[unclesam099]

I think that I'm going to get this press and, aside from the necessary shellholders...

Are there any absolutely necessary accessories that I should order while I'm going to be paying for shipping?

Loading .45 and .223 at the moment. I will add others in the future, but just those two right now.

Thanks.

ETA: I already have the basics from having a Lee single stage. Been loading slowly for 2 years.

[mongoose33]

Get an RCBS Lockout Die., and the PowderFunnels.Com powder-through expander.

The lockout die is the nuts. The Powder Cop requires your attention each and every time, the Lockout die will stop the press if you have a squib or double charge.

[Gryffydd]

and the PowderFunnels.Com powder-through expander.
Or you can just keep expanding with your Lee die.

My current setup for most of my pistol calibers is
Station 1: Lee Sizing Die
Station 2: Lyman M expanding Die
Station 3: Hornady Case Activated Powder Drop
Station 4: Lee Bullet Seating
Station 5: RCBS Profile/Taper Crimp

My powder cop is my eyes. I look in each and every case as I set the bullet on.
I'm sure I could improve on my setup, I'm just trying to illustrate for you the flexibility you have with a 5 station progressive. You could seat and crimp with the same die and still have your powder cop too.

[pcwirepro]

1- Hornady One Shot for getting the machine ready and for case lube.
2- Lots of components because that thing will crank out some ammo.
3- Primer flipper tray if you don't have one from your single-stage operation
4- Spare case retainer spring

Get shell-plate #45 for the best fit instead of one of the multi-caliber options.

[ric426]

My current setup for most of my pistol calibers is
Station 1: Lee Sizing Die
Station 2: Lyman M expanding Die
Station 3: Hornady Case Activated Powder Drop
Station 4: Lee Bullet Seating
Station 5: RCBS Profile/Taper Crimp

Sorry for the slight side track of the thread, but does it matter whether the the expander die is before or after the powder drop? I've got my M expander after the powder drop, but if there's a reason to swap them I'll do it.

[pcwirepro]

Powder could cling to the expander and possibly compress an accidental double charge. I would switch them around if it were me.

[Gryffydd]

The M expander enters pretty far into the case--at least half an inch beyond where it really expands. If you load with bulky powders (say, 22grs of H110 in a 357) you could end up not even being able to completely cycle the press.

Best to have it going into an empty case.

[DickM]

I'd recommend getting a half dozen of the case retainer springs - they're cheap, you'll chew them up from time to time, and without one you're dead in the water. And yeah, switch the location of your expander die - the only thing you want between powder drop and bullet seating is a powder check or lockout die (if you're using one).

[Brian10]

The powder-cop or the RCBS one is a nice to have. It saved me from loading some 223 squibs more then a few times. I only had Varget on hand and occasionally the powder drop drum wouldn't cycle properly probably because of the Varget long grains. If you don't have a bullet puller, that is really convenient to have.

[Gryffydd]

The powder-cop or the RCBS one is a nice to have. It saved me from loading some 223 squibs more then a few times
Since I only charge straight walled pistol rounds on the progressive it doesn't make much sense, but I would get one if I was doing 223

[unclesam099]

I use W231 and Titegroup for .45 (and 9mm). I use RE15 and Varget (thus far) for .223 but would like to try H335 sometime (if I find reviews that say H335 doesn't leak in the Hornady powder measure).

So the use of extruded powders would cause problems for the .223? Interesting. The Lee Perfect Powder Measure is quite nice for those powders, but not really for the flake powders like W231...

A powder cop was something that I was thinking about getting...

[mongoose33]

Or you can just keep expanding with your Lee die.

Actually, the point of the powderfunnel is so you free up a station for the lockout die. A setup which uses a separate expander hasn't room for it.

[ric426]

The M expander enters pretty far into the case--at least half an inch beyond where it really expands. If you load with bulky powders (say, 22grs of H110 in a 357) you could end up not even being able to completely cycle the press.

Best to have it going into an empty case.

Makes sense, though in my case the only reloading I'm doing is .38 special with 2.5 - 2.8 grains of Bullseye, so if I'm hitting the powder with the expander I've got more serious problems. I'll switch the expander and powder drop around anyway. It'll take me all of two or three seconds. Gotta love those LnL bushings....

[unclesam099]

Thanks for the recommendations, all. This is good info for anyone else looking for info as well. I skipped all of the goodies (for now, mostly for the credit card's sake!) and will just start with .223 at the moment. Maybe next month will allow for some accessories.

[budiceman]

unclesam Where are you getting it from? I got mine from midsouth. Had it at my door in 4 days. http://www.midsouthshooterssupply.com/item.asp?sku=00005095100

[unclesam099]

I got it from Midway - $406 minus a $30 off orders over 300 coupon (304102, good til the 25th).

$376 and a $28 shellplate #16 for .223.

Dang, I should've bought a few of those springs now that I think of it, but I will need to get the #45 shellplate and other stuff. Oh well. Next month! I would HOPE that I don't break one by then!

[pcwirepro]

Good call. You're gonna love it. Doubt you'll break the spring. When you order the shell plate check the price on their plastic 100 round storage boxes. They were $1.99 last month and you can't have too many of them unless you're storing in old cardboard boxes or ammo cans. Follow the cleaning instructions to the letter or you'll kick yourself. Have you found their youtube channel? Good stuff.

[Presto]

When you get your press, you might want to take a few minutes and deburr ALL of the primer feed parts. Make sure you hit the edges of the seater ram's threads and the inside of the slider hole. This could save a little aggrevation later becuase the press is very powerful and doesn't know how to stop itself when something is jammed up. If you are careful it won't cause a problem, but in my case, someone else was using my press when the feed jammed, and the slider came "unglued"! The press was down for a couple of days, but Hornady was great and had the new part to me very quickly. It was also free; even though the fault was on my end.

[Crashbox]

IIRC I bought ten of the LNL AP springs from Midway for $1.99 a piece- cheaper than the three-pack @ $6.59 or so. Never hurts to have a few extra as others mentioned.

FWIW, I use the RCBS Lockout Die for my .357 Magnum TiteGroup loads and the Powder Cop for the Flinch-O-Matic 2400 loads in same caliber. The RCBS die is not the easiest to set up but once you've got it dialed in, it's the cat's pajamas. Same for the PowderFunnel. In other words, Mongoose33 is spot-on IMO.

[unclesam099]

After looking at each of the PTX inserts from Hornady, the single solution of the PowderFunnel might do the trick.

Either the Powder Cop or the lockout die will be on my list next time with the .45 shellplate and more LNL bushings. Gotta unload some of the Lee Breech lock bushings now!

[vtail]

Get the RCBS lockout die. It's an amazing thing. I've tested it many, many times for no powder and double powder and it catches them everytime.

Get the powderfunnel.com powderfunnel.

And buy some extra bushings. You'll use a lot more than you think.