Waaa!

When one asks for opinions and advice one should consider that some responders may not always agree with preconceived notions or limitations...?

P.S. Perhaps it might be wise to reconsider a caliber change on a press one already owns and is familiar with...?

I too like reloading and it is less about the momey. I agree that 9mm is cheap enough that unless you shoot a REAL lot of 9mm Reloading is not about cost savings. I would also agree that a Dillon would make a good choice, but if you are only going to load 9mm, I would go with a rebuilt STAR. I have one of those in each of my high volume calibers, 9mm, .32 S&W Long, .38 Midrange Wad Cutter and 45 Semi Wad Cutter.

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Sag Harbor & Manhattan, N.Y.

Only that I do not want another Progressive Press.

Thank you. That is exactly the kind of information I am looking for. Your opinion of Lyman?

There is one aspect that no one has touched on here and at the risk of raising the OP's ire, I'm going to state it because I feel it's important.

9mm are small. When I switched to a progressive press, which was a Lee, BTW, it was as much for ending having the handle or perhaps mishandle is a better term, those small cases as it was to speed up the process - and in fact the two were connected. While the numbers of a few thousand are relatively small, a turret press, while certainly faster than a single stage, is still going to be slow, and if your mitts are the same size as mine, you too will soon grow frustrated, even if only doing a few hundred at a sitting. Yes, the blue press is nice, but there are several other progressive presses available in green and red that will suffice for less money, including the Lee line of progressives. Plus you can always shop the used market and save even more.

Turret presses are great and yes, I do have one (a Lee), but for small cartridges like the 9mm and it's baby brother the .380, I would go progressive even if it was without all the bells and whistles like case collator, bullet seater, etc.

Just my $.02 on a view not mentioned.

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So many S&W's, so few funds!!

I have had a chance to inspect a lot of presses at work but I have only personally used a few of them. The Lyman turret press looks decent and the price is good. If you lined up the Lyman, Redding, and RCBS turret presses you might have a hard time picking one if you didn't know the prices. My subjective opinions: The Lyman priming system is third place. It gets a lot of negative reviews. Otherwise, the Lyman seems like the better value. The Redding turret has the least deflection and greatest leverage. If you planned to reload any rifle cases this press might be a better choice. The RCBS turret looks like a good quality press if you don't mind having the fewest stations of the three. The RCBS six hole heads to cost more than the Lyman eight hole heads while Redding's heads are the most expensive at a ridiculous $100 each. My only suggestion would be to read a lot of reviews on each product's priming system before buying. You could always prime off press if the priming system sucked.

Also, here is a wildcard. Extra turrets are only $20!
Herrell's Tooling

You're not wrong here.
While I do my load development on a single stage, any auto pistol cartridge goes straight to progressive for production.
The volume is just one dimension.
The size plays a part as well. Particularly case length.
They do get annoying
I find 223 to be somewhat in both worlds.
I'll likely migrate it to progressive

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it just needs more voltage

I have an older Lyman All-American turret press that is set up for .38 specials using 146 grain wadcutters. It works just fine for that, and that is all I use it for. I have another semi-progressive press I use for all of my other loading. I probably shoot 1000 wadcutters a month, and the turret press can handle this OK. Since I shoot 6 other pistol calibers, the ease of changing shell plates and heads with dies pre-installed and already adjusted saves me from a lot of fiddly work. If you are only shooting one caliber, a turret press will do just fine.

Thank you for sharing your opinions. It will be helpful for me.

"Dies are a once in a lifetime purchase"........Not so. Until I went to carbide. I wore out 2 RCBS standard(steel) sizing dies. One 357 and one in 9mm. Every case that went through was thoroughly lubed......Yet they wore too large to size the cases to fit multiple guns.

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S&W Accumulator

Nope you are not raising my ire. You are absolutely right that 9mm cases are small and they are also a bit slippery when fresh out of the case tumbler. That is why I am considering a turret press as a step-up from my Rockchucker as I only have to handle the case once vs. four times with a single stage press.

Also I never said I wouldn’t load 9mm on a Progressive. In fact I commented that a shell plate for my PRO 1000 only costs $20.00. A turret press lets me make easy adjustments to the powder charge and changing oal when changing bullet styles and weights when experimenting with small lots of a few hundred rounds of ammunition.

I know some reloaders do not like to experiment with changing powders, powder weights, oal and bullet weights and a few hundred or so but I do.

How can you predict that?

Components are a commodity like toilet paper and gasoline.

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That's just somebody talkin.

That is a neat company. Thanks.

Reloading components are not commodities, they are finished products. The commodities are the raw materials that go into them. The cost of the finished products (bullets, cases, powder and primers) are never going back to 2019 prices for the simple reason that we have had something like 7-12% inflation since then. Your money is worth less than it was before. The prices of the commodities themselves including fuel are unlikely to go back to 2019 levels for a variety of reasons. Likewise, the cost of labor has increased. In short, demand has dropped off but the cost of production remains higher than it was before.

You also have to remember all the powder and primers are made by a very small number of companies and they are all defense contractors. We seem to be gearing up for WWIII which means that today's prices might be a fond dream in the near future.

Some of this is plausible, but not all of it.

Labor might be a factor if the facilities that produce some of these products weren't automated. Wages probably aren't keeping up with inflation unless they work in a union shop. So scratch that one off.

Material (commodities) cost is probably somewhat of a factor so lets look at that objectively.

Brass scrap prices are about 15% higher then they were in 2018.

Potassium nitrate (powder) prices are also about 15% higher than they were in 2018.

Copper (bullets) is up about 30% since 2018.

Lead (bullets) is actually down 15% since 2018.

The 80% increase in the cost of ammo and components is not the result of material or labor cost. If that were true we we have about a 15% increase in cost. Maybe 20% with inflation over the last 4 years.

The increase in cost is due to supply and demand. Many manufacturers have stated that they are not able to keep up with demand. The reason for that is they only have a certain capacity to produce the product and they aren't willing to heavily invest millions of dollars into new facilities when demand fluctuates as much as it does. Just two years ago the price of 9x19 was 0.70/rd. Today it's 0.16/rd. Prices for components to load are no different than commercial ammo. The demand is just different.

Where there's a demand for a product there will always be somebody who is willing step up to increase the supply.

Fiocchi to Build New Primer Factory in Arkansas << Daily Bulletin

I'm just not seeing any reason why supply won't catch up with demand.

To add. Primer prices in 2018 were 0.05-0.06/ea. A 20% increase would make those primers about 0.07-0.08/ea. That's where the price is going. That would be the time to buy everything you need to reload....and enough for several years.

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That's just somebody talkin.

Supply has caught up. The gun stores in my area all have every caliber you want on the shelves, primers, powder, projectiles, etc. It's all there for the buying. At my store I can see the last ordered/last received. Primers now sit on the shelves for about 30-60 days. Remember when I told you that there were only a few companies making this stuff? There is very little competition to drive prices lower. And you yourself admitted there are a whole slew of costs that are not coming down. Labor is not coming down. Automation? Unions? These are already realities of these facilities. When do labor costs ever go down?
When is the last time you saw a big shipment of Alliant powders? Alliant is owned by Vista Outdoor. Guess who has the contract for small arms ammunition production for the armed forces of Ukraine?

There's way more to reloading than cost savings. Ammo availability is a big, obvious reason. Another is flexibility. For instance, I make very accurate, small game/plinker loads for my 380 that don't eject spent casings into the tall grass where they get lost. They'll stay around 2-3" at 25 yards from my Glock. No way will any factory load do that.

????

Just checked Midsouth for SP primers and Alliant powder. 95% out-of-stock.

Grafs. SP primers and Alliant powder. 95% out-of-stock.

Powder Valley. SP primers and Alliant powder. 95% out-of-stock.

Midway. SP primers and Alliant powder. 95% out-of-stock.

Looks like it hasn't from my computer. Maybe it has a virus or something.

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That's just somebody talkin.

just the fact that product sits on the shelf for a long time will drive prices down.

What part does potassium nitrate play in smokeless gunpowder? Powders I'm familiar with have a nitrocellulose base, with some having additions of nitroglycerin.

Reading this thread has been quite interesting. I've been loading all my pistol and rifle ammo in an RCBS Rockchucker and it's done well for me but it can get pretty tedious and since I took up 4 gun Skeet my reloading bench is getting pretty crowded. So I can no longer line up 150-200 cases on the bench for charging powder and every other step. This has me thinking about upgrading to a Turret and Tinman's post was an eye opener. I was considering getting a Redding turret press but I now know that an 8 station turret press from Lyman can be purchased. This means I can have 9mm and 45 ACP set up and ready to run when the need arises.

BTW, used to be a fairly serious pistol shooter and have always used a 4 die set for all of my pistol calibers. Unfortunately Arthritis in the Radial Head in both wrists drove me away from handgun shooting for about 3 years.

My Nephews wife is a very good nurse and also very observant so she noticed that I do tend to have a sweet tooth. When visiting one Christmas she told my that Sugar is a strong trigger for Arthritis. So I listened to her and cut way back on my sugar intake and as a result my Arthritis in the wrists is almost nothing and I can now shoot my 45 ACP 1911's without any pain. Thus my renewed interest in loading pistol ammo.

None. That's black powder. My mistake. Nitric acid and sulfuric acid prices are up by about 25% since 2018.

That still doesn't equate to the 100% price increase for powder. There is still a shortage.

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That's just somebody talkin.

I am probably late to this party but here goes. I started reloading back in the dark ages on a second hand Redding set up I bought set up for .38Sp/.357. Gradually increased to .45ACP and .41 Mag along with some rifle rounds. Bought a Dillon 550B a few years ago and never looked back. It is set up for .45ACP or .40SW most of the time. I switch it over to .38Sp,.357Mag and .41 on occassion. Lately I have been shooting mostly 9mm and bought a Dillon Square Deal set up for 9mm. You can't go wrong with Dillon. And, if you ever have a problem with their equip they are a phone call away and always come through. Give them a shot.

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Keep Shootin' and check 6

Product sitting on the shelves for 30-60 days is pretty healthy, actually. These items are re-orderd on a 6-8 week rolling basis. I'm sorry if you can't find primers and powders on your favorite website. I can walk into my LGS tomorrow and buy whatever I want. $35-$45/lb powder, $70-$85/k primers. All the projectiles and cases you want, whatever loaded ammo you can carry to the register.
I tell you what... You tell me what you think 1k CCI 500 primers will cost in two years. I will bet you $5 it's over $70/k.

Late to the party and guilty of not reading all previous post. For me the best high volume presses are and will continue to be Blue.

I use two Red progressives now. One's a dedicated 9mm the other .45 ACP.

I simply can't see investing in 9mm only loading at this time.

For me the cost of primers combined with $239/Case 9mm range ammo has me using my small primers for the more expensive rounds. .38 Super/.38/.357.

With SPP expensive $70+/K and 9mm ammo availability being high with low prices, my 9mm progressive press sits idle.

If I need some defensive 9mm I batch load them 50 or 100 at a time using a turret press. I always load my defensive loads using this method.

If primer prices stay high and 9mm range ammo low, the dedicated 9 will soon become .38 Super press.

I currently own at least six presses of various colors and designs. I've likely owned 20 or more in my life of loading.

Unless you're doing high volumes, for me the best overall value in an easy to use quality built press is still a Lee Classic Cast Turret.

Never had a squib load using a turret press in single stage mode. Hold those trays of charged cases under a light and visually inspect each charge.

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GOA
USA Shooting Supporter

Mind telling us what store that is so maybe some folks here can enjoy some of that. I'm sure they would appreciate the tip.

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That's just somebody talkin.

Scheels in Sparks, NV. Ride the Ferris Wheel and try some fudge while you are there.

Have always used Lyman Turret presses. Started with a Lyman Spar-T many moons ago and now have two Lyman Turrets with six turrets filled with reloading dies.

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USMC 69-93 Combat Pistol Inst.

you are looking for:

quality
above beyond durability for literally decades
well thought out
relentless no questions asked customer service
universal
slowly improving yet still compatible with long ago previous generations
all the above = Dillon

. Don't ask a question you already don't like the answer to...especially if you don't really want the best or can't afford the best. If I could afford what I consider the best answer to your question...I'd never load another round and buy factory. Not dissing anyone..after a couple million rounds loaded I don't really like reloading all that much. A lot of machines out there to load with Red Blue Green. All have made good machines..except maybe Lee...LOL
Choose one and use it to your hearts content

I know some loaders don't think a Lee turret press is a good idea but I have been using one for about 16 years now for my handgun ammo.

I have a Lee Classic 4 Hole Turret press and I like it a lot. When I bought it, it cost me only $109 for the kit.

Once I get it set up I can safely load between 180 and 200 rounds an hour. I don't shoot competitions and probably only shoot 100 rounds of 9mm a week in the good weather. Add in the 38/357 and 45 ACP and I shoot about 200 rounds a week. I can usually load that with the Lee press within 2 hours accounting for turret changes and adjusting the Lee Pro Auto-Disk.

Mind you, I did say the Classic 4 Hole Turret Press, not some of the others. That press has a Cast base and handles the spent primers easily.

There is nothing wrong with the full progressive presses out there especially the Dillon but I just can't justify the cost for what I shoot. Besides, I like the quiet time I spend loading.

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Freedom is never free!!
SWCA #3437

The Lyman Turret has six holes for dies in the turret head. I load pistol calibers only. This gives me two caliber per head. I have six heads that are set up in twelve different calibers. One bolt holds the turret on and can be changed quickly. Works for me.

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USMC 69-93 Combat Pistol Inst.

That’s the older Lyman turret press like what I have. The new one has 8 stations per turret, just like Redding’s but 1 better

I actually have two of these presses. Got one used about 3 years ago for $125 with three heads, was given two heads a couple of years ago, and bought one a few weeks ago with one head for $100. Like I wrote before I started with a Spar-T over 40 years ago and used it for about 30 years. Had a Dillon Square Deal B for a while. Broke the frame, Dillon replaced that for free, great customer service! then back the Lyman Turret.

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USMC 69-93 Combat Pistol Inst.

A.J. and TheTinMan,

What powder measures are you using?

There's not a lot of options if you don't want a single stage (you have one) or a progressive. You're left with a turret, or an H press like the CH4D 444X.

The Lee turret would make the most sense I think since you are already familiar with Lee and their turret can be used as a semi-progressive.

I have a couple of Lyman 55's, three RCBS and a Lee. Mostly I use old Lee Scoops. I learned on those and for 99.9% of the time they do what I need them to do.

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USMC 69-93 Combat Pistol Inst.

Less than 20 minutes a day and you could produce more than your 2k rounds per year goal with this kit. The complete package can be found in the $30.00 range , it's not a progressive , and it's not blue. Bonus? It comes with your preferred powder dispenser!

lee loader.JPG

The last one of those I saw in use by a friend, I took it away and threw in the trash. I gave him a Lyman 310 Tool to replace it.

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USMC 69-93 Combat Pistol Inst.

While they do work the only thing worthwhile is the powder dipper. You REALLY have to want to make reloads with one of the Lee Loaders