Want to start reloading again

[Jason B.]

Some years ago when I was shooting USPSA I did a fair amount of reloading with my shooting buddy but it was all his stuff. Fast forward to present day and I find myself wanting to get back into reloading thanks to my new found love with the 10mm.

Like most that just get into something new I have no idea where to start or what reviews to believe so here I am.

I used a Lee progressive press before and didn't have any issues with it's performance. I see they make a Pro 1000 model that is pre setup for loading 10mm, would this be a good way to start?

I'm not looking to load thousands of rounds just a few hundred here and there for target and hunting purposes.

Other questions...
Any accessories I'm not thinking of?
Anything to stay away from?

[tommac919]

DON'T DO IT....

I have several Lee presses ( one is a Pro1000 )...  When the 1000 works, it is great, but it takes a LOT of fussing to make it work, more than it should.
It is the one press, I set up got working and don't touch it or adjust anything for fear of getting it to work right again.
(sent it back to LEE 2x and while Lee service was good, it didn't solve the issues )

I usu push new loaders with a low round count ( under a few 100 per month ) to a Lee Classic Turret, higher count needs a bit more.
There are a number out there if you need a progressive that are much better for not much more money.  Will say my next one is a Dillon... they are good but the warranty is one of the best

[The_Shadow]

I have been handloading since 1978, I still work on my Single Stage press, Why?  I make Match Grade ammo and each and every load is hand weighed on a RCBS 5-10 balance beam scale...yes it is that important to me!  I load for Quality not Quantity!  Quantity can be had by running the same process till all items are done in each step...

If I wanted loads that were progressively loaded I could do so on the Dillon 550B.  But when working to the upper limits in 10mm, mimicking loads like SwampFox, Underwood, Double Tap and Buffalo Bore there isn't any room for errors...

With that said the RCBS Rock Chucker is a great press and will be strong enough and have enough leverage to do any task needed...Dies are another product where quality is made, carbide dies are worth the price.  Pass through sizing also pays dividends with 100% reliability for feeding into battery...

Make a wise choice and Be safe!

[sqlbullet]

tl-dr; For the money of a Pro1000 I would rather have my RCBS Rockchucker Supreme kit.  Far more versatile, and will load a couple hundred rounds with ease.  If you need more production, look to a Dillon 550 or 650.  If you need cheaper, Lee Reloader + RCBS hand prime and a decent scales.

I write a variation of this often enough I oughta just save it on Google docs and copy/paste.

My "best" press.  RCBS Rock Chucker.  Super strong, allows be to try out new and stupid ideas without concerns for the press.  When I need lots of force and leverage, this is my go to press.  It is also insane overkill if all you will ever do is reload 10mm.  Like buying a Peterbilt to haul a gallon of milk.

My "fastest" press is my Dillon Super 1050.  Now, a Dillon press comes with some downsides.  Like, aching back and arms from sitting there for hours making ammo with no need to futz with the press.  Or constantly having more ammo than you can shoot.  Or maxing out credit cards trying to keep it fed components.  All kidding aside, if you are going to go progressive, Dillon is the leader for a reason.  Before I got the 1050, I often wondered by people would pay such a premium for a blue press.  Now I know.

My "most used" press is actually two. Twins.  I have two Lee reloader presses.  The $30 "C" style press.  One of them is mounted to a section of 1X4 and accompanied by two Irwin Quick Clamps.  It can go wherever, be clamped down and make a instant reloading station.  Work up loads at the range?  Yep.  Reload in the great room while the family watches Lord of the Rings for the 400th time.  Yep.

Finally I have a Lee Challenger Breechlock press.  No buzzwords for it.  Great little light-medium duty press.  I really like spent primer management on this press and I use it mostly with a universal depriming die to deprime 300 win mag, 260 Remington and 6.5 Grendel ammo before they get wet pin tumbled.  The rest of my brass gets dumped into the tumbler with the spent primers still in place cause I dont' care about primer pockets, but those three cartridges I shoot at long distance and I reload for precision.  The nothing wrong with the press, but the RCBS is a stronger "O" press and the Reloaders are handier, and the Dillon does volume.  I bought it before the Dillon trying to solve the need to process gobs of 7.62 NATO brass.  I bought the kit to compare to my RCBS kit.

The Pro-1000 set up for 10mm is $225.00 on Amazon Prime.  It includes dies, but not a scales to verify powder drops.  And it limits you to CCI or Remington primers if you wanna follow the directions.  Incidentally this warning is due to how given a primer is to sympathetic detonation.  CCI and Remington are pretty good about just one or two going off.  Federal is known to easily set off a whole batch.

I have an old co-worker that has a Pro1000 in 10mm and last I talked to him, was very happy with it.  He got on Youtube and followed all the tutorials about how to prep, polish, lube and workaround the known issues.  And he just uses the auto-disc data in lee manuals and doesn't verify loads.  He is mostly a high volume watermelon hunter and isn't concerned with loading max loads or with superb accuracy.  He wants ammo he can plink with and is just fine with what the Pro-1000 provides.

For just a bit more you can get an RCBS Rock Chucker Supreme kit.  $247.49 Amazon Prime.  You will still need to get a set of dies, another $30 for a Lee carbide 3-die set.  Not progressive, so it will take you about 3-4 times as long to load 100 rounds.  But, you have a scales, powder drop, hand primer.  You can load literally anything short of 50 BMG down the road with just a new set of dies.  If I could only have one press, it would be this one.

Right at $100 cheaper is the Lee Challenger kit at $143.14 on Amazon Prime.  The scales is OK, but not as refined as the RCBS scales.  Same for the Lee Auto-prime XL.  I really want this to work great, cause it uses it's own shell holders and is easy to change.  But I have to futz with it alot, and always have at least one primer per 100 that flips itself over that I have to stop and fix.  The powder drop...well I just never used it.  The RCBS one is that much better and the Lee one is obviously cheap.  If you can't swing the RCBS, then get the Lee Reloader press ($34.19), an RCBS hand prime ($37) and a beam scales (about $60).  You trade a bunch of stuff that is not well made, not needed or both for tools that work and work well.  You save about $20 in money and a ton of frustration.  However, I would not expect the Reloader press to last long if I were sizing large magnum rifle brass day in and day out.

If you want to go progressive, buy a Dillon.  Skip the Square Deal B.  Had one, worked fine, but proprietary dies are proprietary (and expensive).  The 550 is a good press.  The 650 is a great press.  The 1050 only makes sense if you measure you brass in tons and it needs a primer pocket crimp removed.

[Jason B.]

Thanks for all the excellent responses!

The Shadow,

Single stage was my first thought as I was looking at a Hornady Lock-n-Load Classic Kit but saw the Lee progressive for about $100 less which peaked my interest. Like I said, I used a Lee progressive press before but this time I'm not loading weak or for round count so I think a single stage where I can get quality over quantity would be best. I want to match bullet weights and have powder measured to the exact grain so at this point I think a progressive press is out the window.

sqlbullet,

Thank you for all the comparisons and info, it was very helpful.

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What brought me to this point is I have this weird issue with 180 grain ammo and that is all I can really find for target shooting. My problem is, after a mag it looks like I hit the target with 12ga OO buck and I do not know why. If I really watch my trigger control, grip and breathing I can kinda get in the 10 ring but more often than not I'm all over the place. Now, switch that up to 155gr or more so 200gr and its like I have a laser beam in my hand keeping groups momma would be proud of. Its also the bullet weights I carry for SD so I would like to practice with the same weights and power factor.

So, I guess its now time to decide on my single stage options. As mentioned, I was looking at the Hornady kit but I have seen a few rec's for the RCBS... opinions of the two?

Also, this will basically be just for 10mm, my 9mm is too easy to just buy 1000 rounds and my .357 Sig was way too much of a PITA to start reloading again. I'm not much of a rifle shooter so this will pretty much be a dedicated 10mm Auto setup.

[Bat Rastard]

If not needing volume capability, single stage is good.
If a progressive is in order, pick your brand and run with it.
Mine is a Dillon 550 and has served me well for 25 years or more. Were I starting over I would get the 650.
Buy once, cry once. Don't compromise on equipment.

[Spudmeister]

It seems your press reflects your personality.  Precision target shooters certainly look at things differently than those who reload in mass.  I had a Dillon 550 and hated it.  It was far to temperamental for me.  But to be fair, if you are making 500 rounds per evening it does make a lot of sense... though after a few years I gave it away.  Now after 47 years of reloading I run a Lee Classic turret press and a Rock Chucker.  Covers me from 9mm to 338 Win Mag. 

With the turret press I run, after all is said and done, it puts out 100 rounds per hour.  Overall there is a decided lack of fussing, cussing and fidgeting.  Though I give up a lot in speed, I gain a lot is quality control and peace of mind.  Your mileage will certainly vary as needs are different. 

[RJM52]

Have been loading since I was about 14...a long 51 yards ago.   I just sold off all my presses except for two...  A Dillon 550 for large production handgun and a Redding T-7 for rifle and precision pistol.

The Redding is a turret press so one doesn't have to change out dies. And with 7 holes in the turret one can set up easily for 2 to 3 calibers. And extra turrets can be purchased for more calibers. Built like a tank and runs like it is on ball bearings...

Bob

[Forrest]

Let's take a different track all together. It sounds like you're new to reloading on your own. Let's start with something fun and cheap: .38 Special. This is a great place to practice setting up dies and primer systems. The case is long and it has a need for a bit of special treatment. If you are loading  progressively on something like a Dillon you will develop the proper speed to avoid crunching cases. 9mm and .45 will teach you to be a bit too fast and 10mm doesn't like to be loaded that fast. Your powder measure will also be setup for a higher volume case. I advise that newer reloaders or those coming back to it start with powders that fill the cases to a point that a double charge will be glaringly apparent.

Dillon 550 is what I have, but if I started over again tomorrow, I would be all 650's. When I have a question or an issue and I call Dillon, I am talking to a fellow reloader that has first hand knowledge of the product. The back their products. Lee dies are the same way. Solid American companies.