Reloading setup for novice

[Willard]

Hive, I've perused some of the older posts. Nomenclaure and model numbers have changed. I don't know if the new models are as good /comparable to old and whether some of the advice still stands in 2022. Brands change.

If you were starting from scratch reloading for several calibers (shotgun, rifle and pistol) and wanted a durable, no external power required system (if that is even a thing...can't tell with add ons...some seem like they would need that, but I don't know) that wasn't overly time consuming, would do everything you needed it to do, and you wouldn't "outgrow" soon, what would it be?

Also, I was looking at Dillon, but some of the model numbers seem to have changed and the more complex systems only have a limited warranty while the less complex systems have a lifetime warranty. I also reviewed posts that mentioned breakage of the Dillon press.

Trying to get current state of systems before purchase.

Thanks.

[okie john]

If you want to save money on ammo that goes bang, then starting with a progressive isn't a bad way to go.

If you want to optimize accuracy, power, and function for your own guns, then you need to take time to work up loads, which is much easier to do on a single-stage press. Later, you can buy a progressive to load that ammo more quickly. What you learn about loading on the single-stage will help you decide which progressive to buy, and nearly all of the supporting gear you pick up along the way will work on either system.


Okie John

[Amp]

The Dillon 550C is pretty much bullet proof and has a lifetime warranty: https://www.dillonprecision.com/s000224

You'll need a different press to load shotgun, I don't have a recommendation for one because I don't reload shotgun shells. MEC seems to have a good rep with shotgun reloaders that I know.

[dmiculek]

I really like the Dillon 550, If I had to have only one loader it would a 550. Easy to set up and operate even with just one case at a time as in working up a starting load, etc. You can update to a case feeder if need be. Shotgun loading is not as economical as it once was. MEC make good shotgun loaders.

[walker2713]

I’ve been at this a long time and have owned lots of different gear, made many mistakes and learned a lot.

As a novice reloader I definitely would not recommend a progressive press….there’s just too much going on for a beginner.

Buy any one of a number of good single stage presses and learn the rudiments of the process, and then move on….even after buying a progressive press you’ll still have uses for the single stage. Another good place to begin would be with turret press…simple yet gives you more options. The Lee is a good press without breaking the bank.



You’ll know when you’re ready to move on to a progressive press.

Dillon is a great company with excellent equipment. I reload 9mm ammo with a Hornady LNL progressive and am very satisfied with it.

This is based on my experience….YMMV

[BehindBlueI's]

I’ve been at this a long time and have owned lots of different gear, made many mistakes and learned a lot.

As a novice reloader I definitely would not recommend a progressive press….there’s just too much going on for a beginner.

Buy any one of a number of good single stage presses and learn the rudiments of the process, and then move on….even after buying a progressive press you’ll still have uses for the single stage. Another good place to begin would be with turret press…simple yet gives you more options. The Lee is a good press without breaking the bank.



You’ll know when you’re ready to move on to a progressive press.

Dillon is a great company with excellent equipment. I reload 9mm ammo with a Hornady LNL progressive and am very satisfied with it.

This is based on my experience….YMMV

I agree with this, and would add:

The Lee progressive can be used as a single stage, just remove the action bar that turns the turret. It's simpler than a true single stage as you don't have to remove and reset dies every time you go to the next process. The great thing about the turret press is once the dies are set they are set forever (or roughly forever, you should always periodically recheck them just in case they've moved a bit) and you can have multiple turrets set up for multiple loads without fussing with dies at every swap.

You can do pistol and rifle rounds on one press, but you'll need a seperate reloading machine for shotgun shells. They are their own thing.

[Super77]

Respectful disagreement with those above, but I’d say go straight to a progressive. You’re doing the same things you’d be doing on a single stage more efficiently. You’re doing more things per handle pull. I also think there’s less chance for human error with a progressive. Dillon 550 or 750 are good options that you won’t have to upgrade for a ling time, if ever. If you’re going to be reloading a lot of brass with crimped primers then it might be worth getting a 1050 or 1100. It’s a lot up front, but it pays for itself in ammo pretty quickly.

Single stage is good for loading like 100 rounds for hunting season but I’d sooner buy factory ammo than load a case on a single stage. I have an old RCBS single stage rusting in a toolbox somewhere that I haven’t used in 10 years.

[Jim Watson]

For learning purposes, you CAN put one round at a time through a progressive loader like Dillon 550. Put in one case and run it through all stations until you understand what is happening at every step.

But if you start with a good single stage, you will always find a use for it even after you have bought a Mk 7 10 stage and several thousand bucks worth of automation for it.

[Redhat]

I started with the Lee Classic Turret (above). I found it to be very versatile and as was mentioned, I could remove the turret's auto advance rod essentially turning it into a single stage press for batch loading more precision oriented rifle rounds. It's also fairly compact and has a small footprint on your bench if that matters.

[JCS]

You need to ask yourselves two questions:

1) how many round per year do I shoot?
2) how much time do I have dedicated to reloading? And a subset of that is how much money is your time worth?

I took the recommendation of getting a turret when I first started suffered through it for a year or two as I learned. Eventually I went to a Dillon 550 and recently upgraded to a 750 because my answer to the two above questions changed. Because if you start with a single stage press you're going to spend a couple hours making a hundred rounds. If you're saving $20/100 is your time worth $10 an hr? Or would you rather spend the time doing something else and pay the extra $20 for factory ammo? (That's just made up numbers).

Personally, I would tell people to start at a minimum of a Dillon 550 progressive. It's a manual indexing progressive press. Each pull of the press gives you a bullet by you will have to manually put a piece of brass on it and put a bullet on a piece of brass each time. Just go slow checking every time to make sure that the case has powder and it doesn't have a double charge.