Reloading noob

[blutch]

oh cool. Thanks.

This seems like a good deal. Would it be better than Square Deal kit in terms of quality and longevity - in other words, when I go this route I don't want to be needed to upgrade my press in a few months.

B

 

[338Shooter]

The lock n load will blow the Square Deal out of the water. IMO, the best progressive short of the dillon 1050.

Very well written and thourouh article about the 650, the LnL, and the Lee Loadmaster.

http://www.comrace.ca/cmfiles/dillonLeeHornadyComparison.pdf

 

[Shadowrider]

The lock n load will blow the Square Deal out of the water. IMO, the best progressive short of the dillon 1050.

I'll second that statement.

 

[oldnslow1]

I bought a loc n Load with no regrets. It takes time to set up but works great. I have no knock against Dillon but the LNL works very well, is a great value and is more advanced than the 550B. Watch the videos on youtube and ultimate reloader. Plus the free bullet deal is great. The only problem I am having is finding components but I hope that will ease up soon.

oldnslow1

 

[Hawgman]

I didn't catch if money is an issue. Going with a high end progressive is going to run you some real bucks. The price you see for the press is just the begining. Some of us got into progressives after reloading for some time. We already had the scale, loading blocks, dies, shell holders, and on and on and on. Just my opinion but just learning, especially if you're on your own, can be confusing and frustrating at times. Nothing you won't be able to figure out but figure it out you'll have to do. I just got into the progressive method after years of singlestage and you're constantly watching everything going on at once. If you get a single stage or turret press now there will still always be a place for it even if you move on to progressive. It's not like you're throwing away money. I noticed you're into fly fishing and tying your own flies. I fly fished up in Alaska for several years. Two of my regular fishing buddies tied their own flies. It really did make a difference. I'm making a leap here but I really believe if someone enjoys the detail of precision and control of all variables such as in hand fly tying, you're really going to dig a single stage press. It really does give the feel of ultimate control of the various processes involved. Just a few thoughts.

 

[criticalbass]

Unless you want to get into it as cheaply as possible, one of the turret presses is worth considering. Mine are Lyman T-Mags, one old and one "II" which is the current model.

These offer good speed, no readjustment when changing calibers, and are super for small experimental batches of ammo. I load about a dozen calibers, and have extra turrets to hold almost all my dies. I can change from one to another in a couple of minutes. Shadowrider also mentioned this, and I fully support what he said.

One application that makes the single stage press a winner is very heavy brass reforming. If you need to exert extreme pressures during a reloading operation, forget the progressives and watch it with the turrets. My T-mag II is pretty stout, but the older T-mag is not as well built. Works fine for most of my loading needs.

One nice accessory is a universal decapping die. Lee makes a good one for very little money. You can deprime, clean pockets, and tumble cases before resizing them. Don't make the error I did by trimming cases before resizing. They grow. I was doing about 100 .308 cases, and had them all the proper length. Then I resized and happened to measure a case. It was a bit longer,and so were the others, so back to the trimmer again.

And about case trimmers, look at the Lee system. Very simple, and very fast.

Have fun! CB

 

[Blitzfike]

another thing to consider with the square deal is that the dies are not standard 7/8 X 14 tpi dies. That means that the dies are only usable on the square deal press. I have a Dillon RL-550B and load about 26 different calibers on it at this time. I've had it since they came out and love Dillon's support. I have worn out various pieces of it and all I have to do is call them and they send the replacement parts free. On my RL-550B setup, I have dies from several manufacturers including Dillon. I still use single stage presses for my large rifle stuff as well as 25 auto due to its ultra small size. It would be very difficult to load in a progressive system. I've considered upgrading to a 650 several times, but just can't justify it with all the conversions I have for the 550. 40 plus years of reloading and still going strong.. Blitzfike

 

[blutch]

If we did a poll on what a noob should get for his/her first press i think it would be 50/50 between the single stage and the progressive. Makes it very confusing.

That amazon deal seems like a good one, but I'm not diving in until I get to spend some time with an experienced reloader showing me how both types of presses function. I won't have the extra scratch for awhile either. It is my tendency to research the hell out of this stuff long before buying. :-)

I still need to get my CCW paid for, get a carry gun, holster, etc. before spending money on reloading stuff. Lots to read in the meantime and a couple of guys have already offered to show me the hobby.

Taking my CCW class tomorrow. Looking forward to that!

Thanks for all the advice. Learning a lot!

B

 

[Shadowrider]

They used to do a reloading class up at H&H, I don't know if they still do them. But even if they don't they have several presses set up and I'm sure they would explain how they work. They didn't have a Hornady LNL last time I was in but they did have several Dillons and RCBS's new progressive set up and were able to load rounds. It might be worth a look. They did have some Hornady dies and the new Hornady manual. Seems like they are selling mostly Dillon and RCBS but you will get the gist of how they work. The class sounds like a great resource for beginners. Wish they were doing them when I started.

Also youtube has a lot of videos, some of which are pretty decent. And that ultimate reloader site is very good. Hornady also has some videos on their website.

 

[Roadking Larry]

While you are building up to it don't pass up any opportunity to collect brass.