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Posted: 10/23/2008 1:42:08 AM EDT
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Family is going to get me a reloading press, etc. for Christmas this year. WHAT SHOULD I TELL THEM TO GET ME? I hope to roll my own .556, 7.62x51, and 30 06...and I would like to be able to load as close to "Nato spec" as possible. Loading for the following rifles: ARs, M1A, FAL, Garand....(and MAYBE for my PSS) all advice appreciated. |
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When I started reloading a single stage press was the way I went. And I think it's the right way to start. Rock Chucker, (RCBS) or Lyman. both are good, it's whether you like green or orange. A basic set up will be the press, a good scale with check weights, a powder measure, a powder trickler, case trimmer with the necessary collets, a good caliper and dies, case lube, a case tumbler and lastly a stuck case remover. A hand held priming tool is good too. Even though nowadays you can access most reloading data online, there is no substitute for the books. Nosler, Hodgen, Speer, Hornandy are all good. They also have good instruction in the beginning of the book on basic reloading procedures. I now use a progressive press,a Dillon 650 for quantity, but I still use a single stage for hunting and "match" type loads. edit to add I was just looking at the RCBS Master Starting Kit. For the cost, and with what's included, it's worth considering. It's a great thing to get into, beyond the cost savings. YMMV |
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This has been discussed many, many time's and will be debated until the end of time, it really is a matter of preference , I chose a progressive press for my first and only one and have never looked back there are those that say you have to learn to crawl first before walking hence the on going debate but the only thing that matters is you are reloading and learning a new aspect of your hobby, I chose reloading due to the cost of ammo going up and also wanted to control what was going into my rifles and handguns and I have learned quite alot since starting this venture. As I said you can spend as little as you want or more than you care to there are a wealth of things that make it easier but you really don't need to spend a ton of money I would start off with a good manual to see if it's something you want to devote the time to. |
| For the average person progressives are to expensive for the volume they will be used for they are also a pain if you want to reload multiple calibers. A single stage will do everything you need it to do, but don't think of it as a starter by getting a Lee go ahead and buy something of higher quality like RCBS it will be with you for a long time. |
Wow, I couldn't disagree more. It takes me about 2 minutes to change calibers on m 550's. It takes a little longer on my 650, but then I only use it to load my primary caliber, .45 ACP. As to the OPs question, a progressive loader produces a round with each pull of the handle. Here's a YouTube video of me using a Dillon 650 to reload .45 ACP. Each pull you'll hear a live round fall into the bin. www.youtube.com/watch?v=oemIpuRwCEQ As you can see from my reloading room, I use my 550's quite a bit too. I use them for making match .308, .38 Special, 9mm, .40 S&W and other assorted calibers. As I mentioned above, it takes me 2 minutes to change calibers, and everything is pre-set and ready to go with each tool head. I don't have to mess with seating depth, powder charges, nothing. Pull two pins, slide the tool head out, push a new tool head in, replace the shell plate (one bolt) and drop in the new locator buttons. Done. I start pulling the handle. If I had listened to what many others give as advice on the boards and gotten the single stage press some 10+ years ago, I would have been pissed. I don't like buying things over. My 550's will last me a life time and there's no reason to ever change presses. The single stage press would have kept me happy about a week before I started looking at progressives. I don't enjoy spending hours reloading a couple hundred rounds. I enjoy working up loads, finding the ones that work then mass producing them. I'm more into shooting and spending time with my family than I am sitting in the garage all night working on a couple hundred rounds. With my 650 I can load over 1,000 rounds in an hour. I can probably do about 600 or so with my 500's, taking my time and getting things right. Don't let anyone tell you that progressives are less accurate or otherwise in capable of producing very accurate and high quality ammo. Their one down side is that they are expensive. But like all things, you don't need to start out with all the bells and whistles. Get a 550 or Hornady Lock-n-Load AP and start off light. Get one caliber, the one you shoot most and set up your press. Load some rounds, learn how to do it and then add another caliber. That's how I started and now my reloading room looks like this.  I have no use for a single stage press. My 550's can do everything a single stage press can do only much faster. They aren't THAT expensive in the long run, they pay for themselves very quickly if you do any shooting at all. |
Sir, with a single stage press you have to change the dies after you have finished doing a step with a batch of brass. That means after you have resized, deprimed, and reprimed however many pieces of brass you have to change to the next die to do the next step. With a rifle cartridge the step following resizing and priming is charging which is done apart from the press. Most reloaders use loading blocks to hold multiple cases but you can do it one case at a time. Once a rifle case is charged with powder the final stage is seating the bullet. This is done with the seating die mounted in the press with the seater plug adjusted to seat the bullet to the proper depth. For those that are concerned with such detail following the seating stage you can remove the seater die and use a crimp die. The Lee factory crimp die is popular for the purpose. Since I use a Dillon RL-550B I'll describe the process used. The press has four stages and each of the reloading operations are performed at each stage on multiple cartridges in each stage with a single stroke of the press. The first stage is intended to have the resizing die mounted and has a primer feed attached so that the case inserted at that stage will be resized and deprimed on the upward stroke of the press and reprimed at the bottom of the downward stroke. As the shell plate is advanced to the second stage the case that has just been resized and primed is aligned with the powder measure. A new unsized case is inserted into the first stage of the now vacant shell plate and on the upward stroke the first case now at the second stage is charged with powder and the case neck is expanded (pistol cases only) while the case now in the first stage is resized, deprimed, and primed on the down stroke. Once the case in the second stage has been charged the shell plate is advanced to the third stage where a bullet is placed onto the case mouth. Another unsized case is placed into the now vacant first stage of the shell plate and on the upward stroke of the press a bullet will be seated at the third stage simultaneously as the case in the second stage is charged and another case is resized, deprimed, and primed in the first stage. Once all stages have a cartridge case in place in the progression of reloaded cartridges a completed cartridge will be dispensed with each rotation of the shell plate. If desired a crimp die may be placed into the fourth stage of the press. Most pistol dies can be adjusted such that the seater die will apply a roll crimp to the cartridge as the bullet is seated. While this is appropriate and desireable with rimmed pistol cartridges with bottle neck rifle cartridges and pistol cartridges that head space on the case mouth it is generally considered more appropriate to use a taper crimp. With semi auto pistol cartridges I use a taper crimp die in the fourth stage of my Dillon press and a Lee factory crimp die for my non match rifle cartridges. I don't crimp rifle cartridges intended for matches. HTH, 7zero1. |
Single stage does one operation at a time. Place sizing die (full length or neck, if using semi auto use full length) and then size. Remove sizing die and place seating die. Optional is to use a crimping die. Progressive does all the steps at once. Theoretically every time you pull the handle you get a completed round. Works for pistol rounds but for rifles it might or not depending on how you do it. Another option is a Turret press. Nice compromise and what I would suggest if you are doing just rifles. All dies are place in a "turret" and you pull the handle 2 or 3 times depending if you crimp or not to get a completed round, theoretically again. Lot of stuff so here is a real simple breakdown of what I do on a turret press. Tumble brass, spray lube, size brass, tumble to remove lube, prime brass, put powder in brass, seat bullet and crimp. Some of these steps happen rapidly and don't take much time but was listed so you can see what I do. I did not add trimming of brass. That's a whole different topic. |
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Reloading advice for the beginner.......... www.ar15.com/forums/topic.html?b=6&f=42&t=254670 Aloha, Mark |
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ok that is a little far of a drive. + 1 ABC's Get brass, now. I did that, I got some reloading books. Then a dillon 550, should have gottena 650  .Then podwer/bullets. Talk to people, officers at the ranger if you need a mentor. It is really really easy. watch all four videos this guy put out. |
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On my 550 for rifle I have my F/L sizer in station #1 and that's all I have in that toolhead I use this to size/deprime after cleaning and lubing then back to the tumbler to remove lube I then put in my already adjusted second toolhead with a Lee universal decapper in station #1 along with the powder funnel in #2, seater in #3 and crimp in #4 and fill with primers and powder and pull the handle For pistol it's even easier |
What's his screen name? |
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