Beginner - what press to get?

[StillServing]

OK guys,
I've wanted to get into reloading for awhile now and the wife offered to get me a press for Father's Day. Now where to begin....
I don't have the desire or money for a monster Dillion or anything, but I don't really want to start with a single stage either. I was thinking about something along the lines of the Lee turret press type. What are your thoughts/ideas on a particular press?

 

[Vision]

Lee turret press kit. I love mine and for the money it can't be beat. You can always upgrade components and presses at a later time.

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[Vision]

Fsreloading.com

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[BradMacc82]

The Lee will get the job done, I started with a Pro1000 myself (not the most beginner friendly press, but I managed).

They're not as nice as a Dillon, RCBS, or Hornady, but they'll do what you ask them to do - and won't set you back too much $$ either.

You'll get a lot of opinions (my own included) when it comes to equipment. Single stage is nice because you really get a good understanding of the mechanics, full progressive's are a little more difficult to learn the ropes on because they are a bit more complicated - especially to the 'less experienced'. You can start with a progressive (I did), but a single stage or non-indexing turret would be the way to get into the hobby, IMO.

If you get a Lee, I'd be more than happy to help you set it up since your local - there can be some trial and error when you go it alone, ask me how I know this.

 

[iH8DemLibz]

Go Green.

RCBS Partner Press or its brother the Rock Chucker?.

It only takes seconds to change dies.

9 years and running strong after 1,000s of pistol and rifle rounds.

Good luck and have fun.

And Brad is right. The Pro-1,000s are a bit finicky.

 

[Jaybeez]

lee CLASSIC turret press.

in lee terminology, "CLASSIC" stands for heavy duty steel. deluxe means cheap aluminum. the classic turret is a do everything turret that will continue to serve you no matter where you go with reloading.

 

[Doctor_M]

Go Green.

RCBS Partner Press or its brother the Rock Chucker?.

It only takes seconds to change dies.

9 years and running strong after 1,000s of pistol and rifle rounds.

Good luck and have fun.

And Brad is right. The Pro-1,000s are a bit finicky.

Just bought a Rock Chucker.... very solid and didn't break the bank.

 

[mike_in_md]

I wanted to say go with the monster Dillon 1050 or big dog Dillon 650, but since you are going for more simple, I will highly recommend the best bang for the buck, can get anything done, and put a big smile on your face, no regrets little brother Dillon 550 for anything less than 10 thousand rounds a year.

 

[GHETTO BLASTER]

I have the Lee classic turret press. Its a nice kit and comes with basically everything you need. Its easy to learn on a you can remove the indexing rod to use it as a single stage. Good quality parts and the powder thrower is pretty consistent.

 

[DaemonAssassin]

OP, the type of press you want depends on the ammo you want to reload. If it is a caliber that is considered high volume (9mm, 40 sw, 45acp, 223, 308, etc...), you'd be better off getting a progressive like the Dillon 550. keep in mind the Dillon 550 can be converted over to single stage operations in about 3 seconds.

Also for further info in the types of presses, check out the stickies. There is a ton of info in them.

 

[tomandjerry00]

Another vote for Lee Classic Turret

And another vote for FSReloading.

 

[wgttgw]

Lee classic cast (see a trend here). As mentioned get the cast version as it is well worth the small increase in price over the aluminum model. If you by it in the kit the cast kit also has the better powder measure.

Rather you want something faster with more output later or not you won't regret the purchase of the cast turret press. And if you do by some strange reason they seem to bring near as much used as they do new which tells you something as well. My guess is even if you buy a full progressive later the lee would still have its place for lower volume calibers you don't want to by conversion kits for. Just one mans opinion however.

 

[Topher]

Go Dillion and don't look back.

 

[Traveler]

Blue if you can afford it, Green if you can't. Both solid products from solid companies.

 

[rico903]

Can the green turret work as a single stage?

 

[Biggfoot44]

Well OP , you answered your own question in the first post. LEE Turret. I'll buck the trend , and say the DeLuxe (aka origional alum ) is plenty good , and better bang for the buck.

To really go whole hog with a blank check , Redding T-7 tuttet press. ( Redding - the other , better "Green" )

 

[DocAitch]

Lee

I have a number of presses and have found the Lee Classic Turret can cover most bases. It is cast iron and the turret heads can be left set up and switched out very easily. Replacement tool heads are not super expensive.
I cannot see paying $30-50 more for a Rock Chucker and getting less versatility.
I think that the construction and quality are comparable.
The press can be used as an auto indexing turret, manually indexed turret, or as a single stage.( I would recommend against using it in that first mode until you have a a solid grasp of the process and its potential errors)
I have a Dillon 650 (wonderful press but the caliber set ups can get expensive especially for those calibers that I shoot less) and some of the other presses mentioned above, but could load everything I shoot with the Lee and the Dillon.
You can't go wrong with the Lee Classic Turret (or any other press mentioned above for that matter)
DocAitch

 

[JoeRinMD]

I have a Dillon 650 (wonderful press but the caliber set ups can get expensive especially for those calibers that I shoot less) and some of the other presses mentioned above, but could load everything I shoot with the Lee and the Dillon.

You're right about the cost of Dillon caliber conversion kits for calibers where you don't need to produce that much ammo. When I started reloading, I was shooting Cowboy-Action and knew I needed to load a significant amount of ammo, so I found a used Dillon 550 for .45 Colt and .38/.357. After that, I bought the reloading gear of a club-member who had passed away, including his RCBS single-stage press and several die sets.

To me, this is the best of both worlds. With the single-stage press, I can load a variety of ammo for a minimum of fixed costs, just the dies and the shell-holder. That's perfect for rounds where I just don't chew up a lot of ammo...such as the 45-70. OTOH, I can easily crank out 2-300 rounds per hour on the progressive for calibers I do shoot a lot, like .45 Colt and .45 acp. For those rounds, I have separate tool heads including a powder measure, already configured for the correct loads and bullet style.

JoeR

 

[DaemonAssassin]

You're right about the cost of Dillon caliber conversion kits for calibers where you don't need to produce that much ammo. When I started reloading, I was shooting Cowboy-Action and knew I needed to load a significant amount of ammo, so I found a used Dillon 550 for .45 Colt and .38/.357. After that, I bought the reloading gear of a club-member who had passed away, including his RCBS single-stage press and several die sets.

To me, this is the best of both worlds. With the single-stage press, I can load a variety of ammo for a minimum of fixed costs, just the dies and the shell-holder. That's perfect for rounds where I just don't chew up a lot of ammo...such as the 45-70. OTOH, I can easily crank out 2-300 rounds per hour on the progressive for calibers I do shoot a lot, like .45 Colt and .45 acp. For those rounds, I have separate tool heads including a powder measure, already configured for the correct loads and bullet style.

JoeR

You do know that the 550 can be used as a single stage press, right? All you do is pull 3 gold pins.

 

[Traveler]

You do know that the 550 can be used as a single stage press, right? All you do is pull 3 gold pins.

I just set up all the stages the same as you would in progressive, but only run one cartridge through at a time. The 550 is manual indexing only. Easy peasy.