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eastTN270

eastTN270

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I'm going to take the plunge into reloading. I'm in the process of collecting brass and bullets and am ready to begin buying the equipment. I'm going to go with a single stage press. I'm not in the category of "money is no object", but I am a "buy once, cry once, do it right the first time" guy. What would your recommendations be for press, brass prep, brass cleaning, ect? I plan to load 223, 308, and 9mm. Thanks guys.
 
An RCBS Rockchucker press will last you forever. For brass cleaning you will find a Ford vs Chevy debate. A vibratory tumbler will do the job, or you can wet tumble. In the current times your dies may have to be what you can get your hands on. Any of the major brands are fine.
 
I have an old RCBS single. Basically bomb proof but slow. Various different. brands of dies, all seem to be pretty good. I'd say your biggest concern is finding daggum components. Especially primers.
 
Good luck finding components. I have a hornady single stage. Been happy with it, and hornady has been very good with customer service when I have needed anything. I have a mix of rcbs and hornady dies, hornady is quick to respond, rcbs in my experience has not been. But don't think you could go wrong with either.
 
RCBS all the way. It might be slower, but the accuracy and consistency is top notch. Dies should not be a problem if RCBS does not have what you are looking for you can use about any other manufacturer.
 
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I'll agree you can't go wrong with an RCBS rock chucker. That's where I would start. Not sure of your exact budget but you can spend as much money as you want on all the prep tools, powder thrower and cleaning tumbler. I would suggest an RCBS kit with a rock chucker press if you want to stay in a reasonable budget. Also get a good set of calipers. If you're interested in accuracy and not loading in bulk, I would also invest in a COL gauge with cases of each rifle cartridge you will be loading. As I said, it can get really costly when you start getting the extra stuff. Good luck!
 
I usually reload rifle cartridges on a single stage press, but pistol is all Dillon 500B.
It will spoil you. Having said that, a turret type press might be what I would consider in your situation.
There are several good ones. I just can't imagine reloading a lot of 9mm on a single stage press.
 
I have a Redding Big Boss that I got on sale. It's a very nice single station press. I'd secure your primers and powders before investing too much into equipment.
 
I will break from the rest and recommend a Lee Turret press. It is great as a single stage press and can be used as a semi progressive if so desired. I have an RCBS RC, for when I need to swage any bullets, but have yet to use it for any reloading and in the end, it's just a single stage. I have been using a Lee since the mid 80's, though I upgraded to the new classic cast, but reverted it back into a 3-hole instead of replacing all my turrets. This kit gives you everything you need except dies and expendables. The items are not the best, but do the job and will get you into reloading quick. You can then upgrade items as you see the need, or keep using them for years as I did, because I normally didn't reload more than a couple hundred pistol and about 40 rifle at any one given time.
Classic Turret Press Kit

006-90304.jpg
 
Omega said:
I will break from the rest and recommend a Lee Turret press. It is great as a single stage press and can be used as a semi progressive if so desired. I have an RCBS RC, for when I need to swage any bullets, but have yet to use it for any reloading and in the end, it's just a single stage. I have been using a Lee since the mid 80's, though I upgraded to the new classic cast, but reverted it back into a 3-hole instead of replacing all my turrets. This kit gives you everything you need except dies and expendables. The items are not the best, but do the job and will get you into reloading quick. You can then upgrade items as you see the need, or keep using them for years as I did, because I normally didn't reload more than a couple hundred pistol and about 40 rifle at any one given time.
Classic Turret Press Kit

006-90304.jpg
Click to expand...
I've used Lee equipment since the early 1970s and have honestly never had a problem with it. My main metallic cartridge press is the single stage Challenger anniversary kit, and I load more than 20 different calibers. About four years ago I wanted to speed the process up a bit so I bought a Lee four-hole turret press. Things happened, I got busy, but haven't even set it up yet. My intent was to keep all of my dies in separate turrets, and use the old single stage for depriming and other brass prep tasks.
 
I have 3 Lee turret presses-This is because I like to use a turret for each caliber and in several instances, two turrets for two different rifles same caliber.

The single stage RCBS/Hornady/Lee/you name it are mostly alike. Too slow for me, too much setup.

My BIL takes his Forster coaxial press to bed with him. Serious. It is stored in his closet. Inside a custome made cedar box. YMMV

I would go with RCBS dies or just wait. Serious.

Build a component list: Here, to start -once fired Federal match brass for 308 and one for 9'.s

https://brassmanbrass.com/product/22h-308-winchester-federal-gold-metal-match-brass-100-ct/
https://brassmanbrass.com/product/1l-9mm-luger-mixed-head-stamp-brass-1000-ct/
Tell John Dave sent ya.

Cannot find 30.06 brass. Focus on 308 and 9's while continuing to search for 06.

Primers
 
As you can tell from all the comments, reloading equipment can vary a great deal. I've seen reloading rooms that have 6 figures worth of equipment. Everything is automated. For me it's been an evolutionary process and I've had several upgrades along the way. I started loading for hunting rifles and now I load for F Class competition. So, the equipment must follow and well as the number of steps involved. There's no one way to do it successfully, so have fun developing your own.
 
eastTN270 said:
I'm going to take the plunge into reloading. I'm in the process of collecting brass and bullets and am ready to begin buying the equipment. I'm going to go with a single stage press. I'm not in the category of "money is no object", but I am a "buy once, cry once, do it right the first time" guy. What would your recommendations be for press, brass prep, brass cleaning, ect? I plan to load 223, 308, and 9mm. Thanks guys.
Click to expand...
Midway has the rock chucker on sale with free shipping.
 
RCBS Rockcrusher for me as well. I have never planned on being in "production mode" and I enjoy the slower pace.
The only thing I have upgraded on is the cleaning process. I started with a vibratory and later went to a wet tumbler. Cleaner, less fuss, and overall does a better job.
I would recommend this text: Metallic Cartridge Handloading: Pursuit of the Perfect Cartridge
 
I resize rifle cases with a Rockchucker. I seat bullets in rifle cartridges, and load pistol ammo with a vintage Lyman Spartan press. The reduced leverage of the Spartan or a press similar to it is an advantage because you can feel your way through seating bullets in rifle and pistol ammo.
 
Thought I'd update. I bought some equipment from a couple members. Lee single stage press, Lee primer, and Lee scale. I bought the Lee reloading manual and got it yesterday. I've got some bullets and brass. I plan on getting the Frankford wet tumbler and hand deprimer. Looking for recommendations on case prep tools.
 
I've been playing with my Annealeez, I got a few cases but the wheels started melting a bit so used some aluminum tape to shield them a bit, seems to work. Now, the wheel don't turn the cases well enough, tomorrow I'll use some brake cleaner to see if that cleans the wheel enough to make it more tacky. But the case looks good, anneal marks show they are getting annealed, I'd just feel better if they had a more consistent spin while doing it.

Vz1tyZr.jpg
 
MUP said:
I still use a deep well socket and drill motor to turn my cases by hand over a torch. How much was the annealeez if you don't mind my asking?
Click to expand...
Currently $275, for the base unit, but they now have a different version which uses different propane fittings and holder, and no catch pan. I used a simular method as you, as well as the water pan method, and they work great but this is much faster if you have a bunch to go through, and I have thousands of cases I want to anneal, so I figured it would be a good investment.
 

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