[Slimbo]

im looking to mainly load 45acp and 38spcl, what would a good all around setup be? i've been looking at the rcbs rock chucker kit mainly, a buddy at work recommended that one. what would you recommened to a first timer to make it as easy and mistake free ($$$ and BOOM) as possible? is a digital scale worth the money?

[elkhuntingfool]

RCBS would be a fine first press :) and probably the last press you'd need.

Digital scale - good as a back up. A good beam scale works just fine.

[Quoheleth]

Lee Anniversary Kit. That will take good care of you for the long time.

http://www.grafs.com/product/190196

Lee Turret Kit would be my first choice, though. For an extra 20 bucks you can greatly increase your speed.

http://www.grafs.com/product/190927

Lee's dies are around $30/set.
Add powder, primers, a scale, and a few extra things and you're all set for <$200 total.

Q

[indiandave]

Consider the Dillon SDB. You can pass just one cartridge thru at a time until you get comfortable with it. You then can use it as a progresive press. It only will work for straight cartridges. You only mentioned 38 and 45. A single stage press will be slow if you shot alot.

[m700m]

+1 RCBS, Rock Chucker.

[Slimbo]

when i can afford it i usually shoot 200rnds of 45 and 200rnds of 38spcl each range outing. i also shoot 38 super so loading that would be another plus. will a turret/progressive press do rifle as well? i'd like to be able to load 7.5x55 swiss, finding non-fmj ammo for it around my area is a PITA.

[ADKWOODSMAN]

I'll also recommend the RCBS press.

I load probably 3,000 rounds a year and I've had it since 1968!

[Griz44]

Much to the dismay of my green and blue friends here, I load a LOT of 45 on a Lee progressive. Price is right, press will make a lot of ammo. If money is of no real concern, the Dillon or Hornady is a good choice. If you eventually want to progress to rifle, the Loadmaster is a great deal for the money you spend and caliber changes are much less costly. I load everything up to and including 30.06 on mine. On the upper side, the Dillon (like a 650) will make about 12 zillion rounds an hour (so I'm told by those who own one) and cost you your first born to purchase and change calibers. They are however, very good machines. Do a lot of shopping around, decide where you want to wind up and plan accordingly. Budget considerations are always a factor, what does it cost now to set up, what will it cost to add calibers later. Take most of what you will read here with a grain of salt, brand loyalty runs high, most here are true experts on the brand they own, with a few here owning multiple presses and several brands. Whatever your choice, enjoy reloading, I know I do!

[RustyFN]

I would go with the Lee classic turret press. It will cost less than the RCBS kit and load around three times faster. It is made out of cast iron and steel and will last a lifetime. I can load 200 rounds per hour on mine. Yes you can load rifle on it, I load 223 on mine. It is a very easy press for a beginner to setup and use.
Rusty

[Hunter0924]

I recommend the Hornady starter kit, with the bullet promotion it is a good deal on a great press.

[ilike223s]

I think anyone new to reloading ,should start with a single stage press,So they get the feel what reloading is all about.I have one of the Lee progressive presses, you know where it sit today.? Under my bench,I still use my ole grey Lyman press for all i reload,and I been reloading for over 30 years,
If he or she wants to load more. then they could move on to the many dif,type and styles of the progresives, but they will always have the ole single stage to fall back on.
Just my 2 cents thats all

[Bear2000]

+1 on Rusty's recommendation for the Lee Classic Turret. I reload .380 & 9mm as well as .223, .308, and 6.5x55. About 200 rounds an hour for pistol, but I remove the indexing rod and load rifle single stage. Makes great ammo and you can be set up for under $200.

[DEDON45]

Depends on your budget... if you've never ever reloaded before, I recommend a single stage or turret press... I'm an admitted Hornady fan, so I'd recommend their classic starter kit. the kits from RCBS, Redding, and Lyman are also great stuff, hard to go wrong with any of them, and they'll all probably be working after we're gone...

[20nickels]

Another plug for the Hornaday LNL. Not that the others are bad, it's just that you get alot of bang for the buck utilizing their promotion. Hell, I bought a refurbished one for $120 because it had to compete with the promotion too!
If I had to start with a single stager I would use the Lock-N-Load conversion bushing installed in a Lee Classic Cast single-stage press. I like the bushings.

[no_problem]

I started on a Rockchucker Master Reloading kit 10 or 15 years ago. You won't go wrong.

[20nickels]

I recently purchased a Lee Hand Press. Handy for working up handloads in the field or on a budget.

[bensdad]

Rockchucker. No electric scale. You won't need it. The kit comes with a great beam scale. Once you get the hang of checking a load a few times, then having conficence in your thrower, you're good to go.

[Frankl03]

+2 On the Lee Classic Turret press. I have one and it works great. The Lee was had a good price and it's very solid. I also have a single stage press for decapping and swaging. The turret press and the sigle stage are a good combination.

[lgbloader]

Start with a Good solid O-Frame such as a Lee Classic cast, RCBS Rock Chucker, Redding Big Boss, Hornady LNL Classic, and a CoAx. Woodshed and then add a Lee Classic Turret, Lee Loadmaster, a 550B, a Hornady LNL AP, RCBS 2000, and a XL650.

There, everyone happy?

Cheers...

[lgbloader]

Being a person who is too shy to express opinions, I think the Lee Classic Turret Kit is the better buy and suits the newer loader very well.
LOL ... yes, I know... you are very shy.

How you been Mate. Hope all is well. I see you like my post. I'm trying to include all crew in here so no one feels left out, You know what I mean?

Well gotta go. post to you soon.

Cheers

LGB

[evan price]

The Lee classic turret kits are terrific and every bit as stout as any other colour of press. I would advise a turret over single stage to anyone starting off wanting to do pistol in the beginning. Doing pistol on a single stage is the definition of tedious. The turret will speed up pistol yet still allow single stage style reloading for your rifle cases.

[everallm]

It's a horses for courses question alas and everyone has an opinion.....:D

My suggestion,

Lay out a sheet of paper and do a Pro's and Con's list.

On the left hand side write down

Budget
Realistic expectations of number of round usage and caliber types
How much time can you devote (and that is the right word) to reloading
What space you have to work on and with
Shooting type? Match, Fun, Plink or some or all of the above
How detail orientated are you (fiddle/change/tweak or Set 'n Forget)


Now in general (rule of thumb)

Speed
Single stage presses are slowest followed by turret, followed by progressive. Various folks report their turn around at ROUGHLY 75 - 200 - 400 cartridges per hour respectively.

Accuracy and repeatability of round creation
OAL, powder charge, weight etc etc as Single - Turret - Progressive best to worst. Worst does NOT mean bad it is used in a comparative sense if you want identical characteristics for each fired round.

Set up complexity
Single - Turret - Progressive

Least amount of time to to setup
Single - Turret - Progressive

Ease of change between calibers or round type (pistol - rifle)
Here I would tend to go Turret - Single - Progressive if you use a replaceable turret plate

Costs of the initial set up including press, dies, shell holders, powder measures, scales etc. NOT consumables, these will be the same for each kit.

Once you know yourself exactly what you want then the pick will be a lot easier for you.

Now the dispassionate bits out the way, I would suggest the Lee 4 hole turret....:evil:

[45ACPUSER]

Define a budget, that is a good suggestion. The best way to look at things is look at buying reloading equipment is that you are spending about the same as a new gun.

But, long before you work on a budget you must decide if you have the time and inclination to reload ammo properly!

Buy and read cover to cover The ABC's of Reloading.

What ever you do realize that a lot of advice is coming from noob reloaders themselves who have a tainted view of things......Lee is entry level and serviceable...but not the best you can buy. The Lee scale sucks! Their powder measures are problematic.

No powder measure is perfect.....

[ZeSpectre]

im looking to mainly load 45acp and 38spcl, what would a good all around setup be? i've been looking at the rcbs rock chucker kit mainly, a buddy at work recommended that one. what would you recommened to a first timer to make it as easy and mistake free ($$$ and BOOM) as possible? is a digital scale worth the money?

I haven't been reloading very long and mostly load .38 Special and .40 S&W (though I've branched out into .45ACP just recently). My research (and a list a lot like the one everallm gave you) led me to the RCBS ROCK CHUCKER SUPREME MASTER KIT (http://shop.rcbs.com/WebConnect/MainServlet?storeId=webconnect&catalogId=webconnect&langId=en_US&action=ProductDisplay&screenlabel=index&productId=2854&route=C04J148).

I have learned that it is important to disassemble and grease the swivel socket of the "push arm" mechanism on the hand primer (when you get one you'll know what I mean), and I've learned that I like using old ammo trays better than the RCBS loading block, but other than that the kit has served me very well (though it's gone up in price $100 since I got mine!)

In addition to that kit you'll need...
-A good dial caliper (digital is nice but dead batteries suck)
-A decent tumbler (I have a Lyman 1200 I like a lot)
-Reloading books from a couple of other sources.

Buy and read cover to cover The ABC's of Reloading.
and then read it again
and then come here and ask your questions (Lord knows I sure did).

My first 10 reloads (http://www.thehighroad.org/showthread.php?t=371810). Pay special attention to my comments on post #51 regarding reloading paranoia <grin>.

[Xtro]

Another vote for LEE !

Start with an O frame or Turret. Move up to Loadmaster when you really want to crank some volume.

Buy all three and you'll still spend less than for one of the other colored presses.

[sturmgewehr]

It depends on a number of different variables.

1) Cost - tell us what you're looking to spend
2) What are your primary motives? Cost savings? Hobby (interested in reloading as a hobby)?
3) How much do you plan to shoot? 50 rounds a week? 500 rounds a week?
4) What do you know about reloading?

If you are looking for volume, say you like to shoot 300+ rounds every week or two, and you're not really into reloading because you think it's fun... then you might want to look at a progressive press.

If you're content loading a couple hundred rounds over the course of several hours and having the process being involved (doing one case at a time, changing dies, throwing each powder charge, etc.), then a single stage press might be in your future.

If you want to speed things up a little but volume really isn't all that important (loading 500 rounds an hour vs. loading 500 rounds every couple of hours) and you don't want to deal with the monotony of a single stage press, then perhaps the turret press is for you.

If you're able to walk and chew bubble gum and you've changed your own spark plug or oil in your car a few times in your life... chances are you're not going to be dumbfounded by a turret press or a progressive press. I'm not sure where people get the notion that you have to start reloading on a single stage press to understand something so simple as decap, resize, bell mouth, dump powder, seat bullet and crimp. But hey... perhaps I'm a genius and I just don't know it. :) I personally found the whole concept quite simple and started with a 550 progressive many years ago. My only regret was not having spent the few extra bucks and got the 650 (which I did years later).

Buy the press you think is going to serve you for 10-20 years.

With that being said, depending on your price point you have LOTS to choose from.

Low price point:
Lee makes presses for every need, from single stage to full progressive. They are priced to sell and are the cheapest you will find. Some love them, others hate them... the progressives do require more tinkering and can be very-very frustrating to a first time reloader. You do get what you pay for. Their single stage presses and turret presses are of fine quality and rival more expensive units in many aspects.

Medium price point:
Here you'll find some great options. You have RCBS single stage presses, Redding single stage presses and Hornady single stage presses. All are pretty much the same in function and all are of good quality. When you start looking at their turret and progressives things really get fun. Lots of good stuff in the product lines. The king of the progressives IMHO at this price point is the Lock and Load AP. I may still buy one just to have one... The Dillon SDB (Square Deal B) is a an amazing deal for a progressive at this price point. You order it and it arrives in a box ready to go. You just set the dies to your needs and start cranking the handle.

Expensive.
Anything Dillon that's 550 and above. The cream of the crop is the Dillon 1050 which is really a commercial reloader. The 650 is another amazing machine (what I mostly use these days for .45). But this stuff is very-very pricey. You can easily spend $1k on a 650 getting started (press, scale, calipers, dies, case feeder, etc.). The 1050 will cost you $2k to get started with everything you need.

As I mentioned, I started on a 550. Had the Hornady Lock and Load been available back when I got started, I probably would have gone with it. Now days I load on a 650 and am considering a 1050 for rifle rounds because it swages primer pockets on one station which is a huge time saver for military crimped brass.

I don't particularly enjoy reloading and I don't have a lot of free time. I can load 1,000 rounds in about an hour if I sit down and do it uninterrupted. That suits my needs perfectly. That gives me plenty of ammo for a week or two and I have very little time invested in the process.

So, it totally depends on your needs and pocket book.

[ZeSpectre]

I can load 1,000 rounds in about an hour
which, on my budget, would be all the reloading components I could buy for the MONTH. Just too darn fast for me <grin>.
As I've posted before, reloading a few rounds in the evening gives me a nice "transition" time between work and home life so I have a slightly different attitude about it (hey, I have a buddy who ties fishing flies for the same reason).

[sturmgewehr]

I can understand that. For me it's more about time invested in reloading than total volume. If I could, I would load 10,000 rounds a month and stockpile. But really I like to load the ammo I'm going to use over the course of the next few weeks in the shortest amount of time I can. My job consumes my entire weekdays (leave at 5am and home by 7pm, in bed by 10pm). That leaves me weekends with my wife and son, and they always have things going on... if I can get an hour to myself for reloading I'm doing good. I need volume, and the 650 gives me that.

[Jimfern]

I bought the kit about 8 years ago and haven't looked back. When I use it, I usually load 50 to 200 rounds of pistol or 20 to 40 rounds of rifle at a time. I did get an hand auto primer that uses the APS strips and think that was money well spent.

I have yet to use the brass trimmer and would be curious to know if anyone does. I don't load on the hot end, so maybe my brass isn't being worked too much?

RCBS customer serivice has been beyond excellent, but I think you will probably find that all of the manufacturers are good in this area.

[sturmgewehr]

I have yet to use the brass trimmer and would be curious to know if anyone does. I don't load on the hot end, so maybe my brass isn't being worked too much?
If you're talking about pistol brass, most of the time you never need to trim it. I can't ever having to trim handgun brass in some 10+ years of reloading and reusing the same brass 10+ times. Rifle brass is another matter, it usually needs regular trimmings.

[Shoney]

sturmgewehr wrote:
perhaps I'm a genius and I just don't know it.
Then I suppose it is most appropriate that you should call yourself Mr. Ijustdon’tknowit, because, if you have only loaded on a 550 and a 650, by what pretense of knowledge do you think that they are better than say the RCBS 2000 or the Hornady LAL AP?????????

Our scene (or is it an obscene, or is it an obomination)
Wyll E. Coyote sits in front of the Roadrunner Killer 321 Atomic Boolit Maker made (of course) by Acme nolliD. He pulls the handle down 4 times and thinks, I’m a genius, a genius I say, Genius, a real GENIUS.

Meanwhile, Roadrunner reads the fine print, discovering that Acme nollid requires you to buy the loading components separately at 10 times normal price. MEEP MEEP!!!!!!

[RustyFN]

Shoney I must say I always find your posts very entertaining.:D
Rusty

[sturmgewehr]

Then I suppose it is most appropriate that you should call yourself Mr. Ijustdon’tknowit, because, if you have only loaded on a 550 and a 650, by what pretense of knowledge do you think that they are better than say the RCBS 2000 or the Hornady LAL AP?????????
I said if I had it to do over again I would have gotten the Hornady LNL AP and that I may still buy one.

[Shoney]

RustyFN: Glad you find them entertaining! I get bored reading dry "literature", and wish more people would lighten up.

sturmgewehr:
Sorry, I wasn't trying to insult.

My question, which you highlight, is valid, thinking within the Socratic method here.

Praise the Lord and pass the amm - - - - errrrrr - - hemlock, or should I fall on my sword.

[jeepmor]

For the record, you can buy a Hornady LNL bushing kit for most standard single stage presses.

This kit alone has kept me from buying a good progressive. That deal though, I might still have to buy one by years end.

[aerod1]

Shoney, Yes, your posts are rather entertaining!

I am retired and I load on a Lee Classic Turret and a single stage Lee Reloader. RustyFN is right, you can load 200 rounds per hour on the LCT. I load slower than that and sometimes go back to the single stage so I don't use up all my components too fast. That keeps me busy in my retirement. I am one of those goof balls that actually likes reloading.

[NotSoFast]

- aerod1

Want to reload some of mine? I still have about 8000 9mm brass to load - and shoot. :D

[Johnny Guest]

This is one of those regularly-appearing questions. I usually ask that individuals use the SEARCH function with a few simple key words. We tend to let the topic run on for a couple of pages, though, or until the participants become too contentious.

Looks like most folks have had their say for now.

Closed

Johnny