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^^^ Yep! [Beer]
A couple of years ago, I received orders to Andrews AFB, MD. I was 1 1/2 years from my 20 year mark (retirement eligable) and knew I was going to retire here in CO. The wife and I made the hard decision for me to move and for them to stay in out house. I lived in a 2 bedroom apt with a roomate for a year of that time. (The rest was in Iraq and a rented room at a friends.)
The set-up I used was a Gorilla work bench, a basic shelving unit in the corner with tupperware storage, and I kept it all in my bedroom with a bed dresser drawer and tv on a stand. It was tight, but very workable.
I have an RCBS Pro-2000 and have reloaded everything from bulk handgun rounds to .5 MOA accurate rifle rounds. Progressive reloaders are not necessarily less accurate reloaders. They are definately faster reloaders for bulk ammo production. The type and size of reloader should be based on the amount of ammo you need to produce, and how much money you want to spend. They all, for the most part, produce accurate ammo.
I don't think you could ever go wrong with an RCBS Pro-2000 or a Dillon 550. They are both middle of the road presses, manually index, and both companies back their products with good warranties. They are capable of producing good pistol ammo at a fairly fast rate, and doing individual rifle rounds with high accuracy. The both accomidate caliber changes easily and once the dies are set on an interchangable die plate they don't have to be re-set every change of caliber. The RCBS Pro-2000 does have an auto-indexing system that can be added to the press. The Dillon 550 doesn't. The Dillon is a smoother operating machine and can produce more ammo per hour than the RCBS when manual indexing is used. I prefer the RCBS powder measure over the Dillon, but both work just fine. Both will work in a small area but should be mounted as stable as possible.
Reloading exerts pressure into the press, and the press bouncing around can cause lots of problems. The sturdier the mount and bench the easier it is to reload. Don't skimp on the bench or mounts.
If you only reload rifle rounds and only shoot very low quantities of ammo, then a single stage will get you by, but I caution most from this route. A single stage press can be brutally slow if you ever decide to load anything over 50 rounds. Single stage presses make a great secondary press for specialized loads, but IMO are not very flexible. You will be better served in the long run making an investment into a Pro-2000 or 550. It's very very hard to find either of these presses being sold used. Most reloaders expanding their reloading capabilities buy an additional press and refuse to every let go of these two because they cover all the avenues.
Turret presses work well if you only reload one or two rifle or large pistol calibers in small amounts. You can install the dies and not have to change out the dies. They are essentially a single stage with the capability to rotate to the next die in the reloading sequence. A single stage requires reinstallation of the next die and then resetting it. I personally dislike having to reset dies all the time. A turret press alleviates a lot of this and speeds up the reloading process. I see turret presses falling in between manually indexing presses and single stage presses. Once again, I think they do well as a secondary press, but not what I recommend as a single stand-alone reloading system.
If you shoot a lot of pistol ammo or bulk rifle rounds, an auto-indexing press is you ticket. You can get fairly accurate ammo (equal to or better than factory) at a high production rate. An RCBS Pro-2000 with auto-indexing system or Dillon 650 are the two in this category that I know will work and work well. I don't recommend this as a stand alone. Doing high end accurate rifle rounds can be a PITA with the auto-index, especially for a person new to reloading. It's best to have a secondary press if you have an auto-indexing press for bulk ammo, and use the secondary press for the low production rate of 'anal retentive' rifle rounds.
Then you have the big-daddy-mack; the Dillon 1050. With bullet feeder and case feeder attached to this thing, you pump out ammo fast enough to cream your jeans. Your biggest issue is keeping the primers, powder, and bullet feeders stocked fast enought to keep going. It's pricy, and best serves very high annual ammo output shooters. Changing calibers on this press takes a lot of time in comparison to a Pro-2000 or 550. Typically, once it's set up for a caliber and all the dies are set, the reloader doesn't change the caliber on these. They are primarily made for high yield output. They are also probably the best for accurate ammo of all the progressive presses. A lot of high yield shooters have a 1050 for the caliber they primarily shoot competitively, and then a 550 for everything else.
So, what would I recommend after all that bla bla ba?[Tooth] I would recommend a good solid workbench made to fit your alloted space and a small storage shelf (or shelves) and a Dillon 550 or Pro-2000. There are a lot of workbench kits out there and with these you can build the bench to fit. Lastly, get someone experienced with reloading to help you out in the beginning and you are off to the races.
Another winning post. Thanks.
While I have not see SA Friday's setup yet (I hear it is good)... I went for the Lee Turret Press setup. Relatively easy on the wallet and I can pump out pistol ammo pretty fast and rifle ammo at an acceptable speed.
I got the lee turret classic (dont get deluxe - I have one of those as well sitting on a shelf) and a turret for each caliber I reload for (presently 9mm, 40S&W, 45ACP, 45LC, 357 Mag/38 sp, 7.62x25 Tok, .223/5.56mm, 303 British, 8mm Mauser, and 30-06).
I can churn out pistol at about 200 hour while just listening to music and rifle is 1/4 to 1/2 of that depending on what I am making the rounds for.
I dropped a post here a few months back on my setup.
Again - SA Friday is a hell of a lot more experienced than I and I would not dispute anything he recommends but I wanted to throw my $0.02 in as I heartily recommend the Lee Classic Turret to get started with.
(fwiw - my next press is going to likely be a progressive once I get more room and more $)
The classic turret is what I use currently. Very well built and caliber changes take a couple of minuets.Quote:
Originally Posted by oLa
One thing I think some are missing is the OP stated he has no room for a dedicated setup and needs to be able to put it away when he is done. Just a thought.
I started out with the same issues; didn't have a lot of money to put into it and needed to be able to put it away. I ultimately went with one of the Lee anniversary setups and got a Midway portable reloading bench. It isn't really much of a bench, but it's small, light, takes down and allows you to set it up almost anywhere. I put the press on a right side corner, the powder measure on the same side but all the way to the left, and that left room on the backside for the scale. It actually worked out fairly well. The measure lasted several years; when it died I replaced it with an RCBS unit. Same with the hand priming tool.
The single stage press kit isn't available anymore; but they do have a 4 hole turret press kit. It's about $110 from Midway or $100 from Natchez. The portable "bench" is a Midway item, #155024, and is usually $65. The nice thing here is you can get the extra turrets and not have to reset your dies. So with these two items, plus dies and components, you're set. Nice and portable, easy to put away.
I would stress that I'd consider this a starter setup; I've been replacing my stuff item by item over the years. Right now I'm looking at getting another press; I'll keep the little Lee on the portable stand for taking to the range and such but I'm looking at one of the new Hornady Lock n Load progressives.
You are absolutely correct, Jerry. I did miss that.Quote:
Originally Posted by jerrymrc
I know a guy that found a big ass tree stump (one like you would use to split firewood on) and mounted his 550 to it. He loves it. Roll it out, reload, roll it back.
I started with a Lee Pro 1000 press and had to sell it on EBay because I could not get it to work, I bought a Dillon 550b and have had 0 issues with it, I also added a single stage press to my bench. I use the Dillon for high volume pistol rounds, about 2-3 hundred rounds at a sitting. I bought the single stage press because I found that it works better on bottle neck rifle rounds. I have used Lee dies but after trying several brands I prefer RCBS and sold all of my Lee products on EBay so I could upgrade them.
It was expensive to get started initially and I am constantly upgrading and expanding but I find you get what you pay for and if you are serious, start with quality, plan on expanding & upgrading and think of it as a long term investment. Should you choose to disposing of it, you can usually get a good percentage of what you paid for quality equipment when you sell it.
If your limited on space, mount it on a good board and clamp/screw/bolt it down when your ready to load. I would start out slow and work your way up (the same way you need to do up your loads - min,max) . Do a lot of brass prep and you'll impress yourself on how well your loads shoot. You'll also see how much a .5 grain can make a difference. I have 3 Lyman Spark S/T 6 position Turret Presses (1, 4sale), You can set up 6 dies and index them back and forth. This press has the ability to do several stages in a couple arm swipes. They were built in the mid 70's ended ? These work great for ~$100 used depending on extra's. I also, have a Dillon 650 with a handful of tool heads. Be ready to kick out some $$.
My input.
Thanks
G
[Coffee]