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Beginner Reloading Equipment


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Hi,

 

I am new to reloading and I wanted to ask for suggestions. I am currently looking at a Lee Classic Turret Press. They sell it by the kit, but I am not sure if the accessories that come with it are of good quality. Wanted to ask for suggestions on the following:

 

reloading scale

powder measure

hand primer

Caliper

 

 

I will primarily be loading 9mm and 38 special ammo.

 

 

Thank you!

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Really depends on the quantity you plan on reloading.

 

A Turret press is okay if you reload for a revolver, in small quantities, 

 

BUT,

if you're reloading for a 9mm and using it for competitive sports, I'd

recommend a Dillon Square Deal (SDB),

 

The press, dies and everything you need to reload 9mm and .38 special

will run about $700 or so - worth every penny of it, too.     :)  

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3 hours ago, JohnS23 said:

Hi,

 

I am new to reloading and I wanted to ask for suggestions. I am currently looking at a Lee Classic Turret Press. They sell it by the kit, but I am not sure if the accessories that come with it are of good quality. Wanted to ask for suggestions on the following:

 

reloading scale

powder measure

hand primer

Caliper

 

 

I will primarily be loading 9mm and 38 special ammo.

 

 

Thank you!

Buy the Lee classic turret press kit.  That was my first press, and I just finished loading a few hundred precision 223 loads on it tonight. Been using it for many years and still love it. I can load precision 6.5 creedmoor loads that shoot 3 inch groups at 1000 yards. Or you can pistol ammo Pretty fast. 250rds per hour is a normal pace. Or for making cheap plinking ammo. It does it all.

 

A turret is a great press to learn reloading on. You’re going to make mistakes, I did, pretty sure everyone did. But it’s better to mess up just one round then have a progressive going and screw up a whole bunch of rounds. It’s also easier with the turret since your only focusing on one function, vs a progressive with 5 going at once.

 

A turret is basically as simple as a single stage, but 4 times faster. And the LCT  can be utilized as a single when learning, or wanting to make very precise loads by taking out the indexexing rod. Caliber changes are easy, primer changes are done is less then 1 second, literally. And the priming system is incredibly reliable and simple to use. Progressives can be finicky. 

 

Theres really no tinkering or complex setup with it, like a progressive that can take a while to set everything up perfect. My father in law was my mentor before I bought my first press. I was thinking about a progressive, and he talked me out of it and into the lee classic turret kit which he also had. I’m glad I listened, as it’s besn a great press that you’ll never grow out of. Later on I bought my first progressive and I was thinking to myself when I was setting It up, man, I would have never been able to figure this out if I didn’t have all the experience I had with my turret. To this day all rifle ammo is done on the turret. Only pistol ammo is done on my progressive. I have a single stage too I use for bullet pulling and push though sizing. Thought it would be more precise for long range precision, but it’s not. The ammo made on my LCT is just as precise as the single stage. 

 

Forgot to mention lees customer service is top notch. If you ever need a replacement part theyll have it to you in 2-3 days free of charge. 

 

Sorry for the long response. But I was asking the same question as you years ago. 

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12 hours ago, Hi-Power Jack said:

Really depends on the quantity you plan on reloading.

 

A Turret press is okay if you reload for a revolver, in small quantities, 

 

BUT,

if you're reloading for a 9mm and using it for competitive sports, I'd

recommend a Dillon Square Deal (SDB),

 

The press, dies and everything you need to reload 9mm and .38 special

will run about $700 or so - worth every penny of it, too.     :)  

The Dillon’s are a bit out of my budget for now. But I will definitely look into it once I get set up. Thanks for the advice!

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11 hours ago, Jfitz427 said:

Buy the Lee classic turret press kit.  That was my first press, and I just finished loading a few hundred precision 223 loads on it tonight. Been using it for many years and still love it. I can load precision 6.5 creedmoor loads that shoot 3 inch groups at 1000 yards. Or you can pistol ammo Pretty fast. 250rds per hour is a normal pace. Or for making cheap plinking ammo. It does it all.

 

A turret is a great press to learn reloading on. You’re going to make mistakes, I did, pretty sure everyone did. But it’s better to mess up just one round then have a progressive going and screw up a whole bunch of rounds. It’s also easier with the turret since your only focusing on one function, vs a progressive with 5 going at once.

 

A turret is basically as simple as a single stage, but 4 times faster. And the LCT  can be utilized as a single when learning, or wanting to make very precise loads by taking out the indexexing rod. Caliber changes are easy, primer changes are done is less then 1 second, literally. And the priming system is incredibly reliable and simple to use. Progressives can be finicky. 

 

Theres really no tinkering or complex setup with it, like a progressive that can take a while to set everything up perfect. My father in law was my mentor before I bought my first press. I was thinking about a progressive, and he talked me out of it and into the lee classic turret kit which he also had. I’m glad I listened, as it’s besn a great press that you’ll never grow out of. Later on I bought my first progressive and I was thinking to myself when I was setting It up, man, I would have never been able to figure this out if I didn’t have all the experience I had with my turret. To this day all rifle ammo is done on the turret. Only pistol ammo is done on my progressive. I have a single stage too I use for bullet pulling and push though sizing. Thought it would be more precise for long range precision, but it’s not. The ammo made on my LCT is just as precise as the single stage. 

 

Forgot to mention lees customer service is top notch. If you ever need a replacement part theyll have it to you in 2-3 days free of charge. 

 

Sorry for the long response. But I was asking the same question as you years ago. 

Thanks for your suggestion. Your response pretty much answered the questions I had regarding the press. Im looking forward to setting up the LCT. I currently use the Lee hand press and it takes about 1 hour to load 50 rounds. Didn’t have enough space before but now I do. This is definitely what I need.

 

Thanks again!

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Since you are looking for a turret press, I would get the new Lyman Brass Smith All American turret. It will be a good work horse no matter what you reload. If you look you can get them under $200. Even if you buy a Dillon later turrets are a great press to keep around.

 

I have a Redding T-7 had it over 10 years, love the press for all the odd ball and precision calibers I load. I have both a Dillon 550 and 650 with case feeder and would never give up a turret.

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take a real hard look at a Dillon 550.   loaded on one for over 25 years does rifile ,pistol, can be used as a bench mounted priming tool.

Really hard to out grow. Dillons work horse press. 

 

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On 1/9/2019 at 9:08 PM, Jfitz427 said:

Buy the Lee classic turret press kit. 

This...starting 10 years ago, my first press was the LCT kit and the only upgrade ive done is the Lee autodrum powder measure because it is easier to adjust charges.i now have a dillon650 for 9mm, but use my LCT for precision 308, 45-70 and 45 colt. Its an amazing tool for the price  

 

x

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I learned to load on a Dillon 650. Without a mentor or any in-person assiatance. That said, I’m extrmeely mechanically inclined; it’s how I make my living.

 

Owned it for 10 years and loaded zero squibs or double-charges.

 

Not suggesting it for anyone who isn’t both meticulous and prone to casually rebuilding their vehicle’s engine and transmission... but you can do it.

 

I do agree a Lee Turret is a wonderful choice for any beginner.

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8 minutes ago, xdr said:

This...starting 10 years ago, my first press was the LCT kit and the only upgrade ive done is the Lee autodrum powder measure because it is easier to adjust charges.i now have a dillon650 for 9mm, but use my LCT for precision 308, 45-70 and 45 colt. Its an amazing tool for the price  

 

x

I’m thinking about buying another 1 or 2 LCTs. Even though it’s so simple to switch calibers, especially if you have multiple turrets. It’s not like changing over a progressive. I use it for 223; 308, and 6.5. I was thinking about keeping one set up all the time for 308 and another for 223. Again though with how easy it is the change calibers it’s probably not worth it. 

 

I have the little cheap lee single stage for push though sizing, and pulling bullets, my LCT for the rifle calibers, and a loadmaster for 9mm and 40 and 380. A lot of people say the loadmaster is finiky and has problems, I’ve loaded 25k trouble free rounds on it. I’ve had it for about 6, which I think is different then 25k over 10 years. It sees a high volume. I haven’t broken anything on it except for a decapping pin before I knew it wasn’t supposed to be so tight. It really runs like a Swiss watch. All three presses ars great. Best value for the money. 

 

With that said I’m gonna upgrade to a 1050 in a few months. I want to be able to use a case feeder that holds more then 100 rounds. And I want to be able to use a bullet feeder, plus powder check, or bullet feeder and seat and crimp separately. I want more stations on my toolhead. And the built in seats is awesome. I pick up brass at the indoor range, and getting 50 mil spec 9mm case mixed in causes slot of problems if I don’t sort first. My loadmaster is pretty fast, 500rds an hour or so, but a 1050 with bullet feeder will double that. And I have less and less time as I get older. I’ll still load all my rifle and precision ammo on the LCT. 

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9 hours ago, AHI said:

take a real hard look at a Dillon 550.   loaded on one for over 25 years does rifile ,pistol, can be used as a bench mounted priming tool.

Really hard to out grow. Dillons work horse press. 

 

The 550 is a good all around workhorse. Can use as a turret type press for precision ammo or can turn out good ammo at a pretty good clip. If someone buys one hates reloading/loses interest you can easily get back 80-90% of buying a new one.

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Quote

 

Lee is a good press. Two of my friends use them and have no issues. Plus they're priced right.

Accessories: Buy the Arsonal digital scale. You can set it for grains, grams, oz. whatever. This will also be you powder measure, it comes with a little cup.

Digital calipers from Harbor Frieght.

You'll also need a tumbler to clean range brass, and an inertia hammer to pull bullets from bad loads. (Saves brass, bullet and primers).

Happy reloading😀

 

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To be honest I would get the lee load master or the breach lock pro. If your going to get a Lee. I liked my load master but not like I like my dillon 650xl. The reason I would go with the bigger progressive is for faster reloading. I have a classic turret and I was getting around 100 rounds a hour and the was flying. With the load master I was at about 450 rounds a hour. I did switch to the powder drum as it is a better set up. All in all the lee is a good press for the price.

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16 hours ago, MemphisMechanic said:

I learned to load on a Dillon 650. Without a mentor or any in-person assiatance. That said, I’m extrmeely mechanically inclined; it’s how I make my living.

 

Owned it for 10 years and loaded zero squibs or double-charges.

 

Not suggesting it for anyone who isn’t both meticulous and prone to casually rebuilding their vehicle’s engine and transmission... but you can do it.

 

I do agree a Lee Turret is a wonderful choice for any beginner.

I will probably get a Dillon 650 in the future. Maybe start with the Lee Turret just to learn first.

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Start small and work your way up.   I see more reloading equipment for sale that has very little time on it.   I started over 30 years ago with a single stage press and dies.   I load about 1000 rounds a week, but I also have the time and use two progressive presses.

 

 

Please don't go into debt remember it's a hobby.   

Edited by dannyd
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2 hours ago, JohnS23 said:

I will probably get a Dillon 650 in the future. Maybe start with the Lee Turret just to learn first.

 

While this could definitely get you started sooner, you may want to check out some of the Facebook groups dedicated to Dillon.  Dillon Reloaders - The Exchange has had a number of used 650s pop up lately at crazy good prices.  I think as tempting as it is to start with the Lee, the Dillon is the better value and if you think your going to end up there anyways, you may want to put off buying a press until you can afford that one.  While the Lee is undoubtedly still useful after purchasing a Dillon, I don't think I'm the only one here who has purchased other presses just to end up at the Dillon (whether SDB, 550, 650, 1050) anyways and probably be out money going that route.  Just my own opinion for sure, but I'd definitely say your volume of shooting certainly warrants it.

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