It has been over a year since I last posted but haven't let that year go completely to waste. I was able to obtain and melt down about 400lb of wheel weights which should be a nice stockpile for a little while. I am finally looking at picking up a press and some molds.
I know people are particular about their presses but I was looking for input from the members here, I don't want to shell out for a progressive press and at this time not sure I shoot enough to make it worthwhile. If that changes I will look at upgrading my press in the future. Also with my current workbench limitations I am not looking to pickup a large press.
My current thought process is the Lee Classic Turret Press,(Price is also in my range of affordable) I like the auto index feature since it allows me to produce bullets faster while still focusing on one bullet at a time. I can also turn it into a single stage press just by removing the auto index. So I have been keeping an eye on armslist and the swappin & sellin forum looking for a used one which I hope to pickup. Unless there is some strong reason I need to buy it new from Titan Reloading. The question I have is am I making a mistake going with this press and if so why?
On to the casting portion I have a Lee 20lb melting pot on it's way now so I am set to melt all my ingots but I still don't have any molds. I plan on powder coating so my understanding is I should only need a plain base mold not one built for a gas check.
For 45-70 and .458 SOCOM I was looking at picking up a lighter weight bullet around 300 grains and one very large round over 500 grains close to 600 would be my goal. With 300BLK I don't have a suppressor and don't see one in my near future so I was planning on all supersonic rounds to begin with weighing around 125 grains. In both cases I was looking for a mold with 4 or 5 cavities and I am looking for any recommendations as to molds and mold manufactures.