Need some reloading input... I have been reloading for a couple of years with my Lee Loaders for .45-70 and .280Rem. I really love the tool for these rifles since it is perfect for someone who shoots 100rds. or so a year.
After getting to take my Ruger Hunter to the range yesterday, I realize I need something faster since I will be shooting this thing at every opportunity. My question is... Would I be better off getting a single-stage turret press, or a progressive press? I know the progressive is faster, but I, without that much reloading experience, am also concerned about safety.

Thanks,

Jim

I now use a single stage Lee press but had a Lee 1000 and loved it. It is fast and if you get the disc stacking option and an extra set of discs you can fine tune your loading. It won't let you make a mistake as it must have a case in place to work properly. Every pull of the handle makes a round. The only reason I don't have it now is I had to down size. The single stage is less expensive and with the addition of an Auto-prim & powder measurer I can produce a sufficiant amount of ammo. Which ever way you decide Lee equipment is great. Good shooting. - Gary(fanner50)

I'm with Gary on this.
I too had a Lee Progressive 1000 years ago when I shot IPSC competition. I probably loaded an average of 500 rds a week with it for a couple of years & it worked great.
If all you want to use a press for is the handgun, I'd say go with it.
If you want to be able to load for your rifles too, you will want to go with a single stage or a turret.
If you go single stage, the Lee "Anniversary" press set & a set of Lee carbide dies will get you started for under $100.
I love Lee's stuff, but wasn't too impressed with the powder measure that comes with the "Anniversary" kit so I use a different powder measure.
You can spend a lot more & maybe get a bit higher quality, but with the exception of the powder measure mentioned(which I could probably send back to Lee for servicing), I've never been disatisfied with a Lee product. Best bang for the buck in my opinion.

By the way, fill us in on your range time with the Ruger. What did you think?

I'm a single stage press man...always have been mainly because I am a diehard Contender man! BUT...now that Ruger's are invading my safe I am shooting many more rounds each time I go to the range. The Lee 1000 looks inviting...especially at $133 from Midsouth.

I also prefer single stage presses, I use the lee and the rcbs supreme rock chucker, I bought the rcbs because of the increased clearance for my ultra mags and my 458lott.

If you are going to shoot a lot of one caliber, its hard to beat a progressive press. You will always need a single stage press for rounds that you don't shoot that often, but the progressive saves so much time if you are going to shoot a bunch of one particular caliber.

I have a Lee Pro 1000. We also have two Dillons here. I can attest from first hand experience that the Lee works every bit as well as the Dillon. Not sure if it is as easy to change calibers on the Lee, but that isn't that big of a deal. The odds are that you will set it up and leave it that way.

A word to the wise - loading on a progressive press requires your COMPLETE attention. You really need to establish a routine as you operate the press to make sure you don't run out of primers or powder, forget to feed a case or bullet, etc.

Vance,
Ya, I had a great time at the range yesterday... When I was about ready to start shooting a couple of guys showed up, one with a .44 Mag Blackhawk on his hip. I figured this guy knew more than me, so I went up to talk to him. I asked him what I should expect recoil wise and he told me how I better hang on...
Going back to my position, I pulled back the hammer, braced myself and squeezed the trigger. TALK ABOUT A POWDER PUFF!!! Not a heck of a lot more recoil than my .22lr Neos. Obviously, the .44 man wasn't the expert I thought he was. My .45 Colt shot about 8" high out of the box, and I forgot to bring anything to adjust the sights. It was a real good time...kissed goodbye to $20.00 of ammo way too quickly. I shot the guys .44Mag...260grainers, I think and couldn't believe how easy it was to shoot. He was complaining earlier about his gun's recoil, and I found it a pleasure to shoot. Didn't check the ammo box to see if he was shooting cowboy loads or not. One thing is for certain, when you don't have to worry about a scope catching you in the face, I don't mind a little recoil!
On a side note, his buddy had a AR-15 converted to 500 S&W with a 7 round magazine. I only shot one round because that factory ammo he had wasn't cheap. Wow....quite a little POWERHOUSE! Being gas operated, recoil wasn't bad at all, but I was smart enough to shoot it standing up, not leaning into it on the bench. Learned that lesson two years ago trying to sight in for turkeys with heavy 3.5 inch turkey loads from the bench. That was the first time that I actually felt REAL PAIN when squeezing the trigger...


Jim

I will also cast my vote for a single stage press, especially for someone new to reloading. A while back my son bought a Hornady Lock and Load progressive, and I do like the fact that you can churn out quite a bit of ammo fairly quickly, but Stush hit the nail on the head, you must pay absolute undivided attention to what you are doing, and set up a routine. You especially need to watch you powder checking die to be sure there is powder in each case, and you must keep a close eye on your priming operation. Last time out, loading the .44 mag I used the progressive to resize, de-prime, expand and re-prime. This kept the operation more managable, although I much prefer using my RCBS priming tool for the priming operation. You get a much better feel when you seat the primer. I then went on to complete my reloading by metering out powder, and seating the bullets in my old single stage press.

I've had three different single-stage presses and one progressive. I had an old Herter's turret-type (I think Lyman makes a similar one now) that could hold three or four different dies in the head, which was handy if you wanted to perform all the operations on one case at a time. Used Herters (non-standard) shell holders, and I sold it to a buddy of mine years ago.

I replaced that press with a Hornady single-stage (pre Lock-N-Load). Nothing fancy, just a good, solid press.

Recently retired that one (will give it to one of my boys some day) and got a new Lee Classic Cast. I LIKE THIS PRESS! Very solid, very well-made, and some nice features. Very competitive price, too. As an added bonus, it has the same mounting hole spacing as my progressive, which is...

A Lee Loadmaster. This is a great progressive press, especially with the case feeder attachment. You want to load a bunch of rounds, this press will do it.

Truth is, there is SO much good reloading equipment available today, it's hard to go too wrong. In my opinion, go for the single-stage now, get some experience under your belt, and then YOU can decide if you need a progressive or not.

Thanks guys!

Jim

I have not read many post anywhere that were positive about Lee products.I have a Lee 1000,Lee single stage,Lyman turret press,RCBS rock Crusher.I have never had a problem with the Lee presses or dies.I do seat primers with a RCBS hand primer tool. I have loaded alot of ammo with the Lee 1000 press, never a problem.I have mentioned using Lee equipment on other forums and everyone puts you down for buying the junk.Well I will continue to use Lee product.

I agree patch. Lee gets talked down sometimes, but I've never had a problem with them.
I think that a lot of people look at the price difference & assume anything that much cheaper can't be any good. Boy would they be in for a suprise if they gave it a try!

Stush, back when I was shooting IPSC & NRA Action shooting(20 yrs ago), I had friends that bought Dillions because Dillon was "THE PRESS" in IPSC. That's what Rob Letham, Brian Enos, etc used....
Well the Dillions were a great machine, but as you said the Progressive 1000 was just as good. They tried to make fun of my Lee but just couldn't find any faults with it. They were $99 then with dies & case feeder, ready to go. I guess I must have had three of them(don't remember for sure), because I just bought a new press for each additional caliber I loaded for competition(.45 ACP, .38 sp, 44sp). I could buy a press for not much more than the cost of switching a Dillion to another caliber, & it was always ready to go. Besides, it looked cool having them all bolted to the bench at the same time.
When I moved to Alaska I got out of IPSC & sold & gave away all my presses. What a mistake(the presses, not leaving IPSC).

I actually prefer my lee hand primer and powder dispenser to my rcbs stuff and I hate most of my rcbs dies I much prefer my hornady and lee dies. One tool I have that I really love is my Lyman LE2000 auto powder dispenser. I use it exclusively for my rifle calibers, just bring up the cartridge and hit the button and it's done.

I have had a bunch of brands of different reloading equipment over the years. I have to say, I have not had a bad experience with any company other than Lyman.

Lee stuff is a great product for the price. I have more Lee dies than any other brand.

The new Lee cast iron press is nicer than the Redding that I currently use. Yet, if you would make that statement on most forums, you would be laughed at.

Why???

Two reasons.

Some guys don't know any better.

Others have spent a lot more and refuse to acknowledge that you can get equipiment that is just as good for a lot less money.

I'll stick with whatever is the best buy for a given application - not with a brand or color scheme.

stush, I agree completely, there is only one thing I wish lee would do with there dies and thats put a set screw on the nut, other than that I think there just as good as anyones.

I am in total agreement with you. I personally would prefer a split lock ring like the Horandy dies that I own have. That way the set screw doesn't actually touch the die threads.

Well I'm no expert reloader so here is my two cents worth. I have every color under the sun on my bench. My press is a Lyman, scale is a Redding, trimmer is a Lyman, dies of every make. Reloading is my hobbie (like shooting)so I buy something and if I like it or it works better than what I have it gets the nod. Lee makes some excellent products and keeps the other guys in line as far as price. I too do not like the Lee O-Ring lock on the dies, so I buy Hornady lock rings and put them on the Lee dies. Right now Midway has them on sale. I have had a Lee and an RCBS die that I replaced with Redding and the problems was solved. Just wish the Reddings were the price of the Lee's. When I get more room I'll get a progressive or turet press. As far as what kind? I'll have to see what strihes my fancy at the time.

tigger, thanks for the idea about the hornady rings and the midway sell, I'll check it out.