time to upgrade !!

tinymike66

tinymike66

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Hamilton, Ontario
Been using lee classic single stage press
Ive git thousands of rounds through it and have become pretty good with consistancy, time and quality.
I am looking to upgrade to a quicker press.
I know progressive is best but I load 38spl, 357 mag, 9mm, 45acp and 40 S&W.
Is a turrent style good..I do shoot average a 800 to 1000 rounds in a month to month and a half.

Any opionons would be appreciated.
Can you put a powder checker on a turrent?

Thanks.
 
Problem with progressive is they are a pain to switch calibers aren't they?
Huge price diff as well.
But price is gonna go up as u upgrade so its something I take into account
 
I use Dillon 650 to reload few calibars, the first time to do a calibars change takes time, but after a while it takes maybe 10 minutes to do full caliber change. Since the OP is mostly shooting pistol it should take no more than 5 minutes for caliber change. You can reload about 600 to 700 rounds per hour taking your time, or a 1000 per hour if you go fast (I don't recommend it). Cost of the press is high but it should last you a life time.
 
tinymike66 said:
Can you attach a powder checker on the dillon?
Thanks for feedback
Click to expand...

I have a dillon 650 both are good in their way and hornady lnl. Hornady is cheaper but has some flaws. Dillion so far has been very good. Once you go progresive you are not going to regret it.
 
Hornady LnL AP, takes under 5 minutes to change calibers, and around $700

Takes any dies, and needs shellplates to change to a different caliber
 
When all is said and done, and when the machines are set up comparable to each other, the Dillon 650 is very, very close in price to the Hornady LnL. Also, while the two machines have a different approach to caliber changes, they are about the same in time and work involved to change over.
I've owned both and used both the 650 and the LnL.

There some advantages to the LnL, but I still think the Dillon machines are a better product overall.
 
If loading HG ammo, a progressive will make life so much nicer.

Don't worry about cal changeover as you will be making larger batches of EACH chambering.

Instead of just making enough for 1 month, you will load ahead for say 3+ months. So when you change over, that time is no big deal in the bigger scheme of life given how much time you saved making the ammo in the first place.

Although not as fast or fancy as the Dillons and Hrns, have a look at the Lee 1000. I have used them and still use them... They don't cost that much so I have 2 set up for my most popular chamberings with different shellholders. If I need to swap, the shellholders stay the same so I just need to throw on a top with the dies and powder measure.

Example 9mm, 40 and 223 use the same shellplate. 38 spec, 357 would use the same plate. I only need to swap out the "tops".

Simple.

Jerry
 
I have both a Lee 1000 progressive and a Lee Classic Cast turret press. The 1000 progressive I use when doing larger amounts of pistol ammo. They work well once you get them set up. I haven't had any serios issues with mine, but they can be finicky.
For rifle ammo the Classic Cast turret is hard to beat. Dies are mounted on a turret plate that costs about $15, so you can swap between calibers in about 10 seconds. Dies stay adjusted, so no time wasted readjusting them. I think it is the perfect balance between speed and simplicity. And because you completely load one case at a time it is wonderful when you just want to make up a few loads to try. My RCBS automatic powder measure just keeps up. By the time I've seated the bullet and crimped the last case, resized and primed the next one the powder is ready.
Incidently the Lee factory crimp dies are the best crimping die bar none.
If I had to pick just one press, it would definitely be the Classic Cast.
 
The 1000 is not perfect BUT the biggest problem is users not keeping powder out of the working bits. Also, the indexing spline is made of plastic and is a wear item. Toss it every 5000rds and biggest complaint about indexing is eliminated. So maintain it properly, and it runs fine.

The powder dispenser is one of the best I have used. By design, you can't double charge unless YOU make a mistake in operation. I have a light and do a visual before I put on a bullet.

This is not the unit you buy if you need to make 1000rds per hour and thousands of rds per session. Get a Dillon then... but for most weekend plinkers, it does make a very sizeable amount of rds for the money invested.

And let's me justify the cost of a set up for each of my main cartridges.

Jerry
 
Another comment on the Lee 1000: I've had mine for years, loaded many thousands of 38/357 Magnum, 45 ACP, 9mm, and soon, 40s&w. It can be a bit tricky to set up for caliber changes if you swap shell plates. The alternative that preserves your sanity is to have a complete shell plate carrier assembly for each caliber. Like Jerry said earlier, that eliminates the biggest glitch with the press. For the frugal types like me, a few minutes swapping carriers is a better option than a second (or third...) complete press.

About keeping powder out of the working bits: watch the primer trough as well: if you get powder in there, it can stop the primer feed, and you end up with unprimed cases full of powder, ready to trail powder granules everywhere like bread crumbs.

In all honesty, I was contemplating getting a Lee Loadmaster, but haven't gone down that road yet.
 
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if your good with your hands and don't mind taking some time to setup the pro1000 they are a good value for the money. i have 3 (all were used and under $150) setup for 9mm, 38/357 and 45acp. keep the primers topped up and make sure they are feeding properly. the primer feed works alot better with small pistol primers vs large. as for a powder checker, that's your job. i look inside every case before seating a bullet accept with long cases and small powder charges (specifically 2.9gr of bullseye in my 38spl)
 
tinymike66 said:
Problem with progressive is they are a pain to switch calibers aren't they?
Huge price diff as well.
But price is gonna go up as u upgrade so its something I take into account
Click to expand...

The Dillon isn't that bad...just purchase spare toolheads (and powder measure if you're feeling flush) and all you have to do it swap them out. For me the extra price would be worth it seeing as you'll need a couple of turrets to deal with all those calibers.
 
I've got a Lee Loadmonster ;) that I load 9 and 40 on.
After a few teething pains, it's running smooth now. Cruising along I can do ~400/hour. That includes loading the case collator and primer tray, cranking out some rounds and chamber checking the ammo after. So, not too bad I think. Plus, it was cheap and owes me nothing :rockOn:

(E) :cool:
 
A turret would speed things up a little but not all that much. I would consider a turret press to be less than half way from a single stage to a full progressive. And in any event with the numbers you mentioned you're due for a full on progressive.
 
tinymike66 said:
I was looking at the Lee 1000. Just heard a lot of problems with them. Also I love the idea of powder checker. Not sure if u can attach one to lee
Click to expand...

I'm not a big Lee Loadmaster fan. But to be fair to it most of the issues are related to tuning up the machine. Once set up they seem reliable enough. And You Tube is full of videos on the various tricks, small mods and modified setup procedures to make them work.

On the other hand if you get a Dillon you just set it up by the book and start making ammo.

To use a powder checking die, which is a great idea by the way, you pretty well need a 5 station head. You REALLY want to separate the seating and crimping operations to separate dies. And that means 4 dies just for loading. So if you want the checker die then you need a 5th position. And that means that you're looking at a Lee Loadmaster, Dillon 650 and the Hornady LNL AP.

The Classic 1000 Progressive isn't even in the running because with only 3 positions you can't even separate the seating and crimping operations let alone include a powder checking die.

The only way that makes sense with a progressive press is to buy extra die plates along with the shell plate kits. That way the dies all stay in the plate and are ready to insert in the press. Or in the case of the Hornady you just buy the bayonet bushings and leave them on the dies. Sort of the same except each die has it's own plate in the form of the bushing.

The only thing that takes significant time to swap around is the priming systems. And with a bit of planning you can arrange to do all the small and large primer stuff in waves to minimize the priming setup time.
 
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