New to reloading - I have lots of questions!

Two people mention that the Lee ABLP won't load rifle bigger than .223.

That's true if you use the auto-advance. On that press you can remove that auto-advance feature temporarily when you want to load .308 and advance by hand, like you do with a Dillon 550. Longer cartridge than that? All bets are off.

Case feeder = left hand.
Bullet feeder = right hand.

Keep it simple, you'll be fine.

Bat Rastard said:

Case feeder = left hand.
Bullet feeder = right hand.

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The Lee ABLP will need the hands reversed

That sounds like a lot of trouble and expense just to save on a press.

badkarmamib said:

Sounds like you have done your research. I will add a few things from my (limited) experience. The Lee ABLP is good for pistol cartridges, but will not load many rifle (.223 being the one exception that comes to mind). I bought the case feeder to speed it up, but the Lee does not lend itself well to correcting mistakes (hard to stop mid-process to remove a double/no charge, missed primer, etc. So, I removed the case feeder and am using it (at the moment) as a kind of advanced turret. Also, if you branch out to more rifle cartridges later, and you are not concerned with precision as much as volume, I would definitely recommend the Lee turret over their single-stage. The brass staying in the press until the round is completed is nice compared to having to remove a piece with powder laying under the open mouth... Just some more thoughts from being one of the more frugal (and inexperienced) members here.

Caveat: I own the Lee Challenger SS for rifle and the ABLP for pistol, my father does everything on the Classic Turret. I think he has the better setup...

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On my Lee ABLP (handy acronym) I take advantage of the swing out tabs at each station, so cases can be removed as necessary. You have to pay attention to what it means to the powder drop, but you can bypass a case drop from the feeder by half stroking the press. You can also block the tube by advancing the four tube base by half a click. A stray is easy enough to pick off the deck.

On the Hornady you feed every thing from the left side, so your right hand does not leave the handle.

When I moved to a LNL-AP 9mm ammo was selling for around $9/box 50. Back then I figured my break even point at around 4000 rounds, which was less than a year. If you shoot some of the more expensive calibers the pay off is a lot faster. In most cases you can load 357 for the price of a 9mm. Back then I was shooting around 6500 9mm/ yr and 2000 45acp. Now the items have been switched around, I shoot mainly 45 acp. But I had already been hand loading for 30+ yrs when I moved to the AP. So I had most all the other items needed. I ended up adding the brass feeder when I tore my left wrist up to minimize what I could do with just the tips of my fingers sticking out of the cast. The brass feeder will greatly increase your output but are more difficult to get set right than dies. They have gone through several updates and revision on the brass feeder tying to get get it more functional.

Jim Watson said:

That sounds like a lot of trouble and expense just to save on a press.

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If referring to the right/left hand post (no quote), once the case feeder hopper is filled and the tubes are shaken to fill up, there is nothing to do with the right hand except pull the lever. The left hand runs primers and places bullets, right hand still on the lever. Without the case feeder and the four-tube top end with optional hopper on top, case feeding would be done by hand but require removing the hand from the lever and back. The handle can be reversed for lefties but then the issue becomes one of having a free hand to run primers and place a bullet for seat/crimp.

Oh, I thought you meant by surgery.

Well it sounds as if you already have some experience and background in the subject so it is not as if you are totally new.

I look at the hardware and tools as a very personal preference. We all have different ways of approaching the same problem or issue. At one time I worked production with a person that was left handed. We worked very well together and many times had to adapt at how we did things. Sometimes it was just a matter of which side I was working on from them but we would make it work. Same can be said about reloading presses. Some are diehard single stage press users and are very content in their ways. Others are all out progressive users and that is the only way they can see ever doing it. Most fall somewhere in-between. You will also find that most reloaders are very biased towards the equipment they use. Some have the outlook tat if you are not doing what they are doing and using the tools they are using then you are doing it completely wrong and wasting your time and money.

Myself, I have a single stage press, turret press and 2 different progressive presses. Yes I do use them all and they all serve a different purpose. Could I do it all on a single stage press? Yes. But it would be a real chore and time consuming trying to load 500 9mm on it. Could I do all my reloading on a progressive press? Again Yes. But again it is very difficult to do when I am trying to work up a new load and only loading 20 or so. The Turret press is the best compromise between the two.

So the things to consider that make the most difference in which press are these; What is your required volume of finished ammunition? How much time do you have to allocate to this endeavor? Do you plan on doing a whole bunch at one time or spread out the work over time? Budget, is there one or is it not a factor? What is your mechanical ability, are you a good presses follower, are you a good problem solver? Some people in my opinion should just never be allowed near a reloading press of any type.

A Dillon 750 or 1050 are great presses and many find a great use for them. I will never find myself in a position that I will need that amount of production. The RCBS Rock Chucker has been around forever and is a great press but again not a good choice for loading 500 rounds of pistol ammo on every month unless you really enjoy sitting in front of a press.

Again I have four different presses and they all serve a different purpose and even though I have these there are times when they will sit idle for months at a time.

When I took up re-loading in the 70’s it was to feed the rifles of a couple of young sons. The line of , do I shoot to reload or reload to shoot became somewhat blurred. Today it’s mostly just, well, habit I guess. I still shoot a lot, only a good deal is the “load as you go” cap guns. But they all have conversion cylinders, also fun to shoot so I’m still in that, load to shoot or shoot to load, mode. Oh and hand cast the bullets and round balls. I will venture this however, in some calibers, 9MM and .223, most notable if one is buying the bullets for those, factory Ammo May have an edge in cost per round, if one shops the specials. JMHO.

Welcome.
Also get a good scale that is easy to read and calibrate. also check weights. I like the Lee scale that came with the kit. A lot of people here don't like it but I have no problem.

Short and sweet..

• no disrespect to others, but strongly advise against a single stage press for your intended volume. 1500 rnds, 6000 pulls/mo (how's your shoulder feeling?) plus all that brass handling. A single stage/turret invaluably (invariably!) augments any progressive as 98% of us have learned.
• I bet you'll find reloading is for you; you've obviously spent considerable time shooting and now researching. Can't speak to 'used' prices for Hornady/Lee, but you might even profit selling a used Dillon. (Mild exaggeration. I have a D550.)
• as it relates to all your hardware, buy once, cry once.

I started cold with a Hornady single stage complete kit to load .45 ACP. It set in place both concentration and good loading habits ... like, if you get distracted, dump every unfinished load that has powder in it and restart. Also, write everything down.

Then, a year later, when I got to shooting more often and shooting 9MM, I bought the Hornady progressive L-N-L with the automatic powder drop. Yay! Practiced to make my set-up more efficient and lock in procedures. Again, dump every unfinished load whenever interrupted.

Still use the Singe -Stage for .308 rifle. Got a Mec Jr. for 12 gauge skeet loads.

Finally added a case feeder to the L-N-L. Noisy but convenient. Took some time to install it. Still placed the bullets by hand.

Finally, added a bullet feeder die. Not really happy with that. Many fails with my coated bullets.

In the end, I'm glad I have them all and glad I did it in the steps I did. So much depends on developing mental rigor. Mental rigor. Working with stuff that can go boom, mental rigor means more than which press.

sbwaters said:

I started cold with a Hornady single stage complete kit to load .45 ACP. It set in place both concentration and good loading habits ... like, if you get distracted, dump every unfinished load that has powder in it and restart. Also, write everything down.

Then, a year later, when I got to shooting more often and shooting 9MM, I bought the Hornady progressive L-N-L with the automatic powder drop. Yay! Practiced to make my set-up more efficient and lock in procedures. Again, dump every unfinished load whenever interrupted.

Still use the Singe -Stage for .308 rifle. Got a Mec Jr. for 12 gauge skeet loads.

Finally added a case feeder to the L-N-L. Noisy but convenient. Took some time to install it. Still placed the bullets by hand.

Finally, added a bullet feeder die. Not really happy with that. Many fails with my coated bullets.

In the end, I'm glad I have them all and glad I did it in the steps I did. So much depends on developing mental rigor. Mental rigor. Working with stuff that can go boom, mental rigor means more than which press.

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Problem of a bullet die with coated bullets solved with Mr. Bullet Feeder die. I don't get 100%, but the Hornady was not usable except on jacketed.

Not sure when I started. Thinking four years ago. Bought a Dillon xl650, case feeder, strong mount, roller handle.
Last count through about 12 lbs of titegroup. 5lbs of bullseye, 1 lb power pistol, 4 lbs of unique, and just cracked an eight pound of sport pistol.

Wife and I shot 600 rounds or more every Saturday. That amount of cleaning, tumbling, sorting, reloading, checking, and boxing makes time to reload very limited. I find it very useful to be able to crank out 1500 rounds in an afternoon.

I'm the exception I suppose.
Started with progressive.
Started with titegroup which all will tell you due to low volume you must be careful on your charge weights.

Do lots of research. You'll figure out the best plan.

Good luck which sound here you're bound to find

I like my LNL progressive, however IMO it would have been more of a pain to learn on than my Lee turret.
I think the Lee turret is a good place to start, I still use mine for small batches and calibers I don't load a lot.
The Lee turret is a fairly inexpensive way to get started, and the dies can be used in the LNL if you decide to pick one up later on.
It can bew used as a single stage and while not as fast as a progressive is much faster than a single stage.
If you were loading rifle cal I would say start with a single stage but for .380, 9mm and .40 you probably want something faster/
Never used a load master but as I understand it even though it has 5 stations because of the way it works you really only have 4 free.
I really like having the RCBS lockout die (which uses a station) in my LNL when I am cranking out lots of pistol ammo

The other thing is...you may just not like it.....some people don't. Do you want to see if you like this reloading thing at the tune of a Dillon 750 for $700 or a turret press for $200.

Is there anyone in your circle of friends that does this that you trust.....and that trust part is a pretty big deal.

You really don't need to be learning from the guy that thinks he is Elmer Keith.....well the book is just a guideline, I always add 4 grains to the max load...you know lawyers.

Steer real clear of guys that think the max is just a starting point.

Volume production from a beginner isn't realistic. Learn the A to Z about reloading a cartridge on a single stage, or progressive/turret press used in that mode, until you really understand the process and what goes wrong. Then you'll be able to troubleshoot automated systems efficiently and move to volume production safely.

1-12 INF (M) said:

Volume production from a beginner isn't realistic. Learn the A to Z about reloading a cartridge on a single stage, or progressive/turret press used in that mode, until you really understand the process A to Z. Then you'll be able to troubleshoot automated systems efficiently and move to volume production safely.

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One can make a case for buying a progressive and a basic single stage at the same time. I don't usually run a batch on a progressive without needing to do something to the side on my single stage, perhaps cleaning up some rejects when I am done. I wouldn't usually get out any available turret just to use it as a single stage, but I could.

Missy Stockholm-Leon said:

I have just been using 9mm as a standard because I know it will take the longest to pay for itself and seems to be the longest term cost analysis when presenting the information to my boyfriend. He will be helping with part of the cost as his forte is shooting and has no interest in reloading.

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Correction. He has no current interest in reloading. However, he will get very, very interested in reloading when you start out-shooting him.

You see, one of the benefits of reloading is not only saving money, but also an inherent increase in accuracy. Shot group size typically shrink by 50% over factory loads.

If you are going to get a single stage to go with the Hornady LnL AP, consider a model that accepts the adapter for LnL bushings. Without duplicate dies, an okay option actually, you will be disturbing LnL AP setups to move a die to the single stage. Mine is a Lee cast breechlock that also came with an adapter for standard threads. It is their strongest press in the bargain but more than your $60 change. The dies dedicated to the single stage could be relatively inexpensive, and the Lee 4-die set would be a great choice.

I’ve been running an LNL-AP for several years now. Since you’ve purchased that press I will toss in a couple of suggestions.

Follow the setup instructions especially in cleaning the packing grease off of the parts. This is very important with the powder measure.

Take some emery cloth or very fine sandpaper and polish the primer shuttles. The priming system is very prone to fouling from unburned powder or the gritty residue from spent primers. I found it helpful to clean all the moving parts associated with the priming system every hundred rounds or so. It will break in over time and become less sensitive.

Invest in an RCBS Lockout Die (not the Powder Cop) to monitor your powder charges in pistol ammo. Cheap insurance. I also try to visually verify powder level as I place the bullet (I don’t use a bullet feeder).

The press comes with one “Die body” for the powder measure. Set it up for one cartridge and label it. Order additional “Quick Change Powder Measure Dies” for the other cartridges you wish to load. You will need additional LNL bushings for additional cartridges; they are usually cheapest in the ten pack.

My press was more stable once I moved to from the front edge of the bench to an In-line Fabrication Ultramount. I added their Ergo Handle at the same time. This is not a necessity but I found it a worthwhile accessory.