First press

[tackdr1ver]

I am looking to get into the world of reloading. I have zero experience reloading any sort of ammo. Ultimately what I am looking for is something cost effective that I can produce 9mm, 40 and .45 and maybe some .308 and .223 rounds. So versatility would be nice. Also, something that is fairly easy to operate and switch calibers.

What would you suggest for a guy like me without breaking the bank. I do not have a set budget but I would like to keep it around $500 initially.

Also, what should i look for in a used press? I do not know how to distinguish good from bad etc..

[Corey]

Is the $500 for just the press or for everything else you'll need to reload (tumbler, dies, calipers, scale, etc)?

[jmurch]

A RockChucker kit on ebay for $259:

http://cgi.ebay.com/RCBS-Rock-Chucker-Supreme-Master-Kit-NEW-LOW-PRICE-/180567813639?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item2a0aae2e07

Then a tumbler and die sets (around $45 per caliber for nice Redding Carbides).........

Jeff

[GrumpyOne]

Your best bet would be a Dillon 550. Does rifle and pistol calibers, tool heads easy to change out, about as versatile as they come, uses standard dies, tool heads are relatively cheap compared to others. As far as used presses, anything Dillon, whether it be old, rusted shut, wore out, or dropped out of a truck at 60mph, is a good buy. Dillon will fix ANYTHING wrong with any of their presses (except for the 1050) free of charge, all you pay is shipping to and from them. The real question is, how much do you intend on loading each month? 1,000 rounds? More? Less? The press you need depends on how much ammo you are gonna reload, and in which calibers. A 650 is great if you are gonna load a bunch of one caliber, not so much if you are gonna load a bunch of different calibers, as it takes more time to switch out tool heads, the tool heads are more expensive, and they are a bit harder to set up.

A good used 550 can be had for as little as $350 if you shop around, and many times it will come with dies, maybe in the caliber you need. Check Ebay out for Dillon 550 presses, usually a bunch on there.

[Poppa Bear]

Another good press is the Lee Classic Turret (4 hole). It also uses removable tool heads. The 4 positions rotate through one at a time. I have one with heads set up for 9mm, .40, and .223 which are my high use rounds. I also have a Rock Chucker that I use for low volume PRECISION loads where everything has to be exactly the same because I am looking for 1/2 MOA rifle rounds. This winter I will likely pick up a Dillon 550 just to load my .40's.

The Dillon's make 4 operations with one pull of the handle and work great once the dies are properly set. The Lee Classic Turret makes one operation per pull of the handle and then rotates to the next die. It takes 4 pulls to produce one round and also works great once everything is set. It is slower than the Dillon but much faster than a single stage press like the Rock Chucker.

It really comes down to are you looking to load 100 rounds a month, 1,000 rounds a month, or 10,000 rounds a month.

Edited September 28, 2010 by Poppa Bear

[Jman]

Start here. http://www.brianenos.com/forums/index.php?showforum=52 Great info amassed over the years. You'll find the videos especially helpful.

Whatever you do, make sure you budget in a good chronograph and several reloading manuals. They're required as far as I'm concerned.

Jim

[Jeff686]

I bought the Lee Turret press as my first. It is very inexpensive, and allowed me to buy all the other junk necessary to reload (scale, dies, bullets, powder, primers, lights, bench, etc).

After a couple of years, a friend talked me into buying his progressive press. I soon regretted every moment I spent with the Lee Turret.

[benos]

I bought the Lee Turret press as my first. It is very inexpensive, and allowed me to buy all the other junk necessary to reload (scale, dies, bullets, powder, primers, lights, bench, etc).

After a couple of years, a friend talked me into buying his progressive press. I soon regretted every moment I spent with the Lee Turret.

There ye go. The 550 is the way to go right off the bat. If you don't have anything at all, you can get started loading ammo with a 550 for $565.00. That's the press in one caliber, dies, a caliper and a beam scale: the four items requied to load reload ammo. Then down the road you can add some stuff that makes reloading more efficient, like a Primer Flip Tray, Primer Pickup Tubes, Tumblers, etc.

be

[tackdr1ver]

Thank you all for your help in getting me started. I will start budgeting a small amount of each paycheck and look to grabbing a 550 when the time is right. As far as reloading manuals go, where should I start? After googling, I see there are quite a few out there from major manufacturers and others. And I also gleaned that the older manuals might mean higher powder charges? That being said, here are my short term goals:

1. Start reloading 9x19 and .40 and tune the loads to both meet power factor, accuracy and function with as close to 100% reliability as possible.

2. Get a new 1911 and start loading it to get into single stack.

3. Work up rifle loads for .308 for hunting and then some .223 for general plinking and practice.

Are there any manuals which would enable me to accomplish all of these goals within the bounds of one text, or should I look at multiple manuals for this? I am also guessing that manuals made by major ammo manufacturers are somewhat biased to their preferred products. Are there any that are somewhat broad spectrum?

I know this is a lot to lay on you all, so thanks again for your help and guidance!

[00MGN]

I too was wondering the same thing as you about a year ago. I went with the Dillon 550 for my reloading needs including precision rifle reloading - I just meter each round individual after the initial powder charge. As for the reloading manuals I bought the Dillon package with the Lyman book, safety glasses, and a couple of other items. Also, I had an old Speer manual that I had read cover to cover before I bought this machine. I have found that both of these contain a broad spectrum of reloading information in regards to caliber, powder, and bullet. My only word of advice is do what the books say start low and work up.

[Youngeyes]

If you just want recipes for loads, they print info from most manuals (hornady, lyman etc ) in one pamphlet. I believe the name is loadbook USA. They are only a few bucks each and are caliber specific. Also +1000 on the Dillon 550B. Our host is a standup guy and will give you an honest deal and his best advice.

[Bob DuBois]

550, buy once keep it for life, might want something faster a few years from now but the 550 will do it all.

[benos]

Thank you all for your help in getting me started. I will start budgeting a small amount of each paycheck and look to grabbing a 550 when the time is right. As far as reloading manuals go, where should I start? After googling, I see there are quite a few out there from major manufacturers and others. And I also gleaned that the older manuals might mean higher powder charges? That being said, here are my short term goals:

1. Start reloading 9x19 and .40 and tune the loads to both meet power factor, accuracy and function with as close to 100% reliability as possible.

2. Get a new 1911 and start loading it to get into single stack.

3. Work up rifle loads for .308 for hunting and then some .223 for general plinking and practice.

Are there any manuals which would enable me to accomplish all of these goals within the bounds of one text, or should I look at multiple manuals for this? I am also guessing that manuals made by major ammo manufacturers are somewhat biased to their preferred products. Are there any that are somewhat broad spectrum?

I know this is a lot to lay on you all, so thanks again for your help and guidance!

I get that a lot on the phone... My reply is that there isn't a "best" manual, because they all have dfferent load data and other info. So you sort of accumulate them over time. Also, Hodgdon's site is a good resource for load data:

http://data.hodgdon.com/main_menu.asp

be

[sdwilliams]

I bought a used Square Deal B and hardly got it home before someone else popped up with a 550 (this was after I had been looking for a while. I bought the 550 also, thinking I'd load 9mm on the SDB and 40 on the 550 but the 550 is so easy, I've never touched the SDB except to mount it on the bench. Needless to say, you'll see it posted before much longer. Too easy to switch things up and pace on my bench is a premium.

Good luck! I think you'll be quite happy with your choice.

[AWLAZS]

The 550 is a great press to start out with. Its easy to use.

[Maksim]

I love my Classic Turret press. great bang for the buck. I do have a progressive now as well, however still use the turret exclusively for rifle.

[pivoproseem]

I loaded on the Lee Classic Turret 4 hole for several years. Yes, it's not as fast as a 550, but if you are just doing a few hundred a month, it's nearly fool proof, and super easy to change calibers. I upgraded to a Hornady Load-n-load AP, got 500 free bullets, for less than a used 550. I guess I like red.

Edited September 30, 2010 by pivoproseem

[ClutchUSMC]

I got a 550 as my first press, from brian even, a few years back. About the same time my cousin got into the sport too, he bought a single stage press and has been whining about not getting a 550 ever since. As the saying goes "buy once, cry once". I'm a poor college student, the only way I could afford to shoot my 2-4 matches a month, even club matches, is to reload. I have saved enough money to pay for my press in just a few years.

[bigstick0000]

Ive got two square deal Bs, one is set up for 9mm and the other basically only deprimes and resizes my 38 super comp. I set that one up for my grandson so that he helps me when Im loading 38sc on my 650. I still can't say enough about the sdb as it is a great press. The biggest drawback with the sdb is you can not load rifle on it, but other then that it is fantastic for the money.

[ranger]

Another vote for the Square Deal - I had three, one in 9mm/9x21, one in 40, and one in 45. They are very under-rated in my opinion. I got a 550 so I could load 223 but I like the SDB for pistol.

[M-Bear]

Square deals are pistol so they are out.

For your money a 550B or a LNL progressive will give you the best bang for the bucks.

Singles are way to slow for anyone who shoots much.

[Notar]

Many of us started reloading on the cheap, and sometimes the learning cycle is expensive. I started reloading for a 10mm 20 years ago, I bought a rock chucker, it lasted 1 day before I bought a red progressive press that I fought for 2 weeks.

I then bought a 550, wow, easy to reload, the press just works, and if you ever break anything, a simple phone call and parts are on the way. In time you might move up to a 650 or 1050 depending how bad the bug bites you, buy most still keep the 550. It loads many pistol and rifle ammo, and caliber conversions are relativity cheap.

I'm a blue fan, so I might be biased, but shooter to fellow shooter, I don't think I'm steering you in the wrong direction. My 550 has loaded north of 1 million rounds(USPSA shooting 38 super and .223), my 650(for 45 acp) won't hit that for another 10 years, and my 1050(for 223) will hit the Million mark in a couple of years. The blue ones just work.

Let us know what you go with. I hope you have a shooting buddy that can get you going.

[OpenDot]

Dillon 550

[tackdr1ver]

Thank you all for your replies. I will keep you posted on everything once I get rolling!

[calishootr]

My first press was a lee single stage, which worked fine for me till i got into shooting practical pistol comps...and soon realized that the ammo that took me all week to load i was burning up in a single day of the weekend and had to start back all over again in one big nasty cycle, I tasted the blue koolaid(Dillon 550) back in 1990??? and have NEVER looked back, when set up I can load 100 rds lazily in 15 minutes....