New to reloading
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A kit is a good way to get started. 9m/m not a problem on that press. Get at least two reloading manuals,Lyman and hornady are the ones I use most. A few other things may be needed depending on what's coming with your kit.
RCBS Rockchucker kit is in the same ballpark money wise I think. With 9mm you're probably going to want to get a progressive press eventually though, but a single stage press is the better way to go when you're starting, in my opinion at least.
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Do you expect to move on to load rifle calibers? The big single-stage O-frame presses are best suited for bottleneck rifle cartridges. You can load pistol on them, but if you're only going to ever load pistol I would get something else. I'm a big fan of the Lee Turret for newbie pistol loaders.
There are at least 20 different presses and about 10 different kits and you are going to get about the same number of different thoughts on the matter. Get the manuals FIRST and read them. Make your decision based on how much you shoot over a long period of time and whether you want to reload other cartridges as well in the near future,
If you are going to be reloading mainly for pistol, a single stage is not a really good place to be. I would suggest something more 'automated' like the Lee Classic Turret at the bottom end, a Redding T7 for a pretty decent compromise between a progressive and a single stage, or go all out and get a Dillon. If you are planning on shooting a lot of 9mm then go through the learning curve and get a good progressive, something like a Dillon 650. It is expensive but worth it. I started with the Lee Turret, added a Dillon 650 and eventually decided that my back wasn't up to shooting pistol any longer and I sold the Dillon. I easily made over 20K of .357 with it. It is a nice machine, a bit quirky when you are first learning, but once dialed in you can definitely crank out the rounds. I had mine set up for .357 and had the conversion kit for .45ACP but found that changing calibers was a royal PITA so eventually I made all my .45ACP on the Lee Turret and left the Dillon set up for .357 permanently. I really like the Lee Turret, inexpensive and it pretty much just works. With the drive rod on the 4 stage version, you can get into a nice rhythm and crank out a pretty reasonable amount of ammo in an hour. I also have a single stage Lee cast and a Redding T7 as well. Each has their place but the Redding makes my bottleneck rifle cartridges (.223, 6.5CM, .308, .300WM) and the Lee Turret gets to make the straight-wall and lever gun cartridges (.357M, .44RM, 45-70, 30-30).
I satrted off with a Lee 50th Anniversary kit. I loaded my share of pistol and rifle ammo with it AND for a couple friends too! Then the novelty wore off in a hurry and I eventually moved onto a progressive press. Single stage is a great stating point and esp if you start loading rifle ammo. I'm in favor of the Hornady LNL or Lee bushing system. Having to screw in each die on a Rock Chucker gets old in a hurry. If you go RCBS, do yourself a favor and change out the bushing to a Hornady LNL one. A single stage press works great as a depriming station as well.
If you're good at methodical and can multi-task, there's no rule saying you can't jump straigh to a progress press.
If you're good at methodical and can multi-task, there's no rule saying you can't jump straigh to a progress press.
As someone relatively new to reloading (around a year) I kinda did things back to front and got a progressive first (Dillon 650)
A progressive is harder to learn on than a single stage, no question, but I'm living proof that if you're methodical and careful at the start it is possible
To date I have only used mine for 9mm and its great for that. I also considered the Dillon 550 (which would be easier to learn on as it doesn't auto index like the 650) and Hornady progressive but in the end I decided that the 650 was the nest fit for me. Its worth noting that one of the things that steered me towards the 650 over the 550 is the fact it has 5 die positions vs 4, so, a powder check die can be used (which was a must for me to avoid over/under charging)
I also have a single stage for rifle (Forster Co-Ax) which is probably the best bet to learn on but I couldn't imagine doing 9mm in bulk on it. With a single stage it feels more like you're making something quality as opposed to quantity
A progressive is harder to learn on than a single stage, no question, but I'm living proof that if you're methodical and careful at the start it is possible
To date I have only used mine for 9mm and its great for that. I also considered the Dillon 550 (which would be easier to learn on as it doesn't auto index like the 650) and Hornady progressive but in the end I decided that the 650 was the nest fit for me. Its worth noting that one of the things that steered me towards the 650 over the 550 is the fact it has 5 die positions vs 4, so, a powder check die can be used (which was a must for me to avoid over/under charging)
I also have a single stage for rifle (Forster Co-Ax) which is probably the best bet to learn on but I couldn't imagine doing 9mm in bulk on it. With a single stage it feels more like you're making something quality as opposed to quantity
Where do you shoot in the Ottawa area?
For 9mm you should start right off with a Dillon 650, nothing impressive or hard about it when it comes to pistols on a progressive.
For any local hints or tips, just look up for the IPSC guys, we all got 650s (some of them 550s or 1050s) and we all load pistol volumes.
We could set you on a path so that you don't buy unnecessary stuff, and might even have someone local willing to help you set up first loads.
Don't get a single stage if your goal is to load 9mm. Or get a single stage, but expect to move on to a progressive very quickly. For 9mm, even the worst possible progressive will be faster than the best single-stage. And the worst single stage (that's the Lee c-style reloader) is as good as the best one.
And don't listen to those who say a progressive is complicated. Learning to reload on a prog isn't hard. You can feed it a single case and it'll act like a single-stage. There's nothing complicated about a progressive. For 9mm, the only downside of a progressive is the price.
And don't listen to those who say a progressive is complicated. Learning to reload on a prog isn't hard. You can feed it a single case and it'll act like a single-stage. There's nothing complicated about a progressive. For 9mm, the only downside of a progressive is the price.
If you have the money this is where you start.
With access to all the CGN knowledge, people at your range who reload and YOUTUBE.
Even a person with a room temperature IQ can figure it out.
Start with reading ABC's of Reloading!
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