Considering Reloading. Favorite equipemnt and why?

[Honeybee]

due to my cancer I will be willing to sell my Dillon 650, I just don't think you would want to spent that kind of money just starting out.

 

[Revived]

Another perspective… As others have said – you won’t save money… you didn’t mention budget so I’m guessing you’re either limited or frugal - very different but nothing wrong with either… are you trying to become a better shooter? Loaded question so to speak - Another misconception… Because the truth is: more ammo won’t solve bad skills – but it is an important piece of the puzzle… How about time? If you’ve got a lot of it and not as much disposable income – go single stage and enjoy… If you have the money, don’t be afraid of progressives as a first press especially for handguns… the learning curve is not that difficult - I would rather shoot than reload any day… Even if you decide you hate reloading - you can sell a 650 or LNL and get a higher percent of the investment back… as far as long guns – how far are you shooting? I seriously doubt most could tell an accuracy difference with progressively reloaded ammo vs. single stage out to 300yds… Equipment is like a car or a woman – some are pretty… some are plain… it’s what you’re comfortable with… most popular: Hornady and Dillon… If I could combine the best features of both I’d have a great machine… I prefer Dillon for handguns, but then I shoot more in a month than your shooting needs in a year and since .45 is my volume ammo I have a 1050 dedicated just for that… But the LNL is an excellent value with the 500 free bullets and I think Graf has them on sale as well… not trying to pee on anyone cornflakes here… again just another perspective

 

[rsd777]

Thank you all for the information. A lot to digest and consider. I appreciate all the different perspectives.

 

[sting75ray]

Lyman turret press, Lyman scales, Lyman #55 powder measures, and RCBS dies.

 

[aviator41]

In all fairness my rcbs measure and the lee disc measure are many years old, hand me downs.
The RCBS will squeegee the bullseye powder between the sliding portion then all of the sudden get a little stiff and dump that
compacted "powder cake" into a piece of brass...
I can look in my cases and see the bound together powder cake clump.
Probably just worn out. The box one came in has a $39 sticker on it,, or somewhere in the 30 dollar range.
been about a year since i looked at it.

I had similar problems with my lee disc powder measure. Ended up running the base through a mill to get a true surface then sanding the base of the powder hopper to get it perfectly flat. I can now run small spherical powders without any problem at all. Before I would only run extruded powders through it.

 

[_CY_]

How about time? If you’ve got a lot of it and not as much disposable income – go single stage and enjoy… If you have the money, don’t be afraid of progressives as a first press especially for handguns… the learning curve is not that difficult -

gotta disagree with recommending progressives like a Dillon as a first press. way too many things to figure out, all at the same time. IMHO one needs to walk before running ... starting with single stage has nothing to do with having money or time.

besides most folks just think they need a Dillon .. reality is one can rip off 500 rounds of handgun ammo on a Rock Chucker in short order. I've got both and use my single stage press .. while the Dillon 550 just sits.

handgun ammo unlike rifle brass in most instances has enough room to double charge ... potential mistakes leading to K Booms are not to be taken lightly.

 

[Revived]

gotta disagree with recommending progressives like a Dillon as a first press. way too many things to figure out, all at the same time. IMHO one needs to walk before running ... starting with single stage has nothing to do with having money or time.
Aptitude is a funny thing… everyone’s different - some pick it up quickly, some have difficulty with basic comprehension… Wasn’t recommending – simply saying “don’t be afraid”... Many have had no issues starting with progressives

besides most folks just think they need a Dillon .. reality is one can rip off 500 rounds of handgun ammo on a Rock Chucker in short order. I've got both and use my single stage press .. while the Dillon 550 just sits.
"short order" in reality(a few hours) for only 500rds is a lot of time for many people

handgun ammo unlike rifle brass in most instances has enough room to double charge ... potential mistakes leading to K Booms are not to be taken lightly.
Great info… thanks, but visual powder inspections are part of any reloading session regardless of what machine you use single stage or progressive… or you can get “K Booms”... powder check systems are also available if you forget to look

 

[cmhbob]

I seem to recall that once upon a time, dies were manufacturer-specific, in that you couldn't use green dies in red machines, etc. That hasn't been true for several years, right? My FIL got me a set of RCBS dies last year for Christmas (instead of the RCBS kit that was on my list ), and if I'm going to spend my own money on a starter kit, I'm going to to go with the Lee Anniversary kit, I think, assuming I can use my RCBS dies.

 

[Daryl Licht]

I seem to recall that once upon a time, dies were manufacturer-specific, in that you couldn't use green dies in red machines, etc. That hasn't been true for several years, right? My FIL got me a set of RCBS dies last year for Christmas (instead of the RCBS kit that was on my list ), and if I'm going to spend my own money on a starter kit, I'm going to to go with the Lee Anniversary kit, I think, assuming I can use my RCBS dies.

The RCBS dies will fit the Lee press just fine. I actually use Lee's dies in nearly everything.

For the OP, the first reply was IMHO the best. After that, the Lee turrets or the Lyman turret setup would be the next choice. Lee's Challenger press is pretty decent also, although the primer catcher ain't the most effective I've seen. I'd also avoid Lee's scales and powder measures. The RCBS Uniflow powder measure is just dandy as long as you're not using larger grained extruded powders. Never been unhappy with the consistency of mine when using flake or ball powder.

Also, the OP's volume of shooting, and once again IMHO, doesn't really justify a progressive.

 

[dennishoddy]

I seem to recall that once upon a time, dies were manufacturer-specific, in that you couldn't use green dies in red machines, etc. That hasn't been true for several years, right? My FIL got me a set of RCBS dies last year for Christmas (instead of the RCBS kit that was on my list ), and if I'm going to spend my own money on a starter kit, I'm going to to go with the Lee Anniversary kit, I think, assuming I can use my RCBS dies.

I can't think of any dies, (RCBS, Lee, Redding, Lyman, Hornady) that won't interchange with any press on the market today.

At least I've never seen one. I use all three of the above on RCBS single stage, and LNL progressive machines.