New guy question re: type of press for beginner

[volgunner]

Began shooting handguns three years ago and currently own S&W 686 and 642. Do not currently own any centerfire rifles, and don't have much interest in acquiring them.

I'd like to start reloading and have been doing a considerable amount of reading here and on other sites. I think I understand about the various types of presses (progressive, turret and single stage). From what I've read, seems like either a single stage or a turret would be the way to go. At this point, I can afford either, I'd reload only a moderate amount (I probably shoot 100-150 per weekly range session), I'd start out reloading .38 sp/.357 mag. (but I'd like to get into other handgun calibers in the not-to-distant future), and I'm really interested in learning well all the fundamentals before being able to increase speed appreciably.

Which type press (turret or single stage) would you recommend or why?

Of the two, Hornady Lock 'N Load (single) and Lee Classic Turret (obviously, turret) look promising. What do you think of these and others for a beginner.

Thanks for your help, and I look forward to your comments.
Russell

 

[6GUNSONLY]

Obviously, either will do the job and produce quality ammo if you do your part. If you consistently shoot 100 to 150 rounds per week, then reloading definitely makes sense for you from an economic perspective. My personal philosophy is "buy what you're going to wind up with anyway." I'd go with the turret. There are really no disadvantages to it that I know of. After 30+ years with a single-stage press (RCBS Rockchucker), I recently upgraded to a Redding turret. It has the advantage of having interchangeable tool heads so you can have multiple calibers set up at once. I don't know if the Lee has that feature or not, though I'm sure it is cheaper than the Redding. Good luck with your venture into reloading. It adds a whole 'nother level of interest and involvement to the shooting sports.

 

[Harrison]

Idealy, it would be Dillion 550 progressive.

If you don't want a progressive, than a turret press. Loading 100-150 rounds a week on a single stage can become tedious and time consuming after awhile. The Redding turret press is solid, accurate and has seven stations, so you could be set up with all the dies for reloading 2 different calibers.

A single stage will work, but is so sloooow.

Get the best you can afford and avoid the el cheapo equipment. It doesn't last and is not as easy to work with.

 

[Pisgah]

Believe it or not, some folks try reloading and don't stick with it. Sometimes, they just don't like it as much as they thought they would. Other times, they buy a progressive set-up and never really master making good, reliable ammo, and frustration drives them away. Either way, they've wasted their investment in equipment.

My recommendation is to start out with a decent single-stage press. You can turn out a pretty amazing volume of ammo on a single-stage, once you learn what you're doing -- and you WILL learn the process, step by step, and in so doing you will learn everything you need to know about making top-quality ammo.

And don't pay too much attention to folks who'll say, "That single-stage will just be wasted money once you inevitably decide to go high-volume." Baloney. As long as you reload, even if you end up with a high-speed, high-dollar, high-volume progressive press you will have many, many uses for a good single-stage press.

 

[Big Cholla]

Vol: I have been reloading for over 50 years. Right now I have and use a 40 year old Rock Chucker "O" frame and a 20 year old one. Also in use is my new Redding Turret and a Dillon 550. Everyone has to begin a new venture and learn the basics. The RCBS 'Rock Chucker Supreme' is a bargain in the 'kit' form. Start there and then add a progressive like the Dillon for your straight wall cased calibers. I could do without the Redding Turret, but I love the convenience of having 3 rifle calibers setup and ready to go at a turn of the turret.

A reloader doing a broad spectrum of calibers will always have a use for the basic Rock Chucker, i.e. swaging primer pockets, pulling bullets from loaded rounds, full-length resizing a special caliber, case forming, and even bullet swaging (someday). I use one of mine for small lots of rifle cartridges when working on finding the optimum load for a new rifle build.

IMHO, if you know reloading is something that you will stick with, buy the most expensive scale and powder measure (Redding Benchrest) out there. The quality in both will give you accuracy and speed. Also, IMHO you should research comments on 'Lee' stuff before you buy any. Generally, IMHO, experienced reloaders avoid 'Lee' stuff with two exceptions; their hand primer works OK (I prefer the RCBS version) and their neck-only case resizer die is very convenient to work with while being in-expensive.

I like RCBS dies as well as Redding Competition dies. Always buy and use carbide dies for any straight wall case. Their use eliminates the need to lube those cases. A progressive Dillon 550 is the optimum for straight wall cases, but the RCBS is right there with it in quality and ease of use. Dillon is the most customer service oriented company in the whole firearms industry.

I just finished co-teaching a basic reloading class to Forensics Firearms Examiners. RCBS/Speer was a big help in providing material for use in the class. Buy several reloading manuals. Every powder, die and bullet maker out there publishes a reloading manual. Compare and evaluate your needs and goals when working up a new load. Avoid using other peoples' "favorite load" unless they are well known professional reloaders. .... Big Cholla

 

[Coker_rat]

You are getting good advice Vol.

I too started with a single stage press - Pacific. I still have it and use it. With a single stage press you learn the process.

Get reliable equipment - RCBS, Ohaus, Lyman, have been around for a long time. Check the used market - a lot of people get into reloading then fall out at some time. I have picked up great equipment cheap this was.

Next to the press, a quality scale is needed. I have not had good success with dippers. You need to know the charge weight!

Good luck, have fun!

CR/JPG

 

[Loco Weed]

I have an RCBS Rock Chucker for the heavy duty stuff like large rifle cases but my "go to" press for handgun ammo is a Lyman turret press (six die stations). You can set up your whole set of dies and leave them that way with no fussing around when you are ready to make up another batch. The heads are removable and you can buy extra turrets for each of your calibers. I have lusted after a Redding turret press and maybe one will come my way when I'm ready to spend the money. When I was a novice handloader I used the press to prime but have since gone over to the marvelous Lee auto-prime which is simple and quick. I've had very bad luck with the RCBS hand priming tool and the factory even replaced my first one but the second one worked no better. Yes, get a high end electronic scale. I've used powder measures from RCBS, Lyman, Midway and Redding. The Redding stands head and shoulders above the rest but is a little pricey. The Lyman measure was the worst. Redding makes the very best dies, IMHO, but I have used a great many Lee dies without a problem. On handgun dies I always seat and crimp as separate operations so buy either a four die set or pick up a crimp die from Lee to round out your three die set. After you have learned the basics of a turret press you can then move on to a progressive press like a Dillon.

 

[Fishslayer]

I got my first press for Christmas. Got the Lee Classic Turret kit from Cabela's.

I'm VERY happy with it. You'll need to buy a few extras besides dies. Caliper and bullet puller come to mind right off. Brass tumbler.

The scale that comes with the kit is OK, but I really like the Lyman digital the wife got me for my Bday.

I use it for .45ACP & .38/.357. The turret makes it dead simple to change calibers. Pop one out & pop one in. I got the four holers for the Lee Deluxe pistol sets. That set comes with the taper crimp die.

It gets kinda addictive. I actually had to go buy heavy duty Stackon locker to store my ammo.

 

[Acorn1754]

I too have a Lee 3-hole Turret Press, that I got almost for free because I bought it used and then sold off some of the components that I didn't need. But it's a good press for what it is and I'm cranking out quality 40 S&W rounds. Now there is slight movement in the turret itself, but I still get consistent overall lengths. But I am definitely eyeing either the RCBS or Redding Turret presses, as those are rock solid. But for starting off, the Lee Turret press is a pretty economical press to start off with. Definitely will want to get a quality powder scale, a case tumbler, quality powder drop, etc.

I got most of my equipment by posting a wanted ad on Craigslist asking for reloading equipment and while some people wanted too much, I did get some exceptional deals from some who just had no need for reloading equipment (I'm talking 50-60% of buying new). Best of luck to you!

 

[n4zov]

Like everybody says, a single stage or simple turret press is the way to go. They will let you concentrate on learning the basics of reloading without all the complexities of progressives. Ebay lists tons of used reloading equipment, and most of it is reasonably priced, so that is one option. There isn't much to worry about in buying a used press since they are almost indestructible and I've never seen one worn out. A coat of paint will restore most of them to "new" condition.

It would be great if you could find somebody local who is an experienced reloader. A few hours spend working with somebody who knows what they are doing will be very helpful. They might also give you a lead on used equipment.

 

[jframefreak]

I have an RCBS "junior" single stage I bought at a yard sale for $15. It works, and is paid for. I drool over the Dillon presses in the catalog they send me every month, but for now I get along with what I've got.

 

[cp1969]

I recommend single stage presses for new reloaders, for the simple reason that you have a 'quality control' step that is absent in progressives: Powder quantity verification. You have all your brass in a loading block, with powder in the cases prior to seating bullets, and you can see that every case has a charge of powder and no case has any more than it's neighbor in the block.

 

[perrazi]

all good advice here. if at all possible, get some basic instruction from someone who has reloaded for a while. don't do anything until you buy at least two loading manuals and read them cover to cover. i would suggest lyman and speer to start. get the latest available. if you have any questions about any of the loading precesses, then ask before doing anything. this is a great place to get help.

 

[mack1]

I would get a single stage that is what I started on and loaded thousands of rounds on it. I now have 2 dillons and still use that old RCBS single stage. A turret press is fine also, look around on the used market it is very hard to hurt an Oframe press if the ram is not worn out it should be fine.

 

[epj]

I'll depart from the herd here and suggest you go straight to a Dillon progressive. They are no more difficult to master than a single stage press, and will churn out a whole lot more ammo. The loading steps are exactly the same. You can use it as a turret press the first few times (one cartridge at a time), until you have the process down, then load 'er up and go. Those 150 rounds per week will take you about 30 minutes instead of 3-4 hours.

 

[geddylee10002000]

I would saddle up with EPJ. If time is a issue then a progressive is the way to go. I still have a 30 old Rockchucker, I cast my own slugs, and reload for a variety of pistol, and rifle calibers. Get a good scale, & reloading manuals. I enjoy the experience, keeps me away from the boob tube and the bars. You can always find some older single stage presses for "precision" reloading if you may.

 

[GypsmJim]

I started with a single stage Lee Challenger press which has served me very well. I'm also a fan of garage sales and over the years have picked up a lot of stuff. My loading bench now consists of 4 single stage presses in a row, about 6" apart. The strongest is used for resizing, second strongest for bullet seating, and the other 2 for priming, flaring and powder. I set up all for presses for the caliber I'm reloading, then "progress" from one to the other.

I routinely load about 200 rounds an hour. That includes setup and cleanup time. What I like about this arrangement is that the case never leaves my hand and I get to inspect each round after each step. Also included in my process is a primer pocket cleaning, which you can't do with a progressive or turret without some finagling.

This may not be the fastest, the best or the cheapest way to do it, but it suits me just fine.

 

[volgunner]

Thanks for the input

Thanks to all of you for taking the time to send your ideas. Lots of good info to think about. The most important "take away" seems to be to concentrate on getting the charge right regardless of what type press/die is used.

I'm going to order a couple of reloading manuals, read them, and then see how things look after that. I have a hunch that knowing a bit more about the process will help in deciding what equipment I need (and what I don't).

Regards to all,
Russell

 

[WR Moore]

If it's not too late, many of the suggestions about single stage presses mention presses that no longer feature priming. You should look for a press that allows you to prime cases on the press, preferrably with a feed mechanism that doesn't require you to handle each individual primer. This saves time and eliminates extra expense (for separate priming widgets) and the possibility of contaminating primers by contact with sweaty hands.

I put lists together for one of the guys at work and realized that a Dillon Square Deal B and a couple of accessories is about the same price as a single stage press and the accessories.

 

[bnewc75]

more that one

I use both a turret and single stage, I process (decap and bell) handgun target brass on my turret and seat on my single stage press. It is amazing how much quality ammo you can load once you get set up properly.


All rifle loads goes through my single stage press