Which Press for 500 rounds per month

[lhrocker 5]

I'm looking to get into reloading and kind of narrowed it down to either the Lee 50th Anniversary or the Classic Turret kits.  I currently shoot .223/5.56, 9mm and 40S&W at about 125 rounds of rifle and 100-9/50-40SW pistol.  I'm looking to get into another rifle round .243/7.62x39//308 in the future.  So would one press be better than the other?  I would do my reloading the day before I shoot.  I think from an initial investment, the Anniversary kit would be better, but I'd love to get any and all opinions.  Given that, is there anywhere local in NJ to get powder and primers?  Bullets seem cheap enough on line, but the powder/bullets get the hazmat fee added on.  I'm going to Check out Garden State Armory, but if there's anything in the Sussex/Morris/Essex county or even by Easton, which is where I mainly go to shoot now, that would be great.

[10X 3,296]

I can't comment on either of those presses-I'd personally recommend a Dillon 550 for what you plan to do

 

I can say that with any progressive press you'll quickly tire of changing between calibers, primer sizes, and rifle vs pistol powder measures. So start amassing a lot of brass. You'll save a lot of time by loading big batches of a single caliber and switching less often

 

Garden State, Davis (just across the border in NY), Heritage Guild, Sarco, And T&T reloading (PA) are ok local sources for powder and primers; there is a group buy forming now on this board which would save you money on a mail order with everyone sharing hazmat charges

[MidwestPX 172]

That's pretty low volume for a progressive so I'd stick to a single stage.  I do this for 6.5 Creedmoor and .458 SOCOM.  I size the brass then throw them in the tumbler one night.  The next session, I finish brass prep as needed then prime.  The ready-to-load brass then gets set aside for when I'm ready to load.

[Vlad G 345]

I'd also say a Dillon 550. It is flexible, easy to change calibers, not stupid expensive, but can do high enough volume per hour last minute. 

[louu 399]

Lee classic turret is a hundred bucks and only twelve bucks plus dies for caliber conversion. It takes fifteen seconds to change calibers and you can load 300 rounds an hour with preprimed brass. 250 an hour priming on the press. It's easy to learn on and when you graduate to a progressive you will still use it for small test batches or as a single stage. 

 

Personally I'm glad it was my first press because if I would have started on a progressive I would have either quit or blew my gun up. When I did get a progressive I knew what I was doing and it made the learning curve wayyyy easier. 

[mikeyjones 88]

Lee classic turret is a hundred bucks and only twelve bucks plus dies for caliber conversion. It takes fifteen seconds to change calibers and you can load 300 rounds an hour with preprimed brass. 250 an hour priming on the press. It's easy to learn on and when you graduate to a progressive you will still use it for small test batches or as a single stage.

 

Personally I'm glad it was my first press because if I would have started on a progressive I would have either quit or blew my gun up. When I did get a progressive I knew what I was doing and it made the learning curve wayyyy easier.

This x100.

 

Learn on something cheap then move up.

 

Sent from my Z812 using Tapatalk

[Pine Baron 10]

I don't have experience with the Dillon, so FWIW, I started with a Lee single stage and worked up to the Classic turret. Nice thing with the turret is you can get the extra turrets for each caliber/setup, saves time and aides in consistency. I still use the single stage for depriming, sizing , etc.

[fatty 241]

big +1 on the turret press.  everything is good except for the safety priming system, which has been horrendous.

[SmartAss 11]

Another vote for the Lee Classic Turret. And yes, the priming system on it is useless. I use a hand primer.

[T Bill 649]

Based on volume, I think a single stage press would be a nice start.  If in the future you find yourself wanting to move up, you always need a single stage reloading press in you "arsenal".  I would get a complete kit by Hornady or RCBS.  Been the Lee route and the saying you get what you pay for is more than true here.  My Lee crap hit the trail many years ago.  There are always sales on the complete kits, just got to search and be patient.  To anything you would get I would add a case gauge to each caliber you reload,  Takes all the guess work out of the process.  Mid South Shooters Supply has lots of kits on their website and a few sales all the time.

 

Tony at T&T reloading is a good place to pick up small batches of reloading stuff. Problem with him is he is only open M-W evenings and Saturdays that he is not at Gun Shows.  Checking his website before going is a must. 

 

Nereloading.com from Carlstadt is good for OF brass and heads shipped to your door.  

[lhrocker 5]

Lots of great info here.  I think single stage would be the way to go.  Do most of the Lee kits include the same accessories?  As if I bought a challenger kit, then got a turret press only, would the turret kit actually contain everything else that was in the challenger kit?  I will also look at other brands and the used market.

[louu 399]

Two more things about the Lee classic turret is you can pop the rotating rod out and use it as a true single stage. A lot of people complain that they broke the square plastic bushing for the rotating rod and they must not know what they are doing, I use mobil 1 on the rod and after countless of thousands of rounds I'm still on my original bushing. 

[Rob0115 1,105]

Get an RCBS rock chucker and there are kits that include beam scale and powder measure.  Clamp it to a table an viola, cheap, good and will last a lifetime.  I have a dillon 650 and still use single stage a lot, like for thousands and thousands of rounds.  

 

Save a stroke and buy the RCBS dies that seat and crimp all in one.

[carl_g 568]

Another vote for the Lee Classic Turret. And yes, the priming system on it is useless. I use a hand primer.

I never had an issue with the priming system. I am glad I started on this before moving up to a progressive.

[Bully 749]

Davis has the RCBS Rock Chucker kits for sale.  Roughly 300 bucks.  You should get a rebate from RCBS as well.  

 

I just went from a Lyman turrett to a single stage.  I love it.  I'm not in any kind of rush as I don't shoot enough unfortunately.

[carl_g 568]

Lots of great info here. I think single stage would be the way to go. Do most of the Lee kits include the same accessories? As if I bought a challenger kit, then got a turret press only, would the turret kit actually contain everything else that was in the challenger kit? I will also look at other brands and the used market.

I would suggest buying the kit from https://kempfgunshop.com

[Heavyopp 167]

I have always found the Redding T7 turret press interesting -- its not cheap but supposed to be one fine turret press

 

I'd suggest a rock chucker to start -- learn what you are doing 1step at a time

[Schrödinger's cat 87]

I have the lee loadmaster, but I really want a Forster Co-Ax.

[alec.mc 180]

Dillon 1050 with Bullet feeder, and Auto Drive

 

 

https://www.dillonprecision.com/super-1050_8_1_23877.html

 

http://www.markvii-loading.com/Mark-7-1050-PRO-Autodrive_p_27.html

 

http://www.cedhk.com/shop/products/Mr.-Bullet-Feeder-by-DAA-%E2%80%93-The-perfect-add%252don-to-your-reloading-machine%21.html

 

accept no substitute. 

[ronhonda 86]

Dillon 1050 with Bullet feeder, and Auto Drive

 

 

https://www.dillonprecision.com/super-1050_8_1_23877.html

 

http://www.markvii-loading.com/Mark-7-1050-PRO-Autodrive_p_27.html

 

http://www.cedhk.com/shop/products/Mr.-Bullet-Feeder-by-DAA-%E2%80%93-The-perfect-add%252don-to-your-reloading-machine%21.html

 

accept no substitute. 

this

[Vlad G 345]

Ok, who left the troll cage door unlocked today?  Alec is out and rampaging about again ...

[MidwestPX 172]

Dillon 1050 with Bullet feeder, and Auto Drive

 

 

https://www.dillonprecision.com/super-1050_8_1_23877.html

 

http://www.markvii-loading.com/Mark-7-1050-PRO-Autodrive_p_27.html

 

http://www.cedhk.com/shop/products/Mr.-Bullet-Feeder-by-DAA-%E2%80%93-The-perfect-add%252don-to-your-reloading-machine%21.html

 

accept no substitute. 

Fuuuuuu...I want a Mark 7 so badly.  I'd throw it on a dedicated brass prep machine and load manually on another 1050.

[DaveR 42]

Another vote for the Lee Classic Turret. And yes, the priming system on it is useless. I use a hand primer.

Been using the Lee 1000 for about 30 years, I only load pistol calibers.

At the time, probably still holds true, the price of the press fully set up for a single caliber ( they sell them this way ) was much cheaper then any other progressive press available.

I gave up priming / depriming with it a long time ago, mainly due to the feeding issues, warning of only using CCI primers and the old shell plates will feed a primer without a case present

I prime with a RCBS APS hand primer.

Deprime with a Harvey Deprimer, mainly due to if you don't cut a hole in your bench the primers had no where to go, and I tumble the brass deprimed.

Each caliber has its own shell plate carrier and turret setup, Makes swapping very fast and easy.

[son of sam 9]

I bought a Lee Loadmaster for 9mm a couple years back. I used cleaned and tumbled pickup brass. What I found is that the priming was a huge issue. Residue etc left from firing prevented even seating of new primers. So I ran everything through the press to deprime and size only. Then cleaned them and tumbled them before loading the brass back into the Loadmaster to prime, powder, load and crimp. Since then I have used the Loadmaster single stage as well as purchased 2 single stage presses (Texan and a Lyman) when doing the low volume stuff like 460s&w. IMO the time savings of a progressive is minimal at best. The OP doesnt seem like what I would call a high volume shooter. At the time I bought the press I was shooting about 2000 rnds a month of 9mm and prices spiked $15+ a box. At the current rate of around $11 a box I dont use the press at all.

[raz-0 1,259]

The less classic turret is a great starter press. You can remove the indexing tab to use it a single stage just fine. THe new revised steel based model is pretty awesome, and you will find it useful even when you move on to progressive for small batch stuff or things like brass prep for rifle rounds. 

[lhrocker 5]

So I got the Lee Challenger kit.  It works great for what I need at the moment.  Since my rounds shot per session are pretty constant but my range trips aren't, I figured I didn't need anything fancy to start off with.  Thanx for all the recommendations.