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In your opinion whats a good startup reloading rig?

jgwills

jgwills

20g
My friend and I were discussing possibly going half and half on a reloading rig. If we combined resources we think we could get a nice setup going. Mainly thinking of starting off with common pistol rounds, 9, 40 etc.

What do you all suggest thats a decent rig for the money? Lees seem the cheapest option but is there a reason for that? The Dillons are really expensive but are they really that much better?
Any tips or suggestions for a first time reloader are greatly appreciated. We've been saving brass the last couple of range trips so at least we got a start :).

thanks in advance.
 
IMO the "best bang for the buck" press for reloading pistol calibers is the Lee Classic Cast Turret Press, which will allow you to load 200-250 rounds per hour if you really put your fullest devotion in it. A hundred an hour is very do-able if you want to just casually load without pushing yourself at all.

A Dillon is, yes, very expensive and the 550 model is not going to make that many more rounds per hour. I suggest you YouTube the Lee Classic Cast Press (I think Lee's website even has a couple tutorials @ http://leeprecision.com/help-videos.html ) andYouTube the Dillon 550 and see what you think.

If you move to the Dillon 650 you are approaching a loaded round every ten seconds but at a much higher cost. And the accuracy and general quality of pistol ammo won't be significantly higher, you can just make more per minute. And the Dillon will outlast the Lee mechanically speaking.

I would NOT consider the Lee PRO 1000 or the LEE LoadMaster. Period.

Kemph's Gun Shop www.kemphgunshop.com is a GREAT place to get a fully complete reloading set-up with the Lee Classic Cast Turret Press along with just about everything else to get you started except for bullets, primers, cases and powder and maybe a tumbler and a strong table. They think of all the little things you would have to separately order and box it all up for you at a really friendly price because they are a direct supplier for LeePrecision Products. https://kempfgunshop.com//index.php...n=com_virtuemart&Itemid=41&vmcchk=1&Itemid=41

I may sound like a fan-boy for Lee but I actually don't own a Lee Classic press. I just recognize that it is a tremendous value that makes great handgun ammo for 95% of what a pistol shooter needs. I would proudly own one in a heartbeat and brag about having it. It's very affordable and people who start on one keep using theirs even later if they buy a bigger more elite press.

Of course, I'd be more proud to own a Dillon 650 but quick caliber changes and such get to be much more expensive for a Dillon Owner.

Dillon, on one hand, has a famous 100% NO B.S. Satisfaction Guarantee, not just a limited warranty. If something rusts, or breaks or fails thru negligence they will replace (or in very RARE cases only recondition) it for FREE every time. No questions. That is worth a lot. Pick up the phone and say "This broke," and you get a brand new one in a couple days.

You tube and check things out. The Lee Kit from Kempf's is only $220 to get you started and nobody comes close to that price.

If you can each go around $500 for really deluxe setup with top quality powder measure, top quality scales, etc and a real professional machine and all the extras then get a Dillon.
 
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I would NOT consider the Lee PRO 1000 or the LEE LoadMaster. Period.
Click to expand...

Nitesite I am wondering why you would never consider the Lee Pro 1000, I have one and have had very good luck with it, I have probably made around 5000 rounds of .45 and .9mm with great success. It took a little bit of tinkering to set it up right but I find that if you keep it clean and keep the primer hopper filled you can cruise through a couple of hundred very quickly.

I was looking at the Dillion Square Deal B and that may be my next press.

As an aside, I broke the decapping die pin and called Lee up, all I had to do was take a picture of it and the sent out one - no questions asked. They seem to really be great at customer service.

Just my two cents, for me not a bad press for the money.

Joe
 
Hi, Joe.

I agree the PRO1000 can be a fairly good press, but it's the tinkering that I keep in mind when I advise new reloaders about a first press. I think my comments were also aimed at giving the OP a "lowest I would start with and still be great" to a "really excellent setup if you guys can afford it".

The PRO1000 fell in between those two extremes and because of that fact (plus its lack of simplicity and bullet-proof quality) I didn't recommend it. It's kind of an enigma in the reloading press world, and for those who can successfully get theirs set up and running right (it definitely takes some time to accomplish that) and keep it going I applaud their choice.

The Dillon Square Deal B is TRULY a great press for those who want to do just one cartridge and take it out of the box and get going from the very first minute, and it has Dillon's fantastic quality and support.

Best Regards,

Dave
 
Thanks for the info Dave, I want a new press but every time I get a few dollars saved up I end up at my LGS and buy something else - to say I have a problem would be like Noah Saying "It Looks Like Rain"!!

So for now I will keep the Lee 1000 and master it and keep buying big boy toys!
 
Thanks for the replies. Lee and Dillon wasn't the only consideration. We've looked at RCBS, Lyman, Hornady as well. Decisions decisions. Much to discuss but you guys have been real helpful. I feel we should just stick to one caliber to get going and once we have the process down then we can add additional components for other calibers later.
 
My reloading friend and I use two single stage presses and reload together so it goes real fast, one is a RCBS Rockchucker and the other is a 35 year old Lyman. We put thousands of rounds through them on the cheap, 9mm, 223, 10mm, 45acp, 243, 30-06, 300 win mag, 338 win mag
 
I use an RCBS Partner press. It's a smaller single stage press. I've managed to load some 30-06 with it but that is really pushing the limits of the press. For handgun, it's a great little press. I've reloaded a lot of .357/.38 and .45 on it.
 
I love single stage presses. You really get to know every nuance of each die operation forwards and backwards. I have one and use it a lot!

If I want to make carefully-crafted ammunition the single stage is a great way to go. Heavy volume never mattered to me, and when I use progressives I feel like I've lost the soul of handloading and am just pulling a handle.
 
I got a Lee single stage starter set a year ago and have no regrets with it. I have no problem with anything. If I picked a downside I think the powder dispenser could be a little better.

Titan reloading has the single stage starter kit for $116. Titan seems to specialize in Lee.
http://www.titanreloading.com/kits
 
The Lee turret press would be a very good choice. I have one to load all of my rifle calibers with and a couple of pistol. Very simple to use, maintain and priced very reasonable. Changing calibers is very quick with your dies set up on a quick change turret.

I also have 4 Lee loadmasters I use for the ammo business. Nitesite is right, for a beginner not a good choice. There is a huge learning curve to keep the machines operating properly. Once you conquer the learning curve, they are a very good loader and will produce a lot of high quality ammo. I average 50 rounds every 4 minutes with the loadmasters. Sometimes I think I know more about the Loadmasters than the techs at Lee Precision!
 
Any specific lee turret press? I have a pre 82 MEC 600 jr ( I rebuilt bought non working) and a lee load all 2 for shot shell, but now I'm building a AR in .223/5.56 I might try my hand at reloading those as well! Off to youtube some presses!
 
Without doubt a Lee turret press is the way to go. I have had the same turret press since 1986 !

I paid 25 Pounds Sterling for it second hand and the only part I had to replace was three years ago the linkage for the handle broke. It cost me nine Pounds to replace it.

I have loaded .380 acp, .38/.357, .44 special / Magnum, 9mm, .45 acp even .303 British with it.

Get a spare turret, powder measure and dies for the second calibre. Screw them into the spare turret. Then it takes all of about five seconds to switch between calibres.
 
Hey all. Been super busy but we finally got a chance to hit up the local Gander Mtn and Bass Pro here in town to take a look at what they had to offer. Talked with some of the reloaders that work in each store plus had a chance to see some of this stuff that they have on display firsthand. Leaning heavily towards the RCBS or Hornady lock and load setup now. The Lyman one also looked pretty stout. The Lee stuff would probably be fine but it just looked a bit on the cheap side to me. They had several nice beginner boxes from each brand with absolutely everything except caliber dies all in one package. Bass Pro was actually priced pretty reasonably compared to online resources and I like to come home with something the same day instead of waiting for the BBT to eventually arrive.

I'm personally leaning towards the Hornady because I like the quick change feature of thier dies. Although it doesn't take much longer to screw in threads I suppose. The gentleman did say they offer adapters threaded for other brand presses to allow the use of their quick change die sets. So either way it looks like we would be good to go but I'd just assume stick to the same brand of components across the board.

http://www.basspro.com/Hornady-LockNLoad-Classic-Reloading-Kit/product/10200312/

Although he understood our desire to combine forces for a really nice press he highly suggested we each start with our own single stage at our respective places. For the money to get one really sweet progressive setup we could each get setup with a really nice single stage rig. I'm starting to lean towards that concept heavily now. After we get comfortable with the process in general we can discuss teaming up for a nice joint setup down the road.

Thanks again for the advice you guys have given. It is much appreciated.
 
Forgot to mention he also reminded us to either get an ultra sonic cleaner and or a media tumbler for cleaning up fired brass. Something neither of us had really thought of to consider for the overall cost of initial start up. One nice bonus benefit he pointed out was that if you opt for the ultrasonic setup you can also clean up not just gun but any metallic parts you have lying around needing to be cleaned up. I can see that being extremely useful in cleaing up small auto parts as long as they physically fit the cleaning chamber.

Curious which of the two you guys like the best? Or do you utilize a combination of both in your cleaning procedures of spent brass?
 
Am I the only one here who has absolutely no clue how reloading works? Everyone has, at one point, the dark and mysterious corner of the shooting world, and this is it for me.
 
I'm still in the learning phase I have 2 reloaders but have yet to use them because of trying to find supplies locally.
 
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