A friend asked for a press kit recommendation

Basic press kit for Christmas preference

  • Lee Challenger Breech Lock Kit

    Votes: 20 55.6%

  • Lee 4-Hole Turret Value Kit

    Votes: 16 44.4%
  • Total voters
    36
  • Poll closed .
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SW-1
Welcome,
A Speer reloading manual should have come with your kit.
A 1911 is usually a 45 acp caliber unless you have some kind of modified pistol.
Look on your gun--it will tell you what caliber it is.
Others will come in with lots of advice.
You will come to love reloading.
Have fun,
HJ
 
thanks for the welcome howard.yes i did get a speer#14 manual with the kit.it doesnt mention what dies to use though.it does however mention under the .38spcl. page the hbwc bullet so i quess those dies will do.it talks of light crimping also so is than just a die hieght adjustment?Yes its a .38 and shoots wadcutters only.
 
Personally, I've done 100 pistol rds on a Breechlock in 32 minutes, with nothing set up in advance. Primers, bullets, dies still in the boxes, and cases still capped and unsized.

No doubt it's faster on a turret. Even for rifle, you can save time charging the cases with an automatic powder drop on a turret press.

OTOH, a wise man once said, you'll always have use for a good single stage press. And the Breechlock is a terrific press for sizing and priming. It's hard to explain in words, but the way it primes makes it super fast if you ever want to batch size/prime your pistol cases on a single stage.

That said, I didn't vote, because I haven't tried both. I only have a Breechlock. If I had somewhere to setup and leave a press, permanently, I'd a gone turret or even progressive. With a single stage, you don't have to take down and setup the power drop.
 
sw1 said:
(edited for brevity).it doesnt mention what dies to use though.it does however mention under the .38spcl. page the hbwc bullet so i quess those dies will do.it talks of light crimping also so is than just a die hieght adjustment?
Click to expand...
Most of the time, the height of the body of the crimping die is the adjustment that determines the crimp (unless you are using a collet-type, which I think is exclusive to bottlenecked cartridges).

Just remember, if you are using a combination crimp/seat die, to back out the seating stem an equal amount as you turn down the die body for crimp adjustment.

A lot of folks use a fourth die to crimp and seat only in the third die station (or if using batch processing, simply use the seat/crimp die twice - once to seat only and once, with the seating stem backed way out, to crimp).

Lost Sheep
 
Isnt handloading all about consistency press is a rock chucker. PLEASE look at outher brands.
Click to expand...
Not sure what the press has to do with consistency. If you set your dies right, they'll take care of that. The Breechlock is an O-frame design, which is plenty strong, even if it's an aluminum alloy. (The Lee Classic Turret has a good rep for strength, too.) A Rock Chucker weighs more, costs more, and has an inferior priming system and spent primer catch. If you can't make consistent ammo on a Breechlock, you couldn't do it on a Rock Chucker, either.
 
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IMO buying a single stage for pistol reloading is silly. Not only will you outgrow it in a few months but you can remove the index and reload in single stage on a turret.

On the other hand I would get the breech lock kit if I were only reloading rifle rounds because I would load in single stage anyway.

Its not about volume its about time even if he only reloads a couple hundred per month that's more time spent elsewhere or he can go very slow and be extremely careful and still load faster than someone rushing on a single stage.

Seems like a turret is the way to go.
 
Really depends how much you shoot. I'm still using a single stage, a year later. I'm getting ready to pull the trigger on a progressive, though. I'm going to skip the turret, completely. And I'm still going to use my single stage for priming and sizing.
 
I think a beginner should start on a single stage. The beginner would probably find that less going on at any one time makes the process simpler and easier to learn -- and less apt for mistakes.

A few months ago I did make 1,000 9mm rounds on a Lee single stage and it did take a long time.
 
We all crawled before walking , you just can`t skip a step !!!

Basics are just that basics & if ya wanna skip basics the rest will be so confusing & frustrating you can talk yourself into never reloading again !!!
 
Turret or single stage, batch is batch

Anyone with the self-discipline to handload ammo can use a turret press just as if it were a single stage and batch process all you want. By all means, learn the steps and get your technique and adjustments perfected that way.

Then, when ready, put the auto-indexing rod in and switch to continuous processing at will.

A turret press is no disadvantage at all to a beginner. It is just a single stage with a moveable head.

Lost Sheep
 
LEE just started offering the Classic Cast Turret as a kit that includes dies, scale, "Pro-Powder Disc" , the new Modern ReloadingII manual, etc etc. This should be the best bang for the buck, for both pistol and rifle. Check the price

YMMV
 
@sw-1
I have been reloading about 40 years.
I started on a Rock Chucker & was happy for a number of years---when the kids reached the shooting age I had to get into a Dillon as we were shooting about 1000 rds. a week & about 600 shot shells.
Enjoy your machine--serious guestions--call RCBS they will be happy to help you.
Good luck & Merry Christmas
 
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Neither!

If I were starting over, knowing what I now know....

I'd get a Lee Classic Turret Kit.
I've had the "Deluxe Turret"
Sorry, but to my thinking, the Classic is MUCH BETTER.
 
At last the Classic Turret in a Kit (other than from Kempf's)

1SOW said:
LEE just started offering the Classic Cast Turret as a kit that includes dies, scale, "Pro-Powder Disc" , the new Modern ReloadingII manual, etc etc. This should be the best bang for the buck, for both pistol and rifle. Check the price

YMMV
Click to expand...
Cool. I am glad to see it. However, for $300 plus dies I think the kit put together by Kempf's gun shop is a better bargain. The small parts (case conditioning tools and lube) are things you might not need, so might be a waste of money which Kempf's kit does not force on you. And Kempf's includes deluxe dies in the $200 price. The only things you really need to add right away are the $25 scale and the $30 book, so $255 set you up in grand style vs $340 ($300 plus $40 for the dies).

My primary objective is not to try to tout Kempf's, but just to encourage shopping research. Up until now, nobody but Kempf's offered the Classic Turret in a kit. And so far, no one I have seen offers such a well thought-out kit, with no extraneous items (except the 6 plastic ammo boxes) and which allows you to choose either the Lee scale or one that is easier to read and to select your own manual(s).

Lost Sheep
 
The Lee single stage kit is a great start. Useful tools and no frills. With a set of dies, 100 primers, 100 bullets, and 1 lb of powder, a reloader can start right away to experience the art and science of reloading.
 
Rock Chucker, it will last longer than your friend's lifetime, including that of any children he passes it down to, and their children as well.
 
Lost Sheep, you're right.
When I scanned the article, I thought I saw "everything you need to start reloading". NOT. Even with the dies, the retail LEE price isn't great.

Hopefully other distributors will cut this price down. Maybe even Kempf.
 
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