Reloaders

[Rich M]

I have a single stage - these are great for general uses and low quantities. You can set the press up and load about 50 in an hour, maybe an hour and 15, if you done it before and don't QA/QC too much.

Working thru a pile of 9mm brass from the range - deprime & size.... then flare, then prime (using a hand primer while watching TV), then get serious w powder and bullets. 4 steps. A progressive would fix that.

Get a progressive if you expect to load 1,000 at a pop.

 

[unclericco]

I use a Forster Coax single stage press. Been working great for me ever since I upgraded to it from Lee

 

[MtnW]

A single stage press is great for my needs loading small batch precision centerfire rifle loads. If I wanted to load quantities of 9mm or .223 I would consider a progressive press.

 

[Jacobo2012]

Thanks for all the replies I currently have the rock chucker bought it as a kit about 6 or 7 years ago it sat for a while until about 2 or 3 years ago I haven’t ran a ton of rounds through it but have all the components ready to roll. 1000 of each size primers tons of brass and a bit of projectiles. I mainly load 223 and 9mm for plinking. For now I buy my hunting rounds but have dies and plan to eventually load my own
I’m mainly curious on dabbling in the progressive world but can’t quite justify it yet. I see most of them are on back order, I was thinking a lee would satisfy my needs if I ever pull the trigger on one I just see they get tons of hate not sure why because I’ve never used any brand progressive.
I’ll probably roll with the single stage until I start shooting more and get the need to pump out more rounds at a faster pace


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[Crusader]

I've been using a Rock Chucker for about 25 years. Load a half-dozen rifle calibers, no pistol. I like the slow and precise approach, it's relaxing and fun for me. And safe.

 

[WV Mountaineer]

Thanks for all the replies I currently have the rock chucker bought it as a kit about 6 or 7 years ago it sat for a while until about 2 or 3 years ago I haven’t ran a ton of rounds through it but have all the components ready to roll. 1000 of each size primers tons of brass and a bit of projectiles. I mainly load 223 and 9mm for plinking. For now I buy my hunting rounds but have dies and plan to eventually load my own
I’m mainly curious on dabbling in the progressive world but can’t quite justify it yet. I see most of them are on back order, I was thinking a lee would satisfy my needs if I ever pull the trigger on one I just see they get tons of hate not sure why because I’ve never used any brand progressive.
I’ll probably roll with the single stage until I start shooting more and get the need to pump out more rounds at a faster pace


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Do not be fooled, if you get a Lee progressive loader over a higher priced one, you’ll see the difference real quick. But, here is where the caliber specific ones rule. If you don’t load a bunch of different pistol cartridges for plinking, the Lee isn’t a bad option at all. Just buy it caliber specific. If you load three or four pistol cartridges that get shot a lot, bite the billet and get a Dillon or Hornady. Costs are going to be compatible to thre to four cheap Lee caliber specific setups.

 

[snuzzo29]

I use a Lee Classic Cast single stage.

 

[Nathanial]

Use a Forster COAX, Redding T7 and a Rock Chucker.

 

[11boo]

Be aware the hobby is addictive. I started with a single stage rock chucker. Now have a Lyman single and two Dillons
I didn’t see if you said you have primers but I think those are rare.

 

[11boo]

Thanks for all the replies I currently have the rock chucker bought it as a kit about 6 or 7 years ago it sat for a while until about 2 or 3 years ago I haven’t ran a ton of rounds through it but have all the components ready to roll. 1000 of each size primers tons of brass and a bit of projectiles. I mainly load 223 and 9mm for plinking. For now I buy my hunting rounds but have dies and plan to eventually load my own
I’m mainly curious on dabbling in the progressive world but can’t quite justify it yet. I see most of them are on back order, I was thinking a lee would satisfy my needs if I ever pull the trigger on one I just see they get tons of hate not sure why because I’ve never used any brand progressive.
I’ll probably roll with the single stage until I start shooting more and get the need to pump out more rounds at a faster pace


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I spent 8 hours trying to help a guy get his Lee progressive running right. Best we could do was 40 rounds without some problem. I told him to buy a Dillon square deal, he saw how well mine worked and decided it would work well for his one caliber, 9mm. Then he saw how cheap LEE stuff was and jumped that shark. He never got it running right And gave up. My experience is limited to Dillon so I might not have been the best guy to mentor him on Lee.
He was bringing his brass and components to my place to use my SDB, till he ran out of primers.

To me, it looked like the Lee(I think a 1000 model?) just took too much monkey motion to accomplish the same thing Dillon does.

 

[Rock-o]

Forster Coax is what I have. I only load rifle. Most will agree higher volume should be handled on a progressive. Get good dies regardless of the press.

 

[Spike elk]

I use a very old, small frame RCBS. Weigh every load, slow, slow, slow....seems to work just fine.

Ditto the above.

 

[mdp22]

Still load with my RCBS Partner Press from high school, graduated in 89'. I like taking my time and being as precise as I can. Load for .270 and 300 Win Mag, build my rounds for accuracy since I don't need boxes of ammo.

 

[Mosby]

I used a Rock Chucker for years until I switched to a Forster Coax. I use that for most of my rifle loading. I have a Hornady progressive and use that for pistol and 223. I also have a couple of Hood presses for loading at the range. One of them is a turret press and is set up for 45-70.

If I could only have one it would be the Coax.

 

[Rky Mtn Farmer]

I use an old Dillon 450 for my precision rifle ammo, it’s very similar to the 550, in that it has 4 stages. However it has no shell plates, just threaded like a single stage. So far it’s been as consistent as my RCBS Rock Chucker. For pistol ammo I run a Dillon 650, which is awesome for volume. Once you get rolling with the 650, it’s easy to do 400-600 rounds an hour.

 

[Backpacker57]

I used a RCBS Rock Chuker for years and then switched to Redding T7 turret. I like having the turret setup to run as few as 10 rounds for load development or a few hundred with out die changes. I do not get in a hurry.

 

[Len901]

rock chucker

 

[Ajax2744]

I have a single stage for my hunting rounds and more precision. I use my progressive for bulk loading mostly pistol rounds

 

[Blinddog]

I run a Lee 3 Hole turret for my riffles and it works great, just put a c clamp on the turret to the frame to keep it tight and have a lee pro 1000 for my pistol rounds, remove the primer and primer feed and just use pre-primed brass. Currently, hand placing bullets but looking at adding a bullet feeder. runs like a charm.
Have had no issues with either press. My 3 hole turret press gives me great target accuracy for hunting and its easy to switch to the next caliber just by changing out the turret and your back up and running.
I'm sure it's not as good as a single-stage press, but I'm not shooting over 600 yards or looking to shoot 3 holes on top of each other. Just need one accurately placed shot to kill what I'm shooting at.

 

[wind gypsy]

I've only ever had a lee classic cast press. Screwing dies in/out isn't enough of a nuisance to warrant interest in a turret press for me.

I do long for a Dillon. Bench space and the time/learning curve to set it up are the two things holding me back. There are a lot of people that load very accurate rifle ammo these days on a progressive. David Tubb has been for years. One thing to keep in mind is that there are many ways to set up a progressive. The powder throw seems to be one major item that keeps people from using progressives for precision ammo but you can skip that and pour charges from a chargemaster or auto trickler if you want.