Dillon vs Lee vs others

BabaBlueJay

BabaBlueJay

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As someone who exclusively shoots 357 magnum and has found it harder and harder to find and afford. I've been thinking of making my own, as in another thread I asked what ammo people trusted, many said their own. Made sense to me and I wanted to give it a try myself to save money, ensure availability, and just seems cool to make your own stuff. I was curious what a good first press would be for a novice and if their is anything I should know before starting to make my own 357 magnum rounds. Thanks in advance!
 
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Get at least a couple of current paper load manuals; read them until you understand the entire process. Then make a choice as to what press to buy. A single stage would be best for a beginner and far easier to learn the basics of handloading. While you may eventually want a progressive (only if you load lots of ammo) there's always a usefulness for a single stage tool, a press you'll never outgrow, especially if you find you like load development and experimenting.

Avoid YouTube and other such sites at least until you have a basic background in handloading, a background that will help you weed out bad information before you develop poor handloading practices. Good luck-
 
Lee progressive is cheap, reliable for 200 rounds at a time but does require maintenance to run smoothly. Dillon lasts forever, expensive, adjustments are critical (no such thing as close enough). RCBS single stage is gold standard for tough and reliable. Their single stage press have been around since the late 40's.

Based on my experience, I recommend a used 550 or 450. Set up for a single caliber, 357 mag with 38 Special dies, it will never lose adjustments. Maintenace is clean the primer feed slide every 1,000 rounds and it will be trouble free. A 550 comes with auto prime, auto powder, and auto eject. A Dillon 450 can be upgraded. Mine was bought new in 1983, upgraded when they became available, and then I bought a used 550. The 450 is small primers, the 550 large primers.

I do not own a current production Lee press. I bought a MidwayUSA Anniversary Special press and reloading manual 15+ years ago before I bought the second Dillon. The combo was $20. You get what you pay.
 
A Dillon 550 can be operated with one piece of brass at a time (other 3 stations empty) while learning the ropes. They are reliable and seldom break. Mine, from 1985, has only been back to AZ once. It was an early model without the grease holes. When it came back the replacement parts had them. It gets used to load maybe an average of 20k rounds of pistol/rifle a year. A couple minor parts breakages over the last 35 years which Dillon has always handled quick and cheap (free). 550 requires a couple minutes of maintenance every thousand rounds to keep it perking smoothly.

The only non-Dillon part I have on my 550 is a primer slide bearing device (plate & ball bearing rig) that a shooter from TX sells on eBay. I highly recommend.

I shoot a fair amount of .38 Spl and some .357 Mag. It is much more affordable to shoot both if they are reloaded rounds.

Study those paper reloading manuals. Pay attention to how to calculate cost per round. Pick powders for .357 at least partly on cost per round, not necessarily on maximum velocity.
 
Go for the Dillon 550, new or used. I have loaded on most of the single stage and progressives out there, for 50 years or so. I have 4 Dillon 550s. They are the high quality value for those who aren't loading tens of thousands of one caliber. I could have bought any press made, but these have served me well for over 30 years.
 
oysterer said:
Definitely NOT Lee. This isn't good equipment.

You can buy any other and make your experiences.

At the end of it all you'll have a Dillon machine or 2. May as well get one out of the gate.
Click to expand...

Do you speak from experience?Please post your actual Lee experiences.

I couldn't agree LESS!

My Classic Turret Press just keeps on ticking.Been using it since 2014 when I returned stateside.I has produced many thousand of rounds trouble free.

I loaded a box of 50 32 H&R Magnum last night using a Lee Carbide 4 die set,a Lee Hand Press and a Lee Pro Bench Powder Measure.The scale was an RCBS 10-10
 
I had a Lee single stage press more than thirty years ago. For routine handloading, it worked as well as any other single stage press, and I've had a variety of presses since the mid-60s. I will assume the new Lee models are as good as the one I had, but I don't know for sure.

I was doing much wildcat case-forming years ago and went with a heavier press for such work, but the Lee probably would have been fine.

I know many like to criticize Lee products and maybe some of that criticism is justified, but I suspect many of the critics have had limited or no experience with the products they condemn.
 
reloaders

What reloading press depends on how much you shoot. I started out on a used RCBS Rockchucker and used it for years, still have it and use it for ammo that Is unusual and rifle ammo. If you shoot 2 or 3 boxes of 357 each time you go out to shoot a single stage is fine. Used single stage presses are usually fairly cheap. I paid $25 for my Rockchucker and they can still be found for around $50. i think Hornaday sells a electronic scale for about $35, I like the Lyman 55 for a powder dump $25 or so used. I like lee dies with the factory crimp die if buying new. Used dies $10 - $25 but inspect them. Note: For 357 I would buy carbide dies and pass on lubing brass. It really doesn't take long to load 100 rounds of ammo for a days shooting. I have a friend that loads all his 38 with a tong tool. When he plans to shoot he sits down turns on the radio and knocks out what he needs. You will find the more your reload the more you will shoot. I got into progressives by accident, I took an Old Star progressive in on a car I sold and now have 3 Dillon Square Deals and a 550 and 650. If I could only have one I guess it would be the 550. I find I reload during the chilly winter and shoot all summer without doing any reloading. Finding components right now is fairly expensive.
SWCA 892
 
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OP mentioned Dillon and Lee specifically and I guess I'd opine they are, more or less, near the opposite ends of the spectrum at least with respect to cost. I've used both along with Redding and RCBS and a myriad of just about every brand of die, scale, powder measure, etc.

If you are just starting out it makes sense, IMHO, to begin with a single-stage press. It's economical, simple, and doing the various steps separately will furnish a real feel for the process. Eventually, if you like reloading, you may wish to upgrade to something a bit faster - but progressive and multi-stage press setups won't load any more accurate ammo than a single stage. If you end up reloading for rifle a single stage may always be something warranting bench space.

As far as brands go you will, no doubt, find as many opinions as there are readers of your post. In all candor there is not as much difference between them as some would have you believe. Lee is likely the most economical if purchased new. I've used Lee products for many, many years and have had excellent results. Pertaining to single stage presses I admit to being partial to my Redding Boss press but it's orders of magnitude more costly than Lee and does not produce a finished product that is distinguishable from cartridges made on my Lee equipment. A Lee turret press may be a good compromise as it can be used as a single stage and can enable you to go much faster once you get the hang of it. Mine has preformed splendidly for many years.

You may want to check out used presses and dies via ebay or gunbroker as some good deals can occasionally be had. I've found some really nice older dies and beam scales on ebay and they have served very well.

Good luck and have fun!
 
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I started with a Lee single press but went to a Lee Classic Turret press soon after and never looked back. With it I have 4 sets of dies as I load for .38/.357,.40S&W, 9mm, and .380. I purchased extra turrets so switching dies takes a minute.

I am more than happy with it.
 
rockquarry said:
Get at least a couple of current paper load manuals; read them until you understand the entire process. Then make a choice as to what press to buy. A single stage would be best for a beginner and far easier to learn the basics of handloading. While you may eventually want a progressive (only if you load lots of ammo) there's always a usefulness for a single stage tool, a press you'll never outgrow, especially if you find you like load development and experimenting.

Avoid YouTube and other such sites at least until you have a basic background in handloading, a background that will help you weed out bad information before you develop poor handloading practices. Good luck-
Click to expand...

What rockquarry wrote ^^^.

Crawl/walk/run. Single-stage is walk and allows you to learn the process with smaller chance of failure, minor or catastrophic. Walk would be a turret press and some skip this stage. Run is a progressive.

I have all three sorts and they all get used.

Yes, you will save a BUNDLE handloading .357mag. Especially if you stick to cast bullets.

As for brands, most all are good, some are terrific. Lee is a good place to start if you are on a budget. Used gear from RCBS, Lyman, etc. is a good deal. Some of the Lee stuff is great quality, some is passable. STARTING on a Lee progressive would be a hard row to hoe.

One of the reloading kits, soup-to-nuts is not bad. I did that with a RCBS Rock Chucker kit. Still use most of the gear (lube & lube pad, nope!). The chucker to load rifle, the mechanical scale to check my digital scale, and so on.
 
Red and Green

40 years ago I got into a Pacific (Hornady) reloading kit. 07 press. balance scale, drum powder measure, reloading handbook, then later a Thumbler's tumbler model B. Everything still works. I weigh every powder charge except .38 spcl and .45 ACP with 231 powder. I use RCBS, and Hornady , and one Redding die sets. After several thousands of loadings, the 07 press became sloppy in the ram clearance area so I replaced with a lightly used RCBS Rock Chucker, both presses single stage. I broke a aluminium Lee carbide die. I once entered the blue colored manufacturing and sales front to be greeted with an arrogant staff. I present myself as working class and bear no shame, however I will not put up with summary dismissal in a retail environment. I have not been back and will not go back there.
 
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A LEE Classic Cast Iron single stage press (If you can find one?) will be sufficient to load your 1st 4 to 5 thousand 357 Magnum reloads. Buy the Hornady LnL conversion bushing kit and a good set of 38/357 carbide dies (Hornady, RCBS, etc.) or the LEE 4 Die set and you will be good to go.

A good scale and initially individually weighing each load can eliminate the under & over powder charge horrors (the dreaded Squibs & the KABOOMs!) that seem to be a never-ending subject on this forum. A cartridge case gauge is a worthwhile investment as well.

You will be able to load various different types of bullets before too long, once you master the correct expansion and crimp functions. Unless you shoot many hundreds of rounds on a weekly basis your production rate will be more than sufficient and you will eventually find reloading in 50-100-150 increments pretty easy and quite satisfying.

Cheers!

P.S. Hopefully you will (of course!) not be shooting ANY dreaded 38 Specials (because the "crud ring will destroy the barrel"!):eek: and are not shooting one of those "frail K-frames" whose forcing cone will surely self-destruct from flame-cutting after only a few (thousand?) rounds...?:eek::eek:

P.P.S. After checking on the net perhaps the RCBS Rock Chucker Supreme is a more available solution: Natchess actually has them now and they are on sale... Maybe even amazon with FREE DELIVERY?:)
 
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My 1st press in 1966 was a Rock Chucker.After I got the hang of it reloading I bought a few Star machines,H&G molds,Star sizer and greaser and got in on a group drop shipment of bullets,power and primers with Jimmy Cirillo and Bill Allard.
 
Another way to look at this... I've had four progressive machines, beginning with the first after I had been handloading for about twenty-five years. I sold the last one several years ago, but never got rid of the 1960s Texan turret press I've used off and on for decades. I never used a progressive to load rifle ammunition, only handgun cartridges. I doubt I load over 12,000 - 15,000 rounds of handgun ammo a year, so I never really needed a progressive, just wanted a few. Being a slow learner, it took a while to figure out the Texan would do all I required.

Not the fastest, but it's the most versatile of presses for loading handgun ammo. For rifle cartridges, perhaps no more than five thousand per year, I still use three single-stage machines: a Redding Ultra Mag, an RCBS Big Max, and a Forster Co-Ax. I bought all these new and the newest is more than thirty years old. The Co-Ax sees the most use, but they're all good presses.
 
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Get a really good scale and single stage press of some sort first. When you get really comfortable with that get a Dillon. I've had a 450 for over 40 years with no problems. From what I've heard if you do have a problem their customer service is AAA1.
 
I think saying a Lee auto indexing progressive is a great press because you have had great service from your Lee classic cast single stage is just as bad as someone with no experience with the Lee saying that they are not in the same quality league as a Dillon, RCBS, Hornady, etc. Actually its worse, because you are comparing apples to oranges, while everyone knows Lee is an " inexpensive" brand, shall we say. That's not necessarily bad, but it carries certain truths.
 
I use a lee classic turret and a Lyman All American turret.

The lee works great for the regular reloading duties. Setting up dies is a tad odd as the die head raises up a smidge when the ram comes all the way up, but nothing to be scared of. The stuff loaded on it is as accurate as anything else I’ve ever used.

The Lyman is from 1969, it is a tank and doesn’t budge any. I bought it used obviously, it’s nice for forming duty, decrimping primer pockets. It takes a weird shell holder and I found an adapter to use regular shell holders. It’s my dedicated benchrest round press.

Progressive presses crank out ammo in a hurry, and it’s accurate ammo as well. How much you shoot should be a consideration as to what kind of press. No sense spending $600+ on a press to load a couple hundred or less a month.
 
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