TargetTalk

I am considering doing some .38/.357 reloading on a single stage, or possibly a turret type press. It has been years since I did any reloading, and that was on a Star progressive tool. Any suggestions on a good quality tool? I guess by saying "good quality" that knocks out the Lee products. I appreciate any input. Thanks

One word - Dillon. JMHO.

I did not think Dillon made a single stage press? Only turret progressive machines. I will check out their web site. Thanks,
Neil

Either Hornady or RCBS are first class I have and use both
Dan

Why are you dead set on a single stage press?

If you're not, then I'd definitely go with a Dillon, either a Square Deal B, 550, or 650 depending on how much you're loading and what cartridges you're loading. For example, if you're thinking of reloading any rifle ammo in addition to the .38/.357 stuff, the Square Deal B won't work for you. If all you're going to load is .38/.357 and other pistol calibers and don't care about switching between calibers super-quickly, then the Square Deal B would be great for you.

In any case, absolutely NO ONE beats Dillon for customer service in the reloading business.

The Square Deal press has one limitation I don't like. That is the dies are not the regular size. Regular size dies that fit the 550 Dillon and most all other presses can be had with many options, and calibres for any future loading.

Also the Dillon regular dies are easily taken apart for cleaning.

And finally, the 550B press is very suitable to use in single stage operations.

Neil Foster wrote:Any suggestions on a good quality tool? I guess by saying "good quality" that knocks out the Lee products. I appreciate any input. Thanks

What's wrong with Lee stuff? (not knocking your opinion, I'm genuinely interested). As someone who only shoots ISSF pistol (and most of that is .177 or .22), the only reloading I do is .32 S&W Long on an old single stage press set up at my club. However I'm also looking at getting my own press at home. Seeing as I only reload a moderate amount of ammo, would Lee gear suffice? Is going down the Dillon path a case of over-kill for the 150 - 200 rounds or so of .32 I would average per month?

Go with a Lee Turret press, I load 15-20K of ammunition on it a year and it goes well, needs a bit of cleaning and lubrication to keep it smooth.

Keep well away from the Lee 1000 progressive.

I would choose the Lee Turret over any single stage press.

Haven't tried a Dillon but find it hard to justify the expense, unless you are an action shooter with large capacity magazines and you have trouble hitting a target at 5m with 17 shots.

Mikey

FWIW I have loaded on a Lyman T-Mag turret press for over 15 years without a burp. Other suggestion: there are RCBS dies and "all the others."

Neil Foster wrote:I did not think Dillon made a single stage press? Only turret progressive machines. I will check out their web site. Thanks,
Neil

I don't see it on Dillon's Web site, but I have seen this in their catalog. You can buy their 550B press stripped down (and cheap) as a single stage press. They also offer upgrade packages so you can "grow" it into a full blown 550B, if you choose to do so.

BTW, Dillon's dies are the hot ticket.

[quote="Fortitudo Dei

What's wrong with Lee stuff? (not knocking your opinion, I'm genuinely interested).[/quote]

Lee makes some very reasonably priced reloading equipment, but in my opinion, you get what you pay for. The presses are lighter and not as stiff, not as smooth and just don't feel as good as a Dillon. I believe you can load good ammo on a Lee and you will save a lot of money over a Dillon, but for me, this is a piece of equipment I am going to use for many years. I want to buy something that feels good and will last for decades.

In my opinion Lee is the cheapest, RCBS is excellent and Dillon make the best and most expensive. I have no experience with Hornady, Lyman etc.

Best of luck,
Steve T

Been using a Lee Loadmaster for about 10 years now. Once its set up, you're good. Its got the auto index and such. I've reloaded everything from .38 (many thousands) to .308 for highpower. I have enough faith in it to use it to reload match ammo for the .308, although I don't use the lee perfect powder measure for rifle match ammo. I use a culver converted lyman 55 and I manually charge the case for match ammo. but for practice, the Lee perfect powder measure is ok.

For pistol, powders such as bullseye flow really well into the auto-disk measure. For small amounts of bulky powders like 700-x, you have to tap the auto-disk to make sure its full and to make sure it empties completely. This can happen for 700-x loads for .38. For .45 acp loads, they are usually big enough that the 700-x doesn't bridge, but I still tap the measure to be safe.

I have to disagree about RCBS. When I started reloading in the 80's I bought a whole RCBS outfit. The only thing I still use is the powder scale. The dies from RCBS are disappointing for the price. Hornady makes excellent dies for the money. Redding makes excellent dies, but are $$$. I have a set of redding .308 bench rest dies and the micrometer adjustable bullet seater, but I'll tell you, I've gone to using a $9 set of Lee RGB dies in .308 for full-sizing. For my particular rifle, the full length sizer sizes perfectly to my chamber, just barely less than neck sizing. And I love their collet dies for neck sizing. Wonderful and innovative company in my opinion, with excellent customer service.

John