[44 Magnum only] dillon / lee / hornady

DocBurN

DocBurN

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I have to admit.. i had an orgasm when i saw the hornady progressive 5 stations machine operate 100% automatically.. but my question would be ..

Lets say i only want to reload 44 magnum.. and never change caliber (dies).. is there a better option over the others, in the 3 main players in the game (dillon / lee / hornady) ??

I am more green than a green newbie in the reloading world but all i can give you as a hint.. the 30 bucks classic lee hammer setup does not appeal to me.. (need to produce more in less time) then i thought single press would do the trick but im the kind of guy who pay a lil more to make the process lazyer :) .. exemple.. getting a 5 stage machine.. for less than 1000$ if possible.

Once again, every input are more than welcome.. i need to get more feedback from experienced reloader from CGN!

Thank you for your time and answers..

DocBurN
 
How much do you shoot ? Why only 44 magnum?
Assuming you are a mid volume pistol shooter I am going to suggest you look into the lee turret systems as they can be had fairly cheaply and produce ammo fairly easily and quickly. Plus with caliber change is as simple as swapping the turret head and the shell holder.

If you are a higher volume shooter I would suggest a dillon 550b as I have just upgraded to one myself loading 100 rounds takes 15 min which is 3 times as fast as the turret. To change callibers swap the toolhead and the shellplate.

If you want the 550 functionality and don't want the toolhead you can find an older 450 for relatively cheaper but calliber changes are a little more involved.

Good luck.
 
jdawg said:
How much do you shoot ? Why only 44 magnum?
Assuming you are a mid volume pistol shooter I am going to suggest you look into the lee turret systems as they can be had fairly cheaply and produce ammo fairly easily and quickly. Plus with caliber change is as simple as swapping the turret head and the shell holder.

If you are a higher volume shooter I would suggest a dillon 550b as I have just upgraded to one myself loading 100 rounds takes 15 min which is 3 times as fast as the turret. To change callibers swap the toolhead and the shellplate.

If you want the 550 functionality and don't want the toolhead you can find an older 450 for relatively cheaper but calliber changes are a little more involved.

Good luck.
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well.. since i had my lever action 44 magnum.. i bought 2 case of 50 rounds and spend them in lightning fast time at the range,.. so that bring me to.. my 44 magnum eats throught a box in no time. other than that i didn't bought my 30-06 yet (the 2nd i will maybe reload) and beside that.. i only shoot .22 and 12 gauge (wont reload either of those 2) == i pretty much only need to reload 44 for now..

also.. i had my pal for 4 months now.. and already have 6 rifles, a safe, and planing on reload.. i have a lifetime to add more calibers, etc.. but for now... i only need 44 magnum.. when the day comes.. i'll get more dies!

The Dillon 550B seem to be a good start for me.. but i would push it to the next level where it auto rotate the base to the next stage.. but probably wont go to the "bullet-auto-feeder / kiss feeder" and will get the put-the-bullet-manually-myself kind of machine!
 
Considering you are new to it all and will be reloading for rifle, I recommend you get a single stage and then move up to a turrent press later.
 
Bitumen said:
Considering you are new to it all and will be reloading for rifle, I recommend you get a single stage and then move up to a turrent press later.
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i learn from other peoples mistake.. what they upgrade to after a while.. after buying a lee classic 27$ kit... after buying a single stage press because its not fast enough..

newbie or not.. and i have learn a ****load already.. i feel the need to not waste money on something i would upgrade in a few months because its not effective enough... its not rocket science for what i have seen so far
 
Boomer74 said:
[youtube]K42moPfP5XM[/youtube]
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that is ###y.. thank you for posting.. i don't know what i should get yet but that should be my max choice in the range of option i will consider... stupid thing is.. i dont have a lot of space.. i could be force to downsize to a 550B .. or others option this thread would throw at me in the next few days... the brass wheel sorter (space problem) is not an absolute must for "ME" but i do understand the usefulness of that thing..
 
Lee Turret Press if you can be happy loading 150 rounds/hour. It's what I currently load .44 & .41 Mag on. It's simple, compact and inexpensive.

If you want to spend more (or produce faster, which I suppose is possible, but I just don't picture .44 mag as a 5000+ rounds per annum calibre) you can go progressive. Nothing wrong with a Dillon Square Deal B for a dedicated caliber press, but the Lee, Hornady or other Dillons will work. I think any of them would be overkill.
 
dealwithit said:
Lol once your set with the press and the hard parts I have a funny feeling you will be looking at all sorts of guns being the ammo then becomes cheap.
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but... but.. my safe only fits 14 rifles (more like 8-10.. 14 is a joke)..

are you telling my i need a second safe ????

lets see.. 4 months having a pal.. still probably got around 60-70 years ahead of me...


oh ****... need more dies!!
 
Buy dies at every sale, auction, estate sale, etc... Buy more firearm storage, LOTS of firearm storage. Once you are far enough into firearms to reload, it becomes an addiction, but a good one!
 
LUTNIT said:
Have you considered RCBS? Most places I look consider Lee to be more entry level and then RCBS, Hornady, and Dillon to be the main players.
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I don't know much about RCBS.. when i name those 3 .. its only because after many search i did, these were the options most of the time.


BattleRife said:
Lee Turret Press if you can be happy loading 150 rounds/hour. It's what I currently load .44 & .41 Mag on. It's simple, compact and inexpensive.

If you want to spend more (or produce faster, which I suppose is possible, but I just don't picture .44 mag as a 5000+ rounds per annum calibre) you can go progressive. Nothing wrong with a Dillon Square Deal B for a dedicated caliber press, but the Lee, Hornady or other Dillons will work. I think any of them would be overkill.
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progressive would be overkill ? i start to beleve that could be true.. i was going for a Lee single stage before reading this thread..

If you could do it all over - Reloading Equipment purchases

.. where almost everybody trash talk the LEE lines of product.. then i spent more time reading on Dillons.

I would be happy with your guesstimate 150 rounds/hour by the way..
 
Well i choosed a Dillon 550B and can't seem to find any space to put that beast (living in an appartment does not help).

I'll get my dillon once i get in a house.. but for now im kind of forced to downsize the press.. and still want to stay away from single stage ones.

Is this photo accurate.. Dillon 550B vs Lee Turret Press ? The Dillon does not seem that much bigger than the lee..

dillonlee.jpg


bench-3.jpg


unless i find a small metal stand or buy a dedicated furniture that i will mount the dillon on.. or a very small n sturdy workbench at home depot
 
Doc, Bitumen hit it on the nose, but of course, you didn't want advice. You are all hot and bothered about a Hornady, and you want someone to to validate your infatuation.

This forum is filled to the brim with guys asking the most simple question about hand-loading, and also with guys answering with the oldest of old wives tales. A single stage press will allow you to learn how to handload, not just re-load, and then , when you want volume, you will have hand rolled examples to seek to replicate in your brand new "Dillady" "loads, 'em, shoots'em and picks'em up from the range" progressive.

I'm on my second RCBS single - gave my first one away - and got a Dillon 550 sitting in a box, with no need to set it up. The progressive will go for components, long before I unbolt the Rock Chucker.
 
ykkid said:
Doc, Bitumen hit it on the nose, but of course, you didn't want advice. You are all hot and bothered about a Hornady, and you want someone to to validate your infatuation.

This forum is filled to the brim with guys asking the most simple question about hand-loading, and also with guys answering with the oldest of old wives tales. A single stage press will allow you to learn how to handload, not just re-load, and then , when you want volume, you will have hand rolled examples to seek to replicate in your brand new "Dillady" "loads, 'em, shoots'em and picks'em up from the range" progressive.

I'm on my second RCBS single - gave my first one away - and got a Dillon 550 sitting in a box, with no need to set it up. The progressive will go for components, long before I unbolt the Rock Chucker.
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what is there to learn more than the last week reading about this stuff.. first i dont care about Hornady.. im looking into Lee and Dillon.. next.. i dont want to master the art of hand loading.. i want to mass produce 44 mag rounds to go fire more rounds cheaper. Once i get the right amount of powder i need.. and adjust the dies.. that stop there.. i want to mass produce ammos.. thats all.

Having no press yet does not mean i am not spending 8 hours a day reading about this stuff. you like having a single.. good for you.. but you bring no lights at all in this thread. Who wants to pay for a single when they got all the minimum knowledge to learn directly on a good and productive / progressive press.. and just pay the right press right now instead of buying 2 or 3 press before having one that does what you really need/wants ?
 
I shouldn't bother, but I can only say, there will be a whole bunch of actual learning going on when you first put powder to case, bullet over powder, and trip the trigger. (No, actually, I don't think there will.) Read all you want, buy what you want, but since you now know it all, I don't ever expect you will need to come on here to ask a simple "Why is this happening?" question!

I just can't figure out why you needed to come on here and ask "Dillon or Lee?"
 
The cheapest solution to mass produce ammo would be to sell your firearms, move to the states, and get a job working for a munitions manufacturer. Problem solved....
 
ykkid said:
I shouldn't bother, but I can only say, there will be a whole bunch of actual learning going on when you first put powder to case, bullet over powder, and trip the trigger. (No, actually, I don't think there will.) Read all you want, buy what you want, but since you now know it all, I don't ever expect you will need to come on here to ask a simple "Why is this happening?" question!

I just can't figure out why you needed to come on here and ask "Dillon or Lee?"
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You are right, you should not bother. You once again bring nothing to the table. What i hear from you is nobody on CGN ever made a good working round without having started on a single stage press or that Lee 27$ kit. if you like screwing dies all day.. have fun with it... the progressive press is just multiple stage at once.. but I do understand that need a brain that can process and multitask to know what is going on at each station so it may not be for you.

Why in the world would i need to come here asking for help from redneck like you ? You have been a great help so far wasting my time so you are right on one point, i'll not post any "Why is this happening?" here. I got people and teacher enough around me to ask question. I was just passing time posting in the reload section while waiting for my reloading gear.
 
Mr D - Considering you have never loaded a case, or read a reloading manual, you should be more mindful of the comments made by others. There is a lot of learning required to load without risk. Everyone who reloads will confide about making mistakes, some serious. Pistol calibers with straight wall cases, and low powder fill densities are the most problematic.
The vast majority of shooters use single stage presses for their complete reloading career. They are easy to use and understand, make quality ammo, and can produce ammo quite quickly. (I can crank out a round every 10 seconds with mine.)
You state you've only had your PAL for 4 months, and only reload for 1 calibre. Well in the next 70 years you will likely be looking at bottleneck cases in accurate centerfire rifles (30-06 or 300 WSM, remember?) At that point you will start the quest for accuracy, and trade quantity of shooting with quality of shooting. Why do I say that - well the vast majority of us were like you 30 years ago.
Dont rule out a single stage press... I upgraded my single stage press by buying a second single stage press - so I could load two calibers simultaneously.
 
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