Which reloading press....

Beach

Beach

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hey everyone,

So i want to get into reloading, just not sure on which reloading press to get. I

am going to be reloading 45acp and 308 for now, probably around a 100 rds at a

time. So if some of you reloading guru's could give me some advice on which

press to get that would be most helpfull.

Thanks

I was looking at the Lee 50th anniversary press kit, good choice or bad choice

or should i be looking at something else.
 
i`m not a guru but i started with the lee 50th anniversary press
with the price i think you can`t go wrong
so fari haven`t had any issues
plus you will get everything minus dies, reloading press shells, powder, primers and bullets
 
wouldn't be my choice for sure...

saw one yesterday, really cheaply made and very flimsy !

I really do not recommend to buy this stuff...

today I went to a gun show and there were two Dillon 450 for sale (used of course), one was already set up for 9mm the other one for 45 auto...

they sold for much less then the "lee Play kit" and were of much much higher quality, in my opinion.

there is a lot of excellent used stuff out there if you keep your eyes open.
 
I would say Lee classic cast single stage, by my real hand on experience.

It is a compromise between high end product like Hornady or RCBS and Breech Lock Challenger Press (that include in Lee 50th anniversary press kit), best price/quality ratio.

Beside the press, Lee has very good if not excellent products like dies, hand prime tool and case prepare tool.

For power measure, scale, I would consider Hornady or others.

Just my .02 cent.


bylogic
 
The Lee anniversary kit is perfect for .308 but the .45 ACP is going to be slowwww, like 60 rounds per hour. For $35 more you can get the Lee anniversary turret setup which has everything but the primer feeder, but you make up on that lost time with the auto index powder measure. You'll be rocking 200 .45 ACP per hour and you can single stage the .308

The Lee safety prime tool will cost about $20.00 but it won't save crazy amounts of time. I take it off when doing rifle rounds because it just gets in the way.
 
Depending on what you can spend I would say the Dillon650, excellent press and fantastic warranty, pull it up and take a look.
 
I'll look up the dillion 650 press, but what about this one..Rock Chucker Supreme Reloading Kit. Dont really have a price range but would only like to spend 350-400ish but if its really worth the money than ill spend more.
 
polaris said:
wouldn't be my choice for sure...

saw one yesterday, really cheaply made and very flimsy !

I really do not recommend to buy this stuff...
Click to expand...

Have you actually done any loading on one?

I assume you have since you "don't recommend" buying it. :rolleyes:

I started loading on the Lee 50th anniversary press and there is NOTHING wrong with them. In fact I still have mine and use it occasionally to do loading at my computer desk when I don't feel like setting up in the garage.

I did upgrade to an RCBS press after about a year when a friend had one for sale.

If you want a an inexpensive way to get into reloading then get the Lee 50th. Just add dies and you're ready to go.

Beach said:
I'll look up the dillion 650 press, but what about this one..Rock Chucker Supreme Reloading Kit. Dont really have a price range but would only like to spend 350-400ish but if its really worth the money than ill spend more.
Click to expand...

I believe that the Rockchucker Supreme kit is within that price range and if you have the money to spend on it then I would recommend this or the Redding Big Boss kit.
 
I couldn't update my website, so I discontinued it, I am moving soon and when I'm settled I will get a new website that I can update and keep current for folks who are reloading....
 
You will get a number of opinions on this board there are those that like Lee, those that like Dillon and those that like Hornady and there are others.. We will extol the various virtues of the different brands... Price, ease or configuration, ease of use, throughput, maintenance, reliability etc....

I'll tell you I like Dillon and you would need to look at a 550 if you want to load rifle and pistol...

I'll tell you not to let someone tell you what press to buy.... You need to look at them, use them and then decide... Ask questions...
 
bear.23 said:
You will get a number of opinions on this board there are those that like Lee, those that like Dillon and those that like Hornady and there are others.. We will extol the various virtues of the different brands... Price, ease or configuration, ease of use, throughput, maintenance, reliability etc....

I'll tell you I like Dillon and you would need to look at a 550 if you want to load rifle and pistol...

I'll tell you not to let someone tell you what press to buy.... You need to look at them, use them and then decide... Ask questions...
Click to expand...

Best answer yet.
I went Lee. It works, yet nothing to write home about.
If I had the cash and the space I would get something nicer.
 
If you are looking for a progressive, then this is the article you should read.
http://www.comrace.ca/cmfiles/dillonLeeHornadyComparison.pdf
http://www.canadiangunnutz.com/forum/showthread.php?t=127691

For a single stage, depending on the price range you are looking in, there is nothing wrong with Lee Challenger (at the lower end). In fact, Mysticplayer (on this board) has used one to reload and shoot itty bitty groups at astounding range.

http://www.6mmbr.com/gunweek075.html

Yes, that's right, consistent ONE HOLE GROUPS AT 345 yards. And using a Lee Challenger press and Lee dies.

Some posts in this thread make it sound like you can't get any accuracy unless you spend at least $1k......... :rolleyes:


A good solid press is the Lee Classic Cast, and if you want the very best, get the Co-Ax.
 
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Depends on what you're looking for from your reloading.

If you're looking for a single press that will do everything, and volume of reloading is important for you, the Dillon 550 is one of your best choices.

If you want to load for precision rifle shooting, a single stage press by RCBS, Redding, or Lee will be a good choice.

Buy a kit if you're just in it for fun and to save a bit of money. If you want to get really serious about it, buy individual parts and skip some of the basic equipment in the kits and look at the more consistent and precise powder scales.

I've never seen anyone have serious problems with an RCBS or Redding Press, but I have seen some people break linkages in some of the older Lee presses.
 
+1 on the Dillon 550. It will work well for both .45 and .308 and is probably the best choice for one press to do everything. For the volume of reloading you would be doing, it would be a better choice than the Dillon 650 for the following reasons:

1. Lower cost of calibre changes/toolhheads.
2. The 650 only has a significant speed advantage over the 550 if you are using a case feeder.

You definitely want a progressive, or at least a turret press, if you are going to load pistol ammunition.
 
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