Noob Questions

[phronq]

I'd been thinking of picking up the Lee Anniversary Kit since it seems to be:

a) exceptionally inexpensive compared to other kits
and
b) seems to be a fairly complete kit for the moola, comes with everything one would need except case length gauges...

...but a lot of people say Lee is junky. I'm also thinking about a progressive press too, now that I've seen a video of how it works (I was seriously mistaken).

I'd be reloading 9mm Luger and .38 Special now, probably .40 S&W and .45 ACP in the future.

My eyes are glazing over a bit, so I'm looking for recomendations.

 

[acrashb]

...but a lot of people say Lee is junky. I'm also thinking about a progressive press too, now that I've seen a video of how it works (I was seriously mistaken).

Lee's fit and finish is generally below, say, Redding, but for most pistol work you won't notice the difference. "Junky" is the word used by people who paid too much and can't admit it.

Have a read.

I use Redding where required (precision rifle), but mostly Lee. Works.

 

[ckid]

I started with a Lee Anniversary kit years ago and it met my needs for many years. I have since upgraded but the press is still bolted to the bench and still see use. If you are considering a progressive for handgun only you should seriously consider a Dillon Square Deal B. There is one on the exchange forum right now set up for .40 S&W. The only minor detractor of the square deal is that it uses it own special dies. I only briefly loaded handgun cals on a single stage before I upgraded to a progressive. In my opinion if you plan on loading more than 200 - 300 rounds per month definitely spend the money on a progressive.

 

[phronq]

The Square Deal B looks like a great machine if you're doing a single calibre, but a vague pain in the ass to convert between calibres. I think I'd rather use a more generic sort of turret press where I could just swap out dies and be good to go.

acrashb, thanks for sharing that PDF, it confirmed a few things that I'd suspected.. first and foremost that Lee stuff will probably be fine for my applications.

 

[HPL]

Reloading pistol ammo on a single stage press is not fun. It takes forever and a half to crank off a few hundred rounds.

 

[44Bore]

Square deal B is a good starter progressive--Instead of changeing dies I used to have one for each cal I loaded at that time (9mm and .38/357).

It is still a good idea to start on a single stage press and it is handy to have one around for load development or rifle rounds.

FWIW, 44Bore