Ammunition & Hand Loading > Cartridge and Shotshell reloading
Reloading Presses ?
kozball:
Seems to me that you all seem to like what you have, and if there were any issues, you able to work thru them. Turning a short story into a long story, I want to reload for the knowlege and the challenge of it. I also have a 12yr old son that is showing some interest and hope to pass on what I can to him. I just started shooting some USPSA and such this year. I plan on doing a few matches per year to see if I can improve my skills. Being a 55yr old blind guy, I don't think that "Match Grade" falls into any category with my ability. The handgun loads would be close to "out of the box" type stuff. For bowling pins, I would need to explore some Chris Z type "special"loads. ;D Would like to do some 3-gun someday. That is where the 223 rem would be needed. But can't do 3-gun yet, as I don't have the grande huevos and my Ithica 37 blew up in my face.
Has anyone had anything that you didn't like and got rid of ?
Koz
unfy:
I have no idea of the quality of it.... but....
the lee 50th anniversary single stage kit comes with just about everything ya might need, and goes for $90-$120 ? i think ?
cabella's has them too.
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Equipment ya don't like ....
The Hornady 38 special / 357 mag / 357 max three die set is... a tad annoying. The bullet seater lacks any kind of crimp (not even taper). So if ya bell the case mouth too much, you have to crimp everything. I picked up a taper crimp die for cheap plated bullets and a roll / factory crimp die as well for the fancier bullets. $10-$15 for each type of crimp die. The Hornady dies not offering a crimp on seat in this particular set is REALLY annoying. Otherwise, they're fine dies. (Their 41mag dies do offer a roll crimp however).
The RCBS 40 s&w dies were almost too short for my press somehow. They feel more loose than the hornady ones as well (they are NOT loose though). I've produced thousands of rounds through them and they perform great though. They're precise and function wonderfully, they're just "weird" in how they sit in my press for some reason.
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I've got an electric caliper set. Batteries dying on those are really annoying. I'm real tempted to pick up an analog dial based one. If your eyes are troublesome, the digital might be a better idea though.
Some of the smaller hand tools (dechamfer/deburr, primer pocket etc) are.. a tad tedious. I think Lyman makes an easy to grip screwdriver sized all in one set thing that is probably a lot more ergonomic. I'll be picking up a powered case prep center when I get into rifle reloading... and will be using the hand tools as back up or whatever. But -- yeah -- get something more ergonomic than tiny little things.
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I've got a Mec 600 or 650 jr simple 12ga shotshell press that seems alright, but I've not done much with it. Then again, I don't load for trap / skeet.
Dan W:
Unfy, I agree that using a press that has progressive capabilities in a manner similar to a single stage is a good choice.
When I think of progressive presses I am thinking auto advance- like my Square Deal or a Dillon 650
If you can disable the auto advance function, then it is no different than a single stage.
All the auto advance parts have been removed from my Lee turret
unfy:
--- Quote from: Dan W on December 12, 2011, 07:30:31 PM ---
If you can disable the auto advance function, then it is no different than a single stage.
--- End quote ---
On the Hornady LNL AP, you can prolly push the indexing paws all the way in, or possibly remove the the indexing plate from the bottom of the press (prolly preferred so ya don't have to recalibrate stuff).
I've not had to do much 'single stage'-esque stuff on my press, mostly just calibrating stuff (ie: powder drop / seating depth / etc)... and sometimes crimp... all of which, the auto progress part has not been a problem.
We'll have to see what happens when it comes to rifle....
bkoenig:
I have two Lee presses - a turret and a Classic Cast single stage. I can load about 200 rounds an hour of pistol ammo on the turret press. I haven't had any real problems with it, but IMO it's not precise enough for precision loading rifle ammo. Too much slop in the turret. Some day I'll get a Dillon or Hornady progressive.
I really like the Classic Cast press. It's built like a tank. I really think it's a hard press to beat for the money if you're looking at a single stage.
I've always wondered how guys load rifle ammo on a progressive press. With bottleneck cartridges you have to check case length after resizing, trim (if necessary) and then deburr. How does that work on a progressive when you're running cases through from beginning to end all at once?
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