Question for Handloaders: Which Press to Build Off Of?

[73mountaineer]

I know we have several guys here that reload ammunition, and I am looking to start up as well. I have heard conflicting advice on whether to start with a kit or build it piece-by-piece, but for the sake of this thread, let's just look at kits.

I can currently get the Hornady Classic Lock-N-Load kit for around $250, the RCBS Rock Chucker Supreme kit for ~$300, or the Lee Classic Turret kit for around $230. All prices are shipped to my front door.

I think all three seem to be fine presses, and obviously the Lee has the convenience factor of being a turret, but both the Hornady and the RCBS are/can be equipped with Hornady's Lock-N-Load die system, which negates some of the disadvantage of a single stage vs. a turret. The RCBS currently has a $50 rebate, and the Hornady offers a redemption for 500 free bullets.

Thoughts on any advantages to one over the others?

 

[BSAGuy]

I had a Lee Classic Turret for a while. I liked it, but I got tired of 4 pulls for each round, so I got a Hornady Lock 'n Load. I never tried the other Hornady or the Rock Chucker.

All three of these have great reputations, so you can't go wrong either way. The Lee accessories are probably the least robust of the choices.

If you are doing precision, one at a time loads, probably the Rock Chucker. To go a little faster, the Hornady will outperform the Lee.

Good luck.

 

[73mountaineer]

Dillon BL550 IMO.

I own the already kitted up RL550B and have for years without any problems.

Frank

What advantages would it offer over the others for a beginner? It looks nice, and the upgradability is a plus, but it is a significant price jump at ~$260 for the press alone, with absolutely nothing else.

 

[nortac]

The advantage is that you won't regret not spending the money to get the right equipment in the first place. The Dillon will "build up" to do what you'll eventually want it to do. Others are "make do" short cuts that become expensive in the long run when you realize you need to upgrade with something else.

 

[nortac]

I will echo the suggestion not to buy ANY BRAND's kit. Even my favorite Redding. There will ALWAYS be something in a kit that doesn't measure up to some of the other components. Buy the best individual components you can afford.

 

[nortac]

Dillon's warranty and customer service is beyond anything else out there. I have and use reloading gear from all of the usual brands, Lee, Hornady, RCBS, Lyman, Dillon, Redding, Forster-Bonanza, C-H and others. They all work, some better than others, some are better values than others. I use a mixture of all the above, Dillon is hard to beat in the value department.

 

[73mountaineer]

I agree with some things above, and disagree with others, but I appreciate all of the input regardless.

Bang for the buck (no pun intended) is a concern, obviously, so I am just trying to figure out if Dillon is the Harley-Davidson of the reloading world.

 

[nortac]

Well, like a Harley, if you ever want to sell your Dillon, you won't have any trouble getting your money out of it!
Like an AR-15 or a Remington 700 or 870, there are a lot of aftermarket (non-Dillon) accessories.
I wish I had room on my bench for another Dillon 550. I have three other presses.

 

[nortac]

In reference to aftermarket accessories for the Dillon 550, UniqueTek offers several enhancements, that while not needed, are nice to have. They have a lot of other shooting related stuff as well.
http://www.uniquetek.com/site/696296/page/45029

 

[nortac]

Back to your original question. Any of the kits mentioned above will get the job done. What are you intending to reload? If you're wanting to crank out a lot of pistol rounds (or a lot of anything), you'll eventually want a progressive. If just a few rifle rounds, a single stage will do. It's a matter of time and convenience. If you will eventually have more than one press, a good single stage is always nice to have for certain dedicated operations. Either the RCBS or Hornady will fit that bill, my preference being RCBS. Using the Hornady lock and load system will speed up die changes, but not as much as changing the tool head in the Dillon 550. With any system, the are costs versus advantages for changing out dies and different calibers. You get what you pay for. As far as speed, the Dillon will blow the others away, even without upgrades. Time spent (or not spent) reloading is hard to put a value on. If you shoot a lot, you will value time saved when reloading. The Lee will work, but eventually you'll get tired of its limitations and want to upgrade later.

 

[73mountaineer]

I should have included that in my original post, but neglected to do so, sorry. I will be primarily reloading pistol cartridges; 9mm, .45ACP, and likely .380 if that is what I end up getting for my lovely wife.

Would likely only ever reload .223 for rifles.

 

[aephilli]

I should have included that in my original post, but neglected to do so, sorry. I will be primarily reloading pistol cartridges; 9mm, .45ACP, and likely .380 if that is what I end up getting for my lovely wife.

Would likely only ever reload .223 for rifles.

High volume, Dillon.
One at a time precision rounds, Rock Chucker.

 

[the_ogre25]

The 550b is a nice press and I have heard nothing but good about them. I have mostly RCBS equipment and they have a warranty that cannot be beat also. I have broke things and called to order parts and they would not let me pay for it even though I insisted on it because I broke it.
As far as the kit you will not use the lube pad or chamfer/debur tool for pistol rounds. I also hate the universal loading blocks and have the caliber specific ones from Midway.
Knowing what I do now I wish I would have went with a progressive but at the time the single stage was enough things to keep track of and worry about.

 

[Bobbers]

High volume, Dillon.
One at a time precision rounds, Rock Chucker.

This is what I was going to say.
I am still using the RCBS press my father bought back in the early 1970's. This is the press I use for small batches and my high powered rounds.
I have a Dillon 650 and use it for mostly hand gun rounds and will start to use it for .223 rounds shortly.

If you are just starting out and testing the waters for reloading the basic Lee single press does a good job. In either case I would start out with a single stage press first. If you get more in to reloading you can either trade up or get a multi stage press for larger batches.

I have bought and sold several different set ups over the years. Dillon holds its value great I have sold a couple used setup and they usually fetch almost the same price as new. RCBS seams to hold its value next best.

 

[PugslyCat]

First off, I'm opposed to starting out by buying a kit. It seems that every manufacturer has SOMETHING in their kit that is either overkill or junk. Also by taking your time and doing some shopping over a period of weeks or months you can usually piece together everything that you need at a lower price than the kits.

Bryce mentions some things he doesn't like about the RCBS kit. I like the universal loading blocks, so it's a personal preference thing. The Lee kit has some of the same extra items, lacks some other stuff, and comes with a powder scale more at home in a children's chemistry set. The Hornady kit I haven't taken a close look at.

Most complete kits really aren't so complete. I don't think any come with a caliper and some don't have loading blocks. Strictly speaking, you don't need loading blocks with the turret or progressive press, but some bins would be nice.

All that being said, for the prices listed I think the Hornady set would be the best value as it has the second lowest cost with the least number of objectionable components.

For a real apples to apples comparison you might look at the Lee Breechlock Challenger press kit. The Challenger is a single stage, O-style press like the RCBS and Hornady ones you mention. The Breechlock system is the Lee equivelant to the Lock-N-Load quick change bushings. It also comes with the same toy-like scale as the other Lee kits.

How much ammo do you have to crank out? How much time do you have to devote to it? When starting out a number of people said that since I was reloading pistol rounds I simply HAD to start with a progressive press. Since I was reloading a low volume of ammunition and had a lot of time on my hands a single stage press worked out fine. If you want to produce more ammunition or have less time, the turret and progressive presses become much more attractive.

As you are primarily reloading pistol and maybe .223 rounds almost any press is going to be able to handle those without issue. I cranked out a couple of thousand pistol rounds on my Lee Reloader, a really cheap C-style press, without any real issues. I upgraded to the Challenger when I started reloading high power rifle rounds as I was afraid they would spring the cheap press during resizing. I've since talked to a couple of guys that regularly reload 30-06 or .308 on the Reloader with no issues.

You asked what the expense of a Dillon gets you that the others don't have. The answer is quality in every aspect of the ownership experience. They are very precise, well built, and smooth running systems that can be configured for high volume production. All Dillon presses are backed by incredible service from the company. That being said, there are a lot of us that derive great satisfaction from reloading even without the Cadillac of presses. We just vent about the shortcomings of our gear and get over it.

 

[nortac]

Well said Pugslycat. When I started reloading at age 16, over 40 years ago, I began with the original Lee Loader. It doesn't even have a press, just hand dies that you whack with a mallet and a small two sided plastic dipper that you used to measure powder charges with. I still have that set. My first press was the RCBS Rockchucker, which I later sold much to my regret. In the past, my advice to new reloaders was to begin with a good (if they can afford it) single stage press. It allows you to focus on each step, which may eliminate some of the beginer's common errors and avoid frustration. Later, when an acquaintance of mine for whom money is no object wanted to get into reloading, I suggested that he start with the Redding T-7 turret press, the finest and most accurate turret press made. That's what I use for my precision rifle loads. It's not complicated and lets you concentrate on each step, but is quick to go from one die to another. I still would not like to have to load enough pistol rounds the night before a match on a turret press though. When I first got into shooting pistol matches, but money was still very tight, I bought the Lee Progressive 1000. It loaded rounds a lot faster than any single stage press, but what a frustrating monstrosity. I tinkered and made do with it for a couple of years , but it became too frustrating and I got shed of it and bought a Dillon and have never looked back. I still have a Lee Reloader press that I used to use as a dedicated de-priming press fitted with a universal de-priming die to de-prime all of my cases before cleaning. But I no longer use that as I have other tools for that function now. So my posts are not all Dillon fanboy or good ole B&B enabling, but experience of using different types of equipment over the years and finding things out the hard way what works for me and what doesn't. As for advice to new reloaders, I think the BL550 is still simple enough to be able to concentrate on each step with the added speed and efficiency of a turret and the ability to upgrade to a progressive down the line without wasting money on equipment that you'll want to replace later. If you later want to sell your Dillon for what ever reason, you'll get most of your money back. If you later want to sell your Lee stuff, you won't get much for it. It's never a mistake to get a good single stage press, they're great for a lot of reasons, but slow to crank out more than modest quantities of ammo.

Let us know what you eventually end up buying and your experience with it. Need advice on other components, just ask, if you dare!

 

[73mountaineer]

Ok, deferring to the wise advise of fellow B&B'ers, I have moved away from the side of a kit.

I have looked long and hard at the Dillon presses and, unless I am misinterpreting the expense of setting one up for 4 different calibers, I am out on Dillon for now. I don't question the quality or the warranty support, but I'm not ready to go down that $$ road yet. I'm looking at the possibility of setting up for 4 different calibers, and that seems to be a pretty pricey proposition on the Dillon.

I am leaning heavily towards the Lee Classic Turret, but I am admittedly not impressed with Lee's warranty. 2 years? C'mon, man, surely you can be more competitive than that? Still, many, many experienced handloaders seem to love them.

Price not being a deciding factor, between these four, which would you pick?
Lee Classic Turret
Hornady Lock-N-Load Single Stage
RCBS Rock Crusher Supreme w/Hornady LNL Conversion
Lee Classic Cast Breechlock

Just to make things interesting, I am also looking at the Redding T-7.

You guys, as usual, have been a great help so far, and I appreciate all of your input.

 

[nortac]

Steve, just to make things interesting, the Redding T-7 is in a class all by its self. Plus, it's fairly pricey. I love mine and wouldn't trade it for the world. I view it as a specialized piece of precision reloading equipment. It far out classes any other turret press. But, that being said, it will always be a turret press. Faster than any single stage, but slower than any progressive. Plus it will only hold two sets of dies (three if using two die sets), unless you buy another turret, which is real expensive, and not a quick change.
The Hornady LNL products seem to be well liked, but I have no real experience with them. I would be less comfortable switching dies and being confident in no change of die settings than I would with swapping out a Dillon tool head with dies pre-mounted. The LNL may work just as well, I don't know. But with a single stage, even with quick die changes, you still can only go so fast. There is a lot of die changing to do. With a turret or a progressive, you can have a powder charger mounted in one station. That is a HUGE time saver. You have obviously looked into the conversion costs of the Dillon and are thinking that the other presses use standard shell holders which are cheaper than the Dillon shell plates, which they are, but it is the shell plate that gives the Dillon its speed. Also included in the conversion kit is the powder charging/expander insert for the Dillon charging die. The bottom line is you pay more for speed, convenience and precision. All of your choices will do the job. Dillon is the most versatile and upgradeable.
.

 

[73mountaineer]

Steve, just to make things interesting, the Redding T-7 is in a class all by its self. Plus, it's fairly pricey. I love mine and wouldn't trade it for the world. I view it as a specialized piece of precision reloading equipment. It far out classes any other turret press. But, that being said, it will always be a turret press. Faster than any single stage, but slower than any progressive. Plus it will only hold two sets of dies (three if using two die sets), unless you buy another turret, which is real expensive, and not a quick change.
The Hornady LNL products seem to be well liked, but I have no real experience with them. I would be less comfortable switching dies and being confident in no change of die settings than I would with swapping out a Dillon tool head with dies pre-mounted. The LNL may work just as well, I don't know. But with a single stage, even with quick die changes, you still can only go so fast. There is a lot of die changing to do. With a turret or a progressive, you can have a powder charger mounted in one station. That is a HUGE time saver. You have obviously looked into the conversion costs of the Dillon and are thinking that the other presses use standard shell holders which are cheaper than the Dillon shell plates, which they are, but it is the shell plate that gives the Dillon its speed. Also included in the conversion kit is the powder charging/expander insert for the Dillon charging die. The bottom line is you pay more for speed, convenience and precision. All of your choices will do the job. Dillon is the most versatile and upgradeable.
.

I appreciate all of your level-headed advice, even objectively assessing your admitted favorite, Redding. Honestly, I don't mind the expense of the Redding T-7 if calibers can be changed just as any other standard press. Can they? Will the Redding accept the Hornady LNL bushings?

Someone with more detailed knowledge of the Dillon 550, please tell me if I am off base in my assessment of the cost involved in switching between different calibers. For a Lee turret, I would be at $30-40 for a die set and done. If I wanted a quick change option, add $10-15 for an extra turret. What would that same caliber change cost me on a Dillon (or another)?

...

So, I have to wonder about the idea of getting the plain Jane $25-30 Lee presses for a dedicated decapper/deprimer for my (16 yr old) son to run in conjunction with either the Lee turret or a good single stage run by me? I have the bench space, so that's not an issue; both presses could be permanently mounted with room for two simultaneous operations.

Does this make sense? He shoots with me, and this would be a good way for him to be involved and earn his rounds, so to speak, without actually dealing with the more intricate part of the operation, no?

 

[mongoose]

If you plan on building a press I would get a lee turret press, dies and the auto-disk powder measure to start with. Since you have no experience with reloading and you plan to include your son it is a economical way for the two of you to determine if it is for you and the auto-disk eliminates some of the danger of measuring powder. I don't see any reason to spend more money for what it is unless you need to shoot competition or bragging on the internet.