Recommend me a press

[Joker]

I want to get into reloading. I been looking around and loved the price of the lee 1000s but after looking at some reviews they are probably best to be kept with 1 caliber. I am a man of many calibers from 9mm to 7.62x54. The press I was looking at was $175ish but I guess you get what you pay for. I also seen a few out there for around $1,000. Are there any good presses that has no problems switching the dies for different calibers at the $200-300 range?

Thanks in advance.

 

[biganimal]

Joker

don't let the price fool ya. Lee makes good products that rival all the rest but the pro 1000 ain't one of them. I have several presses including Lee, Lyman, RCBS, Pacific, and C&H. All are excellent presses, all will do the job, but the Lee will do it for far less $$.

I use three single stage presses set up on my bench, two Lee's and one RCBS rockchucker. I like this set up very well and I am quite proficient with it. The lee presses are the Challenger and the RCBS is a rockchucker. I size and decap with the chucker and expand the cases and seat the bullets with the Lees sometimes I use my old Lee turret press when loading a lot of pistol ammo such as .25ACP, 9mm, and 45Acp. its just easier for me on this press and I still get the feel of loading each and every cartridge. I tried a pro 1000 and a dillon but sold both after loading a couple hundred rds on each. the 1000 was a cat lady to set up and quick to fall out of specs and the dillion took all the fun out of reloading.

My suggestion any new reloader is buy a LEE kit to get started. Both the 4 hole turret press kit and the Challenger press kit are great to start with and continue with for a lifetime (with a few needed additions) unless one has the need to spend a lot more money and get the high dollar stuff.

I can assure you that if you loaded 20 rds using Lee tools and another 20 using any other manufacturer's tools and shoot em thru the same firearm the final results will be the same. Its not the tools, its the guy using them that makes the difference.

I know I will hear a lot of flack from "reloading snobs" about this post but I don't care and after "rolling my own " for over 40 years I know that to make good ammo doesn't need to cost you your first born.................

 

[Dave29461]

I bought Big Animals Progressive 1000 and have had no problems with it. I like it so much I load 9mm, 38Spec., 40S&W and 45ACP. I also have a Turret Press That I use to load 9mm Largo, 7.62x25, 32-20, 32 S&W Long, .380 etc. and a single stage for some rifle calibers that I don't load on the Turret Press. I like Lee presses and dies. I agree that the biggest difference in the presses and the ammo produced are the price and the fellow pulling the handle. Patience and focus are needed to load good safe ammo. Plenty of reference books for loads and brands of powders help too. Just a thought.
Dave

 

[Landy]

I won't deny that lee makes some good stuff.
But also look into the Hornady line as well. If you are in the Summerville area stop by East Coast Guns and ask to see the reloading room. They have a complete set up that you can actually rent time on if you want.
You will find after you reload for a bit that you will like most the equipment of one maker but will still have odds and ends from others. Some make an item that just works for you better than another. So always be open minded about the brands. Only so many ways to build it. If you can get lucky and and try out some different equipment before buying I would do so. This way you will have a more informed idea of what you want and what you want to do..

 

[Joker]

I found a press I kinda liked it is this lee 1000 in the video below. Is this considered to be a single stage? I basicly want a press like this were it can do multiple things at once but I want to be able to change out the dies for different calibers with ease. Like I said I will be doing multiple calibers.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DMniDogU ... re=related

 

[Dave29461]

I have to agree with Landy. Go to East Coast and take a class and try the presses they have there. You might find that you want to start with a simple set-up and move to the progressive as you gain skill. I like the Progressive but the Turret is easier to start on without getting frustrated.

 

[Joker]

I live in Myrtle Beach so I am probably not going to drive out there just to try one out. I have a friend who lives around here but doesnt have much free time that does reloading. I know once I get the hang of it I will be able to do much more so I rather not start off with the "easier" one.

 

[Joker]

Basicly I need to know if that lee 1000 progressive one is worth getting if I plan on changing calibers a lot or is there another one out there that is comparable to this particular one.

 

[Clicker]

I don't believe you'll find a true progressive in your price range that offers easy caliber swaps. The Hornady and Dillon presses are reliable and well respected but more costly than the Lee units. Do some research on the Lee units, it seems most problems center around the priming systems.

I own a Lee Load-Master but I've never used the thing instead I use three Dillon SDB's for my pistol caliber needs. Rifle calibers and small volume pistol reloading are done on an old RCBS single stage. Lest you think me a reloading snob the RCBS kit is the only one I bought new the Dillon's all fell into my lap so cheaply it's obscene.

For me I've never felt like a progressive would work for rifle cartridges. What I mean is I shoot mainly SA/FA guns and wind up with mixed brass at the end of the day so they all need to be sized and trimmed. Primer crimps need attention too. That's a lot of work happening on a progressive and to incorporate all those tools/features into the press you're talking big money.

YMMV

 

[Joker]

^thank you thats actually great input so you would say the single stage would be the best way to go?

 

[Parhams0508]

From what I've seen, a turret press is an excellent compromise between the progressive and single stage presses. Not nearly as expensive as the progressives, but they offer a greater output than single stages.

I talked with a friend of mine who has the Hornady progressive, and he swears up and down by it (he got rid of his single stage for it). His reasoning behind it is since that he shoots calibers that are used in high capacity firearms, with high rates of fire, he should get a press that produces rounds at a higher frequency. If you were reloading for a hunting rifle only, heck, a handpress may be sufficient as you won't be reloading a ton of rounds. If you're a person who will be shooting a lot, then a progressive might be a justified investment.

I kind of like biganimal's set up of using multiple single-stage presses instead of using a turret or progressive press. I'd love to see a picture of how much space that takes up!

(Now, I understand that I didn't really address your original question, but I figured that the volume of rounds produced may need to be addressed.)

 

[Regulis7]

I have a Lee Turret that uses the 4 hole turrets and have been very pleased with it, been using this press for 5 years now and no issues. I have turrets setup for a specific caliber/load and its a matter of putting a different turret and shell holder in the press to switch calibers. Think I mentioned in someone else's post, I do not use the press mounted powder drops and I prefer to de-primer with a Lee Hand Press (got tired of sweeping up spent primers around my loading bench).

 

[biganimal]

Parhams0508 asked how much room it takes for my presses, well I have a room over the garage devoted to reloading and guns. My press bench is 4 feet long and it takes it all for the presses. I also have a 5' long bench with 4 large drawers for storage of dies and tools plus countless boxes, cans, and bags of brass and bullets. Under one bench is 25 lbs of media and close to 35 lbs of powder.

when i was younger and had a bunch of kids (4) I reloaded with a lee handpress at the kitchen table or on a TV tray table in the living room. I now load for 17 calibers and cast for most of them. Casting is done in the garage. On average I load 100 to 200 rds an evening about 4 evenings a week.
I don't get to the range as often as I would like to so it means I have a nice stock pile for the revolution.

 

[Clicker]

^thank you thats actually great input so you would say the single stage would be the best way to go?

I'm not sure that it's the best way for you but I'd say you will always be able to find a use for a single stage. The turrets presses as mentioned by others are worth a look also, they seem to offer an improvement in speed over the single stages.

I do rifle case prep work in large batches of 1K or more (over several days) with my single stage. When I need more ammo it's simply a matter of dropping powder and seating the bullets.

 

[Tigerstripe]

i have used my Lee Pro 1000 since the 90s. what you do is buy a turret for each set of dies. when they are set thats it. swap turrets and the other cal is set.

i will get the camera now and show my dies, ok?
these are pistol cals. as Clicker says its just easier to load large lots of rifle cals with a single stage.

By tigerstripe1 at 2012-09-10