press recommendation

[twofifty]

Dillon 450?

Great '10 advices...' post, Lost Sheep.

It is all good but I especially appreciate the factor analogy and setup optimization advice - something I find highly beneficial:

I spent time experimenting & figuring out how closely to pack 2 loading trays, a bullet dish, the pow dispenser, the beam scale & trickler (yes, at eye level) and the single stage to shorten all movements to the strict minimum while not impeding the workflow & lines of sight, or feeling 'hemmed in'.

This is too funny:
Quote: "Learning on a progressive can be done successfully, but it is easier to learn to walk in shoes than on roller skates."

I was going to suggest the OP look at the Dillon 450 progressive for his high volume 40SW work, then saw your roller skate line. Yes, the Dillon 450 is a dedicated caliber specific press, with proprietary dies, but doesn't it have a great reputation? And comes pre-assembled and adjusted?

 

[Katitmail]

I learned on Lee Classic Turret. Took me about 1000 rounds to figure out that I need progressive. I meant to keep Lee Classic Turret for developing loads and such. Even had another base made so swapping presses on a bench was 2 minutes deal.

Dillon 650 was easy to setup. But getting comfortable took some time. Maybe 4-5k rounds. Now I can follow through without any issue. Even developing new load is not a big deal anymore. I know how many primers to drop, when to drop case, etc. Works great for all that I need. When I need ammo I just go to garage and in hour or so I have 600-800 rounds ready to go. I don't have 10 hours a month for reloading. Maybe 1hr. After I figured that 650 does everything I need - Lee press was sold.

Loading large rifle cartridges on progressive doesn't look right to me. Dillon 650 is sturdy, but I don't think it will do rifle cartridges nicely. I would definitely get simplest single stage for rifle.

 

[Lost Sheep]

Thanks for the compliments, Twofifty. I wrote the "10 Advices" in 2007-2008 and it has seen several incarnations since. I am always impressed when someone takes the time to read my posts (they are so long). Glad when anyone finds them useful, I always worry that I am wasting bandwidth.


Lost Sheep

 

[Metallic_Cartridge]

First off let me give a big thanks to Lost Sheep. You have provided a ton of information to me and been very helpful. I'm definitely gonna be busy reading through all of them links you posted and absorb all the information I can. Definitely a lot of things to consider here. Still thinking a turret press is going to be the best way to go. Still going to give it time and keep reading tho. Thanks everyone for your help.

 

[oldreloader]

You can always go to YouTube and watch some of the presses really loading.. Just take some of the advise there with a grain of salt.. Everybody isn,t as knowledgeable as Lost Sheep, ArchAngelCD, RCmodel and others here.

 

[9mmepiphany]

It really is a balance between cost and time.

I've loaded on a RocK Chucker SS, a Lee Classic Turret and a Dillon 550, before I finally settled on what to buy.

For what I wanted...being able to step out to the garage and load up a couple of hundred rounds in 30 mins...a progressive was the most efficient way to go. I ended up with a Hornady LNL AP. I'm a handgun shooter and likely go through a minimum of 1k rounds a month

I used the LNL as SS and Turret when learning all the different steps in the reloading process. It's quick change system makes it easy to change between combinations of dies and avoids die adjustment after a change.

I still intend to get a SS at some point. The SS Lee would be the most cost effective, the Hornady SS would let me use the same quick change die bushings, but my heart's desire is the Co-Axe.

It is one of those Buy Once, Cry Once things

 

[twofifty]

mahansm's correction re: Dillon 450 press

mahansm just sent me a PM re: my incorrect description of the
Dillon 450 press.

Here is the correct info, quoting mahansm.

"I thought that the 450 was an early version of the RL550B, without the removable die holder. It just had four threaded holes in the frame over the shellplate/ram.

You're probably thinking of the Square Deal; this is the only one that uses the proprietary dies. It's not a dedicated machine. I load all my small primer pistol cases on one except .45 ACP. I've got a 550 that I use for the large primer stuff and for .223/5.56".

Thank you.

 

[greyling22]

before I dropped a whole lot into reloading I would start small. You may not like it. pick 1 caliber and decide to reload for that. Personally, I think handgun is easier and less tedious to load than rifle, (rifle adds in steps like trimming and lubing that need to be done off the press, so you don't really see any benefit to a turret or progressive.) so I would tend to start there. You can pick up a lee classic turret with safety prime, powder dispenser, dies, riser, the works for around 200. add in another hundred for components, and maybe a scale and you are up and running for around $300.

A turret is a great press to learn on, and will do rifle and pistol ok, but you may find that rifle just doesn't load as well on a turret, and if you shoot a lot of handgun the turret may be too slow and you will want a progressive. So you might start with a turret, then eventually look up and find yourself with a single stage and a progressive with the turret gathering dust. At least that's what happened to me.

 

[cfullgraf]

(they are so long).

Maybe because of the long Alaskan nights?

Besides the excellent info provided by Lost Sheep, in my opinion, a single stage press is an excellent place to start reloading. Things just do not happen so fast so that mistakes can be easily avoided or corrected.

Besides, a single stage press is alway handy to have around even after moving some cartridge reloading to a turret or progressive press. There are specialized tasks that can be performed better on a single stage.

Any of the current manufacture good, O-frame presses will serve the OP well.

 

[Steve2md]

I am a Lee guy. Customer service has been fantastic, to include a handful of new decapping pins for my universal deprime die sent to me free of charge when I broke the 2nd one (totally my fault and admitted as much). That being said, I have an RCBS jr single stage that I inherited from my father in law. The toggle block was stripped out so I couldn't put the handle in the press. When I contacted their customer service to ask the thread pitch so I could repair it myself (9/16x18, FYI) they offered to re tap it to fit the new style ball end handle and give me a handle for free. Just send the toggle block to them and they will take care of the rest. I am now a bug fan of RCBS as well.