New to reloading - I have lots of questions!

I don't load on a progressive, so can't weigh in on your decision. But I can still welcome you to The High Road ... and the rabbit hole of reloading! I hope you find it as enjoyable a hobby as many of us do.

Welcome to the madness!

I load on a Lee Classic Turret and am content with about 200 rds per hour— but you definitely need higher output. You might look at the Lee Breech Lock Pro progressive press. Less expensive but still a good option according to some on this forum.

Welcome to the forum and to the madness we call reloading. I also load on a SS and turret press. That gives me the speed while maintaning precice control of my loaded rounds. The big thing that you need to know is reloading, say 9MM is that it takes a lot of ammo to break even. The way to save most is to buy consumable materials in bulk. One LB of propellant 500 bullets and primers is expensive but until ypu have figured out what combo works in your firearms there is some trial and error involved. When you find what works then buy those components in bulk on line. When buying 16 lbs of say Unique and 10K primers the Has-Mat fee is not bad. Keep good records of what you try. No need to try over something a year later that did not work because you forgot about it. Also I keep a slip of paper with the info of my good loads in the container full of ammo. So you can make more of that as it is used and if different loads to keep them isolated. If you buy the Lee press you can disable the auto indexing and move the head when needed so it can be used like a single stage to go slowly and learn each step before you ramp up the speed. Gotta walk without falling before trying a marathon don't cha know. No such thing as too slow when starting out.

I load all my 9mms on a Hornady LNL-AP with the case feeder. You don't need the case feeder if you don't mind setting them by hand. All the pistol calibers you mentioned feed well in my Hornady case feeder, but yes it has gotten to be very expensive. Fortunately I bought mine when they were still around $280.00.

The Hornady costs twice what a Lee Load Master costs but it's worth 3 times what a Loadmaster after you try to use it.

The Loadmaster primes on the upstroke instead of the down stroke like the Hornady, and that limits how you can arrange your dies so it turns into more of a 4 station press than a 5 station
Lee's priming system on the Loadmaster is finicky at best and jams a lot. If you have the primer system on the Hornady set up correctly and keep it clean it will prime perfectly, I have over 30,000 on mine with only one primer jam. That was due to me deprimming about 1k, 9mm cases on the press, and not blowing out the slide when I was done.

The priming system on the LNL-AP works very well and even Dillon just recently went to that type of system. RCBS also uses it.

I will never recommend anyone buy a Lee Loadmaster over a Hornady or a Dillon, period.

Lee's ABLP press on the other hand is a really good little press, I have one of those also. It is a sweetheart of a little press. The adds say it is only $105 to $115 depending on where you look but it will turn into $250.00 by the time you get everything you need to load on it. It is a replacement for those of us who have already had some kind of Lee press and have the powder measure and case feeder already. And like all progressives you have to buy shell plates, and powder risers for each caliber (Lee), for the powder measure.
The ABLP is only 4 stations but if you prime off the press you can really get creative as to how you place your dies. I use a Lyman M-dies with mine and set bullets in the 4th stage instead of the third, but you can seat in the third if you want to seat and crimp in two steps.

With Hornady the powder measure will run, as is, on all three of the calibers you mentioned.

The safety prime system on it will slow you down compared to the Hornady, but it is much more productive than the Lee Classic Cast Turret press and makes just as good of ammo. You just can't load rifle on it (except for 5.56/.223) so if that is a consideration for later on you may want to just consider the LNL-AP. It will last you a lifetime for sure.

Welcome to THR, A lot of knowledgeable friendly folks here.

I load on a LNL-AP, being doing so for 10+ years now, hand loading for 40+ yrs. I have the brass feed but no bullet feeder. I can comfortably run 500/hr on hand gun ammo. I prefer to look inside the case before setting a bullet. I also run a powder cop die checking powder drops too. Some use the RCBS lockout die. The LNL-AP is more robus than the Lee, can comes with a better warranty than the Lee. When if comes to powders to use on a AP I would recommend ball powders since they meter a lot more accurately than large flake powder.

Your big savings comes when you buy in bulk, 16lbs primers, 5k primers at a min. Bullets in 3k-5k lots.

Welcome to THR

First off welcome to the forum. I dont use either of those presses. I load on an rcbs single stage and an rcbs auto 4x4 progressive. I've been reloading for almost 30 years for rifle, pistol and shotguns. I mostly load for rifles, weighing each powder charge, so the progressives speed not needed for this application.

I use rcbs products their warranty is real good a no questions asked policy. Part are drop shipped to your door. There are a couple others with the same type warranty like reading. The cost is higher but they've been great.

I’ve been using a Lock N Load for the last 5 years and it works well for 9mm. It’s easy enough to grab a bullet and a case with your left hand as you pull the handle and seat a primer with your right hand so I’ve never been interested in spending more on a bullet or case feeder than what I paid for the press.

A lot of the decisions are based on your personal situation and needs. I imagine either press would work out for you.

one of the reasons I selected the Hornady over a Dillon is because it seemed like it was the best option for multiple calibers both cost wise and ease of switching between calibers. I haven’t looked into the Lee in that regard.

Welcome to THR, you will find no shortage of knowledge and advice here. From experts to goof balls and everything in between. I can't weigh in on progressive presses, i use just a simple single stage press and that suits me well because i don't load anything i can buy cheaply. I load for precision and cost savings on expensive rounds. My recomendation to you is to buy a reloading manual (i like the lyman ones) and read it, you will gain insight. I would start with a cheap single press and use it to get started instead of jumping in with both feet into an expensive and complex setup, there is a lot going on and you risk injury and damage if you make a mistake. A single press will help you learn each step and when you are confident you can sell the single or just use it for decapping or some other operation- either way you wont be out a ton of money. Just don't expect to save a dime in the long run, expect to shoot more and thats how it goes.
Good luck and welcome to the best hobby ever.

Bottom line on the Lee, and I own a Lee progressive and a Dillon 550. With Lee, you get what you pay for. They are cheaper for a reason. Quality cost more, Quality Ammo cost more.

I'm impressed by the research you have done.
One point on the Loadmaster (I have one), because it primes at the top, and an additional die is needed there to center the case for priming, because of that, it's really only a 4 station press.(jmo)

Keeping what your left hand does during a cycle of a progressive to one thing greatly increases thru-put, so add a bullet or add a case, not both.
A case feeder can be expensive to add but a tube fed bullet feeding die is much cheaper and will reduce left hand input to one thing per cycle.
Yes, hand priming as an option/done by many is a way to circumvent press priming problems but should not be mandatory.(jmo)

You need to also consider the Lee Pro1000 (I have one) as the most recent design sold has greatly improved indexing with a locating pin.
The Pro1000s are sold as a kit with most everything you need to load a single caliber, and an add-on tube case feeder is only $30.
There are extensive threads, here on THR, on most all progressive presses you are considering and the ones you haven't mentioned... yet.

That being said, you won't be saving much reloading 9mm given what you can buy it for in today's market.
Good luck on your quest,

If you are new to reloading I would suggest a single stage press.

Missy Stockholm-Leon said:

The purpose of the press will be to produce range quality handgun ammo to help save money

Click to expand...

Bawwaawwaaaa, you funny girl.

Please don't think I'm laughing at you, I'm laughing with you.
To set you straight....
Reloading your own costs less than buying factory ammo. - yes, check step 1.
Step 2 ... You shoot a lot more to check your ammo - yes, check step 2.
Fact 3 - Your gun is unique. So what works in my gun, may have no basis in reality in yours.
(Had a 9mm that hated any 115gr, but it worked fine with 124gr bullets)

Hope this helps a little bit.

Oh, start by reading 2-50 reloading manuals.

I would say the Lyman's was the most helpful.
Current edition is #50

Welcome to THR
I have loaded many thousands of rounds on my LNL and am very happy with it. With no case or bullet feeder, I can easily load 400 rounds in an hour.
Winter is when I reload the most. It's a good feeling getting a pile of rounds loaded when the weather prevents doing much else.

Buy good stuff and don't look back.
Plunk test your ammo.
I don't have a case feeder or a bullet feeder. I don't feel deprived.
I started with a lee progressive and quickly went to a Dillon 550. It was worth the extra money.

Welcome Aboard !

Here's an opinion from another view point....

► Bullet Casting is a hobby unto itself. It is as deep and mysterious as Reloading. Saying you want to do both is like someone who can't walk saying they want to not only run the 100 meter dash, but they want to do it while jumping over hurdles. I highly advise you to use manufactured bullets until you are comfortable with reloading, THEN look into casting.

► In reloading you get EXACTLY what you pay for. No more no less. If a piece of reloading gear costs less it's simply because it will require more maintenance, does not have the same production rate, has fewer luxury features, or some combination of those 3.

► There is a definite financial payback in reloading because the most expensive component (the brass) is the only item not consumed. If financial payback with your car was solely based on mileage, then everyone would take the longer route to work and for the exact same money drive a Mercedes or Lexus. Likewise, it's just silly to shop by price, because at your proposed rate of reloading any complete reloading system under ~$7000 is going to be completely paid off in under one year.

So the questions are:
• Once I can have ammo of any caliber and in any quantity I choose, will our shooting increase or decrease over the next 3-5 years ?
• Are we likely to get into shooting competitions or training classes that will raise the quantities ?
• Is shooting just a momentary phase, one of MANY hobbies, or is this a hobby you both enjoy and are likely to stay with long term ?

If you stay with the shooting hobby, most any reloading system you can imagine will have completely paid for itself by Thanksgiving 2020. What quality level of equipment do you want to own at that time ?

Hope this helps.

Missy, welcome to THR, it is one of the best places on the web for this hobby. The folks here are knowledgeable, and very helpful. Feel free to ask all questions you have, even the "silly" ones. It's the best way to learn. I'll also recommend you read at least one reloading manual. The Lyman, whether 49th or 50th edition should be fine. The Lee book is OK, but the data is a bit "dated". The Hornady 10th is Good, but it only covers Hornady bullets. This is common when you look at who publishes the books, bullet makers generally only cover their bullets, Hornady, Speer, Nosler, Sierra, etc... Lyman covers common bullets and has good data on cast (using their molds generally). The powder companies have reloading data as well, both in printed and online formats for their powders. Lee compiled data from the powder companies and put it into one book. So, it has lots of data with a lot of options, but it hasn't been updated in a while.

Since you asked about the presses. I can't comment on the Lee, but I've been loading on a LNL AP for about seven years now. I have two of them, and keep one almost always set up for 9MM. I've loaded over 35K rounds between the two presses, all without case feeders. I have played a little with the Hornady bullet feed dies, but they can be finicky. I also have an RCBS RockChucker on the bench, and ran a Lyman turret for a short while before going to a previous generation Hornady progressive (ProJector), and then the LNL. Of all my reloads 9MM accounts for over 47%, 21K out of 46K. So, for those that say don't load 9MM, I don't listen to them. It works for me.

Now, all that being said, I'd seriously recommend you try a single stage, maybe the Lee Classic Turret first, learn the ropes and then, if you really do like it, then go progressive. You won't be out of much $$ going the turret route, you will be able to load quality ammo, and there is always room on the bench for a single stage or turret next to the progressive(s).
I'd also suggest you focus on one cartridge(caliber) at first. Learn the process, learn the mechanics, learn the system. Then, go to the next.

As to payback or ROI, if you shoot enough, your hardware costs of press, dies, scale, powder measure, etc, will be quickly recouped. How quickly, is really dependent on how much you shoot and keeping your component costs down. A way to do that is to buy in bulk. As the poster above mentioned 8-16 pounds of powder, 5-10K primers, 2-5K bullets. It really makes a difference. Of course, it's more money out of your pocket at a time, but it does save in the long run --- of course as long as it's within your budget. Using some simple numbers, let's say you buy 9MM at $9.00 per 50, you can reload it for around $5 per 50. That's $4 savings per box, so in a case of 1000, that's $80. Do that a few times and you recouped most of the price of the equipment.

Welcome aboard! I have a LNL and a Rock Chucker. The 9, 40 and 45 get done on the LNL. IF you search THR you will find people who will do a 3D Print out of a case feeder for, small fee of course. I bought one from a member and it works AWESOME. Bought a couple of cheap Lee tubes and the Funnel for the feeder and one less thing I have to worry about as it feeds the cases, think it was $35 with his shipping, been awhile since I got it.
I bought the LNL quick change die bushings that way I could just set my dies and move em in and out quickly when I changed calibers.
Someone else mentioned load books, I have 4 at hand to read and confirm. Online POWDER MANUFACTURER websites, Hodgdon, Alliant, etc are also good sources for load info and will update faster than the books, plus they are free.
Lots to learn here from some really rock solid people- take your time and confirm your steps as you go thru the process. Dont be afraid to ask question either.

I'd also recommend starting with a single stage press. Things do not happen so fast and you and learn each step in depth as opposed trying to figure out many things happening at the same time.

Besides, a single stage press is handy to have around to do tasks that cannot be done well on a progressive. Tasks such as depriming cases, bullet pulling, special sizing, and so forth.

Also, many of the tools you buy to run a single stage can be used on a progressive. Most die sets these days are 7/8"-14 thread pattern and can used on many different presses. If you buy correctly, even powder measures can make the transition from single stage loading to a progressive press (I have an RCBS Uniflow and a Redding 10-X that can be used either as a single stage powder measure or used on one of my progressive presses).

I have a Hornady L-N-L, RCBS Pro2000, Dillon SDB, and Dillon BL550 progressive presses, each has advantages and disadvantages. All will do a good job.

Here's the thing.

I started for several years on a single-stage and a Lee hand press. I have a pretty good idea what I'm doing. I bought a Lee Breech Lock progressive because it was actually cheaper than the Lee Classic Turret. But I didn't have a mentor who could walk me through the quirks of that setup. (I looked on YouTube, and it was helpful, but I encountered glitches that those guys didn't, so it wasn't helpful.) Long story short, I did a quick batch of about 300, took my wife out to shoot some, and she had a squib. I asked these guys about it, and I bought a RCBS collet bullet puller die, took them all apart, and did them over again. Found two more squibs. This press setup has a learning curve, and there is ZERO room for mistakes. I'm not saying you can't start with a progressive or a turret setup if you want to. But get better help than I did. Be prepared to crawl-walk-run.

I don't cast bullets. To me, reloading is a hobby on top of shooting, and casting is a hobby on top of reloading. It's up to you, but I bought 1000 115 gr FMJs from RMR for less than the Berry's plated lead bullets I have been using. It was like $79, free shipping. My cost to reload a box of 50 is about $6.60. I would look up the cost of lead ingots on Midway, and break down the cost per bullet, and decide if it's worth the extra time to you.

Read the manual, ask for help if you need it. If you make a mistake, or you THINK you made a mistake, grab one of us or a good mentor immediately. Don't freak out. It's just brass, lead, and powder.

First, welcome to the forum.

You have gotten some good advice. I, like others, reload on a turret press. I would suggest it to you as well.

If you do go the progressive route, just load one case at a time, so you can keep up with what is going on. The last thing you want to do is load 1000 rounds to squib level, or over charge them. You may also find the rounds are to short/to long to feed reliably, not sized correctly, etc. These are all things you don't want to find put on the range. We have all been there, done that (rounds not sized right) and it is a sickening feeling.

Not into casting myself yet, but Lyman has a cast bullet load book that's worth reading on the topic. There is also a good magazine called handloader you can get with lots of loads, tips, and articles.

Finally, your local library should have books on the topic too, and it is worth looking at.

There's a lot to learn about reloading. Start with a single-stage press, and you'll learn about each step in the process better than going right to progressive. I've been reloading 40 years and I still have two single stages (and RCBS and a Forster Co-AX) for rifle cartridges and for small lots of pistol ammo when I'm testing out new powders. Eventually, you can go to a turret or progressive press. Knowing the details of reloading at that point will save you a lot of hassles as you automate. Today I run a Dillon 550, 650 and 750 - but sure didn't start out with those. Lee makes excellent products for their cost and I use lots of their stuff.