Multiple Reloading Presses? How many & what

[sawdustdad]

I've got a single progressive press (Square Deal) and a Rockchucker. I use the SD for pistol and the RC for rifle.

I'm getting tired of switching the dies and shell plates and readjusting powder, bullet seat and crimp settings when changing calibers. Thinking about a second Square Deal. Leave one for .38, the other for .44. Maybe a third for 9mm? (but I'm shooting less and less of that now...)

How do you guys allocate your presses? How many do you have set up?

 

[straight-shooter]

I guess for me it's about perspective. I try to enjoy the process of caliber changing and not look at it as a drudgery. I have a Dillon 550B for pistol caliber and a Rock Chucker single stage for rifle. I figure for the work involved in making rifle rounds that the added work changing up the caliber for pistol on the progressive is no biggie.

On the single stage I use the lock rings with the allen screws so once their set their set. On the Dillon I have multiple quick change tool heads for the dies and a extra primer bar to switch between large and small so caliber changes in this regard is faster.

 

[Magnum Wheel Man]

I still do all my reloading with single stage presses ( I have 3 ) recently bought my 1st turret press ( a Lee ) I think that design is rather easy to change turrets, which can have all the dies set up & ready to go... I have a "set" of shell holders, but try to keep one for each cartridge in it's die box as well... I can switch over pretty quickly...

this set up works well for me, as I reload a lot of different calibers, & usually don't shoot more than a 50 box of any at one setting, before I switch up, so when I have 50-150 empty cases I'll reload those again...

so the single stages work well for me... & the turret seems to work well for my CAS loading, which is usually about 1000 rounds of each per year...

 

[madmo44mag]

Multi press's are great for the volume reloader.
I have a progressive press and considering buying another just for one caliber I shoot a lot of. That way it is set up, dialed in and ready to go.
I just makes sense if you load mitli calibers and shoot a lot of one or two particular caliber to have dedicated press's IMHO.

 

[riflemen]

I would like to have a lnl classic for match rifle, a lnl ap for pistol and 223, and a 366 for 12ga...

A friend of mine has 3 classics, with the bushing system caliper changes are easy and fast...

 

[Unclenick]

I keep a caliber dedicated Square Deal that does all my .45 Auto loading. I find that worthwhile. A friend of mine who wants to spend as little time reloading as possible got the 1050 for the same task. I have a 550 for larger runs of all the other handgun chamberings, as I seldom load nearly as many of them as I do .45 Auto, and thus the changeover isn't too frequent. Rifle is done mostly on a Forster Co-ax press because of the quick die change feature and the self-centering alignment it does. Trimming and case lube removal and other flow interruptions to the rifle loading process make a progressive seem less useful to me for rifle. I do .45-70 on a Lee Classic Cast press, mainly to avoid changing the Co-ax shell holder plates around, not that it's really a big deal to do. It also does some other special tasks, from using Lee bullet sizing dies to some experimental operations. A Lee Challenger press I have does nothing but decap rifle cases prior to cleaning. A Lee hand tool is in my range load development kit and mainly seats bullets at the range, with all other case prep and priming having been done at home before heading to the range. An old Lyman Spar-T press (first press I owned) sometimes does short runs of experimental handgun loads using spare die sets I've accumulated over time.

Generally, the faster the press, the more work a changeover involves, so you have to look at your batch sizes and decide what is appropriate for them. There's no way I'd changeover the 550 to make a dozen test loads of something I have spare dies for. But by the time I'm planning to do more than 100 rounds, the changeover starts to look reasonable.

 

[Gadawg88]

I have a Lee classic turret press and a Lee classic cast single stage. I use the single stage to size and deprime rifle brass. Everything else is done on the LCT. I have all my dies for each caliber all set in their own four hole turret. I can switch between 9 mm and 38 sp in about two minutes or less. If I have to switch primers that only takes another minute.

 

[Shootest]

I have 5 presses. A RCBS Ammomaster used for 50BMG, a RCBS Rockchucker used for most other rifle calibers except 223Rem, a Lyman T-Mag II used for small quantity handgun and load development, a Dillon XL 650 used for 223Rem and large quantity handgun (over 500 rounds), and a RCBS Partner for portable work and small jobs.

 

[Jim Watson]

I have a Dillon for 45 ACP and one for "other", mostly 9mm and .38, although I do have .44-40 tooling from when I shot CAS regularly.
I load rifle and magnum revolver ammo on a single stage.

I have a shotshell loader left over from when I did a lot of trapshooting and an old CH progressive I loaded .38s on in the pre-Dillon era. Neither of those is mounted.

 

[jmorris]

I have more than a dozen, could get buy with fewer but I made my bench using steel and drilled and tapped the top and I can swap out an entire press a lot faster that converting one.

 

[Magnum Wheel Man]

nice looking set up... what do you do with the ( I assume ) tempering oven ???

 

[wogpotter]

I have 2, a single stage Lyman & a Dillon RL 550.
The Dillon's interchangeable heads is its greatest feature to me. I have a head setup for every caliber I use, both rifle & pistol.
The single stage is used for other chores like de-priming when I want to do work to the pocket before reloading or pulling bullets.

 

[lamarw]

Attached are pictures of my reloading bench. It serves the purpose for reloading every pistol, revolver, rifle and shotgun I own with the exception of rimfire rifles.

This is in .32 ACP, .38 S&W, .38 Special, .357 Magnum, .380, 9mm, .45 ACP, .45 Colt, .243 Winchester, .25-06, .308, 12 gauge, 20 gauge, and .410,

There is a different turret set up for each rifle round with dies already adjusted and locked into the turret. There is a different press for each of the shotgun rounds. Then there is a different turret set-up with dies, powder dispenser/calibrated powder drop for each handgun round. I can change over from one reload to another in a matter of seconds. The long pole in the tent is usually laying out the reloading components of brass/shell cases, powder and bullets/shot.

It is a very large room and the other 3/4's of the room has benches for firearms cleaning and antique clock repair. In the center of the room is an antique watch maker's bench. The double doors open outside and have a wonderful view of the lake which is fifty feet away.

 

[lamarw]

Additional pictures are attached. Equipment for handguns and rifles is 2 turret presses. Shotgun presses are Pacific (indicative of how long I have been reloading) and a MEC.

 

[condor bravo]

My most out of the ordinary presses are two massive C frame Herters Model 3s that were purchased new for $13 and $17. I was shocked at the price increase and coming up with the additional $4 for the second press was a tough thing to do. These are used exclusively for rifle loading. Additional presses are two 550Bs for handgun loading and a Pacific C press primarily for 30-06 loading.

 

[riflemen]

Jmorris, I am impressed, that is a nice looking bench, good for you... I wonder how much you have to shoot to justify an investment like that, your trigger finger must be huge, lol...

 

[madmo44mag]

jmorris nice set up.
Kinda reminds me of the setup of the guy that taught me to reload.
He was a commercial reloader and had 12 press's.
All but 2 of the press's were automated.
What a racket they made when all of them were running.

 

[Hunter Customs]

I have two RCBS single stage presses, a Lyman Turret press, and a Dillon 650, they take care of all my reloading needs.

My 650 is setup for 9mm and 40 for when I was competing in USPSA/IPSC and both types of steel matches.

However I reworked my 650, did away with the stock powder measure and linkage, now when I switch from 9mm to 40 or 40 to 9mm all I do is pull two pins, change tool heads, switch the brass in the case feed hopper and I'm making ammo.

Best Regards
Bob Hunter
www.huntercustoms.com

 

[gwpercle]

Let's see , after 40 years of this hobby I've got:

2 -Lee Hand Presses ( They are handy for all sorts of little jobs)
1 -Bench mounted Pacific Super C press ( for big jobs, has compound linkage)
1 - Eagle Cobra (single station C)
1- Lyman All-American Turret ( for handgun rounds)

The Eagle Cobra and Lyman Turret I didn't really "need", they were old, used, neglected and needed a home. Some people rescue abandoned puppies , I rescue abandoned presses. Both are cool and I enjoy using them.

A good single station press is always good to have around to load a small batch or do little things. The Lee Hand Press was so handy I bought another and keep them in the house. I've even use it to reload at my office desk when work is slow....very handy.
Gary

 

[Jim Watson]

So what kind of powder measure do you have now, Bob?