Hey all, I’m pretty much brand new to reloading, other than my dad letting me press the lever. I’ve started shooting much more now that I’m older and really want to get into some load development. I’ve got a tikka t3x varmint in 223 and I’m looking to try a bunch of different recipes and really find what it likes. He’s got a Lee load master which I’ve come to find out has been discontinued, but it seems I can still source a shell plate for it. He also has a singe stage press, not sure of the brand, just told me he’s got it. Do you guys think it’s worth it to buy the shell plate, and load them progressively, or don’t bother and just go the single stage route?
223 on a progressive or single stage press?
- Thread starter GeorgeX
- Start date
I second this. I can pump out many handgun loads but I would for sure struggle with a tiny long casing like the 223.
FortHunter
CGN Regular
- Location
- Nowhere relevant
I load all my rifle cartridges on a single stage and I do pistol on a progressive. My reasoning is all my dies for pistol are carbide so once I've tumbled them I can put them on the press and resize, prime, flare, charge, seat a bullet and crimp without removing the piece of brass from the shell holder. For rifle cases they end up coming off of the press numerous times anyways so ill do all my depriming then they get washed. Once they've dried I'll resize the entire batch and wipe off the sizing wax. Then hand prime, charge then seat bullets. So I dont see much time savings having my rifle dies on a progressive press.
One advantage to having a dedicated shell plate is you dont have to adjust your dies unless your switching bullets. They stay set up and your old man doesnt have to mess around with his shell plates when he wants to load and vice versa.
Id probably just use the single stage cause you'll end up needing to adjust the seating die if your testing out different bullets etc. Gives you a chance to see if you enjoy and find the cost savings, enjoyment and satisfaction of reloading vs your time worth it.
One advantage to having a dedicated shell plate is you dont have to adjust your dies unless your switching bullets. They stay set up and your old man doesnt have to mess around with his shell plates when he wants to load and vice versa.
Id probably just use the single stage cause you'll end up needing to adjust the seating die if your testing out different bullets etc. Gives you a chance to see if you enjoy and find the cost savings, enjoyment and satisfaction of reloading vs your time worth it.
When I was reloading, I kept things simple in the interest of keeping them simple. Figured I could make fewer mistakes, even if say..brass life wasn't optimal. I started with .223, RCBS "Partner" press, used. 2pc RCBS die set, FL re-size and a seating die, shell holder. I FL re-sized every time, used a bench-top Lyman case trimmer set for .223 case length. Trim. Manually chamfer/deburr.
I also wanted the primer pocket with no carbon/fouling before polishing and had a couple of tools for that. Tumble, inspect for cracks/wear, debris in primer pocket, manually prime with BR4 primers using one of these; https://shop.rcbs.com/hand-priming-tool/
I also remember a buddy saying about loading .223; "start with 55gr. Hornady V-Max bullets, 25grains of Varget". That shot very well, gun ended-up preferring 53gr. V-Max, 25.7gr Varget after development on all available V-Max weight options. barrel was a 1:9. I also didn't just start with that RCBS Partner press-it's all I ever used and loaded up to .243 with it. I've never loaded with an RCBS Rock Chucker press, but should move to that (or a LEE, something heavier) if I go back to reloading.
I had success working-up loads in every caliber I tried, and in the end .223 was the most rewarding in terms of how quickly I got good results. I think if I would have started with .204R I might have given-up. lol Bad time to be a groundhog in SW Ontario
I also wanted the primer pocket with no carbon/fouling before polishing and had a couple of tools for that. Tumble, inspect for cracks/wear, debris in primer pocket, manually prime with BR4 primers using one of these; https://shop.rcbs.com/hand-priming-tool/
I also remember a buddy saying about loading .223; "start with 55gr. Hornady V-Max bullets, 25grains of Varget". That shot very well, gun ended-up preferring 53gr. V-Max, 25.7gr Varget after development on all available V-Max weight options. barrel was a 1:9. I also didn't just start with that RCBS Partner press-it's all I ever used and loaded up to .243 with it. I've never loaded with an RCBS Rock Chucker press, but should move to that (or a LEE, something heavier) if I go back to reloading.
I had success working-up loads in every caliber I tried, and in the end .223 was the most rewarding in terms of how quickly I got good results. I think if I would have started with .204R I might have given-up. lol Bad time to be a groundhog in SW Ontario
I load 223 on a loadmaster it works fine and the ammo shoots good
Load for both a bolt gun and a semi and get good accuracy using the progressive
If your only gonna load a few rounds the single stage is good one to learn on
You can always get the shellplate for the loadmaster later on and use it if you want to make lots of ammo
Load for both a bolt gun and a semi and get good accuracy using the progressive
If your only gonna load a few rounds the single stage is good one to learn on
You can always get the shellplate for the loadmaster later on and use it if you want to make lots of ammo
My first press I bought was a Dillon 550 and I used it for everything (.223, .308, .30-06, 40 S&W, 9mm). Now I use the Dillon for pistol cartridges only.
Even though I load a couple thousand .223 rounds per year I prefer using a single stage. I like to clean my brass after resizing to remove the case lube. My process has a lot of steps and most of them involve brass prep:
Remove primers
Brass tumbler
Anneal
Full length re-size
Brass tumbler (remove case lube)
Trim (use Little Crow Gunworks trimmer in drill press)
Clean primer pockets and remove factory crimp if once fired.
Debur/chamfer
Prime
Powder (digital powder dispenser)
Seat bullet
Crimp
Even though I load a couple thousand .223 rounds per year I prefer using a single stage. I like to clean my brass after resizing to remove the case lube. My process has a lot of steps and most of them involve brass prep:
Remove primers
Brass tumbler
Anneal
Full length re-size
Brass tumbler (remove case lube)
Trim (use Little Crow Gunworks trimmer in drill press)
Clean primer pockets and remove factory crimp if once fired.
Debur/chamfer
Prime
Powder (digital powder dispenser)
Seat bullet
Crimp
Learn to load on a single stage little ‘grasshopper’…pay your dues…
This way when something ‘hickups’ on a future progressive loader you will have some idea of what may have gone wrong, and have a starting point of what to tweak.
After 60 years of reloading you go through several stages of learning, experimenting, enjoying but eventually pulling the handles on a press becomes a chore if you shoot alot. If you say you still love reloading then I’ll say you haven’t reloaded 300,000-500,000 shells yet…..
A Dillon 550 set up PROPERLY run by an experienced, knowledgable operator will produce match grade pistol and match grade rifle ammunition. Good components properly assembled will produce .25MOA performance out of Quality rifles, not good enough for serious benchrest competition but over and beyond 99% of everything else that needs to be achieved with a handgun or rifle. Just my honest opinion, hope this helps. Cheers….
This way when something ‘hickups’ on a future progressive loader you will have some idea of what may have gone wrong, and have a starting point of what to tweak.
After 60 years of reloading you go through several stages of learning, experimenting, enjoying but eventually pulling the handles on a press becomes a chore if you shoot alot. If you say you still love reloading then I’ll say you haven’t reloaded 300,000-500,000 shells yet…..
A Dillon 550 set up PROPERLY run by an experienced, knowledgable operator will produce match grade pistol and match grade rifle ammunition. Good components properly assembled will produce .25MOA performance out of Quality rifles, not good enough for serious benchrest competition but over and beyond 99% of everything else that needs to be achieved with a handgun or rifle. Just my honest opinion, hope this helps. Cheers….
im a total beginner reloader, just started this yr. Also budget conscious.
got a Lee single stage, plus appropriate caliber dies.
lyman tumbler and media plus extra jug of media from the EE
lyman case prep station, also from the EE. Highly recommend one of these.
along with the prep station i got some lee 8/32 cutter adaptors and then caliber specific case length gauge. So much faster/easier then the crank cutter that sits ontop of the press.
frankfurt arsenal powder funnel kit, with caliber specific funnel adaptors to prevent spillage. The oem plastic funnel was too big for the 223 and had spillage/wastted powder
got a Lee single stage, plus appropriate caliber dies.
lyman tumbler and media plus extra jug of media from the EE
lyman case prep station, also from the EE. Highly recommend one of these.
along with the prep station i got some lee 8/32 cutter adaptors and then caliber specific case length gauge. So much faster/easier then the crank cutter that sits ontop of the press.
frankfurt arsenal powder funnel kit, with caliber specific funnel adaptors to prevent spillage. The oem plastic funnel was too big for the 223 and had spillage/wastted powder
~45 years ago, after playing with Lee dies for 5 or so years, I bought an RCBS RC; still have it. In fact, I now have 2 set up in the loading room. I did buy 2 more to give to my daughters, who are now into reloading. Had a Lyman Crusher 2 when I loaded for a .416 Rigby, but later sold it.
Still have Wilson dies for a few cartridges & still use them, but they serve a different purpose than dies set up in a press.
Bought an RCBS-labelled Ohaus 5-10 scale at the same time. Now have 4 for the same reason outlined above, plus a 10-10 for big stuff. It was a few years before I bought a powder measure, a Redding 3BR; still have it, along with 3 others ones just like it, as well as a BR30.
Started with a Forster case trimmer; later sold it & got a Wilson case trimmer on a Sinclair base. While I still have it, I now use a custom WFT type trimmer.
While I started out with a Lyman Turbo Tumbler, I later built a wet tumbler & have never looked back.
The moral of this long-winded diatribe: "Buy Once, Cry Once!"
My $0.02 Cdn.
Still have Wilson dies for a few cartridges & still use them, but they serve a different purpose than dies set up in a press.
Bought an RCBS-labelled Ohaus 5-10 scale at the same time. Now have 4 for the same reason outlined above, plus a 10-10 for big stuff. It was a few years before I bought a powder measure, a Redding 3BR; still have it, along with 3 others ones just like it, as well as a BR30.
Started with a Forster case trimmer; later sold it & got a Wilson case trimmer on a Sinclair base. While I still have it, I now use a custom WFT type trimmer.
While I started out with a Lyman Turbo Tumbler, I later built a wet tumbler & have never looked back.
The moral of this long-winded diatribe: "Buy Once, Cry Once!"
My $0.02 Cdn.
I do similar, but I have a good friend that loads all his ammo on a progressive, and I haven't noticed my rounds being any better than his. - dan
FortHunter
CGN Regular
- Location
- Nowhere relevant
Ya for sure and I'm sure for most of us, myself included the type of press is going to have little impact on quality of rounds produced. As long as your using a quality press and being consistent and methodical in your reloading practices there will be many other factors that will come into play way before what press you used.
My recommendation would be to jump in and get reloading with what you have available. Buying gear gets to be another discussion, primarily in costs along with components, barrels, etc. Don't get into 'paralysis by analysis' ... you'll make mistakes and learn as you go, deciding what you need to change if you continue reloading.
Like a few others here I started with a 550 about 35+ years ago and can use it as a single stage for precision rounds. A progressive sure helps save time in brass prep, but it comes down to how much time do you have.
Like a few others here I started with a 550 about 35+ years ago and can use it as a single stage for precision rounds. A progressive sure helps save time in brass prep, but it comes down to how much time do you have.
