Aluminum is useful, but not because it is stronger than steel.
I have presses made of steel and others made of aluminum. Primary difference? Weight versus volume. For whatever reason aluminum appears to be the primary choice for progressives.
Aluminum is useful, but not because it is stronger than steel.
That was a very long running and very false rumor. RCBS has lots of enemies. Who knows who started the rumor. The truth is, RCBS does have a few small, nonessential parts in some of their products made in China.
I have presses made of steel and others made of aluminum. Primary difference? Weight versus volume. For whatever reason aluminum appears to be the primary choice for progressives.
2inchpattern,2inchpattern said:Progressive Press Preference?
I recognize that when it comes to reloading presses opinions are varied and vehement but I'm going to ask anyway. From your experience, what are the relative advantages and disadvantages of the Hornady Lock N' Load AP, the RCBS Pro 2000 Auto Index, and the Dillon R550-B? I've never reloaded before but am about to take the plunge and get into reloading for a number of calibers (9mm Luger, 45ACP, 223, 257 Roberts, 270 Win, 30-06, 30-40 Krag, and 338 Win Mag) so will be sinking a pretty good chunk of cash into equipment and want to get as much of the straight skinny as I can from those of you who have been using these things for a while before I drop my cash on the counter. Thanks.
I've never reloaded before but am about to take the plunge and get into reloading for a number of calibers (9mm Luger, 45ACP, 223, 257 Roberts, 270 Win, 30-06, 30-40 Krag, and 338 Win Mag)[QUOTE/]
You don't want a progressive for most of your choices. The are slow to change calibers and expensive as well. They are for producing hundreds of rounds in the same sitting.
A turrent press on the other hand would allow you to load 40 rounds of 338 win mag then rotate the turret and snap in another shell holder and load 40 257 roberts, rotate and 40 rounds of...
I've never reloaded before but am about to take the plunge and get into reloading for a number of calibers (9mm Luger, 45ACP, 223, 257 Roberts, 270 Win, 30-06, 30-40 Krag, and 338 Win Mag)[QUOTE/]
You don't want a progressive for most of your choices. The are slow to change calibers and expensive as well. They are for producing hundreds of rounds in the same sitting.
A turrent press on the other hand would allow you to load 40 rounds of 338 win mag then rotate the turret and snap in another shell holder and load 40 257 roberts, rotate and 40 rounds of...
A turret would indeed make loading a few rounds of stuff you don't shoot that often, easier....mostly because and if you populate the head as you described and put it away populated. Loading the same...batch style...on a single is slower, but not that much slower. Less convenient, yes, but easier to be careful with primers and powder.
I tend you agree with you 99% of the time, but I differ with your statement on what a progressive is good for. Perhaps it depends somewhat on the progressive. I would rather take 5 minutes changing calibers on my RCBS and load 200 257 Roberts, than load 40 with the same effort on a turret. Even loading 40 prepped cases on my progressive would take 10 minutes (and I'm being way generous), 15 counting setup time. That's not worth it?
Yes progressives are more expensive....that's another matter. Depends what your patience and time is worth. As I got older, my patience grew thinner. Two years ago, I had enough single station reloading, and now I would not go back. RCBS Pro 2000 caliber-change times cemented that attitude.
I load a lot of .308 on my progressive...after case prep, and I'm really glad I don't have to use my Rock Chucker (or a turret) except to size brass to be prepped.
I tend you agree with you 99% of the time, but I differ with your statement on what a progressive is good for. Perhaps it depends somewhat on the progressive. I would rather take 5 minutes changing calibers on my RCBS and load 200 257 Roberts, than load 40 with the same effort on a turret.
I understand what you are saying but is he going to load 200 257 Roberts at a time (does he even have that many empty cases?).
From his last post...I'm guessing he does. He could clear that up for us. No matter, though, both points taken.
Don’t get me wrong , I love and do most all of my loading on progressives. However, I don’t like fiddling with presses too much so I tend to keep my 8 different progressive presses set up in the calibers that I load most often. I even have two of each model so I don’t have to mess with primer system changes from large to small, when I do load different rounds. That is my preferred method but is quite expensive, many thousands of dollars invested over many years. Even with all of the machines that I have I still use other non progressives for odd ball stuff as it’s faster and I don’t have to add on to the house to add more machines to the reloading room to get the job done.
Here is one of my turret presses with dies set for 6 different chambering and two powder measures on a bar stool, that’s compact. Not to mention you can swap from one to the other faster than you can find the tools to do it on a progressive and the only “conversion” cost is a shell holder if your die set didn’t come with one.
Point also taken. But you are a damn lucky special case! An anomaly! I'm always amazed at your collection of equipment and what you do with it. My budget, space, and luck in finding good deals will never compare to yours! I have two presses, one of them a good progressive, and I feel fortunate enough...ah...so far.
Almost all of the rounds I load on single stage or turret presses I load less than a hundred, on average, a year and just don’t warrant the extra costs involved. The OP’s situation might be different but some on his list are pretty obscure. I picked up the turret press above used for less money than 1 Dillon caliber conversion or Hornady bushings and shell holder costs.
Prospective reloading equipment budget would ideally be between $1000 and $1500 plus incrementals (bullets, powder, brass, primers). Does this sound reasonable?
In thirty years, Hornady will likely refuse to talk to you about your 2010 vintage press while Dillon will still stock spare parts and update kits.
I can not believe how unhelpful and negative this thread has been to this new guy, who's asking simple questions.
Originally Posted by rbernie
In thirty years, Hornady will likely refuse to talk to you about your 2010 vintage press while Dillon will still stock spare parts and update kits.
Good one Mod, pretty sure I'll be dead by then.
Yep. If I could afford to shoot that much ammo, I could afford to buy all the presses and use them until I decide which one I liked.If you are going to have $100,000 spent on components in under 3.5 years, the machine cost is negligible
Hmm... As I look at the numbers I gave you all and think about the amount of time and money available I realize that I may have been a bit aggressive in my estimates of how much shooting and subsequent reloading I plan to do.
...
I really do appreciate the input you guys have been willing to give me as I sort through this dilemma and am not taking any of this as being in anything but the best of helpful spirit. I hadn't really thought about the idea of going to a number of single stage presses for my rifle cartridges. Thought it made more sense to pick up a single progressive press and whatever was necessary to handle the caliber changes. Am I just letting the excitement of a new hobby carry be away regarding the progressive press thing? Have I lost my perspective here? Thanks for continuing to get back to me.