Which press to buy?/?

[Stradawhovious]

I am within moments of purchasing a new press (First time reloader) and would like opinions. the three that I am looking at are the dillon 550, the rcbs single stage and the lee single stage. I am aware of the differences between the single stage and progressive, and for personal reasons I am leaning towards single stage. Any information would be appreciated, but please, if your statement is such and such a press sucks.... Please tell me why it sucks, not that it just does

Thanks!

ETA: if there are any others that I should be aware of (please keep in mind that price is an issue) pleased let me know!

[Vlad]

I know this will pick a scab for some but eventually if you stay with relaoding you will have a singe stage and a progressive. The single stage has the benefit that it is cheaper for start up costs and has the greatest flexibility for load development. Once the load is established, I transfer to the progressive for volume. Generally speaking, if I am doing less than 200 rounds, I just do it on the single stage. I own a RCBS Rockchucker and Dillon 550.

My 0.02 for what it is worth…

Good luck, Tom

[tullibee]

I've started down this evil path too. got the Lee anniversary pack with the manual and single stage press. figure I'll use that for depriming. been looking at the Lee turrets for main hardware. figure that might be a good in-between a single and a progressive. can set up calibers on seperate turret heads and not have to adjust constantly...

Jon

[DeanC]

Well, before you go off and drop money on a new press, look around a little. I found a couple used presses and have been very, very happy. Maybe the used ones are drying up now?

I have an RCBS rockchucker and it is probably 10x stronger and heavier than I need. I can't say anything bad about it other than it's huge and is not exactly consistent on where it throws spent primers. I also have a Lyman Turret press and I really love it. I also have the really cheap Lee single stage press that Lee was giving away as part of a package with their reloading manual for $30.

I am a big advocate of the turret press as you can get your dies set up for one caliber and buy additional turrets for other calibers. You don't have to go through the whole set-up process every time you change calibers. And you don't have to set up a new die every time you change operations.

The turret press is nowhere near as fast as a progressive, but it is a hell of a lot more convenient for the casual reloader than a single stage.

I know Lyman and Lee have turret presses. Not sure about RCBS, but I'd be surprised if they didn't.

Here's a tip on dies - buy a brand that uses a powder-through-expander die for handgun loads. It cuts out one more step for you. You bell the case mouth and drop your powder charge in one operation of the press.

[DeanC]

Here's the Lee kit that Tullibee and I are talking about.

It's cheap, but you'll find a use for it anyhow. The manual is a good manual.

[westhope]

I too have the simple Lee (die cast) press. I like it too. It's fine for handgun ammo and my 22 Hornet. It is the press I grab when working-up loads. It is light and easy to set-up. Could be taken to the range and clamped to a shooting bench.

I have an old Herter's "O" frame single stage press for the heavy work (like forming obsolete cases) and larger rifle ammo. This press must be at least 35 years old. I would not be afraid of buying an old press. Just be careful that you can get shell holders for it or get an adapter (as I have for the Herter's press) to a current manufacturer of shell holders.

For large quanties of ammo I have a Dillon 650. I have seperate die heads for 9mm, 40 SW, 45 ACP, 223, and 308. You can crank out 600 rounds per hour easy.

[hicap45z]

A single stage press is a great starting point to learn the art of reloading. It's a lot easier to get the feel of each of the reloading steps when you're doing them one at a time.
I reloaded with a RCBS Rockchucker for many years and bought a Dillon Square Deal B only when I couldn't keep up with the ammo usage (2 chambers to feed in this family).
But I still have the Rockchucker and use it for rifle calibers and small runs of pistol ammo.
The SDB has been great for me as I only do large volumes of pistol calibers. The drawback is that it uses non standard dies, but they are reasonable priced from Dillon.
If you have the opportunity to stop by Gunstop in Minnetonka, discuss your needs with John Walton. He's a great resource for reloading info. He also stocks Dillon equipment (and others), and has used equipment.

Z

[JFettig]

What are you reloading for? If your reloading for handgun and shoot a lot, a single stage press won't cut it for you. 3-4 dies for each case gets tedious.
I have a Hornady LNL AP, I really like it but the primer mechanism isn't all that great. if you get junk down in there(spilled powder) it will hang up.

I looked at the Dillon 550, 650, and LNL AP and chose the LNL AP because it was about the same price as the 550, had 5 stations(which can be changed separately) and auto indexes. I have not used a 650, I have only messed with a 550 briefly.


I say that if your just shooting a few pistol rounds, or shooting rifle(not thousands of rounds), get a single stage. Heck, get a single stage and learn on it, then later on get a progressive. I gave my neighbors press back to him, now I need to pick up a single stage for various things.


Jon

[David]

I started out with single-stage gear (even cast my own bullets), and then graduated to a Dillon 550. Then I upgraded again to a Dillon 1050. It was fun, and a lot like a slot machine, but better because every pull was a winner. Between rounds all I had to do was place a bullet on the appropriate stage.

Then I realized that reloading wasn't for me. It saves money, especially if you shoot a lot, but I was spending too much time on it, and that outweighed the cost savings. I sold all my gear, and here I have to agree with Dean. There are some great deals to be had on presses and other gear out there, if what I got for mine is any indication! Look for used and well-maintained stuff. Used progressive loaders can get out of alignment if people are too heavy-handed on them. Luckily it's easy to tell if this is the case, and not too hard to fix if it is.

[chunkstyle]

For single stage, I love my Lee Cast Classic. This is NOT the el cheapo Lee of old. It's as good as any other single-stage, bar none. And the price is sweetheart.

[Pinnacle]

IMHO - Get the LEE Classic Cast or the RCBS Rock Chucker - as many know I have a Dillon 650 - but all manual chores are done on the RCBS and production is done on the Dillon

You will never and I mean NEVER regret buying a good Single stage press. You will use it for a multitudeof processes - like swaging primer pockets - sizing mass quantities of brass for cleaning and loading on the progressive machine.

I use my RCBS for mass sizing - case forming and conversion - things that you cannot do on a progressive machine.

[rucker]

For what it's worth I bought a 550 as my first press. It works great and wasn't too hard for a newb to figure out. For my handgun ammo I don't really see any reason why I would want a single stage press; I just want to pump out large amounts of functional ammo. For rifle ammo on the other hand (theoretically, as I don't have my rifle yet) I think reloading would be more a part of the tinkering process (as opposed to a way to simply save money) and would probably want a single stage so I can at least feel like I have more complete control over the finished product.

[fatboy97]

I purchased my first press last November and love it. Additionally, I purchased it at Gunstop in Minnetonka. This was only after talking to John at Gunstop, and all of this took me months of research. After all of this I purchased a Dillon 550B.

Go talk to John at Gunstop. He will tell you the straight scoop, and he has pretty good deals on the price.

By the way, I have nothing to do with Gunstop. I'm just a very happy customer and I continue to buy supplies through John.

[Stradawhovious]

By the way, I have nothing to do with Gunstop. I'm just a very happy customer and I continue to buy supplies through John.

Been there, John is a great guy, and a fountain of knowledge!!

I have decided that I will start with a single stage, and inevitably get tired of doing things the long way and add a progressive. Needless to say I will eventually have both. Thanks to all who have replied, and keep the info coming, I would rather have too much information to sort through, than not enough to make an informed decision!

[Stradawhovious]

Forget it. I have decided that I don't need to buy all of that expensive crap. this guy has a flawless method of reloading wthout all the tools, manuals and gizmos. I'm going this route.




ETA correct youtube link