WHICH RELOADING PRESS IS BEST VALUE OVERALL?
I am going to start reloading my own ammo and am interested to get opinions on which press systems are considered "best overall" (price, ease of operation, expandability, strength, etc.). Are any running sales before Christmas, or due to the depressed economy? Or should I look for a used set?
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I really need more info to answer this one. But being new to reloading, I would suggest one of the Lee anniversary kits. They go for about $70. Add a set of dies and anyone willing to follow instructions can turn out accurate safe ammo. If you are going to shoot a ton of ammo, buy a Dillon progressive.
A man with a gun is a CITIZEN, a man without a gun is a subject.0 -
Dillon 550
God,Guns,and Guts0 -
If you are just starting, no matter rifle or pistol, no matter what caliber or volume, start with a single stage press. That said, Lee's O frame press is the best buy out there for a starter. If you shoot large volumes of handgun ammo, a good progressive press is better. Lee's are fine, though I haven't tried them yet, I have heard good things; Dillon in my opinion is a bit overpriced though their quality is hard to beat.
Start with the Lee O frame press, a good digital scale (lee's balance scale is junk) and a powder dispenser. Lee dies are also good for the price.
"...hit your enemy in the belly, and kick him when he is down, and boil his prisoners in oil- if you take any- and torture his women and children. Then people will keep clear of you..." -Admiral of the Fleet Lord Fisher, speaking at the Hague Peace Conf0 -
The lee kit is good. I bought my press, scale, ect., seperate, but it is similiar and I have loaded 5 to 6 thousand rounds of pistol and rifle ammo.. But, buy better dies. RCBS is good, Hornaday is great, and for rifles I like Redding. If you buy pistol dies, get carbide. You can always upgrade your press, but it is hard to sell cheap dies.
greg hughes0 -
A Dillon 550b will suffice for most shooters,and can be used as a single-stage until you learn the operations of the various dies and get the dies adjusted.It will do rifle calibers too.
The Lee turret press is a good one too for less money than the Dillon.
Either of these is a "step up" from the single stage presses as they can be used a bit faster,but don't have to be used faster...the option is there though.
Lee's dies are good,don't like their scales.Not crazy about their powder measures either.
You almost don't fine good used equipment,and if it has to be shipped to you the savings are nil.....those babys are heavy!
Don't be lured by how many "rounds per hour" a press will do...leads to accidents and screwups.
Hope I've helped some.
Mike0 -
i have a lee press and rcbs rockchucker press. i like the rcbs better the lee press does alright but the rcbs uses less force when you need to full length resize. i have not used a progressive type reloader so cant say on them.
doc0 -
I have had a Dillon 450(a 550 with out all the bells and whistles) for 15 years. I've had a Rockchucker for 22 years. The compound leverage of both allows you to do just about anything that needs to be done on a press. I would start with the Rockchucker until you master the reloading proccess then move to the Dillon.
John
I might not always tell you the truth, but I will never lie to you!0 -
The consultant has it right (again). Start with an RCBS RockChucker. It has immense strength and leverage and will allow you to do many things that are either impossible or difficult on a Lee; things like swaging bullets, removing military primer crimps, cartridge conversion (.50BMG to .17, making a .17/.50 varmint round). After some experience reloading you may want to move to a progressive and the best buy is a Dillon 550B, the most value for the money.
Like the consultant, I bought my Rockchucker 22 years ago but my Dillon 450B just 2 years after that. One good thing about Dillon, when they upgrade the design, like from the 450 to the 550, they make upgrade kits available. Over the years I have upgraded my 450 to a 550B configuration for far less than buying a new model.
The Dillon will load anything up tp .30-06 length and the Rockchucker can handle almost anything above that.
One last thing, find a friend or instructor and have him walk you through several reloading sessions before you start out on your own. That, together with at least 3 different relading manuals, will give you a safe start into a fun hobby.
Good Luck and keep us posted on your decision.
Quod principi placuit legis habet vigorem.Semper Fidelis0 -
I've used a Lyman Spar-T turrent press for years for years, then I decided, I wante to do more shooting than reloading and bought a Dillon RL 550B. If i were starting reloading new I'd go with the Dillon Hands down. Unlimited NO BS lifetime warrany!!!!! 0 -
Unless you are absolutely *certain* you will load an enormous amount of handgun ammo, there is no need to invest in a progressive loader. I loaded 100s of K rounds of pistol / rifle ammo on two RCBS single stage presses over the past 30 +/- years - I wore one of them out, in fact, but it took 20+ years to do it. A single stage press is simple, easy, and once you are familiar with the process, you can load 100+ rounds an hour outside of time spent cleaning brass &/or trimming it if needed. My vehement opinion is that there are only two companies worth considering: RCBS for single stage equipment and Dillon for progressives. Their products are absolutely top shelf, their customer service even better. You can load virtually *any* metallic cartridge on the single stage press - even a .50 BMG with special adaptor tooling. You can form brass from caliber A to obsolete (or very expensive) caliber B. Personally, I don't find I gain very much trying to load rifle ammo on a progressive, but straight wall pistol ammo . . . 500 to 1000 an hour, for sure.
You will need auxiliary equipment such as a powder scale, etc. RCBS puts together a basic package deal which is a good starting point. At some point, you may decide you want a digital scale & other more sophisticated items, but don't invest until you actually feel the need.
Two best references: NRA Guide to Reloading and the Lyman Metallic Cartridge Reloading Manual. I have many others, but I find I *always* consult the Lyman *first* and then, sometimes, look elsewhere. The great thing about Lyman is that they are not beholden to a particular line of bullets or powder as are the publishers of other manuals, so there are a variety of combinations, including lead bullet loads, across the entire spectrum of possibilities for most all 'normal' calibers - obviously, loads for .600 Nitro Express and the like are not covered.
Absolutely essential - IMCO - are a good set of calipers and, ideally, a good 0 - 1.000" micrometer. But the calipers for sure. Don't go cheap on this. Good measuring tools will pay for themselves many times over and properly maintained will last practically forever. I still have the verniers I bought when I started and the mic I bought a few years later. I'm sure I've used both 10,000 times ('Course, I measure a lot of collector ammo, also). Note - you can often find quality used tools; both of mine came from machinists moving up to digital tools, both had been used for a good five years in machine shops before I bought them and, like I said, they are still going strong. If you are in the bifocal generation, I'd invest in digital tools; I will have to do that soon.
Obviously, Lee has their partisans. I'm not one of them. I strongly recommend the RCBS Rockchucker for a single stage press, with the same company's auxiliary kit. The quality is top flight, the engineering excellent and the customer service is too good to describe.0 -
Get the RCBS Master Reloading Kit. It is on sale at www.midwayusa.com in their Dec. 2002 Catalog for $229.95. It includes everything you need to start loading. They also have their RCBS Rifle Dies on sale for $18.94 which you need to buy. I use an older RCBS Press when I don't feel like changing my caliber in my Dillon 550B. I have three different Dillon presses (550B, Square Deal B and an old 450 Jr.) that I use but if I am not going to load a lot of one caliber I use the old RCBS. When I started reloading in 1960 the Rockchucker press was not in existence but friends of mine use that model now and are very happy with the equipment
If you don't care where you are going, you can't get lost.0 -
Hey this is great stuff! Many thanks. If you don't mind help me a little further. I will need a press, dies for the various cals., powder measure (scale), obviously instructions and reloading data. What else? Help me come with a list of what one needs to get started and then another of what to get next to make things easier/faster/more precise. 0 -
Calipers (Dial or vernier) 0 -
I guess I did it backwards. I started on a Dillon 550B, and have found it extremely easy to use compared to other single stage models. After a couple years I was looking for a cheap press to use strickly for case forming and bought a Lee. It barely made it out of the box befor I packed it up and sent it back to the land of crap it came from. When my new Rock Chucker came, it received a nice corner of my bench, opposite the Dillon, where they both still live today. I would strongly recomend starting on a progressive press (Dillon is the only one I've used) if for no other reason than aggravation. Set it up once and forget it. You don't have to weigh each powder charge, no priming tool to buy, and a lifetime no bs warrenty. Ya, it's gonna cost more up front, but if your thinking of starting cheap and upgrading in a couple years, why not skip that step and buy something that will grow with you. I didn't have to buy another press to do case forming, the dillon worked fine, I just wanted to leave my shavings laying rather than cleaning up for reloading. If you want a single stage though, I think the RCBS Rock Chucker is an excellent machine at twice the price. Let us know what you decide, best of luck BZ 0
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