New into reloading

I used Dillon square D for years before I lost it in a house fire.I had it set for .45 Auto. I was shooting 200 gr. cast bullets with 3 and a bit grains of Bullseye.I recall that I only set the powder measure once and it got so that I only checked every hundred rounds.

I miss that press.

Grijim
 
I have a Lee LoadMonster :p setup for 9mm right now. A bit finicky to set, and you do have to pay attention, but it's not really that hard to do. I do 400 rounds/hour without breaking a sweat. Broke a primer feed early 'cause I wasn't paying attention during setup phase. Easy fix, and it hasn't happened again (knocks on wood).
Also have a Lee turret press. Old 3 hole design. Works like a charm. 45 ACP, 44 Mag, 38/357 Mag and a few others done on it.

I got razzed a bit from a guy I shoot with about using Lee and how it was garbage. Gotta use a Dillon like him. Well, Karma reached out and cuffed him that night as he started having ammo problems. Turns out a lot of his ammo was loaded with the primers in backwards. His Dillon was somehow flipping them over. So problems can happen with any press.

(E) :cool:
 
The Lee Classic Cast Turret will load you 200 per hour.

The Pro-1000 can do 3-400 hundred per hour but it is a pain to set-up and maintain. It is not robust enough. I used one 20 years ago for a couple of months, before going to a Hornady Projector then the Dillon 550B. The 550B served me best until two weeks ago when I sold mine.

I'm sticking with my Lee Loadmaster for my most used calibers, which happen to use small primers....Loadmaster is the best progressive for the money. LM is a little bit more finicky in the set-up stage but runs like a charm after following instructions in the loadmastervideos, in the forum of the same name.

I will get a Classic Cast 4-hole Turret for my least used caliber...45 acp. My buddy has the old style Lee 4-hole Turret, with the aluminum base and it is a breeze to set-up if you got some reloading experience. We were loading good .45 ammo within an hour of unpacking the box.

If you have the budget and consume a lot of ammo, the Dillon 550B is my recommendation...lifetime warranty as well. Nothing wrong with Lee presses, except that it is too cheap, which may not sit well with some.
 
t-star said:
just be AWARE that the 550 is MANUAL INDEXING- that's ok for rifle in my books,but stupid for pistol- it slows you down and you might double charge
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Nonsense.....I have reloaded on the 550b for nearly 20 years and I have never had a double charge....And can reload pistol at a rate close to anyone with full auto indexing...And my reloading has gotten even faster since I got the case feeder.... Dillon`s always retain their re-sale value, better than excellent warranty, change calibers in a minute (with extra tool heads), and change primer system in a few minutes.....Yes, the Dillon is a little more expensive, but you will not regret it....If the cost is still too high for you, then get the Hornady LNL....
 
(((Echo))) said:
... Turns out a lot of his ammo was loaded with the primers in backwards. His Dillon was somehow flipping them over. So problems can happen with any press.(E) :cool:
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If his primers are flipping over at a high rate, then I suggest the problem rests with the operator, and how he setup the primer system, not with the Dillon....
 
Airwolf said:
If his primers are flipping over at a high rate, then I suggest the problem rests with the operator, and how he setup the primer system, not with the Dillon....
Click to expand...

My guess is that he has an early model Dillon auto Primer filler. They are not adjustable...so for small pistol primers, it operates too fast. Once the primers bunch up, upside down primers will be "carried" across the cut out that is supposed to drop them back in the bottom of the tray. This was fixed in the newer models...or you can buy a new module from Dillon (about $30) that allows you to adjust the speed (ie. slow it down)
 
Having the large primer magazine tube installed in the primer feed while loading small primers can cause primers to flip over and be seated backwards.
 
I'm in the same situation. I'm looking to start reloading for 9mm, .45ACP, .223 and .303 Brit. I'm not an hardcore shooter and I have enough free time.

A local store sells a lot of Lyman relaoding supplies.

Maybe someone can point good starter kits for reloading or maybe a list of things you should buy. I would really appreciate that.

I'd like to invest around 500-600 to be ready to reload.

Many thanks!
 
The Lee turret press is a good starter press and can do rifle and pistol. It keeps you involved in the process and lets you learn a lot at a pace you can enjoy. They will let you load about 150rds of pistol or 50 rds of rifle an hour. Cost of getting a second calibre is about $50 for dies and disk.
 
I've been looking through the normal retailers around Canada for the Lee Turret press kit and it doesn't seem that anyone is carrying it. Does someone knows of a store that has those for sale?

Or is it better to buy everything to the piece?
 
OutL4w said:
I'm in the same situation. I'm looking to start reloading for 9mm, .45ACP, .223 and .303 Brit. I'm not an hardcore shooter and I have enough free time.

A local store sells a lot of Lyman relaoding supplies.

Maybe someone can point good starter kits for reloading or maybe a list of things you should buy. I would really appreciate that.

I'd like to invest around 500-600 to be ready to reload.

Many thanks!
Click to expand...

I'm not familiar with Canadian pricing for a Lee Classic Cast Turret, but even if you have to buy in US$ sounds like your budget is more than sufficient for your calibers of choice.
 
OutL4w said:
I've been looking through the normal retailers around Canada for the Lee Turret press kit and it doesn't seem that anyone is carrying it. Does someone knows of a store that has those for sale?

Or is it better to buy everything to the piece?
Click to expand...

If you already have the items included in the piece, just buy the rest separately.
 
i've got a lee single stage,a classic cast lee turret and just picked up a dillon rl550b barely used but missing some parts so i'm waiting on dillon to ship them to me.

i love the lee classic cast turret.you can change over calibers,including small/large primer changeover in a few minutes.powder changeover in a few minutes also.

the dillon is well made but to change calibers is very time consuming(i haven't used it yet but reading the manual and looking @ the press itself,well...)
if you wanted to reload 1 caliber for a 1000 rounds then o.k. but if you want to do a couple of calibers(pistol) in 1 sitting then maybe not a good choice...
 
toyboy said:
i've got a lee single stage,a classic cast lee turret and just picked up a dillon rl550b barely used but missing some parts so i'm waiting on dillon to ship them to me.

i love the lee classic cast turret.you can change over calibers,including small/large primer changeover in a few minutes.powder changeover in a few minutes also.

the dillon is well made but to change calibers is very time consuming(i haven't used it yet but reading the manual and looking @ the press itself,well...)
if you wanted to reload 1 caliber for a 1000 rounds then o.k. but if you want to do a couple of calibers(pistol) in 1 sitting then maybe not a good choice...
Click to expand...
Thats where the extra toolheads come in that you can buy for the 550...With them, you change calibers in seconds....Yes it adds to the expense of the 550, no doubt about it....But reloading in large amounts, it pays for itself in no time...Just a preference.....
 
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