having been said, it is the press I seem to fallback to for the most part, especially for large runs or when I need to make a batch quickly.

The first Classic Cast turret I bought NIB, had a problem in that the turret ring was not parallel to the base, I had to actually tip cases into the die to get them to go in. Had to spend a few minutes adjusting. Second one I bought used was perfect.

As has been said, the I.D. of the die seems to be a bigger determining factor,

[jmorris]

Lots off benchrest shooters use pretty small aluminum presses just because they have to lug them around.

However, if hauling around a big hunk of cast iron made smaller one hole groups, they would do it, to win. Just food for thought...

http://castboolits.gunloads.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=235364&d=1549462855

[largom]

I use an "O" ring under my dies to compensate for taper in threads. Also keep bottom of shell holder lubricated. I also remove the snap ring that holds the shell holder in place. Also agree with turning case while seating slowly in steps. All of this works good with my Rock Chucker press's.
Larry

[MT Chambers]

Every once in a while some Lee fan tries to make his cheap purchases seem better than folks using good reloading equipment, don't buy into it, cheap is cheap.

[jaguarxk120]

Every once in a while some Lee fan tries to make his cheap purchases seem better than folks using good reloading equipment, don't buy into it, cheap is cheap.

I agree, quality always makes any job easier and better. Guy's spend thousands on guns , but go as cheap as
possible when it comes to making the shells for their guns.
It is always funny that the comparison go's back to the better equipment. That is my XXX tool loads shells better, faster than
any Dillon machine.

[1hole]

It is always funny that the comparison go's back to the better equipment. That is my XXX tool loads shells better, faster than
any Dillon machine.

Yeah.

It does get a bit amusing when various people suggest their various favorite color of reloading tools is "the very best" AND/OR that the sure road to accuracy can be purchased in the most expensive boxes.

I have to wonder ... if there really is any such advantage or quality for any brand of tools why has it never been documented, certified and advertised? ;)

[Hamish]

Every once in a while some Lee fan tries to make his cheap purchases seem better than folks using good reloading equipment, don't buy into it, cheap is cheap.

I don't think that's quite fair. I started with a borrowed, Lee $22 mini single stage and Lee dies. Making ammunition to shoot Silhouettes in a Contender pistol in a couple of different chamberings, using both cast and jacketed, and was very competitive.

Where do you draw the line with what is "cheap", and what is not? If not for "cheap" reloading equipment, I would not have been able to enjoy the hobby in the beginning. To be honest, I have not been able to discern any appreciable difference in accuracy between ammunition loaded on a $100 Lee semi progressive, and an $350 RCBS single stage.

"have to wonder ... if there really is any such advantage or quality for any brand of tools why has it never been documented, certified and advertised? " -1hole

Darn good question!

[country gent]

I believe we need to discern here what is what. in my thinking there is cheap, inexpensive, standard rate, expensive and over priced.

1) Cheap not worth the material its made from do to poor design, flaws or workmanship.
2) inexpensive is a decent tool that's not as costly may not have some bells and whistles that others have (knurls polished outsides )
3) Standard rate is the going rate may have the bells and whistles and better finishes
4) expensive has all the bells and whistles or better finishes looks nicer but where it "may not Matter".
5) overpriced falls into the to much for what it is even with the bells and whistles

A lot of inexpensive equipment is very useable and a lower price than others, while cheap equipment has to be worked on tuned or rebuilt to be barely useable. The above gives a much better description to use.

[kevin c]

I discovered that my SDB has run out. I've had the press for over 25 years and never had issues with J words or commercial cast sized to standard diameters, but with some of the cast designs I now use in oversized diameters, the run out causes the HiTek I apply to scrape off badly. I guess the "slop" in the shell plate allows for some compensation, but not enough in my case.

Fortunately I read here how to make a custom seating die by making an impression of a good, concentric round, using JB Weld in the end of a spare seating die, and now everything is good to go.

Just goes to show that even a quality product can be off enough in some cases to cause problems.

[HangFireW8]

Not sure which press I should defend first, my CoAx, or my two Lee Classic Casts. I guess my RC II is acceptable to the critics.

[doulos]

I discovered that my SDB has run out. I've had the press for over 25 years and never had issues with J words or commercial cast sized to standard diameters, but with some of the cast designs I now use in oversized diameters, the run out causes the HiTek I apply to scrape off badly. I guess the "slop" in the shell plate allows for some compensation, but not enough in my case.

Fortunately I read here how to make a custom seating die by making an impression of a good, concentric round, using JB Weld in the end of a spare seating die, and now everything is good to go.

Just goes to show that even a quality product can be off enough in some cases to cause problems.

What is a SDB?

[tazman]

What is a SDB?

Dillon Square Deal B

[ascast]

what is a sdb?

silent but deadly

[Baltimoreed]

Silent deadly but? Yoda thinks dyslexia in kicking is.

[robg]

Some of the guys who shoot the smallest groups in our club use cheapo Lee presses and dies .the proof of the pudding is in the eating.

[str8wal]

Every once in a while some Lee fan tries to make his cheap purchases seem better than folks using good reloading equipment, don't buy into it, cheap is cheap.

Inexpensive doesn't necessarily translate to cheap. I have loaded thousands upon thousands of cartridges on a Lee 3-hole turret. It just plain works. Why spend more?!?!?

[EDG]

At my club the bench rest guys use small arbor presses with hand dies.


Some of the guys who shoot the smallest groups in our club use cheapo Lee presses and dies .the proof of the pudding is in the eating.

[Chev. William]

Cheap is What you Pay for a Bargain.
I paid $20.00 for my 'well used' RCBS "RC" press then added a "Ammomaster II" handle to it to make my Case Swaging Easier.
It is now my Primary Case Swaging and Reloading Press.

I still Own Two RCBS "JR-3" presses that I started out with. One cost me about $70 and the Other Cost about $75 Thirty years later. The first one I actually Sheared The Pivot Pin between Ram and Toggle Link once, and RCBS sent me a Free Replacement Pin for it.
They are now secondary reloading presses for me, with their smaller diameter Rams, relegated to Bullet Sizing, case Decapping and case Priming process Stages.

I also own a Lee Aluminum Hand Reloading Tool/Press and two Lyman '310' hand Tool/Press, plus some '310' die sets that are now seldom used but still kept available.

Chev. William

[lightman]

I like Country Gent's idea of turning a point on a 7/8 bar and making a pointed shell holder. But I'm not sure what I would do with any info that resulted from those test except that it would be interesting.

In reloading presses, I doubt there are very many really wrong answers. I like iron or steel "O" frame presses with compound linkage for what I do.

Dillon 550's. I load mostly pistol calibers on mine. The only rifle calibers I load on it are 223 and 308. Oh yeah, and 30 Carbine.

[onelight]

Every once in a while some Lee fan tries to make his cheap purchases seem better than folks using good reloading equipment, don't buy into it, cheap is cheap.
I am a Lee fan and I certainly don’t think Lee equipment is the best in precision for the pursuit of the perfectly loaded cartridge , or long term durability some of the Lee products in my experience work great some not.
For my use (range trips 2 times a week off hand shooting at 7 to 25 yards I don’t shoot any competition)
I get results = to factory ammo with a Lee turret , loadmaster now auto breechlock pro I only load hand gun ammo on these presses . I consider them high value and good enough.
The pursuit of perfection and pride in reloading equipment :-D interesting great extensions of reloading but don’t fit in the “reloading so I can shoot more” that got me started reloading and keeps me reloading.
Lee serves my purpose to each his own.:Luvcastboolits:

[garandsrus]

Apparently I have loaded a lot more rifle calibers on a 550 than most. Here is what I can remember: 204 Ruger, 22 Hornet, .223, 22-250, .243, 25-06, 6.5x55, 7-30 Waters, 284 Win, 30 Carbine, 7.5x55, 30-30, 308, 30-06, 32 Spec, 35 Rem, 8mm Mauser, 45-70, 375 Win, 38-55. All of these are probably only 5 or 6 conversion kits and some additional powder funnels. The press is very versatile and produces great ammo. My dies are Lee, Hornady, RCBS, Pacific, Dillon, and others.

I load very few rifle or pistol rounds on a single stage press.