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I think I am interested in getting in to reloading...

crazymjb

crazymjb

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Hey, title kind of says it all. I have been doing some looking around for a few months, and I am getting increasingly more interested in getting into reloading. I'll let the experts direct me, but I think that I would like to start on a single stage or turret press. A big reason for this is initial cost, lower volume of ammunition production (and honestly I would consider this another hobby so I don't need to be hyper-efficient), and the likelihood that I will be back in a smaller college apartment soon so a small setup may be all I can get away with.

I was looking at something like the Lee four hole classic turret press, am I going the wrong direction? My understanding is if I moved up to a progressive press in the future that most big brand dies would carry over. I like the ability to use it as a semi-progressive and single stage press, and that it has a small foot print. With a more simple setup like this, what else would I need to get started? Powder measure, scale, calipers, tumbler/media, etc... Again to start out, I will be doing a relatively small volume at a time, and available space is a consideration.

My priorities in ammunition are .40S&W, 30-06, .223/5.56, 9mm, and I see .45 and and .308 on the horizon. I know I will need to figure out the whole living in MA situation with regard to getting supplies, and I'm hoping that doesn't drive the cost up to unreasonable amounts. Also, there is nothing wrong with running cast lead bullets through handguns I'd assume, as I've seen .40 for around 70/1000.

Thanks for any input

Mike
 
Hey Mike,

For whats it's worth I started out with the Lee Classic Turret press but moved on to a Dillon Progressive after about 3 months. The Lee wasn't bad, just "quirky" and I found myself spending more time tinkering/swearing at it than reloading. If I had to do it again I would have gone right to the Dillon 550 since it you can use it to work on one round at a time until you feel comfortable going progressive. Footprint seems to be the same with both presses and both can me bolted to a 2X4 and clamped to a sturdy desk. The big question is going to be, do you have more time than Money? Or more money than time? My Lee setup was about $350 for all the essentials, Dillon was twice that but at least 4 times faster and works perfect right out of the box.
 
I use a Lee turret press and it is fine for my needs (.40, .45, .38, 9mm). I usually do a run of 250 - 500 of a particular caliber at a time and it usually takes me around 2 1/2 hours (no rush, just puttering along). I don't currently reload rifle calibers so I can't comment on how a Lee performs with the larger rounds vs. pistol cartridges. One thing you need to be aware of is how much space you will need for that may different calibers. I have a large storage room that I keep my shooting supplies in and it is amazing how much space the components take up. I don't think you will be able to pull it off in a college size apartment.
 
With all of those calibers, get the Hornady LnL, you won't be disappointed. If you are like me and others, you will be upgrading to a progressive press in a few months and have "wasted" a lot of time and money on something like a Lee Classic.
 
A Lee Challenger kit includes everything you need except dies for $105. And you can use the dies if you decide to upgrade to another press later. Pickup a small desk for free off Craigslist and you have a setup that gives you the capability to try reloading without using much space or making a big investment. Lee is definitely the Yugo to Dillon's Cadillac but they work and a single stage press is easy to learn on.
 
Turret presses are just serial in line masochism. I would get a 550B at a minimum and go up from there. They only way you will get hosed reloading is if you don't really shoot that much.

You're wrong about being efficient. If you can't produce ammo (relatively) efficiently in the volume required then you'll just stop doing it, unless you have lots and lots of time on your hands and are very bored.

I loaded pistol ammo on a single stage for a whole year and it sucked, although it did get the job done. I happened to have a lot of free time on my hands back then, if I went to go try the same thing today I probably just wouldn't be able to do it.

-Mike
 
If you are going to reload rifle ammo, I'd get a regular single stage press and then move up to a progressive. The added expenses of most turret presses is not needed with the breach lock type adapters they have now. I have a LnL and I still do a lot of my rifle reloading with a single stage.


B
 
When I started 35 years or so ago. I uses a single stage RCRS Jr. I had to load one stage at a time up hill both ways. My own opinion is that everyone should start with a single stage and then get a Dillon but always keep that single stage cause you will use it from time to time.
 
I like my RCBS turret. It allows me to give individual attention and inspection to each round while permitting for a decent output. I don't get to the range often and I don't shoot 100's of rounds when I do so the progressive doesn't make sense for me. But say I find out last minute that I'm going to the range the next day with a friend, I still have the ability to put out 150rds an hour if I need to. I can crank out a lot of ammo for my Glocks but slow things down when I reload for my old Steyr...it's that flexibility that I like. Right now I reload 9mm Luger and Steyr (different cases), .40s&w, .38/.357, .380acp, and I'll be starting .223 and .30-40 Krag soon.

The only gripe I have is the priming system, I have wasted dozens of new primers on it. It's a good concept that doesn't always work out well in reality. It can be very tricky feeding primers and takes some practice and tweaking. But once I got it right it tends to work well and greatly speeds up the process; resizing/deprime+expand case head+prime in about 3 seconds.
 
take a class, wish these classes where around 2 years ago....I spent a year checking out and deciding what to get as I saved up a budget. I jumped in with a bunch of Xmass presents to self in 2010.
I got a lot of time....I went single stage for now but have all the other goodies including dies for all my needs.

One note if your doing small batches and space saving dont get a huge tumbler unless you got losts of brass. I have the bigger lyman model works geat when filled with the proper amount of brass and media, not so much with just a few hundred 9mm or 45 cases though.
 
If lower cost is part of the reason(s), as opposed to putting all the bullets through one hole a football field or two away, then you have to factor in your time. Listen to the Gurus that say "progressive".

A single stage or turret press is not useless....but the efficiency derived from one finished cartridge per pull of the handle as opposed to one cartridge per 3-4 pulls (depending on what operations you perform), plus a trip to the powder measure [insert number of rounds being made in this production run here] will make a huge difference in "cost"

If the experts say, "take a class", and offer a money-back guarantee....take the class!

Good luck
 
When I started reloading, 38 years ago, I lived in a tiny apartment in Fiskdale (Sturbridge), MA. (Hinman street for those who wonder)
The only space I had for reloading was the kitchen table. I bought a RCBS single station press, and bolted that to a board, and than clamped the board to my kitchen table. Worked well for the time I lived there, and was always able to make as much ammo as I needed.

A progressive or turret press takes up a lot of real estate, especially in a cramped apartment.

Go with a single station press for now. Even later on, when you might want something faster, you'll still appreciate the single station for doing small volumes, and test setups.

Take a class. It's the fastest way to get going. And, you'll save tons of $$$ by not buying stuff you don't need, and by know what you DO need to buy, and why. You'll also learn how to save money on supplies, etc. Most importantly, you'll learn what things regarding SAFETY are critical to success. At the end of a day, you will be a confidant and successful reloader.

My plans for FL seem to be hanging in the air at the moment, but my reloading room is totally dismantled. Otherwise, I'd still be doing classes also.

Best of luck and success with your new hobby. It will serve you well!

BTW, I still have that first RCBS single station press. It's been used all the time in all of those years, right up until it went in the moving crate. It will get used again, once the dust settles.
 
I'm interested in getting into reloading aswell and I'm curious about the value of my time vs the dollar savings. How many rounds of say 9mm can you reload in an hour? If there is a better way to measure the time feel free to correct me.
 
mike01824 said:
I'm interested in getting into reloading aswell and I'm curious about the value of my time vs the dollar savings. How many rounds of say 9mm can you reload in an hour? If there is a better way to measure the time feel free to correct me.
Click to expand...

Dollar savings depends a lot on what you reload.... Mark and I shoot a lot of calibers that are very pricey (50 Beo, 458 Socom, 500 Mag, 50 BMG etc)..... We run a 550B with die heads set up for each of the calibers (except 50 BMG which has it's own dedicated press) so change over/set up is pretty quick and our output is probably in the range of 300-400 an hour.... For those calibers the payback is huge....

For more common calibers the payback is still there but not as quick......
 
mike01824 said:
I'm interested in getting into reloading aswell and I'm curious about the value of my time vs the dollar savings. How many rounds of say 9mm can you reload in an hour? If there is a better way to measure the time feel free to correct me.
Click to expand...

I reload 100 rounds of pistol ammo on a Dillon 550 w/ casefeeder in 7 minutes. Some people see reloading as a relaxing activity that should be taken slow and enjoyed. I do not feel this way.

As for saving money, it's been said a million times... you won't save any money, you'll just shoot more at a lower cost per round.
 
Thanks Bob and Bill for putting it in perspective.


bill o said:
As for saving money, it's been said a million times... you won't save any money, you'll just shoot more at a lower cost per round.
Click to expand...

And I agree with that! Its just the accountant in me thinking in dollars...
 
Right now, as I said, time efficiency isn't a big factor. I also plan on getting into a lot more longer range shooting, hence loading my own "match grade" ammunition, in which case I'd probably be wicked meticulous. If there is a place on every reloading bench (like it sounds) for a single stage press, I'd probably like to start down that route. If I get into it, I fully intend to pawn off the progressive press on a family member for a Christmas gift or something. I'm not playing the whole time is money thing right now. Would it be a mistake, financially, to start off with a single stage press?

Mike
 
crazymjb said:
Would it be a mistake, financially, to start off with a single stage press?

Mike
Click to expand...

No, it would be to your advantage to have a single stage press, whether or not you start out with one.

I'm not familiar with Lee presses as I've never owned one. I hear so much controversial stuff about them both good and bad. They're a price point item and for the price you can't beat them and perhaps the addage that you get what you pay for is true.

I started with a RCBS single stage and still have it. Have gone through a couple L-N-L's and have settled with a couple Dillon SDB's and RL550's. My .02 is that you cannot beat a Dillon press and the support that's given it. Granted it costs more and you won't see dealers putting them on sale either. Thing is they're dependable, reliable, and (IMHO) less finicky than most, if not all the other presses that produce equivent rounds of ammo.
 
mike01824 said:
I'm interested in getting into reloading aswell and I'm curious about the value of my time vs the dollar savings. How many rounds of say 9mm can you reload in an hour? If there is a better way to measure the time feel free to correct me.
Click to expand...

On a Dillon 550, without case feeder, 100 rounds of pistol ammunition (9mm, 45 ACP, or .38 Spcl) takes me about 20 minutes, assuming that I don't have to change the press over to a new caliber.
 
Mike,

I started with a Lyman Spar-T turret press, running a single-stage at a time. See here for picture:
http://www.practicallyshooting.com/forums/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=2568

I was meticulous in my reloading.

BUT it took me 45 minutes to reload 50 rds and I hated reloading because of it. I was loading .380ACP, 9mm, .38Spl, .357Mag and .45ACP and shooting ~200 rds/week combined. It was a great press, but it was a serious time-sink for me. I was going to grad school, working part-time for the PD as well as a full-time job.

I ended up quiting reloading and sold it some years later to a co-worker.

YMMV
 
So if I were too look towards a single stage press, the Lee's seem to keep coming up in mention, the O presses. Would it be wise to get a kit online, or just piece something together. I was looking at this in particular: http://www.amazon.com/LEE-PRECISION...VWC6/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1329168589&sr=8-2 Would it make more sense to just buy the press, and then buy everything else seperately?

Any recommendations on dies? I will be starting with .40S&W for plinking, and 30-06 for more accurate shooting, but those will be my first 2 die purchases.

Mike
 
LenS said:
I ended up quiting reloading and sold it some years later to a co-worker.
Click to expand...
I would have done the same if I'd gotten a single-stage press rather than my 550b as my first press.

There is some dogma in the shooting world that everyone should start shooting with a .22lr revolver. I didn't believe in that and started with a Glock 17. I still don't believe in that.

There is some dogma in the reloading world that everyone should start reloading with a single stage press. I don't believe in that either. Progressive presses aren't that hard and when it comes to loading straight-walled pistol cartridges, progressives are very fast, and given how pressed for time most of us are, single stage presses just won't work if you need to produce a reasonable quantity.
 
I agree with M1911 that there is no real need to start on a single stage, however if you are going to get a single stage, I would recommend you look at the Lee Classic Cast. Much better than all the other lee junk. I like it because it's a well built steel press and gets rid of primers through a tube in the ram. Most others just have a little cup that they pile up into. Redding Big Boss II, Ultramag and Forester Co-Ax do the same but they are very expensive presses.

I like Forester Ultra Micrometer seating dies and Reading sizing dies.

B
 
Is the kit worth it, or should I spend a little more and get some components separately? Just reading the reviews of individual pieces and it was looking like I could piece something together for not much more, and have some more solid tools/components. Rather than just having junk I have to replace.

Mike
 

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