Ammunition & Hand Loading > Cartridge and Shotshell reloading
Reloading Presses ?
unfy:
Punch for sizing die doesn't fit under shell plate of my LNL. grrrrrr.
JimP:
--- Quote ---For the amount of rounds that I may reload, I don't think I will ever save money after you figure in the cost of all the equipment that still needs to be purchased.
--- End quote ---
It has been awhile since I ran the numbers, but I once figured out that it would take the savings on 300 reloads vs. buying 300 rounds of Winchester factory ammo in .270 Win to pay for a Lee 50th anniversary kit and dies....... I don't know about you, but I have at times fired 300 rounds in a weekend (killing prairie dogs is good practice with your deer rifle!).
kozball:
JimP. Ya see that my problem is that I am sooooo new to the shooting scene that my pricing comparision is being done with 40cal 180gr FMJ. The rifle stuff is pretty thin in my safe, Just the cheap ol 30-30 Marlin, and 1 of those nasty black things in 5.56 and some foreign POS that bangs 7.62R. So until I come up with a 338 Lapua or 7mm Mag, my savings just aren't that important, YET.
This was the 1st year that I went deer hunting, ever. Shot 2 deer on 2 shots at about 50 yards combined. The ol 30-30 did good with cheap store bought soft points.
Now with that said, it would be nice to be able to do anything I want on just 1 press. But a single stage would be sooooo slow for pistol but perfect for rifle, and the progressive would be great for pistol but questionable for rifle. So, that is why I guess alot of people have more than 1 press.
And for you guys with the progresives. What is it about them that doesn't seem right for rifle ammo? Read some stuff about looseness in the heads when trying to do 4-5 actions at once, or that they just don't feel solid enough that people are concerned about the consistency of the load. Too much size checking cause they just don't trust the consistency. But isn't size checking a normal thing especially for quality rifle loads? So, Is it a feel thing or are they just not heavy enough?
thanks again, Koz
Toster:
If you are anything like me, you will end up with a Single stage for the more "precise" loads (anything that you really care about accuracy in). Then you will also get the L-N-L for the more "high volume" loads. I went all Hornady with my setup (except the MEC shotgun reloaders).
On the single stage it works really nicely to learn the steps. I hand clean each piece of brass (rifle, non high volume ones) size, trim them all, chamfer and deburr, clean the primer pocket (in and out) then run them back through to prime. Set up the electronic scale that auto dispenses, plug in my charge load, and I can seat the bullet in about the time the RCBS dispenser drops another charge (within .01 grains!) Keeps everything to the nats ass. No I don’t get AS anal as some of the benchrest shooters, but most of my accurate guns will shoot dimes at 100 yds or less… (not bad for a 270) I would never want to sit down and so any real volume of handgun or just fun rounds at a single stage!!!
Now on the L-N-L, every pull of the leaver, I get a bullet! I mostly do my handgun stuff on my LNL. I don’t worry about trimming (generally), and the drop charge with the pistol insert is pretty darn accurate. I make sure to drop 10 loads, and each load has to be “on” for the charge weight before I even start reloading. Pretty darn fast, and you can get a lot of rounds loaded in a fairly short amount of time. I have done 223, on it, but only my AR rounds that might get to MOA on a good day.
As for the shotgun stuff. Well I shoot A LOT of 12,20,and 28 so there was no way I was going to use a single stage, or even a hand indexing one. I currently run MEC 9000 G’s
I think you will really need to decide on what your budget is, how much shooting, and what type of shooting you want to do. I think that every press has it’s pros, and con’s. Overall I am pretty happy with my setups. Hornady made a change on the LNL about 2 years ago on how they kick out the bullet, and it is MUCH better. Mine will fling a round across the basement every now and again. Just like my MEC’s will sometimes not do something just so, and drop lead/powder all over. It’s not the end of the world just a mess.
unfy:
--- Quote from: kozball on December 20, 2011, 01:18:41 PM ---JimP. Ya see that my problem is that I am sooooo new to the shooting scene that my pricing comparision is being done with 40cal 180gr FMJ. The rifle stuff is pretty thin in my safe, Just the cheap ol 30-30 Marlin, and 1 of those nasty black things in 5.56 and some foreign POS that bangs 7.62R. So until I come up with a 338 Lapua or 7mm Mag, my savings just aren't that important, YET.
--- End quote ---
With missouri lead or some other commercially bought lead (reloadersauction.com or something) - I end up paying ~$6-$7 per box of 50 .40s&w (lead + primer + powder, bought in relative bulk). I believe with Berry's plated I ended up at $12 per box of 50 ?
--- Quote from: kozball on December 20, 2011, 01:18:41 PM ---This was the 1st year that I went deer hunting, ever. Shot 2 deer on 2 shots at about 50 yards combined. The ol 30-30 did good with cheap store bought soft points.
--- End quote ---
30-30 makes a fine deer rifle :). It definitely is underrated these days when you compare it along it's intended use. That's a debate for another thread tho hehehe.
--- Quote from: kozball on December 20, 2011, 01:18:41 PM ---Now with that said, it would be nice to be able to do anything I want on just 1 press. But a single stage would be sooooo slow for pistol but perfect for rifle, and the progressive would be great for pistol but questionable for rifle. So, that is why I guess alot of people have more than 1 press.
--- End quote ---
If approached with an assembly line mentality (prep ALL the cases, prep ALL the powder charges, seat ALL of the bullets)... it's not terribly slow. Particularly if ya get a volumetric powder charger / thrower. Ya get a rhythm down and quickly mull through the process. You won't produce 800 rounds an hour like ya can on a fully decked out progressive, but.... do you really need to produce 800 rounds an hour ?
--- Quote from: kozball on December 20, 2011, 01:18:41 PM ---And for you guys with the progresives. What is it about them that doesn't seem right for rifle ammo? Read some stuff about looseness in the heads when trying to do 4-5 actions at once, or that they just don't feel solid enough that people are concerned about the consistency of the load. Too much size checking cause they just don't trust the consistency. But isn't size checking a normal thing especially for quality rifle loads? So, Is it a feel thing or are they just not heavy enough?
--- End quote ---
The Hornady LNL is a heavy machine. Things generally feel very tight and... well.. heavy. The only things relating to the press itself that I might have a complaint with concerning rifle ammo would be that there isn't a "sure lock" feel of the brass in the shell plate (vs a single stage shell holder), and the fact that the dies are in some quick release style bushings. These are probably non-issues though... I've not had problems yet. And the only die that i've seen move in the press is the powder thrower (which doesn't require precision placement in the press anyway... and just give it a nudge every 20-25 rounds and it's all good).
Much of what Toster had to say is good advice as well.
Koz - where do you live ? Do you also mind if we ask what your budget is ?
My apartment is a disaster and not accepting company at the moment, but there might be some other reloaders around here that might give you some hands on stuff with the different machines.
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