What type of reloading press do you use?

[nortac]

What type of reloading press do you use and why? What type do you aspire to own in the future. Which ones have you tried and dislike? Have you made any after market upgrades to your press. Feel free to discus the pros and cons of any given choice. Help our non-reloaders get off the fence and get into reloading!

 

[ColtRevolver]

Hornady Lock-N-Load Progressive. I have loaded well over 100k rounds on it with very little trouble. Hornady customer service has been great when I needed it. I like the fact that the LnL auto indexes. Auto indexing makes it very hard to double charge a load. I use a powder cop die before the seating die. With it a no charge or double charged case is nearly impossible if you pay attention to the cop die as you load.

Rock Chucker single stage. I use it for rifle rounds and a few low volume pistol rounds.

The LnL was a great deal when I bought it. It was about $390. Hornady was giving away 1k premium bullets with the press. They retailed for close to $200.

 

[nortac]

I began my reloading career at age 16 with the original Lee Loader, AKA "Whack-a-Mole" for loading .38 Spl. and .357 mag. It worked but was very tedious and slow. I still have it for nostalgia's sake only. As soon as I could afford to do so, I bought an RCBS Rockchucker single stage O-frame press. Short sighted and short of cash, I sold it when I went into the Army. I wish I still had it. Years later when I began reloading again, still short of cash, I tried using various Lee products. They work, sort of. First was the Lee turret, only three stations. Faster than a single stage, but not very rigid. Once I started shooting pistol competitions, it was too slow. I briefly used a Lee Pro 1000 to feed my 1911. Very quirky and frustrating, poor primer feeding, powder charges restricted to what was available to the "auto disc" charging system. When I bought a home and was no longer an apartment dweller and had more space, I bought the Dillon 550 soon after it became available. The 550 is a semi-progressive, which means you have to index the shell plate by hand. I find that this is a good thing even though it is slower than a full progressive that indexes the shell plate automatically with each stroke of the handle. More later.

 

[nortac]

I , and others, believe that the Dillon 550 is one of the most versatile presses you can own. If you find the entry price too steep, there is the 550 basic without all of the bells and whistles that can be upgraded later on, if you so desire. There are several after market upgrades available as well. There is even an aftermarket conversion to make it a single stage press for operations such as case forming, which normally would require a separate single stage press, if space on the bench is a major issue. If I sound like a Dillon fanboy, I am, sort of, but the 550 is not perfect. While it's priming system is better than any I've used on a press, it is my least favorite feature of the press and I usually opt to prime my cases off the press. Also, collection of spent primers could be better. There are aftermarket devices to address both issues. The powder charging system works very well, but there is one issue. The adjustment on the powder measure is done by adjusting a hex head screw. Trial and error, no graduations, requires a wrench. This has been addressed by several aftermarket or DIY devices to make adjustments easier, ranging from adding a knob to the existing factory adjustment screw to replacement with a micrometer adjustment with repeatable settings. Any of them are an improvement.

 

[nortac]

When I started precision rifle shooting, I bought the Redding T-7 turret press. I have it set up for .308 and .223. I only have the one turret head and it is pretty much dedicated to those two rifle rounds. There are additional turret heads available, but they are expensive, heavy and bulky, unlike the tool heads of the Dillon. When I'm using this press, I'm individually weighing charges. Before I got my RCBS Chargemaster 1500 scale, I used a Redding BR3 powder measure, a Redding powder trickler, and a PACT digital scale. I still use all of the aforementioned powder measuring devices.

 

[nortac]

I always wanted a Forster/Bonaza Co-ax press and I eventually got one. Pricey for a single stage press, but worth every penny. It has the best spent primer catching system of any press that I know of. I use it for most of my depriming (which I do separately from resizing) and most of my resizing. I don't like to resize dirty rifle brass and I want to deprime before case cleaning. It is quick to change dies, best if equipped with the Forster die locking ring. The Co-ax is usually equipped with their self adjusting jaws that serve in lieu of standard shell holders, but I didn't care for that feature, so I converted it to take standard shell holders with a plate sold by F/B for that purpose. It's a bit fiddly in that it doent have the standard retention spring found on most press rams. You have to screw it down after inserting the appropriate shell holder. Before I sprung for the Co-Ax, I used a ultra cheap light weight Lee single stage as a dedicated depriming station, but that is now in storage since getting the Co-Ax. Of course the Co-Ax is suitable for all stages of reloading and might be my pick if I was restricted to a single, single stage press.

 

[Ad Astra]

I began my reloading career at age 16 with the original Lee Loader, AKA "Whack-a-Mole" for loading .38 Spl. and .357 mag. It worked but was very tedious and slow. I still have it for nostalgia's sake only. As soon as I could afford to do so, I bought an RCBS Rockchucker single stage O-frame press. Short sighted and short of cash, I sold it when I went into the Army. I wish I still had it. Years later when I began reloading again, still short of cash, I tried using various Lee products. They work, sort of. First was the Lee turret, only three stations. Faster than a single stage, but not very rigid. Once I started shooting pistol competitions, it was too slow. I briefly used a Lee Pro 1000 to feed my 1911. Very quirky and frustrating, poor primer feeding, powder charges restricted to what was available to the "auto disc" charging system. When I bought a home and was no longer an apartment dweller and had more space, I bought the Dillon 550 soon after it became available. The 550 is a semi-progressive, which means you have to index the shell plate by hand. I find that this is a good thing even though it is slower than a full progressive that indexes the shell plate automatically with each stroke of the handle. More later.

Wow! Me, too!

Brand new driver's license and a Lee Loader, though mine was in .30-30. IMR 3031 and Speer 150 gr. SJFTs.

Nobody (no internet!) told me about cases stretching, though, and eventually I had to put a new extractor on the gun. And trim cases after how-many loadings!


AA

 

[Whiterook]

I use an old Rock Chucker from the late 1960s for my single stage and I have a Dillon 550B progressive as well. I consider the 550 to be fully progressive because it performs operations on four separate cases with each stroke of the handle. I prefer the manual indexing for the control it gives me over the operation of the press. I am retired now and I have plenty of time to spend reloading so I have no need for a faster press. The 550 is a very simple and reliable machine.

 

[nortac]

I agree that the manual indexing gives one more control. And there is always use for a single stage press.

 

[ColtRevolver]

The lack of auto indexing is what always steered me away from the Dillon 550. Price steered me away from the auto indexing 650.

 

[Whiterook]

You and I also think alike on the depriming of cases before they are cleaned and then re-sized. I use a Harvey De-Primer hand tool for this so it can be done while I watch TV or sit out on the patio swing. Unlike priming which involves LIVE primers, I don't mind having an adult beverage while popping out the dead ones with my Harvey. I do this mostly because I just don't like all the gunk falling into my presses, especially the Dillon. It runs much smoother since I have started this. I prime pistol brass on the Dillon and rifle brass using an RCBS bench priming tool. I also have a Lee Ergo Prime which I use on occasion for small batches or to seat just one primer. All rifle brass is sized on the Rock Chucker because I always do the final case prep before loading. This involves checking trim length, trimming as needed, and then they are run through my RCBS Trimmate to chamfer, deburr and clean primer pockets.

 

[Whiterook]

The lack of auto indexing is what always steered me away from the Dillon 550. Price steered me away from the auto indexing 650.

It simply is not the issue most people make of it. Muscle memory takes over after awhile and you do it without thinking.

 

[nortac]

I too have a Harvey Deprimer, it's great! But I use my Co-Ax with a universal depriming die the most because of the way the Co-Ax collects the spent primers. I mostly prime with the RCBS bench mounted priming tool, but for precision rifle rounds, I use the Sinclair priming tool, slow, but the best feel for seating a primer that there is. Similar to the feel of the Lee priming tool, but not made of cheap pot metal, I've worn out (broke) two of those.

 

[kelbro]

Old Rockchucker for single stage. Dillon 550 for medium-volume rifle loading. Dillon SDB for high-volume pistol loading. There was a time of glorious excess when I kept one 550 set up for large primers and another 550 for small primers. I've scaled back

 

[nortac]

My glorious excess is limited to 8 complete tool heads each with powder measures for my 550.

 

[Whiterook]

That will set you back some $$$. I've started using Lee Pro Disk powder measures for some of my pistol rounds. They work well.

 

[HARMON]

I started "reloading" at the age of 5 (really just pulling the handle) under my dad's supervision. He had three MEC presses for .410, 20ga and 12ga, and an RCBS Rock Chucker for handgun and rifle rounds. He also cast all his own
practice bullets, which I also helped with.
In my early 20's I added another Rock Chucker along with my dad's old one.
In my late 20's I was doing some competitive shooting so I bought a Dillon 550, after about 5 years life got in the way
of shooting so I sold the Dillon.
Around Christmas santa brought me this


So I now have the Lyman and two Rock Chuckers. I also still have the MEC's and the casting equipment, plus all the other accoutrements that go along with reloading that you pick up over the years.

 

[nortac]

I certainly have more invested in powder measures for the 550 than in the 550 itself!

 

[bluewing]

Hi,

Been reloading with a Lee Aniversary set I ordered new for a whopping $70 delivered. It ain't fast, it ain't pretty, and it sure ain't cool. But it turns out good enough ammo for me and as much as I need when I need it.

 

[nortac]

Most Lee equipment certainly works as advertised and is a bargain. If it suits your purposes, all the better. But like many things, you get what you pay for. I have used Lee products in the past with some amount of satisfaction, some items were less satisfactory. But that is the nature of all things mechanical. There is always something better.