What press is best?

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CPTMurdoc30

New member
What press is best? The one you can afford and bolt to your bench.

Find one you like and buy it.

For single stage
1. Forster Co-Ax
2. Redding 700 Ultramag
3. RCBS Rockchucker

Turret
1. Redding T-7
2. RCBS Turret Press
3. Lyman T-Mag
4. Lee 4 hole

Progressive
1. Dillon 550
2. Dillon 650
3. Hornady L-N-L ap
4. RCBS Pro 2000
5. Dillon Super 1050 (Only becuase it cost about as much as a house payment)
 
M

Mike-Mat

New member
2 things I find amusing about this thread.

1 - The person who started it, has not been back to answer any of our questions about what he hopes to achieve, or his budget.

2 - There is no answer. Just a lot of opinions, likes and dislikes.

Reminds of when I was a teenager in the 1970's and someone would ask "who's the best guitarist in the world?". While someone would spout out Eric Clapton, Jimmy Page, Ted Nugent, etc.... I would ask "What kind of music are we talking about?"

The question at the title of this thread is way too vague to provide any real constructive answer. And the person who asked the question doesn't even care enough to clarify his needs. So... I assume he doesn't even care if we give an answer.
 
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RWNielsen

New member
I just started reloading myself about 6 months ago. I went with the new Lee Breech Challenger Single stage press. It is working GREAT for me. It has everything you need for a beginner reloader. The breech lock system is God sent and the incorportated primer (large and small) system with the ejection feature makes life easier. I reload the 460 S&W Mag, 454 Casull and the 45 Long Colt. I'm having a blast with no problems with the actual functions of the press. Down the road when you want to get more ellaborate, progressive presses are definitely an option. For now, this new Lee press is awesome. Try it. You won't be disappointed.
Click to expand...

I have a Dillon 650 w/csefeeder and all the whistles and bells for the 4 calibers I reload. I, just recently, bought the Lee Challenger Breech Lock kit because I wanted to single stage some rifle rounds. The press works great. It was less than $100 with all the goodies. I would highly recommend it to someone who's starting out and not expecting to crank out 800 rounds an hour. If you get some good dies to go with it, you can make some first class ammo. :D
 
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aushunter

New member
Thanks for sharing your experiences

Wow, didnt think I'd get so many responces.
To answer some questions, I am going to be sharing the press with a friend So will be possibly be loading the following-.204,.22-250,243,6.5x55,.270,.7mm-08.
After all those comments I have even more research to do now!!!
I value all the comments & will take all on board.
Two important question from the comments so far-
Are single stage presses more precise & give a better end product?
Not wanting to spend lots of $$$ on extra presses in the future, will a progessive suit the loading of all those calibres the best?
My next step is to go to suppliers & check on availability & cost of dies etc & work it out from there.
Most people seem to think that the Dillon & Hornady progressives are best so will look at those.

Thanks again for your thoughts

Aushunter.
 
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DocAitch

New member
Single Stage

All those rifle rounds will be best loaded on a single stage press or a turret. The progressive presses(I have a Dillon 650) really shine with straight wall pistol rounds that do not require lubing. You put cases in the tube and crank out the loaded rounds. The powder selected must be fine grained enough to be thrown accurately with the powder measure on the machine- you are generally limited to the spherical powders or the SSC (super short cut) varieties
Rifle cartridges require lubing and sizing, chamfering ,beveling etc. which breaks the above sequence, plus you won't want to avoid extruded powders (like IMR4895 or 4064). You can load your rifle rounds somewhat more efficiently with a progressive but not like pistol rounds, and you are not likely to need 500 or 1000 of a particular recipe with a rifle. 40-50 rounds is a lot of rifle shooting, and if you are searching for that perfect load you may load as few as 5-10 rounds before making adjustments to your charge or OAL.
Progressives are for pistol shooters, single stage for rifle shooters.(IMHO)
DocAitch
 
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Headgear

New member
I don't think there is a best, but the ones that worked the best for me and fit my needs the best are the Forester coax for precise rifle loads and the Dillon 650 for pistol and assault rifle loads.

I also think that OP got bored with all of our opinions and is gone now.
 
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mineralman55

New member
"Few retailers sell them and finding folks who own them is futile. (maybe this comment will flush them out! ) "

Alright smart guy. It worked and now I'm mad!:mad:

Like anything else, you have to find a piece of equipment that fits your needs. I bought an RCBS 4x4 over 20 years ago and it is a fantastic piece of equipment. Unlike the current crop of Rube Goldberg-like progressives it is completely manual, so it is rock solid, nothing can break or become mis-adjusted. Too bad RCBS doesn't offer it any more. I think they'd clean up in the progressive department.

If going for a new progressive now, I'd go for the Hornady LNL. It's the most versatile.
 
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