Post by: follow maggie on October 04, 2015, 12:54:00 AM
Post by: huntandjeep on October 04, 2015, 07:30:14 AM
Post by: lokidog on October 04, 2015, 08:54:36 AM
http://hunting-washington.com/smf/index.php/topic,182937.msg2413024.html#msg2413024
I've got a single stage, which has worked fine for me for the last 30 years. However, if I was reloading for an AR, a progressive would probably be in order.
Post by: 300rum on October 04, 2015, 09:10:00 AM
You need very little space to reload. A very nice setup can be made that will take up about as much room as your vacuum does in the closet. If you search for closet reloading set ups I am sure you can find some nice plans.
Post by: Rich_S on October 04, 2015, 09:11:48 AM
Nobody says "There can be only one!" :D
Post by: Bill W on October 04, 2015, 09:39:32 AM
I have both.
Post by: MP123 on October 04, 2015, 10:55:29 AM
Your bench doesn't need to be super big or sturdy. Straight wall cartridges don't take a whole lot of force to resize, bottleneck more so. You can clamp the press to a kitchen table and probably get away with that for a bit at least. A heavy built workbench would be better obviously but that can come later.
Post by: Blacklab on October 06, 2015, 09:05:35 AM
Post by: 300rum on October 06, 2015, 09:45:30 AM
Accuracy single stage rifle and pistol :twocents:. Plinking/blasting progressive for pistol. I'm still looking for a safe consistant load for my 223 and others on a progressive. To erratic for me for now. This winter I'll spend more time on the progressive for rifle loads. Good luck!
Post by: Fl0und3rz on October 06, 2015, 10:21:03 AM
So ok looking at getting set up to reload. Not sure if I'm going to get a single or progressive press, yet. Will probably come down to budget when I'm ready to make the plunge. My question is how much space does it take to set up a reloading station. The reason I ask is my house is small and I'm not sure if I ha e the space, or not. Also, how sturdy of a table or bench is required?
Go with single first. You will always use it, even if you get a progressive later. I loaded 1,000s of rounds on a Lee hand press, then a Lee Classic Cast single stage pres, before I got a progressive. I still use the single stage more than the progressive, but I don't shoot a ton, these days.
A turret is a decent way to straddle the fence.
A handheld primer and a Lee hand press take up very little space. You just need a small space to measure/weigh powder. If I were space constrained, I would not feel too limited with a hand press, except possibly in full length sizing magnum rifle cases. I will never get rid of my hand press.
Post by: birddogdad on October 06, 2015, 10:24:48 AM
http://www.bing.com/images/search?q=Workbench+with+Drawers+Designs&view=detailv2&&id=51F143BB0DEB140F152B2976C5A2A6E02C459AF1&selectedIndex=0&ccid=sAf01HVo&simid=607996374319890569&thid=OIP.Mb007f4d475683aa5976de565377b90edH0
Post by: Blacklab on October 06, 2015, 11:01:37 AM
What kind of progressive are you loading on that you aren't getting consistent throws?Accuracy single stage rifle and pistol :twocents:. Plinking/blasting progressive for pistol. I'm still looking for a safe consistant load for my 223 and others on a progressive. To erratic for me for now. This winter I'll spend more time on the progressive for rifle loads. Good luck!
Pro 2000
Post by: lamrith on October 06, 2015, 11:07:37 AM
If you are doing more then a thousand rounds or so of pistol or .223 a year, I would go straight to a progressive. The natural progression is to start with a single stage, learn and see if you stick with it then migrate to a progressive. The good thing is that you can likely sell your equipment for maybe 20-25% less then what you paid (RCBS Rockchucker) for it, maybe even better, if you decide it isn't for you.Many reloaders will definitely recommend starting single stage. There is a steep and dangerous learning curve with reloading, it is quite easy to produce unsafe loads. By having ONE thing going on at a time a single stage press helps counter that for new reloaders. Single stages also as mentioned are normally more precise for the same reason that you have ONE round in it and going thru 1 die at a time. Variances in brass going thru multiple dies can cause loss of precision in progressive units. A tight piece of brass going thru the size/deprime can tilt the shell plate and make a bullet seat deepr on the other side of the press, etc.
You need very little space to reload. A very nice setup can be made that will take up about as much room as your vacuum does in the closet. If you search for closet reloading set ups I am sure you can find some nice plans.
That said if you know you will be putting out lots of rounds out for plinking a progressive is really the way to go. A progressive running well can put out hundreds of rounds per hour once you have it dialed in. To start off with though I recommend getting a few loading books and then when you actually start, only run one piece of brass thru at a time. Get to learn the process and understand what is happening in the process as well as how the press is doing it for you. Then you can start going full production. you can also try one round at a time to do more precise rounds though that is just thinking theoretically as a way to get them more precise.
All the Mfg these days make a good press. I have owned 2 lees and now a Hornady. Just starting out the Lee is often the right choice just due to budget. Hornady will be about 2x the cost of lee, and dillon about 2x the cost of hornady. (this is a rough ballpark based on looking last month)
In the lee I would recommend the loadmaster and skip the pro1000, it is just a better more vesitiile press. The Loadmaster you can get ready to go for one caliber for $250shipped. That is press, powder drop, shell plate, dies etc for a single caliber. All you add is brass, primers, powder and bullets.. Similar setup for Hornady will be $500-600. If it will take you a year to save up the $5-600 then go for the Lee, you will get yourself rolling, start saving$ on ammo and gain experience. (I said saving, not spending less!) The Lee will get it done and every press mfg has their quirks, it is just figuring out which you can live with. The lee was great with turrets so base pistol or plinking rounds you can just put shellplate and turret in and start producing. Dies stay preset in the turret.
I ran my loadmaster for 3yrs, just sold it 2 months ago and upgraded to a Hornady LnL but only after using a friends and liking how it ran with new calibers I was adding. I had so many accy with the Lee I got a decent price for it. I took that sale price +$250 to get my Hornady running but was short shellplate and lugs for one caliber still. The Hornady is a nicer press imho. The indexing in particular is more consistent and the press overall feels more solid. I also prefer the way you can insert and remove dies 1 at a time without losing setting as well as the spring setup for retaining cases. This can be handy if you need to do something unique with a couple rounds in the middle of a run for some reason. you can just swap out a single station, slide a case in mid process and run it thru the die and then go back to what you were doing. I also liked the way the press cams over better.
It really just comes down to budget though and what you can and cannot afford combined with your "needs".
Post by: lamrith on October 06, 2015, 11:14:06 AM
Pro1000?What kind of progressive are you loading on that you aren't getting consistent throws?Accuracy single stage rifle and pistol :twocents:. Plinking/blasting progressive for pistol. I'm still looking for a safe consistant load for my 223 and others on a progressive. To erratic for me for now. This winter I'll spend more time on the progressive for rifle loads. Good luck!
Pro 2000
Using the stock powder drop? I never got the stock disk throw for them to be super consistent. It worked for 223 ok, but was +/-.2or3 if I recall, ok for plinking but not much else. That will be dependant on powder type too; Extruded, stick, etc..
Get yourself a used uniflow or hornady thrower and a hornady case activation kit, you will love it for progressive loading! Or for real precision get a trickler and manually load each round.
Post by: Mxracer532 on October 06, 2015, 11:18:25 AM
Post by: jaymark6655 on October 06, 2015, 11:39:37 AM
Post by: 2labs on October 06, 2015, 11:53:32 AM
Post by: rudysts on October 06, 2015, 12:01:25 PM
I recently down sized significantly (W.A. State women's retirement fund)divorce. And was in the market for a new press. Was going to get a rock chucker but ended up with the RCBS partner! It's a smaller version of the rock chucker. Nice solid and small single stage. :twocents:
Post by: rudysts on October 06, 2015, 12:05:56 PM
Don't skimp on the dies I use bushing dies and micrometer seating dies. Redding, Whidden or Forster are in my opinion some of the best out there.
Post by: follow maggie on October 09, 2015, 12:33:55 AM
Post by: 2labs on October 09, 2015, 04:42:31 AM
Post by: Blacklab on October 11, 2015, 08:06:17 PM