Posted: 7/28/2014 11:44:35 AM EDT
|
I've been looking at presses, and just wanted to solicit some feedback from reloaders on here on brand preferences.
I know that a lot of people are committed to just sticking with single stage presses, but there's a part of me that wants to splurge on a progressive. Outside of producing more faster (I don't have a ton of time to devote to it w/ life, kids etc), I'm hoping it shortens the learning curve and margin for error. Any thoughts or suggestions? |
|
There is a whole reloading forum here on arfcom.
But basically, there are any number of answers to your question depending on the number of peoples opinions on the subject. For a beginner, a single stage is preferred so you can learn the basics. Most any brand from Lee, RCBS, etc. make excellent single stage presses. Where you start getting koolaid opinions is on progressive presses. Without a doubt, the blue Dillon is the best, but I don't own one. The Hornady takes a very close second place, but I don't own one. The lowly Lee is a good unit, but takes some tinkering to make work well. I have a loadmaster and pro1000, and I fully agree with my own sentiment for the Lee. They work well for me, though. Basically, you need to find out how much quantity and quality you want to put out. It is kinda crazy to invest in a $1600 Dillon 1050 if you will only be loading a few hundred to a thousand a year. If precision is needed, you need to take the time to use a single stage. Also, playing a role in the issue is how much time do you want to put into loading. Time is money. The less time under the press per round, the more money to invest. Now, the other issue is whether right now is the best time to get into reloading. Components have been hard to come by(right now, pistol powder is tough to find) and all components have increased in price. So much so that when you figure time into the equation, it is almost as cheap to shoot store bought plinker ammo as opposed to loading it. If you have 1000 .223 brass, your other costs are as follows to load 1000 rounds of plinker 55grn fmj .223: 4 lbs powder - @$80-100(lower end if bought in bulk) 1k primers - $30 1k bullets - $100 So, you are looking at about $200 in components(at current prices) plus about $60 if you don't have brass. With a single stage press, you are looking at many hours of prep and loading time. With a progressive, you are still looking at easily several hours for loading 1000 rounds. How much is bulk 5.56 ammo now for a case. Is it back down to $350+/- yet. If so, I will buy rather than load. Where you do well loading is with custom rounds, sometimes even in bulk reloading sessions. If that hasn't scared you off, where are you located so that someone may be able to tutor you some? |
|
Thanks for the info. I'm in Columbia - and I'm really looking into doing .308 reloading, and higher caliber pistol reloading.
Yeah, I wasn't looking into getting a high end 650 or 1050, but possibly a single stage for the .308, and maybe one of the less expensive progressives for pistol. And thanks for the lead on the reloading forum. Didn't realize it was under armory. |
|
I have pumped out a lot of pistol ammo on my Pro1000. It is a $150-175 machine and includes the dies. Not a bad deal for a 3 hole turret. For a little more, you get the Loadmaster with a 5 hole turret. Both the Lee machines are finicky and will take some amount of trial and error for loading good ammo. And both are way cheaper than the other two machines.
For the .308 and other rifle calibers, look out for a used RCBS Rock Chucker. The Lee turret press is the bomb because you can work on any of the stages at one time, only manually. I am well east of Cola, but I have everything you could possibly need to load .308-press, dies, trimmers, scales, powder measure, etc.. The only problem is that it is hot as Hades to do much loading in my garage right now. Think hard about investing. Right now is a good time to find equipment and most components. But, without them all, you are sitting on toys that just look cool on the bench. |
| I too am getting into reloading for my 300BLK build. I'm going wth the Hornady single stage lock-n-load press to start. Costs $300 but they have a rebate where I can get 500 .308 bullets for buying the system. That's a $150 value. Plus it gets me a nice start to my reloading supplies. |
|
I own 3 Dillons SDB's plus a Lee loadmaster that I loaned to my BIL. Add to that a Forster Co-Ax and an old RCBS single stage. A single stage press will always have a place on the bench simply because it doesn't make sense to set up the progressive for low volume production.
The SDB's work pretty well for me on the pistol calibers I blast with and the rifle stuff is loaded on one of the single stage presses. There is a lot going on at any one time with a progressive which makes a single stage the better starter set up for most people. |
|
I started reloading 9mm & .45acp about a year and a half ago with a Lee Classic Turret. After quite a few thousand rounds, I'm still very happy with it and have no desire to switch over to anything else at this point. My total initial investment was about $600 which included a few things that I really didn't need. I recently decided to start loading .223 and spent another $300, but $175 of that was for a Frankford Arsenal complete case prep system. If you want to be more frugal than I was you could buy a few hand prep tools and spend a LOT less money. The additional dies and turret that I needed for .223 were only about $50. Components are pretty readily available except for powder and especially pistol powder, but things seem to be getting a tiny bit better.
Welcome to reloading and good luck. |
|
Someone tell me about the all-in cost of reloading vs. picking up ammo in bulk when deals are available. I realize that some reload not because of the cost savings (are there any?), but for other reasons. I have wondered though about the cost aspect. It would take some time to break even on reloading equipment before appreciable savings would be realized - no? |
|
Do both.
Buy bulk steel cased stuff for cheap plinking and reload brass cased today to use tomorrow. I am pretty sure my costs broke even on my second batch of 1000 .223, and my first 1000 of 9mm. Even now I still save. Primers = $35, Bullets = ~$70, Powder = $40. So about $150/1k of .223 on average. Which is about half the price of a case of brass cased factory ammo based on current prices. But when there's a run/shortage, and a case fetches $500, the savings are really evident then. So as a cost saver, mmyeah sure why not. But as a hedge against increasing costs? HELL YEAH. Get your primers and powders at gun shows, and bullets online. Get your cases at public ranges for free. Grab everything people leave behind, regardless if you reload that caliber or not. Somebody loads it and you can trade them for what you need. |
|
Quoted:
Do both. Buy bulk steel cased stuff for cheap plinking and reload brass cased today to use tomorrow. I am pretty sure my costs broke even on my second batch of 1000 .223, and my first 1000 of 9mm. Even now I still save. Primers = $35, Bullets = ~$70, Powder = $40. So about $150/1k of .223 on average. Which is about half the price of a case of brass cased factory ammo based on current prices. But when there's a run/shortage, and a case fetches $500, the savings are really evident then. So as a cost saver, mmyeah sure why not. But as a hedge against increasing costs? HELL YEAH. Get your primers and powders at gun shows, and bullets online. Get your cases at public ranges for free. Grab everything people leave behind, regardless if you reload that caliber or not. Somebody loads it and you can trade them for what you need. But don't be a F***ing neckbeard. 
|
|
Based on my experience and having used both single stage and progressive equipment the best bargain going in equipment (if you want to buy most of it in one shot) is the RCBS Rock Chucker Supreme Master Kit. Sportsman's Warehouse has a bunch of these for just under $300.
With the exception of dies and calipers everything you need is pretty much in there and RCBS stuff is high quality: the scales, the press, and the powder measure, etc. You won't outgrow any of it even if you do make the switch to a turret or progressive the Rock Chucker is a great press for lower-volume work. |
|
I reload 308 with the lee hand press, I picked up the brass from a member here, and bullets from hi tech, the powder and primers from lgs. I do have a single and progressive press but for 308 the hand press works just fine. you will be amazed at how much cheaper it is to reload vs buying 308. If you think you want to do it dont wait too long, get your stuff and sit on it till you are ready, right now things have calmed and you can get primers and brass pretty easy, the powder is much easier to get now than before, pistol powder in my experience is no where to be found. if you go near Charlotte Littles hardware sells rifle powder and primers. Check the forum here for reloading supplies you can get massive amounts of brass fairly cheap. If you get military brass you need to take the crimp out. Lots of helpful folks on here they have helped me out a ton. If you decide what powder you want to use let me know and I can go by and see if they have it. I use benchmark because that is what they had and it worked fine for plinking. |