Completely noob question on reloading presses

dillon square deal for 9mm ti comes ready to used all included .x-reload.com/dillon-square-deal-b-9mm-luger-press-w-dies/
and for rifle just take the lee kit lee kit x-reload.com/lee-breech-lock-press-50th-anniversary-kit/
 
Someone will correct me if I lead you astray, but I believe that as long as you're not trying to reload .50 BMG, most single stage, turreted or progressive presses will do everything from .32ACP to .338Lapua cartridges, it's mostly a matter of how long the stroke of the piston is and changing the shell holder/plate and dies as needed. That might not be true of hand presses, though.

So many people recommended Dillon or Lee, so I spent a couple weeks checking all the reviews I could find. Then I went ahead and got me a Hornady Lock'N'Load AP. Check the review on this forum, second sticky.
 
Grawfr said:
Someone will correct me if I lead you astray, but I believe that as long as you're not trying to reload .50 BMG, most single stage, turreted or progressive presses will do everything from .32ACP to .338Lapua cartridges, it's mostly a matter of how long the stroke of the piston is and changing the shell holder/plate and dies as needed. That might not be true of hand presses, though.

So many people recommended Dillon or Lee, so I spent a couple weeks checking all the reviews I could find. Then I went ahead and got me a Hornady Lock'N'Load AP. Check the review on this forum, second sticky.
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I use a L&L AP with case feeder too for loading bulk .223 & .308
Also have a Lee 1000 with several caliber plates and tool holders that does a decent job on .45ACP, 9mm & .38/.357.
The press that gets the most use though is my RCBS single stage, as I've gotten myself into the precision rifle quagmire and it seems that there are better quality controls on the single stage, so to speak.
I have to admit that the Hornady equipment is second to none.
 
tripwires said:
This is fantastic advice and I fully agree with you

Fortunately, I am not one of the speed freaks you spoke of. I am way too pretty to risk messing up my face with questionable reloads. I do plan on taking it slow learning this skill, I really would hate hurting myself, or even worse, someone else by messing up.

I was looking at turreted presses simply because

1. I am a bit of a hoarder, yep, I'll admit it and I am coping ...I have a hard time selling things, not sure why, LOL. I have roman and greek coins that I've been telling myself I'm going to sell .....still sitting in binder on book shelve after a year. But in all honesty, I know that if I buy a single stage, I will eventually go to a turreted and will have a single sitting in the back room for years. So in my case, I may as well go big with all the gear I need ( or want )while staying within budget. this is beneficial both financially and will save the wife from harping on me about the clutter in the storage room..

2. I burn through lots of ammo. I can easily burn through 1000 plus rounds in a month, ( more if I bring my buddies out for a day) so I was thinking I could manufacture more without sacrificing quality.

3. I was also thinking that with a turret press I could just " set up and forget " Once I have everything set up properly I could just change the holders for different calibers.


But I am more that willing to take any advice from those who know and do, you have my thanks
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The reason I suggested going with a single stage press is that for someone who is learning (not that you ever stop learning the craft) there can be a lot going on with each pull of the loader handle on a progressive. A single makes it easier to control quality and at times limit frustration. No setup is perfect and you WILL have times where a case will not get powder, primer or one of many other problems a reloader can experience.
If you plan on buying only one press and want it to do "everything", I would recommend the Hornady Lock & Load AP. You can always use it as a pseudo single stage press by leaving out certain dies or by not loading primers into the primer feed etc. This way you can cycle cases through the press while performing a single function. Of course you will need to buy some of the other accessories that I mentioned in my initial post but this would get you the best of both worlds.
 
The Lyman T-Mag is a very good press - and one I would recommend to the OP - but the Redding T-7 is a ROCK!

If forced to make do with a single non-progressive press for both pistol & rifle the T-7 would be the one on my bench.
 
tripwires said:
First off my wife gave me my testies back from her purse and said I could buy a reloading press. ( yep..I'm still whipped ) but since I don't get to use them too often, I have to take advantage while I can.
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Here, this will help with that problem ......... ;) LoL
grow.jpg
 
tripwires said:
First off my wife gave me my testies back from her purse and said I could buy a reloading press. ( yep..I'm still whipped ) but since I don't get to use them too often, I have to take advantage while I can.

Laugh2

Now for the noob question, and feel free to laugh if you want... is there a turret style press that will do both pistol and larger rifle rounds ? ( 9mm , 5.56 and 300 win mag. )

Been doing tons of reading on different sites that sell presses, but can't seem to find one that will do both. I did find a few advertising that they will do pistol and rifle up to .223, but nothing bigger

Am I going to need a turreted one for pistol and single stage for the larger rounds ? how about a progressive press to do both ?

Budget on this is 7 to 800, for press, die sets stand and all the goochie gear. Obviously, cheaper is better

Plus reloading supplies.

any help would be greatly appreciated
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If you are a beginner it's wise to select a Lee Precision and then upgrade once you gain more experience. Lee has a couple or single stage and turret presses to chose from that are great for the price point.
 
freedomintheskies said:
If you plan on buying only one press and want it to do "everything", I would recommend the Hornady Lock & Load AP. You can always use it as a pseudo single stage press by leaving out certain dies or by not loading primers into the primer feed etc. This way you can cycle cases through the press while performing a single function. Of course you will need to buy some of the other accessories that I mentioned in my initial post but this would get you the best of both worlds.
Click to expand...

This is precisely what I'm doing while I'm learning, and for setting up and adjusting the dies one by one. One nice thing with the L'n'L is those bushings it uses: I can set just one single die in any station of the press, making it perform a single operation only like a single stage or turret press. Practical if I want to decap empty cases prior to tumbling them, for example. Putting the other dies back in does not involve any fiddling at all from all I can see: insert, rotate, locked in place with the same exact settings it had before. And you can purchase extra sets of bushings so you can have die sets already perfectly adjusted for different calibers.

One thing I really like with the L'n'L is having those five stations. I have mine set for 9mm reloading, so right now it's decap/resize, expand, fill, powder cop, seat & taper crimp. It's possible to combine fill and expand in one die, too, so you can set up separate dies for seat and crimp if you wish.

Tip: once you have a die set and perfectly adjusted for the cases you're doing, use a sharpie to make an alignment mark for each die (press body, bushing, locking nuts, die body). Makes it a lot easier to see if anything moves out of whack during operation.

Ultimately, like someone said, it's almost a question of color preference: all of the main brands (Lee, Dillon, Hornady, RCBS, Lyman, etc.) make good presses, or they'd have gone out of business long since.
 
Thank you all for the advice, you sold me ..single stage it is, after a ton more reading and videos , think I'm going to go with lee single stage till I figure this reloading stuff out, then move up from there.

Thank again, your advice and help is greatly appreciated
 
I went with the Lee turret press, I'm happy as heck with it. I got the primer feeders, two powder measures, six sets of dies, two scales, deburing tool, lube pads, tray, Lyman manual, plus a pile of other stuff, I have about $400.00 tied up in everything. Got most of it here on the EE, and it was all almost new condition.
 
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