New to reloading, please help me decide what kit

[.308 garand]

New to reloading, please help me decide what kit is right for me. I am limited on funds. Money is tight as my wife and I are new parents. I am looking at the Lee Anniversary Kit and the Lee Deluxe Turret Press Kit. I have been pricing the 2 kits and looks like I can get setup for the same money after I factor in other components. I will be reloading for .223, .308, and possible 7.62x39 right now, but would like to expand to other rifle and pistol calibers later. I know this is not the best on the market but this is what I can afford. I hope to later be able to upgrade as I go but I just need something to get me started.

Lee Anniversary Kit
http://www.leeprecision.com/cgi/catalog/browse.cgi?1172600702.4528=/html/catalog/anivers.html

Lee Deluxe Turret Press Kit
http://www.leeprecision.com/cgi/cat...ml/catalog/rlpress2.html#DeluxeTurretPressKit

I have also looked into adding the Lee Anniversary Pack to either.
http://www.leeprecision.com/cgi/cat...html/catalog/rlpress2.html#LeeAnniversaryPack

Let me know what you think.

TIA,
.308

 

[RustyFN]

I would go with a turret press myself. When you want to reload pistol you will want the turret over the single stage. Look at the Lee Classic Turret at Cabela's or Kempfguns.com. You can buy the Classic kit for $150. It is steel and cast iron and is very sturdy. It can also be used as a single stage press. The press in the deluxe kit is steel and aluminum. Read the sticky at the top for new reloaders and that should help answer some questions. I started with the Lee Classic Turret and I don't see myself needing to upgrade to anything faster and I shoot a lot.
Rusty

 

[SSN Vet]

none of the above....

go to Kempf's....

and get his classic turret kit....

http://www.kempfgunshop.com/products/reloading/leeprecision/kits/KempfKit.html

pay the extra $10 to upgrade to the Pro Auto Disk.....

this is the best deal going right now.....

you won't be disappointed.....AND....you won't be upgrading in 6 to 12 months.

 

[scrat]

your reloading for rifle. your going to get a lot of people who are going to give you their bias opinion based on what they own. Or have owned before. What you will find is that for the people who used to own. That did not fit them was for more of their preferences rather than fact. Fact is their are a lot of good loading manufactures. Some are a lot more money than others and do the same exact job. (without the gold trim). Looking at the lee kits that you are looking at and knowing what works good for a rifle. I would suggest the lee anniversary kit. Why because it almost gives you everything you need minus the dyes. then powder and primer. For the money its a great start. Now you will not be able to mass produce in the way of a 1000 rounds in a week. unless you take a week off for vacation. However you can still produce quality ammunition that suits your needs. Money wise its a great investment that will pay off itself rather quickly than buying a 500-1000 dollar press set up. Unless you think you will be doing some mass shooting of over 500 rounds then you can stick to a classic single press like the lee anniversary. Take a look at midwayusa.com as they have been running specials on lee kits. That will include the lee modern reloading manual which is a very good manual that wil give you information on reloading.

 

[rmurfster]

I am new to reloading as well. I've been reloading for about 4 months now and I'll pass on the advice of my FIL who has been reloading for years...

Start simple. Learn and progress.

I'd get the Lee Turret Press. That one will allow you to start out Single Stage, which will force you to be more concise and safe. After you have more experience, you can then utilize the multi-stage Turret. This gives you more "bang" for your buck.

Richard

 

[SSN Vet]

no problem re-loading .30-30 on my classic turret press here....and no I don't disconnect the auto-index rod.

Might need to disconnect the auto index rod for the .308 ....but that takes all of 3 seconds and then you can just use the press like any other single stage press (w/out fussing with die changes though).

Auto-disk will require a double throw for the heavier .308 loads though.

I got the classic turret as my one and only, must do all press and so far it's doing just that.

 

[DaveInFloweryBranchGA]

.308Garand,

I don't know what you are reloading for, but the Lee Classic Turret kit from Kempf's mentioed above is a good choice for pistol or rifle. It's also a very sturdy press that will give you a lifetime of service as well. I know you feel you can't afford anything more than the kits you mentioned, but the Lee Classic cast turret kit isn't that much more, you can be patient and save for it.

As far as "extras," you can buy those a bit at a time.

Regards,

Dave

 

[.308 garand]

btt