Best press for under $300?

[natesfitness]

I'm thinking about investing in some reloading gear. I'll be loading 45 ACP and 45-70 at the moment and want something I can load both on, but also a press that's relatively quick to load my pistol rounds. I was looking at the Lee PRO 1001, would this be a good choice? Any better presses in the same price range I am overlooking?

 

[upnorth]

dillon makes a good press for both, I much prefer my co-ax press for rifle rounds, but in your case a dillon 550 is a good choice, over 300 though....

 

[mlehtovaara]

For .45 acp the lee 4 hole turret is prolly the best option for something semi progressive in that price range. Anything wlse is gonna be a single stage and doing 45acp especially with a crimping stage will take a lot of time on a single stage! The 45/70 will be a little different with the turret and will have to be used as a single stage by removing the indexing rod. It is an easy process and can still be used as a progressive by manually indexing the turret. The reason for this is with the indexing rod in place the turret will attempt to turn before the case clears the dies on each downstroke. Same goes for 3030 and .270 that I reload. Not a big deal and in actuality it is a benefit for rifle loading, as I have found that slow precise loading is the only way to load for rifles. But the .45acp you can do 200 rounds in under an hour once you get all the attachments like the auto prime and powder through dies with the disk or perfect powder measure. I have been beating the #### outta mine for 2 years and have only had to replace a small part called the indexing ratchet which wears out over time. They are like .25 cents though so I wasn't upset! Check it out on youtube. Works well. The 1000 press is meant for pistol loading and would work well for the 45 but it only has 3 positions so u would have to crimp on a seperate step which defeats the purpose. Now crimping isn't absolutely necessary but with a lot of 1911's it makes function a lot more reliable with tight chambers.

 

[buckbrush]

Redding T7

 

[bjhill]

Dillon SDB for handgun.

 

[easyrider604]

For .45 acp the lee 4 hole turret is prolly the best option for something semi progressive in that price range. Anything wlse is gonna be a single stage and doing 45acp especially with a crimping stage will take a lot of time on a single stage! The 45/70 will be a little different with the turret and will have to be used as a single stage by removing the indexing rod. It is an easy process and can still be used as a progressive by manually indexing the turret. The reason for this is with the indexing rod in place the turret will attempt to turn before the case clears the dies on each downstroke. Same goes for 3030 and .270 that I reload. Not a big deal and in actuality it is a benefit for rifle loading, as I have found that slow precise loading is the only way to load for rifles. But the .45acp you can do 200 rounds in under an hour once you get all the attachments like the auto prime and powder through dies with the disk or perfect powder measure. I have been beating the s**t outta mine for 2 years and have only had to replace a small part called the indexing ratchet which wears out over time. They are like .25 cents though so I wasn't upset! Check it out on youtube. Works well. The 1000 press is meant for pistol loading and would work well for the 45 but it only has 3 positions so u would have to crimp on a seperate step which defeats the purpose. Now crimping isn't absolutely necessary but with a lot of 1911's it makes function a lot more reliable with tight chambers.

BINGO!!! The Lee Classic Turret is the best value in reloading, IMO. Virtually indestructible with its cast iron and steel frame and linkage, it is bulletproof where it needs to be, for two lifetimes of use (ok I may be exaggerating a bit). I finally got mine and LOVE it! I sold my Dillon 550 as well as other Dilllon dies and was able to buy this Classic Turret AND a Loadmaster plus dies for the 4 pistol calibers I reload. Oh yeah, the indexing square ratchet is now .50 each so I ordered one dozen with the press.

Cost of the Classic Turret, Safety Prime for large and small primers, Pro-Auto disc Powder Measure and riser, dies for your .45ACP and 45-70 should come in around $300 if you order from the US. You may have to use the Perfect Powder Measure instead of the Auto-Disc if loading for 45-70...I don't know if the Disc Measure can throw enough powder for the 45-70.

You can also select the progressive Loadmaster but will cost just a little more for the two calibers. This is a faster machine but requires more fiddling to set-up and get up to speed.

BTW, the OP mentioned the Lee Pro1000. Not a good choice, IMO because it is hard to set-up and maintain and quite easy to break if you are not careful. I am mechanically inclined yet had difficulty with the Pro1000. This was my first progressive and it was soon replaced by a Hornady Pro-jector.