Jenrick
Member
I've always been a fairly high volume shooter, and with the ammo prices these days reloading is definitely the way to go. I've been loading steadily on my Lee Challenger press for a while now, but any major jump in ammo consumption (match, extended practice, training class) really eats up time trying to produce enough ammo. I'm currently looking at going to either a turret or a progressive to satisfy my ammo production needs. I know the a progressive gives a much higher volume production, but I know they are more finicky.
Currently I need decent amounts of .38 spl, 9mm, .45 ACP, and 5.56. Powder is W231 in pistol and one of the IMR's (whatever is on sale and appropriate) in 5.56. Current volume is about 2-300 rds of each caliber every week, so between 800-1k rounds per month of each (hence why reloading is the only way I can afford to shoot as much as I do). I can produce that by putting in an hour a day or so everyday throughout the week on my single stage press, but any jump in consumption plays havoc. I just finished a class where we shot over 1K of 5.56 and 800 or so 9mm in 3 days. That took some work to get that all taken care of.
Can a progressive produce good training rifle ammo? If it can, is it a pain to get it to do so? I know a lot of people say that with rifle cases they deprime and/or resize off the progressive. If I'm going to mess with that I'm not sure it's worth having a progressive. Can a turret press produce pistol ammo in a timely enough manner to make it a viable alternative to a progressive?
If I go with a progressive, I'd like to keep it on the less expensive end as I know they are where the BIG money in reloading can be spent. Recommendations? As far as turrets go I can afford more of a middle of the line model, but is it worth it to go there? All the reviews I've ready on the Lee Classic Turret are good, and I haven't seen anything to make going up in price to a Dillon or the like worth it. What am I missing?
In short, if you need to load 1K a month of .38 spl, 9mm, .45 ACP, and 5.56 what press would you use and why?
I'm currently leaning towards a Lee Classic Turret, as I know it will function to produce all the calibers I need without having to muddle with things much. The production rates I've seen quoted for it appear to be in line with my shooting, requiring only a couple of hours a week to keep me in ammo. Does anyone see any major problems?
-Jenrick
Currently I need decent amounts of .38 spl, 9mm, .45 ACP, and 5.56. Powder is W231 in pistol and one of the IMR's (whatever is on sale and appropriate) in 5.56. Current volume is about 2-300 rds of each caliber every week, so between 800-1k rounds per month of each (hence why reloading is the only way I can afford to shoot as much as I do). I can produce that by putting in an hour a day or so everyday throughout the week on my single stage press, but any jump in consumption plays havoc. I just finished a class where we shot over 1K of 5.56 and 800 or so 9mm in 3 days. That took some work to get that all taken care of.
Can a progressive produce good training rifle ammo? If it can, is it a pain to get it to do so? I know a lot of people say that with rifle cases they deprime and/or resize off the progressive. If I'm going to mess with that I'm not sure it's worth having a progressive. Can a turret press produce pistol ammo in a timely enough manner to make it a viable alternative to a progressive?
If I go with a progressive, I'd like to keep it on the less expensive end as I know they are where the BIG money in reloading can be spent. Recommendations? As far as turrets go I can afford more of a middle of the line model, but is it worth it to go there? All the reviews I've ready on the Lee Classic Turret are good, and I haven't seen anything to make going up in price to a Dillon or the like worth it. What am I missing?
In short, if you need to load 1K a month of .38 spl, 9mm, .45 ACP, and 5.56 what press would you use and why?
I'm currently leaning towards a Lee Classic Turret, as I know it will function to produce all the calibers I need without having to muddle with things much. The production rates I've seen quoted for it appear to be in line with my shooting, requiring only a couple of hours a week to keep me in ammo. Does anyone see any major problems?
-Jenrick