Best 9mm Reloading Press

[BSA1]

My family relies on 9mm semi-autos for defense. As the gun nut, er guy in the family supplying range ammo is my job. I am thinking of stepping up production from my RCBS Rockchucker. I am thinking of few thousand rounds a year when primers come back in season.

So OTHER than Dillon what presses have you find that work well? (Other threads turned into Dillon infomercials). I have a Lee Pro 1000 in 45 ACP and Colt but not sure I want to do a caliber conversion.

Not sure I will have a large enough volume of shooting for a Progressive. The Lee Turret Press looks like a possibility. Seems reliable and much faster than my single stage press.

[rockquarry]

A few thousand rounds a year is not very many. I've used a 1960s Texan Turret press for more than forty years and it's been more than adequate for more rounds per year than a few thousand.

I've had four progressives in the last thirty or so years. I don't really load enough handgun ammo (maybe 10,000 rounds or so annually) to have needed any of them, but I must admit they were enjoyable and interesting to work with for a while. Sold them all and don't miss them.

[Peak53]

Love my Lee Turret press. Other opinions will be in shortly.

[9mmPatriot]

Love my Lee Loadmaster.....but the new Lee Pro 6000 Six Pack is getting really good reviews.

[minconrevo]

There might be a reason the post turned into a mostly Dillon.

[TheTinMan]

I have had good success with a Hornady LNL. It is substantially less expensive than a Dillon, especially if you reload multiple cartridges. However, I don’t make 1,000+ cartridges at a time. I prefer to re-size & de-prime on a single stage press for several reasons. Shell plate deflection is #1. Hornady’ s fiddly priming system is #2. And freeing up a station for a powder check is #3.

Your mileage will vary, Blue Kool-Aid might be the best after all, but I still don’t like the FCD

[reddog81]

I use my Hornady lock n load. It works well.

[ken158]

Lyman makes a great turret press

[JohnRoc65]

They're not cheap, but you'll never go wrong with a Redding.

[tmd17]

I would not recommend getting into hand loading if you only expect to do 2k 9mm per year max. If it was north of 5 k it may start to make sense.

If I had to recommend something other than single stage for a single caliber press, I would suggest looking hard at the Dillon Square Deal. They are great little presses, and the price is very reasonable.

[hyena]

I only reload .45ACP and .38 Special. Lee Classic Turret. Before you take the plunge on 9mm I would add up component cost at current prices and see how it compares to shelf prices of $15 per box of factory ammo. I don't shoot much 9mm so I have not done what I suggest. Just not sure you'll save enough to make it worthwhile. Good luck.

[socal s&w]

Understanding that you have edited Dillon in this thread. I agree with tmd17, a Dillon SDB is the right choice for all handgun cartridges (not made for true rifle cartridges). Small footprint, super easy to load with, rarely misses a beat. Yes, the dies are proprietary, but they work. One can usually find a good used SDB for between $250-$350 which will likely have a set of dies included.
An excellent machine (I have 4 of them, 9mm, 40, 38, 45ACP).

[CH4]

Originally Posted by hyena

I only reload .45ACP and .38 Special. Lee Classic Turret. Before you take the plunge on 9mm I would add up component cost at current prices and see how it compares to shelf prices of $15 per box of factory ammo. I don't shoot much 9mm so I have not done what I suggest. Just not sure you'll save enough to make it worthwhile. Good luck.

That’s what I thought until Covid - loaded for everything but 9mm. Now I have dies and components for it too. Just in case

I use an old RCBS Rockchucker

[ArchAngelCD]

I now load for the 9mm. I bought some great and fairly inexpensive JHP bullets from RMR bullets. Their 124gr Multi Purpose bullet is my preference. They are very accurate for me. I buy them 2,000 at a time for a better per-round price. Their FMJ Truncated Cone Flat Point Matchwinner Bullets are very popular and cost slightly less than the MPR JHP bullets I use.

[Ivan the Butcher]

50 rounds a week is 2500 a year. That is a relaxing pace on a single stage. 100 a week can still be fun. At 150 or more a week is becomes drudgery! Any progressive should do 400 and hour or better. Then it is just a matter of keeping components in stock. When actively shooting I bought handgun bullets by the 5000 or 10,000 at a time.

A good 3 day weekend with 4 of us shooting at a match was 2500+. You don't want to be in the sun all day then Have to load all night for the next day!

Think of it as a math problem:

Time=Money (cost of press)

For more money you end up with more time to do something beside load.

I hope your extended family is paying for supplies!

Ivan

[Mike0251]

"Best 9mm Reloading Press"
"So OTHER than Dillon"
Bit of an oxymoron there.

"A good 3 day weekend with 4 of us shooting at a match was 2500+. You don't want to be in the sun all day then Have to load all night for the next day!"
Spot on!

I'm not unabashed one bit!

[Les Greevy]

A good and inexpensive way to speed up production on your RCBS is the case ejector system sold by inlinefabrication.com.

[mmb617]

I started reloading 3 years ago and have only a Lee single stage press. There are 4 calibers I reload - 9mm, .45 acp, .223 and .308 and I've done over 20k reloads between them, over half were 9mm.

Pistol cartridges are way faster and easier to do than rifle cartridges.

To me a couple thousand 9mm a year would be a piece of cake with a single stage press. But then I'm retired and have lots of time. Someone with a hectic schedule might see it differently.

[BSA1]

Originally Posted by tmd17

I would not recommend getting into hand loading if you only expect to do 2k 9mm per year max. If it was north of 5 k it may start to make sense.

I have reloaded for several decades and have dies for 24 different cartridges at last count. You may have missed that I have a Lee Pro 1000 from when I was doing competitive shooting. Since my family now own 9mm handguns demand for ammo is increasing.

Originally Posted by tmd17

If I had to recommend something other than single stage for a single caliber press, I would suggest looking hard at the Dillon Square Deal. They are great little presses, and the price is very reasonable.

<Sigh>

I am well that Dillon presses are God’s gift to reloaders. I prefer to remain a heathen. But to slam the door shut on the Square Deal B the fact it uses propiertary dies is a deal breaker. I am not going to spend $629.00 for a press that I cannot use with my other dies. I can buy other manufacturers press for far less money. Is that slamming the door shut hard enough?

[LostintheOzone]

I load with a Lee Classic single stage. That's all I've ever used or needed. 100 rds/wk is the most I ever shoot. It handles that easily. Lately my ammo needs have slowed down due to extreme cold weather (range is outside) so a progressive for me would just be idle 4 months a year. I can stage my brass prep during the winter so it's just charging cases and seating bullets when I do shoot.

I'm retired so time isn't an issue. If it were I'd have a progressive.

[mtgianni]

If you are shooting 3000 rounds a year that is only 250 rounds reloaded a month. I started with a Lee turret press as my first non single stage in 1988. I estimate it would do 250 rounds in less than 90 minutes. It's up to you whether that amount of time is worth the cost of a Dillon.

[BE Mike]

Just buy factory 9mm by the case. You can find deals for around $11.50 per box of 50. With the price of primers and bullets, it would cost you around $9.00+ to reload them, depending on what bullets you buy. That is assuming you get the empty brass cases for free.

[scooter123]

Last year I went thru 11,000 209 primers. That means that I reloaded 11,000 shotshells last year, mainly 410 and 28 gauge. Last August I finally "saw the light" and purchase progressive presses for both 410 and 28 gauge.

My tip here is that when you consider the cost of components the cost of a good progressive press is peanuts if you are shooting in volume. Make your purchase with a long term view. This means if you see the day when you'll get a Dillon then purchase a Dillon right now. Because money spent on something less expensive to "get by" is money wasted. If you don't foresee the need for a Dillon then take your time and select a turret press that will last a lifetime.

[LostintheOzone]

I have dies for 5 or 6 different cartridges. If I had to replace those to buy a Dillion that would increase the cost considerably, probably 400-500 bucks.

I would have to want a Dillon pretty bad to take that hit. Probably the reason everyone else in the business standardized the dies a long time ago. I don't have an RCBS press but I usually buy their dies.

[BSA1]

Originally Posted by mmb617

To me a couple thousand 9mm a year would be a piece of cake with a single stage press. But then I'm retired and have lots of time. Someone with a hectic schedule might see it differently.

What is this “retired” you speak of?

I am currently clearing a back pasture with a chain saw.

Come warm weather I will plant a garden, some fruit trees and build a chicken coop. Then there is mowing and other outdoor chores. I like to reload everything in the winter.

I love my Rockchucker. It was my first press and the last one I will part with. I try to reload 9mm a thousand rounds at time. I am way behind this winter as I have 2,000 primed cases and just polished several hundred more yesterday.

Reloader tip; 1,000 9mm rounds perfectly fill a 30 cal. Military Surplus Can or a 1# coffee can.

A turret press seems like a happy go between my Rockchucker and Lee Pro 1000.

[LostintheOzone]

Originally Posted by scooter123

Last year I went thru 11,000 209 primers. That means that I reloaded 11,000 shotshells last year, mainly 410 and 28 gauge. Last August I finally "saw the light" and purchase progressive presses for both 410 and 28 gauge.

My tip here is that when you consider the cost of components the cost of a good progressive press is peanuts if you are shooting in volume. Make your purchase with a long term view. This means if you see the day when you'll get a Dillon then purchase a Dillon right now. Because money spent on something less expensive to "get by" is money wasted. If you don't foresee the need for a Dillon then take your time and select a turret press that will last a lifetime.

Same here. Used to shoot a lot of trap. Not sure how many shells I loaded but I bought powder in 8lb containers and shot in 25 lb bags.

When I first started a friend helped me get set up. He suggested a progressive press and I bought one. Every lever stroke produced a loaded round. I was probably shooting 5K a year and working 40-50 hrs a week. Progressive was the right way to go.

I haven't looked at prices for shot shells lately but awhile ago a flat of shells was pretty close to the price to load. Now with the shortages and shot being $2/lb it probably doesn't make a lot of sense to even try. I'm already loading 9x19 and have been for years so I can beat the commercial ammo costs by a few bucks a box. There was a time when I couldn't do that however.

So 9mm and trap loads might be comparable.

[Ivan the Butcher]

Originally Posted by scooter123

Last year I went thru 11,000 209 primers. That means that I reloaded 11,000 shotshells last year, mainly 410 and 28 gauge. Last August I finally "saw the light" and purchase progressive presses for both 410 and 28 gauge.

My tip here is that when you consider the cost of components the cost of a good progressive press is peanuts if you are shooting in volume. Make your purchase with a long term view. This means if you see the day when you'll get a Dillon then purchase a Dillon right now. Because money spent on something less expensive to "get by" is money wasted. If you don't foresee the need for a Dillon then take your time and select a turret press that will last a lifetime.

If you want to include shot shells, I too normally shoot and load 10 K a year. As I got older it is 410 & 28. I've basically put away my 12 & 20. About 5 years ago I did use the Berreta 391 Sporting 20 gauge (my wife's gun) to shoot in a 10 week league (50 rounds a week) I came in 4th/87! 20 ga is the only shotgun I don't own a progressive press in! I used all factory ammo. (and mildly expensive) But a large variety of ammo was still available. (now 410 is not available at any price.)

BAS1, don't get frustrated because people keep telling you the same thing you don't want to hear. The Dillon 450/550 series uses standard dies. If you find used one on-line, it is still under warranty. The problem is the prices never go down! Once you own one, you don't have to buy anything to load a different cartridge except the shell plate and specific powder funnel. I have 35 shell plates and 40 powder funnels, and can load every one of my 117 cartridges. I took my time buying the extra plates. In 39 years they went up to about 9 times what the first few cost.

Just a helpful suggestion: Get 4 shell plates kits when you start. 9mm, 40 S&W, 45 ACP and 38 Special. Those cover 80% of rifle cartridges too. (powder funnels for rifles are needed.

Iven

[tajada]

Lee is probably the best starting point! They have great quality at great prices.

Are there better out there? Yes and no. Yes you may find one makers press a bit better then anothers but the price difference is too hard to ignore.

If your only going to load up 1 caliber the Lee 4 hole turret press is perfect for pooping out round after round!

[Nevada Ed]

Back in the 60's when I started, it was only for my 270 rifle ammo.

Later on I added the 357 and 38 special dies to my list.

Then a 30-06, 22-250, and then finally the 9mm dies.

All on a single press and no problem putting out ammo to use.

However I did go from a Mec Jr to a 366, for when I moved up to my ATA trap shooting.

[slickracer]

Originally Posted by Peak53

Love my Lee Turret press. Other opinions will be in shortly.

Same, a Lee Classic Turret press is hard to beat for moderate production.

[smithra_66]

Originally Posted by BSA1

My family relies on 9mm semi-autos for defense. As the gun nut, er guy in the family supplying range ammo is my job. I am thinking of stepping up production from my RCBS Rockchucker. I am thinking of few thousand rounds a year when primers come back in season.

So OTHER than Dillon what presses have you find that work well? (Other threads turned into Dillon infomercials). I have a Lee Pro 1000 in 45 ACP and Colt but not sure I want to do a caliber conversion.

Not sure I will have a large enough volume of shooting for a Progressive. The Lee Turret Press looks like a possibility. Seems reliable and much faster than my single stage press.

Why do you not want a Dillon? I have a Dillon Square Deal B set up for 9mm and it is the best I've used...and I've used a lot of them. It's not much more, if any, money than competing setups.

Progressive presses can be a headache. Lee makes a great product for certain things, but I've had nothing but headaches the few times I've used their progressives.

The Square Deal is pretty tough to beat for a (relatively) inexpensive setup for high volume handgun calibers.

[smithra_66]

Originally Posted by BSA1

I have reloaded for several decades and have dies for 24 different cartridges at last count. You may have missed that I have a Lee Pro 1000 from when I was doing competitive shooting. Since my family now own 9mm handguns demand for ammo is increasing.



<Sigh>

I am well that Dillon presses are God’s gift to reloaders. I prefer to remain a heathen. But to slam the door shut on the Square Deal B the fact it uses propiertary dies is a deal breaker. I am not going to spend $629.00 for a press that I cannot use with my other dies. I can buy other manufacturers press for far less money. Is that slamming the door shut hard enough?

Dies are a once in a lifetime purchase. When you buy the press you get one set. The beauty of these types of dies is that you keep them all adjusted on the removable toolhead and they take up very little space. They are also a dedicated 4 station die set, where crimping is done separately of seating. Most carbide die sets that people have for handgun calibers are only 3 piece, where crimping and seating are done together.

How many different handgun calibers do you have and how much were you going to spend replacing dies?

Cranking out thousands of rounds of handgun ammo with almost no headaches is WELL WORTH spending what, 50 bucks on top of the cost of your existing dies to "replace" them?

You'll save that much in a week of using the press. Plus you'll have a spare set of dies to use on your single stage that you can adjust separately.

The "integrated" nature of the dies is one of the reason I think the SDB works so well. The designers made the press around one single set of dies. They don't have to account for variances of any old dies that you can screw in.

[mikld]

There is more and more "costs for reloading" posts appearing so, I'll add my $.02. I started reloading out of curiosity in 1970 and have not considered $$$ much of a factor since. I don't buy stupidly expensive components and I never compare costs of my handloads vs factory ammo.

When I was shooting a lot (250+ per week was a lot for me) I had two methods that kept my stash full. I batch loaded. I quite often processed my handloads up to sized, flared and primed cases, ready for powder and bullets. Usually would process a few hundred per week and had plenty of ready to finish brass stored. I also used a Lee turret press, but hand indexed and not used as a "semi-progressive". I liked reloading and never felt I was gonna run out of ammo...

[BSA1]

Originally Posted by BE Mike

Just buy factory 9mm by the case. You can find deals for around $11.50 per box of 50. With the price of primers and bullets, it would cost you around $9.00+ to reload them, depending on what bullets you buy. That is assuming you get the empty brass cases for free.

And your off-topic comment has what to do with selecting a reloading press?

[venomballistics]

Originally Posted by BSA1

And your off-topic comment has what to do with selecting a reloading press?

I can see some of his argument.
figure after you get all tooled up for this and gather all the components, you'll be hard pressed to break even over bulk factory ammo .... at least at this time.
It's really not the best time to jump into this.

But assuming a better tomorrow where sanity returns to the land, all reloading seems to accomplish is higher volume.
If you spend $100 in factory ammo per month now, you will still spend $100 reloading .... you're just going to shoot more.
That said, bite the bullet and go Dillon. You might not be able to justify it looking at your current situation, but you can count on that changing.

[Chubbs103]

Originally Posted by LostintheOzone

I have dies for 5 or 6 different cartridges. If I had to replace those to buy a Dillion that would increase the cost considerably, probably 400-500 bucks.

I would have to want a Dillon pretty bad to take that hit. Probably the reason everyone else in the business standardized the dies a long time ago. I don't have an RCBS press but I usually buy their dies.

When I bought my Dillon, I had already been reloading for nearly 2 decades on a single stage. I was well stocked with dies.

I like the Square deal, but the proprietary dies were a no go for me as well. I bought a 550 and used all of my old dies just fine (except for my OLD .357 dies that just weren't progressing friendly).

I did wind up buying a number of Dillon seating dies, just to seat and crimp in different steps (I used a spacer and a single die to do it in different steps on a single stage).

[BSA1]

Dillon Press Lover please stay with me on this;

1. I DO NOT WANT ANOTHER PROGRESSIVE PRESS. I ALREADY HAVE ONE.

If I decided I need a large volume of 9mm I will simply change the shell plate and dies for it. Since I already have the dies I will only need to buy a shell plate from Lee for $20.00 (which actually might be a good idea anyway).

2. I am not new to reloading. I have been reloading for around 40 years.

3. I have thousands of empty cases, bullets, powder and primers. I have a lead pot and lot of lead so I can cast my own bullets. (Lead bullets work fine in 9mm). As for running out of primers I have a friend that literally has 100,000 primers on hand. (That’s why not to laugh at preppers).

4. I am considering a turret press as I think it will meet the quantity of 9mm I need.

5. Although I want to leave it setup for 9mm a turret press will let me switch calibers using my loading dies should I want to.

6. Probably most importantly DILLON does not make a turret press.

7. Please respect this topic and leave DILLON out of it.

[jcelect]

Please ignore the blue object on the left in this picture! The press on the right is a three station C-H press. You can install three different dies & shell holders and never move them. I use the press for my not-to-often seen calibers I play with, 22 Hornet & .224 Harvey K-Chuk(Hornet based)! Deprime and neck size in the center and the bullet seating on either side. What makes this press more efficient for me is the "case kicker" installed on the middle die. It is a length of metal banding strap, bent in an arch, held at the bottom via the back mounting bolt for the press and a blunt end formed at the top. When you reach the bottom of the stroke the blunt end pushes t case out of the shell holder into a container place in front.

I also have an antique Herters turret press for my 30-06 based cartridges. One shell holder and 30-06, .243, and .270 dies mounted and set. All my priming is done with a hand held priming system, except for those rounds loaded on the blue thing!
jcelect

[TheTinMan]

OK I re-read the initial post. Based on the OP's situation and criteria, I suggest the Lyman All-American 8 turret press for several reasons.

8 stations means 2 complete cartridge setups on one turret. You can size/de-cap then expand on the press. Then hand prime and throw powder in loading blocks. Then seat and crimp in separate steps. IOW you hit 2 stations on the turret press, batch prime, then load powder, then back on the press for 2 stations.

I use this method for pistol load development with an older Lyman turret press, but it only has 6 stations per turret head. I find it functional to do 2 steps on a turret press at a time on a single cartridge. 3 steps is doable but I learned the hard way to never throw powder before expanding the case mouth. (not too hard thank goodness, but over 1,600 fps with 357 SIG is a brown pants moment I'll never forget)

And the price is reasonable. The Redding T7 may be a "better" turret press, but 2 complete sets of 4 dies on one turret is a winner IHMO. Plus the OP is talking about 9mm for the family, not for competition.

Hope that helps

Chip

[Huskerguy]

Some thoughts, probably the same as some others have said. oh well

If that is all you are going to shoot in a year, just buy bulk cases of 9mm. You will be money ahead.

I have a single stage and a Hornady LNL and can crank out all the ammo I want or need. I have been given a Dillon SDB that is set up for 45 ACP which I do not shoot very much of. It is a very simple machine but the dies are expensive. If it were me, and given the small difference in price, I would consider the Dillon 550. It is not full progressive but close. You can use all of your current dies and the price is very comparable to the SDB.

Just one man's opinion, you obviously have been several to choose from.

[smithra_66]

Originally Posted by BSA1

Dillon Press Lover please stay with me on this;

1. I DO NOT WANT ANOTHER PROGRESSIVE PRESS. I ALREADY HAVE ONE.

If I decided I need a large volume of 9mm I will simply change the shell plate and dies for it. Since I already have the dies I will only need to buy a shell plate from Lee for $20.00 (which actually might be a good idea anyway).

2. I am not new to reloading. I have been reloading for around 40 years.

3. I have thousands of empty cases, bullets, powder and primers. I have a lead pot and lot of lead so I can cast my own bullets. (Lead bullets work fine in 9mm). As for running out of primers I have a friend that literally has 100,000 primers on hand. (That’s why not to laugh at preppers).

4. I am considering a turret press as I think it will meet the quantity of 9mm I need.

5. Although I want to leave it setup for 9mm a turret press will let me switch calibers using my loading dies should I want to.

6. Probably most importantly DILLON does not make a turret press.

7. Please respect this topic and leave DILLON out of it.

Your original post was sort of hard to follow. Your post's title is "Best 9mm Reloading Press." You want to "step up" from a Rockchucker but you only want a turret? You have a progressive already? Okay then just use that!

Why did you make this post? Most of us told you what we think the "Best 9mm Reloading Press" is.

Obviously asking for reloading advice, you're going to get a lot of replies, some even saying it's just worth it to buy factory ammo.

You seem awfully flippant to people simply trying to give you advice and your OP was not that clear/.

My advice: Use your pro 1000. Who the heck would want to load lots of pistol ammo on a turret press? That's not that much better than your single stage. Spend the money on the caliber change for the pro 1000. That should be a no-brainer. You asked for our advice. I've loaded pistols on a turret press and a progressive. I'd NEVER recommend a turret to someone when a progressive is available. That's truly my advice.

When you start having problems with your Lee, buy a Dillon. I'm sorry for mentioning it again. That seems taboo to you.

On a message board, sometimes people bring up things outside the bounds of your thought process that may be valid, but which you didn't think of.

You're acting like we're putting you out by simply replying with collectively probably hundreds of years of reloading experience from lots of perspectives.

Good luck.

[venomballistics]

Originally Posted by BSA1

Dillon Press Lover please stay with me on this;

1. I DO NOT WANT ANOTHER PROGRESSIVE PRESS. I ALREADY HAVE ONE.

If I decided I need a large volume of 9mm I will simply change the shell plate and dies for it. Since I already have the dies I will only need to buy a shell plate from Lee for $20.00 (which actually might be a good idea anyway).

2. I am not new to reloading. I have been reloading for around 40 years.

3. I have thousands of empty cases, bullets, powder and primers. I have a lead pot and lot of lead so I can cast my own bullets. (Lead bullets work fine in 9mm). As for running out of primers I have a friend that literally has 100,000 primers on hand. (That’s why not to laugh at preppers).

4. I am considering a turret press as I think it will meet the quantity of 9mm I need.

5. Although I want to leave it setup for 9mm a turret press will let me switch calibers using my loading dies should I want to.

6. Probably most importantly DILLON does not make a turret press.

7. Please respect this topic and leave DILLON out of it.

So basically, you're just here to troll.
Rgr Wilco
I'm out

[jsbethel]

I have reloaded many 9mm rounds over many years using a Lee classic turret press with great results. Eventually, I got a good deal on a used Dillon SDB and sent it back to them for a factory refresh and set-up. The thing is I was so used to my routine with the turret press, I never took the Dillon out of the box.

[LostintheOzone]

Originally Posted by smithra_66

Why do you not want a Dillon? I have a Dillon Square Deal B set up for 9mm and it is the best I've used...and I've used a lot of them. It's not much more, if any, money than competing setups.

Progressive presses can be a headache. Lee makes a great product for certain things, but I've had nothing but headaches the few times I've used their progressives.

The Square Deal is pretty tough to beat for a (relatively) inexpensive setup for high volume handgun calibers.

So it doesn't load rifle ammo? Just asking because I don't know.

If it doesn't and you load rifle ammo, that means you have to buy two presses.

[BE Mike]

Originally Posted by BSA1

And your off-topic comment has what to do with selecting a reloading press?

I suppose we didn't know that you were so experienced and flush with components, especially 100,000 primers. You should be able to figure it out on your own!

[BSA1]

Moderator please delete or close this thread. Because I do not want a Dillon Progressive Press I am now being called a troll by venonballastics. There is no reason for that.

To the others that have made turret press suggestions I thank you for them. I will be checking them all out.

It is regrettable that this thread turned so ugly and apologize for bringing this subject up.

[LostintheOzone]

Originally Posted by venomballistics

I can see some of his argument.
figure after you get all tooled up for this and gather all the components, you'll be hard pressed to break even over bulk factory ammo .... at least at this time.
It's really not the best time to jump into this.

But assuming a better tomorrow where sanity returns to the land, all reloading seems to accomplish is higher volume.
If you spend $100 in factory ammo per month now, you will still spend $100 reloading .... you're just going to shoot more.
That said, bite the bullet and go Dillon. You might not be able to justify it looking at your current situation, but you can count on that changing.

It's going to change, no doubt about it. Now isn't the time to jump into reloading. Maybe a year from now components will be less expensive and available. A press would be the least of my worries today. A few hundred bucks more for a Dillon doesn't look extravagant when primers are $100 a box and powder is $35/lb.

[Paul in Nevada]

Well it sounds like you already had your mind made up when you started the thread. The Lee Classic 4 Hole Turret is a great press. The problem with it is the priming system. The priming system just plain sucks, to be blunt. if you feed them one at a time it's fine but then why not batch prime off the press. Then there's the powder measure. Maybe the disc one works. The Autodrum I had would bleed fine grained powder all over the place. If you had a working primer feeder and case activated powder measure the Lee Turret would be the ultimate poor man's progressive. As is, it's a single stage press with four dies. That's not a total deal breaker. It has a small foot print on the bench, lots of room to see what what you are doing, cheap tool heads to keep your dies set up and you can switch cartridges in seconds.

As for true progressive presses, Dillon is the top contender for a lot of very good reasons. I am sorry your heart is dead set against Dillon because it means you are excluding some excellent machines. You would probably love the RL550C. It's a much smarter buy than the Square Deal. The 550 is probably more press than you need at your current shooting volume but maybe you would shoot more if you could crank out 300-400 rounds an hour.

I can't comment on the Lee progressives, having no experience there. Lee products get bashed unfairly on gun forums. Their dies are the best value of any reloading product on the market. Some of their other products are very innovative but I feel like they make some things a little too cheaply which leads to a lot of frustration. Read the reviews of any progressive press and look carefully for comments on the priming systems. The primer feeder is the weak link of every progressive.

As for component prices, they aren't going any lower. This is the new price floor.

Good luck with whatever you choose.

[reddog81]

IMO if you’re going to reload for 9mm the only logical way to go is a progressive. Why not buy a shell plate for the existing press? Any time spent changing out calibers will be made up for after loading a couple dozen rounds.

[mikld]

If reloading was only about money, I might consider purchasing 9mm by the case. But bottom line, I like reloading!