Sup, im thinking about picking up a press. Single stage because i dont plan on mass producing. Wondering which brand would be a good quality without spending excess. Only rounds i plan on reloading as of now are 50 Beowulf and 300 win mag. Eventually as i acquire more guns might reload for that to. Next gun i plan on picking up is a 50 bmg but i think ill need a separate press for that? Or Is there a press out there that can meet all my needs as of now?

Some guys like the Rock Chucker:

http://www.midwayusa.com/product/513567/rcbs-rock-chucker-supreme-single-stage-press

Hi mauiboi9 - I've been reading up on reloading myself and ran into this discussion that helped me understand the process and equipment makers a bit better. Good luck!

http://www.xdtalk.com/forums/showthread.php?t=201309

Two suggestions here. I know we talked about this recently but make sure you buy an "O" frame press and NOT a "C" frame press. The "C" frame is not strong enough for serious reloading. Also, make sure the "O" frame press you buy is large enough for the extra long cartridges you intend to load for. Not all presses are made the same size or are capable of full size rifle cartridge loading. With that said if these presses fit your needs the RCBS Rock Chucker is a favorite as well as the Lee Press. Hornady and Lyman also make good presses. Plus they all make starter kits with a minimum amount of equipment to start reloading.

Again, just make sure the press is large enough to handle all your cartridges and you'll be good to go.

Thanks for the info guys....

You can find deals on reloading equpment packages from companies like: RCBS, Hornady, and Lee. I prefer RCBS and Hornady products. Take your time and compare prices on deals as they appear. Good luck and keep us informed on your progress. There are a lot of very experienced members on this site.

To the OP I was in your shoes a couple of years ago.  I got the Lee Turret Press, but I seldom use the "Auto-Indexing" feature.  I like the fact that I can keep all my dies mounted on a turret and can be changed out with ease. 

http://www.midwayusa.com/product/814175/lee-classic-4-hole-turret-press

To the OP I was in your shoes a couple of years ago.  I got the Lee Turret Press, but I seldom use the "Auto-Indexing" feature.  I like the fact that I can keep all my dies mounted on a turret and can be changed out with ease. 

http://www.midwayusa.com/product/814175/lee-classic-4-hole-turret-press

Hey Ox, I used to have a Lee Turret Press. I used it a lot to load 9mm and .357 many many years ago. I lost it in a very bad divorce in 1991. She was after everything I enjoyed. I didn't start reloading again until recently. I inherited my father's RCBS single stage press a few years ago. I hung onto it and I am using it all the time now.

That Lee Turret Press worked well for me for loading handgun ammo. But I didn't care for it for loading rifle cartridges. I prefer to use a single stage press for that.

Hey Ox, I used to have a Lee Turret Press. I used it a lot to load 9mm and .357 many many years ago. I lost it in a very bad divorce in 1991. She was after everything I enjoyed. I didn't start reloading again until recently. I inherited my father's RCBS single stage press a few years ago. I hung onto it and I am using it all the time now.

That Lee Turret Press worked well for me for loading handgun ammo. But I didn't care for it for loading rifle cartridges. I prefer to use a single stage press for that.

I second the single-stage to start with.  There are several reasons for this: a single-stage will basically last forever if you don't let it rust all to hell, and there's always a use for one, even if it's just for decapping or pulling bullets or something.  Two, single-stage presses make the most accurate loads, there's too much slop in a turret or progressive press to get the same accuracy.  If you get into real precision benchrest-type loading, you're going to be looking for all your completed ammunition to not just fall inside the safe range for seating depth; you'll be shooting for all of them to be exactly the same, to the nearest thousandth of an inch.  A single stage will also allow to get a full grasp of what each step entails.  Especially with a progressive, there's a lot going on with each pull of the handle, and you don't get as many opportunities for hands-on inspection of your product.  Naturally, the more times you handle a case, the more likely you are to notice a problem.  For example, when I get done charging all the cases with powder and they're standing in the tray, I take my flashlight and look into each one to make sure I don't have a double-charge or a squib load.  Once you're fully up on the governor, so to speak, you'll know exactly what you're doing and more importantly, what you want.  It would suck to spend extra money for a turret, only to find that you really wish you'd spent some more for a progressive.  With a single-stage, you're out a minimal amount of money, and it goes back to point one--you'll always be able to find a use for it.  Not so with a progressive or turret, if you decide that's not the press for you.

That Lee Turret Press worked well for me for loading handgun ammo. But I didn't care for it for loading rifle cartridges. I prefer to use a single stage press for that.

Can you elaborate on your statement? I am also considering a Lee Turret but would use it for both rifle and handgun cartridges. What sort of problem or difficulty did you experience?

Can you elaborate on your statement? I am also considering a Lee Turret but would use it for both rifle and handgun cartridges. What sort of problem or difficulty did you experience?

The deciding factor for me was twofold. While the turret press worked well for handgun loads, handguns generally by nature are not considered precision instruments. I know all of you with expensive target pistols are going to flame me!!! LOL!!! I said GENERALLY so I am speaking to a broad sense (audience). The good quality SD gun is going to shoot 2"-3" groups at 25 yards. Depending on the ammo some groups will be 2" and some will be 4". You practice to defend yourself at 7' which is the average distance a gunfight occurs at. The ammo for practice for SD does not have to provide 1" or smaller groups at 25yds because if you are accurate to 1" at 7' you are doing good! Practice ammo does not need to be produced to target load specifications. With that said a turret press usually is used in conjunction with a powder measure. Most average measures will throw a charge within .2gr-.5gr. This will produce consistent enough results for good practice. If you want good targets loads for a revolver that is capable of giving you 1" groups at 25yds then you may want to buy a better measure which will throw a charge consistently within .1gr-.2gr. All things being equal you probably won't do better than an 1" at 25 yds if you load to these parameters. Most handgun shooters run through 200+ practice rounds per session on average. It takes a fair amount of time to load 200-300 rounds. A turret press saves you time over the single stage. And a powder measure saves a lot of time over measuring each load individually. But theoretically a turret will not place the dies in the exact same position each time you turn it. I know this is being picky but it is another thing that loosens the tolerances over a single stage even if a minute amount. And a powder measure will not throw the exact same charge each time. All of this is precision enough for handguns. BTW, this includes progressive presses. So you have the slight imprecision of the powder measure and turret placement. When I load for handguns I usually try to load 200-300 rounds. I shoot at least that much each session. When I load for accuracy/target loads I will sometimes weigh the charges individually but I see little or no difference than my measure which consistently throws to .1gr-.2gr. So I use a measure to save time. My next big purchase will be a progressive press for loading handgun rounds.

Now let's talk rifle rounds. I load .223 for a heavy barrel bolt gun that with the right handload gives me .38" groups at 100yds (no wind). The average handloader that is loading for target loads will use a single stage press because the dies align exactly the same way each time it is inserted which provides a slight amount of precision over a turret or progressive. How much more? I couldn't say. But when I load for this type of load I take my time and don't try to load more than 100 rounds at a time. I usually shoot only 50 to 70 rounds per session. And I weigh each charge individually and do not use a powder measure. A .1gr difference in a charge makes a difference at 100yds. For this type of load I use only match bullets and match primers and brass made by the same supplier and shot the same number of times. Others will buy expensive precision made brass. My next attempt at trying to better my load l will weigh the bullets individually and use bullets that only weigh exactly the same (This is my next trial to achieve better than 0.38" at 100 yds). Some people even weigh the brass and use only bench rest primers. The whole time I am loading I am checking and double checking for possible things like not dumping an entire powder charge in a case or missing a case with a charge. While I do this while loading for handguns, with a turret/progressive press it is more difficult and time consuming to check and double check loads. The idea is to automate some things so you don't have to spend the time doing these things. If I am loading for a hunting rifle where the accuracy is not as important as competition (1"-2" groups at 100 yds compared to my 0.38") then I would use a turret and/or progressive to load for this rifle.

Mind you, my tolerances for loading will be different than someone else. If all you are trying to do is to have cheap ammo then get a GOOD progressive such as a Dillon and don't cheap out and make sure to get the powder lock-out die. Then make one cartridge per press of the lever. If you are going to get a turret press you can still do some precision loading but the idea of the turret is to speed up the loading. If you use a turret to speed it up you will lose some precision. If you are going to load for rifle competition you want the most precise and tightest tolerances you can get. For handgun shooting like metallic, cowboy, 15 yds or less a progressive/turret press is probably good enough. If you want to do precision handgun target shooting beyond 15yds and/or long range handgunning and you have the pistol that has the capability you may want to use a single stage to load for it. And finally if you are loading for a hunting rifle where accuracy is not quite as important as penetration then a turret/progressive will probably do you well.

Your question is a good one but hard to answer. I tried to answer it as best I could and as accurately as possible. Bottom line is what you intend to load for. The difference between the precision of a single stage and a turret/progressive is admittedly small. But for me it is significant. I hope this answers your question.

I forgot to add something. With handgun loading you can use carbide dies and it eliminates one step of having to lube the cases before running them through the sizing die. What this means is you can pop out the old primer, size the case and insert a new primer with one complete down then up stroke. With rifle cartridges you need to lube the cases before running them through the sizing die. You could still insert a primer and add powder to a cartridge that has lube on it. Or you can take it out of the press and dry off each case by hand. Or do what I do and put them back in the tumbler after sizing and primer removal. I don't want to take the chance of contaminating the primer and/or powder charge with the lube. Having a turret or progressive press with my method of loading rifle cartridges is not very advantageous. The idea is to perform all of the steps of reloading in progression on a cartridge case until you have a completed round. I would take the case out of the progression and add a tumble step. While it would still make loading quicker I would not be taking full advantage of the turret/progressive press if I did this. YMMV

Shucks! I posted my question in the wrong thread. Sorry. 

Hey Ox, I used to have a Lee Turret Press. I used it a lot to load 9mm and .357 many many years ago. I lost it in a very bad divorce in 1991. She was after everything I enjoyed. I didn't start reloading again until recently. I inherited my father's RCBS single stage press a few years ago. I hung onto it and I am using it all the time now.

That Lee Turret Press worked well for me for loading handgun ammo. But I didn't care for it for loading rifle cartridges. I prefer to use a single stage press for that.

I hear what you're saying man.  Again I hardly use the "Auto Indexing" feature again I still use it as a single stage.  Even on handgun ammo I have a compulsive disorder of some sort that even if the power throw is .1-.2 gr off I'll do it over.  I found out that when throwing power then using the auto indexing to seat and crimp it  the motion packs in the powder throwing more and making it inconsistent.  So what I end up doing is throwing powder for a lot/tray of rounds then go one by one to seat and crimp. 

As for .223 or .308 I manually measure each powder charge by the lot then seat and crimp.  My 700 PSS was a sub MOA gun right out of the box so with my handloads my grouping has gotten tighter  down to .5 MOA. 

Just kidding!  Nice write up. Thanks for taking the time to "elaborate".

never loaded rifle cartidges, but bought a lee turret press just because you could set it up with four stages and use it as single press without autoindexing. no need to switch dies and remeasure. 

Just bought a surprise present for my friend in Cali. I used this for a while, and, within several trips to the range (about 1000 rounds of .45acp), it had paid for itself. It's $109 right now, and Cabela's has free shipping with the code 52SHIP.

http://www.cabelas.com/product/Shooting/Reloading/Presses-Dies|/pc/104792580/c/104761080/sc/104516280/50th-Anniversary-Breech-Lock-Challenger-Reloading-Kit/740258.uts?destination=%2Fcatalog%2Fbrowse.cmd%3FN%3D1100195%26WTz_l%3DSBC%253BBRprd740258&WTz_l=SBC%3BBRprd740258%3Bcat104516280

This looks similar, but I believe it has a hand priming tool.

http://www.cabelas.com/product/Shooting/Reloading/Presses-Dies|/pc/104792580/c/104761080/sc/104516280/Lee-Breech-Lock-Challenger-Reloading-Kit/731940.uts?destination=%2Fcatalog%2Fbrowse.cmd%3FN%3D1100195%26WTz_l%3DSBC%253BBRprd740258&WTz_l=SBC%3BBRprd740258%3Bcat104516280

There's also a turret press for $114, if you want that.

My next attempt at trying to better my load l will weigh the bullets individually and use bullets that only weigh exactly the same (This is my next trial to achieve better than 0.38" at 100 yds). Some people even weigh the brass and use only bench rest primers.

Weighing the bullets have no appreciable effect at 100 yards in my experience, better to sort bullets base to contact point on the ogive. Then be sure to have all the seating depth exactly the same, like to the .001".  I weight sort cases, however, the important factor is case volume. To find case volume in a pita, so I just lot them out into similar weights and call it good.  Neck tension is also very important.  You want all the bullets seating, thus releasing, at a similar force as you can get them.  Annealing helps in this.

At 100 yards barrel tune is the factor that make a lot of the difference.  Barrel tune in a mix between charge weight and seating depth.  Find your optimal charge, then tune it out by seat depth. 
At longer range, the velocity spread will play more and more of a role, as distance increases, the more important it is to have ES/SD as low as possible. 

You aught to try OCW by Dan Newberry.  Save a ton on time and components finding an optimal load for your rifle.


 I found this load using a grand total of 25 rounds, granted, I have been using this method for a while and I know what to look for. Dan's sight also has a forum to help with interpretation of shot groups.  That helps a lot.

This same load fired at 200 yards stayed easily within 1.5", mostly due to my poor shooting skills, and stayed within call at 600 yards, no problem.  I am sure a better trigger puller would be able to keep shots well within 1/2 an MOA at 600 yards with this load.

Heavies, thanks for your comments. I was just reading some information last night that said exactly what you said here about the seating depth and the case volume. I'll pursue this route rather than weighing the bullets as you said. This just saved me a lot of hours finding out that there is going to be little or no difference for 100yds. They also mentioned certain powders with particular burn rates for certain length barrels. Which would also affect barrel tune.

As you can tell this is my first attempt at reloading for a rifle. And I am learning as I go along what works for my rifle and what doesn't. I'll look into the book you recommended as it is amazing that you can group like that with 25 rounds. Obviously it has taken me hundreds of rounds to get where I am right now.

Thanks again for your help! This sort of stuff makes reloading much more enjoyable! 

I found this load using a grand total of 25 rounds, granted, I have been using this method for a while and I know what to look for. Dan's sight also has a forum to help with interpretation of shot groups.  That helps a lot.

This same load fired at 200 yards stayed easily within 1.5", mostly due to my poor shooting skills, and stayed within call at 600 yards, no problem.  I am sure a better trigger puller would be able to keep shots well within 1/2 an MOA at 600 yards with this load.

I need to learn from you. How can I compensate you for your time?