Common Newbie Question - What brand equipment should I buy?

[509Doug]

This is a question I have seen for years on forums and message boards.
That's like going to the racetrack and asking what make of car to buy. Chevy guys will tell you Fords suck. Ford Guys will tell you Chevy sucks. They'll both tell you Dodge sucks, and Mopar guys will just look at you funny for asking such a ridiculous question.
So the answer to the question really depends on your budget, how much room you have and how many rounds you plan on loading. It really makes no sense for the guy that is just loading some rounds to go elk hunting to go spend $1200 on big blue shiny progessive. Just a single stage press will fit him fine. The guy that can only get his wife to concede half the laundry room to have a place to load probably doesn't want to deal with a huge set up either. For someone that doesn't have a bunch of money to spend that $1200 press is probably right up there with Beyoncé & Kate Upton menage a trois.
The equipment from all the manufacturers works, I have found that the price differences pretty much are in line with quality and longevity. Can I load ammo with the cheap Lee sets? Absolutely! And I have loaded thousands of rounds with Lee dies. But I also have some RCBS dies, Hornady dies, Forester dies, well you get the idea.
So do your research assess your actual needs, don't over spend for your budget and have some fun with a great hobby!

[CodySPowell]

Exactly, I have a few square feet of reloading room to work with. My single stage Lee has worked wonderfully for me. Well enough to load 10,000+ rounds in the last year. [emoji16]

This is a question I have seen for years on forums and message boards.
That's like going to the racetrack and asking what make of car to buy. Chevy guys will tell you Fords suck. Ford Guys will tell you Chevy sucks. They'll both tell you Dodge sucks, and Mopar guys will just look at you funny for asking such a ridiculous question.
So the answer to the question really depends on your budget, how much room you have and how many rounds you plan on loading. It really makes no sense for the guy that is just loading some rounds to go elk hunting to go spend $1200 on big blue shiny progessive. Just a single stage press will fit him fine. The guy that can only get his wife to concede half the laundry room to have a place to load probably doesn't want to deal with a huge set up either. For someone that doesn't have a bunch of money to spend that $1200 press is probably right up there with Beyoncé & Kate Upton menage a trois.
The equipment from all the manufacturers works, I have found that the price differences pretty much are in line with quality and longevity. Can I load ammo with the cheap Lee sets? Absolutely! And I have loaded thousands of rounds with Lee dies. But I also have some RCBS dies, Hornady dies, Forester dies, well you get the idea.
So do your research assess your actual needs, don't over spend for your budget and have some fun with a great hobby!

Sent from my SM-J727V using Tapatalk

[Ledslnger]

I have used a single stage RCBS for over 30 years. Recently I added a Dillon 550 because I could not keep up using my RCBS. I only do 3 calibers on the Dillon though. The other 40 calibers or so I still do on the RCBS. I like them both. The single stage works great if you don't shoot a ton, but when you do you spend too much of your life reloading. Not that it isn't fun in it's own aspect. But, time is time and you only have so much. As far as dies I have all kinds: Bonanza, RCBS, Lee, Redding, Dillon, etc. They all work pretty good. I really like the Lee precision neck crimping dies though for doing some pistol rounds with cast bullets. Dillon dies for pistol are awesome too, they have a great crimp die too and break down really easy. I use an RCBS Chargemaster for doing powder for my single stage stuff. Seems to work pretty well for me. I do the powder and drop it in a case then seat the bullet right away.
Buying stuff as you can along the way works great. Buying stuff that is on sale and in your price range, nothing wrong with that. All the brands work, some you may feel work better for your habits I guess. Hope my insight helps someone that reads this.
One thing that is really helpful I would imagine for newbies would be to find a local guy to learn from. It is nice to see things firsthand. Take it in with a grain of salt though. You honestly don't know if this guy knows what he is doing. You read up and watch some videos and you throw all the info together and figure it out for yourself. But, sometimes you may get lucky and find someone really good to learn from. I got the pleasure of learning from my Dad. He was a Korean War Vet and in the USMC. He knew firearms and I was blessed to learn from him. Have fun with it, but be safe.

[Barkley Wilson]

I have no clue what the prices on the kits are now, but back before the sandy hook crunch I bought a rcbs master supreme kit for $189 to my door. Its well paid for itself and I don't even load a lot.

[ReneeMicelli]

Exactly, I have a few square feet of reloading room to work with. My single stage Lee has worked wonderfully for me. Well enough to load 10,000+ rounds in the last year. [emoji16]

Sent from my SM-J727V using Tapatalk

I enjoy the process and the down time almost as much as anything else. That little single stage Lee press allows me to kick out about 100 rounds in an hour for my handguns. That is all I need anymore. Other people have different needs or desires, and that is all well and good, but if a simple set up meets your needs then that is the route to go.

[sagela]

Wes and I have used LEE turret presses for years. But we scrap all the automation gadgetry and twist the turrets by hand.

All priming is done with LEE hand primers for feel - all cases checked for proper primer installation b4 charging.

We place primed cases in 50 count loading trays, charge them, check all 50 in GOOD light for charge level and move to the press.

When possible we'll set bullets on the cases by hand (this usually works with pistol loads) then take a load to the seating die which is set
to seat but not crimp - twist the turret to bring up the LEE factory crimp die - twist it back and pick up another case.
I can do 10-15 of them in the time it took to write this.

I do .223 by feeding charged cases from the right, bullets from the left. Same dbl pump on the press. (I'm right-handed)

Obviously I left out details like checking for OAL or describing the use of an RCBS powder thrower.

My rifle turret sets nearly all have 4 dies in them. FL size, neck size, seating and crimping.

A major value in turret presses over single stage is they pop in and out of the press ready-to-load. No fussing with
die adjustments unless you're changing something. I use the LEE Classic turret because I load more rifle rounds than pistol.
Wes has the lighter model and it has loaded WELL OVER a million rounds and still runs smoothly.

When we taught reloading we had 3 people on hand. To load volume for the owner, he charged his cases (by law), all 3 of us checked for charge level, I set the bullets, Wes cranked the handle.
We would commonly crank out 400-500 rds in an hour, all the time pointing out nuances in approach for him, pausing to check OAL, pausing to check any case in which the bullet fed too easily (press the nose against the edge of the bench - applying ~ 20psi pressure - and discarding any rounds in which the bullet set back.

We only had 6 loading trays at first so the owner refilled the trays Wes emptied, charged them - another triple check for charge level - and back into the flow.

Some hard, fast rules at our benches - ESPECIALLY with 3 guys loading:
-Only one powder on the bench at a time.
-No seating b4 checking charge levels
-Leave the balance and powder thrower settings for reference until the project is complete and the powder returned to the shelf.

As in all "how-to" subjects, this is not THE way to do it, it's merely OUR way. YMMV But if you're starting out, here's a set of steps to consider
as you adapt all the knowledge you're going to gain in your thirst to get it right.