The inevitable reloading press question

[SoupOrMan]

Most of the IPSC shooters in my local club reload, mostly .45 and .38 Super. They and the few who reload .40 all say just to get a Dillon and be done with it. I'm looking at loading up maybe 100 to 200 rounds a week. Would it be worth it just to grab a single-stage or turret press instead with that low of a volume of reloads?

[First Shirt]

If I was going to get into reloading, and was going to stick with one, or at most, two pistol calibers, I'd look at a Dillon Square Deal B progessive. You'd be able, with a little practice, to load that 200 rounds in less than an hour.

I started out on a single-stage press, back when dinosaurs roamed the earth, and I still use it to develop new loads, or testing loads for new calibers, but if I had to do all my reloading on a single-stage, I'd never have time to shoot.

FWIW, JMHO, YMMV, IRDDU other caveats as needed.

[randy]

I know many say (and probably will here) to start out with a Single Stage. I started with a Dillon RL-450 shortly after that asteroid took care of those pesky velociraptors.

If I'd started with single stage, I would never had stayed with it.

For the volume you're talking about the Square Deal B would be good. I'm not sure what (or if there is) the Hornady/RCBS versions would be.

[BadgerVet]

I loaded for years with a RCBS Rockchucker which I still use for small batch loads. I now have a Hornday Lock N Load but was also looking at Dillon.

The link is to Brian Enos's site. He has a frequently asked questions page and the pros and cons of the Dillon models. You may find it helpful. The Square Deal is a good setup but only accepts dies made for the Square Deal.

http://www.brianenos.com/pages/dillonfaqs.html

I'm a slow reloader and estimate it takes me one hour to load a box of 50 on my Rockchucker. The Lock N Load get me up to about 200 per hour without pushing it and allowing time to periodically check the powder drop and overall length.

[SeekHer]

You doing a test batch of 5 or 10 to check a new loading for group and/or off the chrony then a single stage is it, can't beat it...go out to the BR ranges and you'll the shooters with them reloading their next 7 rounds...

You're talking 200 every week; it will be exciting for the first three, moderate for the next three and you'll be wanting to take up archery afterwards...We need all the shooters we can so please get a progressive and don't make us worry about you...

If you want buy a single stage down the road for very small batches if you like...I first started with a Lee Load All kit as I was doing maybe 50 rounds a year with it...I then got a C style single stage as a X present and used that for awhile until I got into competitive clay shooting and I had to have a progressive as I was doing 700 to 1,000 a week...

I still have all three kinds and use them for their intended purposes, LoadAll in the shooting bag, single stage for experimentation and a progressive for loads of rounds and another set up just for shotshells...

Once set up you should be able to crank out 200 in forty five minutes or so!

[Netpackrat]

I have a Square Deal B and it works very well. The only issue I have with it, is I recently changed it over to .45 Colt for the first time, and it takes quite a bit more force on the lever to size the larger cases than I am used to with other calibers (.10mm/.40, .38, .380). I actually pulled out one of the lag bolts that was holding it to my bench.

Also, consider that you may want to reload rifle cases progressively in the future, or load for handguns that Dillon doesn't make an SDB conversion for (the SDB dies are proprietary). Now I kind of wish I had spent a little more money and bought a 550B or an XL650 instead.

[mekender]

im using an ancient lyman spartan... check Ebay, you can get em for like $10

[cu74]

I recommend the turret press. I started with a turret for pistol reloading and later added a single-stage for necked rifle reloading.

My personal cost/benefit analysis didn't (and still doesn't) justify the bucks for a progressive press. I seldom load more than 200 rounds at one sitting and that's enough to feed my shooting habit.

[SoupOrMan]

So far it looks like my calibers loaded are as follows:

For me: .223 Remington, .357 Magnum, .38 Special, .40 S&W

For the family: .38 Special, 9mm Parabellum, and maybe .380 ACP. It looks like .380 is a real pain to reload, so that's probably a very outside chance for that.

Right now I'm wavering between the RL550 from Dillon and Lee's "Classic Cast" turret press. I get lots of good reviews for both of them, too. My dad would probably be willing to keep it at his place since mine's a little cramped at the moment. He doesn't reload, so he's not going to touch it much, but one of his friends owns a 650 and uses it for everything. So, I may go with the Dillon. The Lee is less expensive from the get-go, though, so I don't know if it's worth it in the long run, ie, will it last. As it is, I'll have to wait until after election day either way. Hopefully all hell doesn't break loose on the 5th, eh?

[morsetaper]

There will always be a use for a single-stage. Small batches and load development. I wouldn't hesitate on a good used one. Learn on that-you may find that it's all that you need. 200 rounds/wk. isn't a huge amount, even on a single-stage.