Canadian Airgun Forum

Its time to invest in a much needed piece of hardware.
As we all know there are many flavours to choose from and I am curious which is your most trustful unit that holds it tollerances well.
I want to try the Bluereloadade Dillon SDB
https://www.dillonprecision.com/dillon-square-deal-b_8_1_25237.html
Or go for the full meal deal 650XL (too expensive and way too large for my taste)

Have been also recommended to try the Redreloadade Lee Classic Turret.
http://www.cabelas.ca/product/77040/lee-precision-classic-turret-press-kit

My main goal it to $ave on 9mm cost$ over the next 25 yrs.
I am expected to bring +300 rounds for Speed Steel matches(X2 per month). And this can add up very quickly if I don't bring myself up to par. So as you can guess I want to be able to shoot +800 rounds per month if possible, which will include much needed practice for IPSC & IDPA in the near future.

There may also be a 7mm-08 down the road that I would like to add down the road. (Silhouette) It would be a dream to have a custom centerfire load that won't make my shoulder fall out of its socket after 50 plus rounds.

So this is my quest for a decent reloading press. Have been lurking at other forums finding out the pros and cons with each unit. Dillon's cost factor is one of the deterent at jumping in and get one. Ever hopeful to be able to find a used one.
I hope play my cards right and get the proper unit the first time, I will not have to worry about future press upgrades.

If you have any recomendations for a decent unit that I had not thought to look at, Please feel free to chime in.

I'm all Ears!

MM

I use RCBS for rifle calibres. I loaded thousands of pistol rounds with a RCBS Piggyback kit.

If you're starting from scratch, Dillon 550 would be the way to go. (Or a Hornady LNL)
I knew of a few guys who had good luck with the Lee progressive... but it seems like they were always tinkering with them.

RCBS....strong durable and reliable hands down. But thats my opinion.

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May the cry of the pack be with you upon your hunt

Whitewolf

For Lee and Hornady reloading stuff, check with Andrew @ Higginson Powder

I currently have a Hornady progressive press for handgun ammo, as well as a Lyman Crusher and a Hornady compound press. Those two rifle presses are always mounted on the bench. I sometimes put the sizer die in the Hornady press, then the Lyman is loaded with the seater die. I prefer the Lyman over the Hornady press- but the Hornady press is just fine.

I find no difference between the RCBS Rockchucker press I used for years and wore out some years ago and the Lyman Crusher press (Grey colour) I replaced it with, except seems to me, the Lyman press was considerably less expensive than what RCBS wanted for another Rock Chucker at that time. When I bought the Lyman press, RCBS was thinking their Rock Chucker was made of gold or some other precious metal. I never noticed a difference in operation between those presses, except the Lyman press has more room for longer, 3 1/4" cases in it's yoke. The RCBS was nasty tight for the long .45 and .50 cal. cases, IIRC.

I do all my bullet drawing with the Lyman Crusher, which means .375 Jacketed bullets drawn down to .367" to fit my 9.3mm Mausers.

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Best Wishes
Daryl

I'm a new reloader this year ... around 7000 rounds so for. I originally bought the Lee anniversary kit ... I think I maybe lasted one month before I realized that if I was going to shoot pistol, especially IPSC, I was going to need a progressive of some kind.
I bought a new RCBS Pro 2000 stateside for just over $500 (US). I then added the auto index feature to it which added a bit more to the cost. I have stopped adding up the total cost because I didn't want to scare myself!
I am very happy with my RCBS progressive and the customer service is simply awesome.
Now, to be fair, I think if I were to look around for another press, I'd probably give some serious consideration to the Dillon 650. There seems to be a bit more support locally here (Alberta) for the Dillons as opposed to the RCBS progressives. Neither are cheap but I think this is a case where you get what you pay for.
According to my calculator, if you shoot the same amount of commercial ammo as the reloads you will shoot by reloading, your press, regardless of colour will pay for itself in the first year.
For example, I've reloaded approx 5000 rounds of .45ACP at around $0.25 per round ... that's around 40% of commercial ammo. Using those numbers of 5000 rounds I get a savings of $2000 ... that can buy a pretty nice press ... and that's only the first year!
That's also a lot of shooting!

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SR1911 .45ACP
Smith & Wesson M&P 9mm
Savage Mk II BTVS / Nikon 3-9x40 BDC150
Canuck 12 Ga O/U
Webley Alecto .22
Webley Tempest .22
Crosman 2240 .22
Crosman 1322 .22
Beretta PX4 .177
Member of NFA, CSSA & IPSC

Stihltech your newbie's experience with these various units is invaluable and I was so hoping you were going to chime in:). Like you said spend a little extra for a progressive unit and not have to worry down the road. I had a look at the RCBS, Lee, Lyman, and Hornady units at Wholesalesports today. RCBS and Hornady they had in stock were well built units but were not progressive index. Built like tanks and the selection of dies were decent.
Powder (Titegroup) sure is scarce and the cost of W.S's. bullets were astronomical! (gold plated I think;)

I think I will go with Dillon's SBD for my 9mm due to the fact its got enough of the bells and whistles I am looking for.
My biggest fear is double charging a load and Dillon has its auto indexer that will keep things in check. And the best warrenty on the market... thus the high price. Decided to shop local and support one of our dealers here. John at C.R.S. they had been my supplier of 9mm and I like their service.

I will be keeping an eye open for a used RCBS or Lyman single stage for larger rounds. Those will be small batches of 100 so no problems.

Thanks again to everyone for your valuable input. I will be keeping an eye open for those units that you had highly recomended.

Feel free to drop me a PM if you have something sitting in a box collecting dust

MM

I'm heavily invested in Lee but I like dillon and RCBS.
I have a Lee 1000 Progessive, 3 hole turret, single stage breech lock and the Lee hand press lol.

selling the Progessive tmr it looks like. keeping it simple.

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Rodney

Only had one press in my reloading days, an RCBS RockChucker.... great press, smooth and rigid.... I used it for .222 Rem, 6mm Rem., .30/30 Win. and .308 Win.... I started with the old Lee Loaders, and did some great work with those before I got the RCBS, which made life a whole lot easier....

Bob

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Dominion Marksman Silver Shield - 5890 x 6000 in 1976, and downhill ever since!
Airsonal; Too many! Springers, Pumpers, CO2, but I love my PCPs and developing them!
Proud Member of the 2000+fps Club!

The way I see it here in Canada is that due to our gun laws with so many restrictions for handguns, very few dealers carry progressive presses of any brand. I'm not a hunter but I'm assuming that you would maybe shoot a box of 20 per year and that would include a 1/2 dozen to check your sight alignment. If that is all you would reload for, then any single stage press would be fine.
If you are getting into any of the pistol shooting sports, (IPSC, IDPA, USPSA, 3 gun, Steel Challange), then you are going to be shooting quite a bit ... a lot actually if you want to improve your game. So ... a progressive becomes almost a necessity in order to make it more affordable. That being said, and since most retailers do not carry a lot of progressives in stock, I would recommend connecting with an IPSC/IDPA group in your area and ask them what press they would recommend. I'm sure your local area will have more support for one brand over another and they will definitely be able to steer you in the right direction. From what I have seen and been told by various members is that Dillon 650's seem to be the goto press for IPSC shooters in Calgary.
From my experience, an auto index does not eliminate a problem with your charge, (empty/double). Things happen to get you messed up - misfed primer, misaligned bullet during seating, etc. What I am getting at is when you get stopped suddenly, you have to be careful when you restart to make sure all is in order.
I have a lock-out die in the station after my powder drop. It does not detect a few tenths of a grain but it will lock up the press if there is an empty case or a double charge ... I really like that feature.
For the record, before my progressive press, I had quite a few squibs, (no powder), the bullet would get stuck in the barrell. Lucky for me not far enough in so the next round would not load. Honestly, it scared the crap out of me knowing that if by chance the next round did chamber and I fired it, my barrel would have probably blown up in my face. Knock on wood, but since I got my progressive I have not had a single squib.

_________________
SR1911 .45ACP
Smith & Wesson M&P 9mm
Savage Mk II BTVS / Nikon 3-9x40 BDC150
Canuck 12 Ga O/U
Webley Alecto .22
Webley Tempest .22
Crosman 2240 .22
Crosman 1322 .22
Beretta PX4 .177
Member of NFA, CSSA & IPSC

A fair share of those that do reload, at the clubs I shoot with, personally use, and highly recommend Dillon 650XL. Thats especially true if you have a family of speed steel shooters, then you are looking at well over 10k rounds per year. Have a feeling if my 2 other brothers get hooked, I will be reloading 3 times more. And with that the need for full auto loaders, bullets and cases. I am not quite that deep into it yet, but I will be content if it takes several days to load +500 per week. Case cleaning and drying would be just as time consuming. I already have an ultrasonic cleaner and would like to use it for case cleaning.

BTW do you ever deprime your cases to let the cleaner do its job in the primer pocket? I find it strange that dirty primer pockets will not foul your reloading setup.
I like the technique of ultrasonic cleaning due to the fact it gets whats inside the case clean. I have a nice collection of spent cases that I want to prep up and will be figuring a way to deprime it with my own jig. My old herb dehydrator will suffice as my new dryer. It will smell nice and minty. Anyone out there use one by chance? What are your thoughts on this??

RCBS Rock Chucker would be a great addition in the work bench. Concensus is that its a keeper if you do get one. I will have it on my future shopping list.

Its been great hearing all of your past experiences with reloading presses.

Thanks again for sharing your thoughts with us.

MM

WOW! To swage 0.008" must take a good amount of force! I suspect it was done in a single stroke...thats impressive!

MM

If your goal is only 500 per week you might as well stay with a single stage press. I usually go quite slow and I still average about 300 per hour. My press is capable of around 600 per hour, (similar to the Dillon 650). On an average week, (Monday-IPSC league nights, and maybe once or twice more visits to the range - say 300-400 rounds and then if there is a match on the weekend, that's an additional 300 rounds, it can run into a bit of reloading.
As for cleaning, I use the Lyman tumbler and dry media ... can do 300 or so at a time and 3-4 hours later they are cleaned and polished quite nice and ready to reload. I do not decap prior to cleaning and have had no problems at all with priming. I have a cleaning tool just in case though.
I have not tried the sonic cleaning so cannot comment on that.
It sounds to me, especially, if your brothers get on board, that you are looking at the Dillon 650 and possibly the Dillon 1050.
Welcome to the new addiction.

_________________
SR1911 .45ACP
Smith & Wesson M&P 9mm
Savage Mk II BTVS / Nikon 3-9x40 BDC150
Canuck 12 Ga O/U
Webley Alecto .22
Webley Tempest .22
Crosman 2240 .22
Crosman 1322 .22
Beretta PX4 .177
Member of NFA, CSSA & IPSC

I agree on a good single stage! I process in batches and rarely have to time to complete a full sesson in one day. I do prep work days before and try to always keep some brass clean and primed.

I plan do to all decaping now on my single or hand press and hand priming so when I get a few weekend I can go charge and seat enough rounds for a months supply.

Once I get going I can do about 100-150 rounds an hour with checking powder chargers/ trickling etc.

I'm still slow relaoding .223 because I'm full length sizing until I fire these out of my boot action. Then will only neck size. I do measure every charge in .223.

I enjoy reloading though but prepil cases is pretty boring lol.

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Rodney

MM - yes - without the correct die or dies, "drawing" or reducing the diameter does take a lot of force. With the correct angles, the force is greatly reduced. I lucked out on the die I made and the force needed, is about the same as FL sizing .300 Winchester mag. brass no more.

When swaging bullets, a smaller diameter core of lead and lubed cup are placed on a post, then pushed into a die, which had an inner top surface. Against the surface, the ram pushes the undersized components and cold forms them. This is swaging. Drawing is when an oversized object, in my case a lubed .375" bullet is placed on a ram or post and pushed through a die that reduces it's diameter to .367". I used .367" as that is the largest size that will fit in the necks of my 9.3x57's cases and not impinge in the throat of the chamber when fired. The rifle has an oversized groove diameter. The 9.3x62 has a normal .366" groove diameter and the .367" bullets easily fit without increasing the pressure generated - .005" per side is nothing - as long as the chamber throat is large enough in diameter to allow the case neck to expand to release the bullet. By the time the pressure rises to it's peak, the bullet is already the correct size and some 8" down the bore, thus does not effect the pressure curve at all.

A Dillon press is a wonderful addition to the reloading room. I used to have a 450 and was able to load, at my peak- decades ago, just over 500, .45 Auto per hour, once set up properly. The 650's would be much faster when reloading short handgun cases, however, for rifle ammo, I do think you could do more than maybe 200. This is due to case rocking in it's shell plate on rotation of the plate and getting out of alignment with the die mouth. If not centered in the hole of the sizer die, the die will bend and crush the case. Even longer pistol cases like the .357 mag and .38SPL were doing this on my 450 Dillon & I had to slow down.

For loading a lot of 9mm - yes, by all means get a progressive press. A single station press will get very OLD, very quickly loading handgun ammo for any form of "action shooting".

I was thinking of using my .38 or .44 Mag.(W/.44 SPL loads) in IDPA, and for that, I will set up my Hornady progressive.

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Best Wishes
Daryl