Reloader purchase

[Crunchy]

Looking at getting into reloading.  Need some ideas of a good press.  Single stage since I am only going to reload 7mm and maybe 223 if that day ever comes.  I looked at a few kits but not sure if some of the items in the kit is something I would actually use, like the old school scale.  Suggestions appreciated.

[h20hunter]

There was wa Dillon 550 in the classifieds a bit ago. I prefer a progressive. I've used it for rifle as well....just modified the process and still handloaded/measured each powder charge. Progressive is the only way to go for pistol or .223 ammo.

[AWS]

I have no brand loyalty and have found over the years that there are very few loaders that WON'T put out good ammo.  I've used C&H(2), Lyman(5), Hornady(1), Pacific(1), RCBS(2), Herters(1)and Lee(3),  of those I have two Lees, a Cast Classic Turrets with 7 turret heads set up with 13 different calibers, a small Lee "C" press for bullet pulling, a Lyman Crusher II for case forming and any serious heavy work on the bench right now.  I also have an old Lyman Tru-line Jr. with a 7/8x14 turret on it for pist and the bugs(Hornet and Bee).

I have at least five different powder measures and five different case trimmers (I like to leave them set up for a case so I never have bother adjusting them)  C&H, Wilson and Lee seem to be the most accurate for me, plus a Lyman and a Redding.

Scales, I'm old school, tried an e-scale but just don't trust something I have to calibrate every time I use it and I can't tell if it has changed or is not working right.  Give me a balance beam, I have Redding, Lyman(2) and RCBS of these I like the Redding oil dampenned but it is kind of a pain to keep clean and a good oil mix.

I'd look for a kit with an Iron/Steel framed "O" press, Micrometer adjustable powder measure(I like the lyman 55 if I'm going to leave it set up for one load) and a decent balance beam scale and powder trickler.



My reloading area.

[Jingles]

I have the same outfit I started with back in the late 70's a RCBS rock chucker single stage.  A balance beam scale Powder measurer and a trickler, Yes I weigh every charge,  a Lee trimmer. No idea what the Rock Chucker combo Kit would run now but when I got mine it contained everything to get started reloading except the dies. I can easily load 100 to 200 loads in a short period with the way I have things set up.

[C-Money]

I like the RCBS rockchucker kit. Its what I use. I weigh out each charge on my old scale.  I have not talked my self into a digital scale, as I would probably weigh each drop from the digital on my old scale!!

[JLS]

Another vote for the Rockchucker.  I also weigh out each charge by hand, probably a waste of time but it makes me feel better.

[high country]

Rockchucker is the best compromise of stuff for the money. Nothing in the kit is low quality and all of it is guaranteed.

[quadrafire]

I am fairly new to reloading and don't load alot, but I bought the RCBS rockchukar kit and have been very happy.

[NRA4LIFE]

I too bought a Rockchucker kit when I started out in 1987.  That thing is still banging away like new.

[yorketransport]

I'm still happy with my Lee Anniversary Kit from about 13 years ago. I've upgraded the scale a few times, but all of the kit is very usable.

Andrew

[Fishnclifff]

I bought a  Lee kit 16 yrs ago. Single stage.
I load 7 calibers.
I changed to the RCBS digital scale- never a problem.
I use mica lube now but am looking at others

[Heredoggydoggy]

I changed to the RCBS digital scale- never a problem.

Regardless of brand, all scales are made by Ohaus.  Ohaus is one of the biggest Scale manufacturers in the world.  I bought my scale back when Ohaus was making their own brand of reloading equipment.  It's exactly like an RCBS 505....

[crazysccrmd]

I use a cheap Lee single die, single stage kit and it works perfectly. It is a little slower than a turret press, but if you load everything in batches changing/setting up and die really doesn't add much time to the overall process. Started with a balance beam scale but switched to a digital for ease of use. I load plenty of rifle rounds (weigh every charge by hand) and pistol rounds (lee dippers for target ammo, hand weigh for hunting/defence rounds) without problems.

You can get a lot of fancy stuff to make reloading easier, but if you are willing to do a little more work making bullets you can save hundreds of dollars.

[Fisherdave10]

Any name brand cast iron "O" frame press is going to last you a lifetime.  Look at the Lee Classic Cast, Hornady Lock-n-Load Classic single stage, RCBS Rockchucker Supreme, etc....  They're all good.  There is a relatively new brand of reloading equipment called "Smart Reloader".  Avoid it at all costs.  It is garbage.

If you ever intend on shooting a high volume of any round, you'll really want a progressive.  If all you want to do is load a few boxes of rounds for your hunting rifle every month, a single stage kit is what you should buy.
I bought a Lee 50th Anniversary Breach Lock single stage kit and it did well for .308, 30-06 but loading any decent quantity of ammo on a single stage sucks.  When I could afford it (about 1.5 years later) I upgraded.    After 6 months of trying to feed my AR using the single stage, I bought the new press.

Now I run a Hornady Lock-n-Load AP Progressive press.  I load 9mm, .40, .223, 30-06 and .308 on it. 

Last month when I was home from college for the week between semesters I loaded some ammo.  In 2-3 days I loaded a total of 1,500 rounds of 9mm (at 10-12 cents each), and 500 rounds of .223 (about 20-25 cents each) for myself, my brother and a few friends in the span of a few days.   My single stage is still on my bench and is still occasionally used for some smaller case-prep operations.

[huntandjeep]

Sorry to hi- jack your thread but what else is needed to start reloading. Cabelas has the RCBS rock chucker supreme kit on sale and I've been thinking of going and picking it up. I know you need the dies but what else. Also who do you know which dies to get for your caliber  there's so many in the Midway catalog ( 2 die set, neck sizer, match series, carbide 3 die, 3 die set, trim die etc etc). Thanks Allen