Progressive press question

darcy32171

darcy32171

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I have been reloading with a Lee single stage. Yes I agree that a single stage is best for "Attention to detail". I had entertained the idea of moving up to a progressive press. Looked at a RCBS at Cabelas, but the turret was manually moved. What press moves with each throw of the charge handle? Best bang for the buck also would be nice. I seen a Hornady in Regina, but for $600 plus.....I`d need to sell my reloading station to at least recoup half the costs.
I also would like a powder thrower, and all other add ons. If this makes a set -up real expensive....What would be the cheapest for add-ons also?
 
Don't think that you're going to find a progressive for under 600 and probably not even close. I use a Dillon 650 and I probably have over 15 tied up in it. It paid for itself in way under 2 years. And it's guaranteed for life!!
 
Kind of depends on what you want to be able to do. I don't shoot a lot of rifle rounds so I single stage them. I have a lee pro 1000 setup for 9mm which I shoot a lot of. I have a lee classic turret press setup for .38sp. If I had to pick one press to do it all it would be the lee classic turret press. You can single stage with it or make decent time setup with the auto indexing as well. I can roll out about 150 9mm an hour on the turret as compared to 400-450 on the pro 1000. The pro 1000 takes some patience to get it figured out, but once you do, you can produce quality ammo at a great pace.
 
Do you reload a bunch of different calibers or just one or two? If you reload a number of calibers then look at the Hornady Lock-N-Load. Switching calibers only requires the dies and the appropiate shellplate. You can add on the case feeder and/or bullet feeder as time, need and budget permit or just go whole hog and get the Hornady Ammo Plant.

Quality progressive presses are not cheap from whichever maker you decide on so research everything you can and give it a lot of thought. Take into account on what features you absolutely need, what you would like (but not necessarily need) and what features you don't think you'll ever use. As someone once said - buy what you're going to end up with!
 
On the cheap end you have the Lee Pro 1000 with caliber specific packages for about $220. From what I've read, they're finicky but once you have it figured out, they work. On the other end you have the Dillon 650 a caliber conversion kit minus the dies for $695. A solid performer with amazing warranty. The 650 was what I wanted but after doing the math on how many conversion kits I'd need etc. The price tag jumped quite a bit.

In the end, I went with the Hornady LNL AP. I got lucky and bought a lightly used LNL AP from a fellow CGNer for a pretty good price. It needed some tuning up on the pawls etc but once I got that all done, she runs like a champ. What I really like is having 5 stations. They run around $550.CDN but you can find them for as low as $390.USD in the US.
 
Have you considered the Lee Classic Turret press? It indexes with each stroke of the ram and will easily produce 200 rounds per hour. For low cost it can't be beaten. You can be in the game for 1 calibre including the powder thrower and dies for about $250.
 
Pr589 said:
Have you considered the Lee Classic Turret press? It indexes with each stroke of the ram and will easily produce 200 rounds per hour. For low cost it can't be beaten. You can be in the game for 1 calibre including the powder thrower and dies for about $250.
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Rod B said:
:agree: An excellent press, well made & good value.
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No question ;)

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I use the Lee load master.
uses quick change heads for different calibers, automatically indexes and will not break the bank for a full on progressive press.
I have easily put out over 20k rounds on it this year, mostly because I'm loading for two.
 
I really like my Dillon 650, but in the end it costs way more than the base 650 bucks. Extras include case feeder, bullet feeder, caliber conversion kits, quick change kits (which include powder measure), tool set, stand mount. Then if you really want to get fancy, the primer tube filler, extra tool heads etc. It's an awesome machine, but it ain't cheap. You can easily get over $2K for all the fixins.

I find I do a lot of volume single or dual stage things on my Dillon. Example, I de-cap and size all my brass on the Dillon in loads of 1000 ish cases that then get cleaned ultrasonically. Saves lots of time as I can whip thru them in short order. Often then I'll prime a few hundred cases for use in target loads that get made on my single stage with a powder dispenser. (Mainly rifle calibres).

For pistol, I still de-cap / size then clean, but then will most often simply load up the Dillon and run out a batch of anywhere from 500 - 1000 rounds at a time.

If you have to sell your single stage press to fund a progressive, quite frankly you should not. Progressives are good at some things (high volume, reasonably accurate powder dispensing) but if you still want to do +/- .1 grn loaded rounds, you'll be better off with a good dispenser and scale, or auto dispenser using your single stage press.
 
I use the Lee Classic cast single pull and the Lee Classic Turret... I have my dies set for each weapon and load and can crank out loads quickly the night before a range day or hunt... for the amount I do, it works fine.
 
kb007 said:
I really like my Dillon 650, but in the end it costs way more than the base 650 bucks. Extras include case feeder, bullet feeder, caliber conversion kits, quick change kits (which include powder measure), tool set, stand mount. Then if you really want to get fancy, the primer tube filler, extra tool heads etc. It's an awesome machine, but it ain't cheap. You can easily get over $2K for all the fixins.

I find I do a lot of volume single or dual stage things on my Dillon. Example, I de-cap and size all my brass on the Dillon in loads of 1000 ish cases that then get cleaned ultrasonically. Saves lots of time as I can whip thru them in short order. Often then I'll prime a few hundred cases for use in target loads that get made on my single stage with a powder dispenser. (Mainly rifle calibres).

For pistol, I still de-cap / size then clean, but then will most often simply load up the Dillon and run out a batch of anywhere from 500 - 1000 rounds at a time.

If you have to sell your single stage press to fund a progressive, quite frankly you should not. Progressives are good at some things (high volume, reasonably accurate powder dispensing) but if you still want to do +/- .1 grn loaded rounds, you'll be better off with a good dispenser and scale, or auto dispenser using your single stage press.
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+1 Right on the Mark..

I have a Dillon 650 with plenty of options that I fortunately bought slightly used from a CGNer and it was pricy but got a great deal..
I also have kept my single stage to deprime cases and use for rifle loading.. a great combo
 
Hi guys. Thanks for the replies. I reload for 22-250 and I`m awaiting for my 8mm Mauser dies to come in. Usually I wait till I have 100 or so brass to reload at a time. If I was to guess: Maybe 400 rounds per year for the 22-250. Would likely be more, but I just have not had the time to sit and reload so I have slowed down my shooting. Had tossed the idea of getting into a 223 in the near future so that would make 3 calibers to reload for.
 
on a single stage press you should be able to do that in eight hours in a year. Buy a turret and you should be able to do that in three hours a year on a progressive that is one hour in a year.
 
darcy32171 said:
Hi guys. Thanks for the replies. I reload for 22-250 and I`m awaiting for my 8mm Mauser dies to come in. Usually I wait till I have 100 or so brass to reload at a time. If I was to guess: Maybe 400 rounds per year for the 22-250. Would likely be more, but I just have not had the time to sit and reload so I have slowed down my shooting. Had tossed the idea of getting into a 223 in the near future so that would make 3 calibers to reload for.
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With that being said I would go with a turret press to make quick target loads and brass prep then use your single stage for more accurate loads.
 
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