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]

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]

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.

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.