Well, a die has to be adjusted on any type of press. Swapping dies should never require any readjustment. Set once and done. But if you can't get it right to begin with, you can't get it right with any press.
Start with handloading?
- Thread starter BabaBlueJay
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Well, a die has to be adjusted on any type of press. Swapping dies should never require any readjustment. Set once and done. But if you can't get it right to begin with, you can't get it right with any press.
kamloops67
Member
I had a Dillon and ended up selling it
just use my rcbs rockchucker for everything it's slower to load with yes, but you will make mistakes at a much slower rate as well
I shoot several thousand rounds each year , so I had to figure out some systems to mass produce volume .it's do able
I still don't want my Dillon back
just use my rcbs rockchucker for everything it's slower to load with yes, but you will make mistakes at a much slower rate as well
I shoot several thousand rounds each year , so I had to figure out some systems to mass produce volume .it's do able
I still don't want my Dillon back
Need more room
Sell the boat and fishing paraphernalia, you will have lots of room, be able to buy a progressive press, and buy cheap fish at the grocery store. Fresh caught fish are about $45.87 per pound live weight, $75.13 per pound at the dining table. Grocery store is about $10 per pound ready to cook.
I KNOW ! ! I have the 2022 license tag in the house with the 2023 tag that I hope to put on the boat trailer.
Sell the boat and fishing paraphernalia, you will have lots of room, be able to buy a progressive press, and buy cheap fish at the grocery store. Fresh caught fish are about $45.87 per pound live weight, $75.13 per pound at the dining table. Grocery store is about $10 per pound ready to cook.
I KNOW ! ! I have the 2022 license tag in the house with the 2023 tag that I hope to put on the boat trailer.
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gwpercle
Member
Amen Brother ... and I'll Second the Motion of "Most Useless Invention " ever created .
My Dad would have said ... "as useful as Mud Flaps on a Sledge Hammer " ... that's not exactly how Dad would have put it , he had been a sailor in WWII and used a phrase involving mammary glands and male hog ... but he told me not to say that in front of Momma ... she would get mad and for me to say mud flaps on a sledge hammer instead ! My old man taught me a lot of stuff we didn't tell her about .
Gary
Baltimoreed11754
Member
When I started reloading for real [had been using a lee whack-a-mole] I was in the back wall of my wife's walk in pantry. I had a rock chucker but then got a Lyman T2. A great press but it did require some tinkering to get the primers to feed correctly. I used the rcbs for rifle loads and the turret for pistol loads. You do need to be set up where your beam scale is at eye level in order to read it consistently. If you go electronic then it doesn't matter. Start assembling components now as you find them. But your first investment should be a reloading manual or a book about reloading. 40 years later I'm spread out in a 10x12 room with 6 presses [2 Dillons and 2 Lymans and a few Bairs].
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Everyone is going to have their own opinion of course. No one can tell you what is right for you however.
I bought a Dillon 550 to start off with, and jumped in with both feet some 30 years ago. I love this machine.
However, I have also added a Lee single stage and and a Lee turret, and I use them as well. The Dillon gets the most use by far.
I was enjoying my (inherited) Dad's 1943 1911 38 Super and a S&W 66 .357 at the time, and 38 Super was hard to find. When I did find it, it was over $10 a box! Like $12 or $13, (think back to the Pre- Clinton era)
Now I was shooting ammo for closer to $3.50 a box, reusing my old brass. It probably took me 10-15 years to recover my cost in reloaded ammo, but I definitely shot a lot more.
Which ever way you choose to go, take your time and don't rush anything. It has become more of a hobby these days instead of a "cost saving" exercise.
Learning to reload safely is "Job Number One", the rest is just a fun pastime. Don't trust everything you read on the internet. Buy some manuals and enjoy the process.
It ain't no race.
I bought a Dillon 550 to start off with, and jumped in with both feet some 30 years ago. I love this machine.
However, I have also added a Lee single stage and and a Lee turret, and I use them as well. The Dillon gets the most use by far.
I was enjoying my (inherited) Dad's 1943 1911 38 Super and a S&W 66 .357 at the time, and 38 Super was hard to find. When I did find it, it was over $10 a box! Like $12 or $13, (think back to the Pre- Clinton era)
Now I was shooting ammo for closer to $3.50 a box, reusing my old brass. It probably took me 10-15 years to recover my cost in reloaded ammo, but I definitely shot a lot more.
Which ever way you choose to go, take your time and don't rush anything. It has become more of a hobby these days instead of a "cost saving" exercise.
Learning to reload safely is "Job Number One", the rest is just a fun pastime. Don't trust everything you read on the internet. Buy some manuals and enjoy the process.
It ain't no race.
Since you don't have the space for a progressive press at the moment I *assume* you don't have the room for a bench-mounted single stage press either.
Operating under that assumption, I'd cast another vote for the Lee Hand Press. It's effective, inexpensive, everything you need will fit in a small tool box for storage, and even once you do step up to a full-blown progressive setup it will still prove useful.
The Hand Press is how I started, and since the only cartridges I reload are 38 Special wadcutters (and because I'm reluctant to give up any workshop space for reloading) I've yet to feel the need to upgrade.
Operating under that assumption, I'd cast another vote for the Lee Hand Press. It's effective, inexpensive, everything you need will fit in a small tool box for storage, and even once you do step up to a full-blown progressive setup it will still prove useful.
The Hand Press is how I started, and since the only cartridges I reload are 38 Special wadcutters (and because I'm reluctant to give up any workshop space for reloading) I've yet to feel the need to upgrade.
OP
I think that would be best for me to learn the basics until I do have the room for a progressive press.
ArchAngelCD
Moderator, SWCA Member, Absent Comrade
How about a compromise? Look into a Lee CLASSIC 4 hole turret press. That press has an auto-index rod to move the turret after each step but you can easily lift the rod out and use the press as a single stage press but with all the dies available and already adjusted. Once you get the feel of reloading you can use the auto-index feature and speed up the session.
I can safely load 180 to 200 rounds of .38 Special an hour. Same goes for the .357 Magnum. The 9mm is slightly slower because of the smaller case. I load all my handgun ammo on that press and have been for over 15 years with that same exact press.
I can safely load 180 to 200 rounds of .38 Special an hour. Same goes for the .357 Magnum. The 9mm is slightly slower because of the smaller case. I load all my handgun ammo on that press and have been for over 15 years with that same exact press.
I have a Lyman turret set up on a stand. I use it a single stage at a time. Don't need much space that way. These types of stands are available.
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My old reloading shop, always used an RCBS single stage press, and still do. My first reloading experience many years ago was with .38 spec.
Attachments
That reminds me of my early days of reloading when we lived in a 3 room apartment! I got an old wooden stand to mount my press. The top was about 2'x2' and it had wings that could be deployed to increase the top surface by about three! It had a space underneath where I kept reloading components. I had a Lyman Spartan "C" press mounted on top.
In my mind, there is basic and then there is archaic! Lee hand tools offer no advantage over buying a used RCBS Rock Chucker on ebay or a gun show. These presses may look rough, but a little cleaning and a fresh coat of paint, they will look good and will function just like the day they were built.
The biggest thing to learn with using this type of press is to use each die on all you cases before changing them. First, resize, deprime, and prime all your brass then change to the second die. Bell the neck and load the powder using your second die. Change to seating and finishing with your third die and the only difference in time between turret and maybe even a low-end progressive is the small amount of time it takes to spin out the die and put in the second die. Once they are set, there should be no need to adjust them.
I would highly recommend a Rock Chucker for your first and maybe your only reloading press. I load everything from 32 S&W up to 45-90 and they work as smooth as silk. There is nothing that you will learn from starting with a Lee Load-all set except that you need a hammer. Not so with a Rock Chucker.
The biggest thing to learn with using this type of press is to use each die on all you cases before changing them. First, resize, deprime, and prime all your brass then change to the second die. Bell the neck and load the powder using your second die. Change to seating and finishing with your third die and the only difference in time between turret and maybe even a low-end progressive is the small amount of time it takes to spin out the die and put in the second die. Once they are set, there should be no need to adjust them.
I would highly recommend a Rock Chucker for your first and maybe your only reloading press. I load everything from 32 S&W up to 45-90 and they work as smooth as silk. There is nothing that you will learn from starting with a Lee Load-all set except that you need a hammer. Not so with a Rock Chucker.
My earlier suggestion to buy a good single stage press now was simply because the prices of are steadily going up on new and used reloading presses. I bought a nice used RCBS Jr press off EBay 10 years ago for $35. Now it's hard to find them at twice the price. Same is true of scales, powder measures, case trimmers and etc.
The OP may not have the room to use them but they don't take up much space to store away.
John
The OP may not have the room to use them but they don't take up much space to store away.
John
I have two RCs that cost around $50 each shipped many years ago. One needs to watch and not buy the first one they come across. Used Rock Chuckers can be found for around $100 shipped if you keep watching ebay. The price of a new Supreme model is now $210, so well used examples are still a bargain, but agreed the prices are always going up. Maybe the point is that they will never get cheaper as time goes by.
Good ole rampant inflation! The dollar has lost its punch in the last couple of years!
scooter123
Member
As with most of the others I suggest starting with a Single Stage Press. They are not only excellent for starting out you will NOT ever find a progressive press as flexible as a Single Stage Press. BTW, I started out with an RCBS Rockchucker and it's still my only press for handgun or rifle loads. Because I mainly shoot 4 gun Skeet and currently have 6 shotgun presses on my reloading bench with the Rockchucker at the end. Two of my shotgun presses are progressive, the 410 and 28 gauge. Next to each one I still have my single stage presses in this caliber. Because if I want to test out a new powder I can do than in a single stage without ever effecting the setup in the progressive. Because with a Progressive shotgun press you NEVER EVER want to fuss with the crimp once you have it tuned for the hulls you are loading. BTW, for me getting the crimps right can take up to 2 weeks of fussing.
Point is that Progressive Presses are great for cranking lots and lots of loaded ammo. They are not so good for building small batches of test loads. Yeah, it will take just as long to set up the single stage for that test batch but it save you having to reset your progressive back to you favorite load. I'll also point out that changing calibers is more expensive on a Progressive than it is on a single stage.
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Point is that Progressive Presses are great for cranking lots and lots of loaded ammo. They are not so good for building small batches of test loads. Yeah, it will take just as long to set up the single stage for that test batch but it save you having to reset your progressive back to you favorite load. I'll also point out that changing calibers is more expensive on a Progressive than it is on a single stage.
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venomballistics
Member
True, but the turret design is still a bit more convenient overall, without placing the mechanical layer of a progressive into the mix.
It's a coin toss for me.
I'm fine with either in the intended role as either will do load development before a load is graduated to a progressive.
OP
I do not shoot enough for a full progressive so I went with a RCBS Single Stage press. Learning from my friend on his made this decision easier. I usually shoot between 100-250 a month and I can crank that out in a few nights on the single stage, taking my time and doing it right. Now just to find a shotshell reloader that is just as simple will be the next task.
We waterproofed the basement so I can reload down there now and made it my own little workshop.
We waterproofed the basement so I can reload down there now and made it my own little workshop.
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I have a MEC 600 Jr. 12 ga. reloader. There are quite a few for sale on ebay. It is simple to load on. The only drawbacks to loading shotgun shells is that the monetary savings isn't big but the components are BIG to keep on hand!
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