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reloading press questions

ibffsteveibffsteve Member Posts: 582 ✭✭✭✭
edited April 2004 in Ask the Experts
About 10 years ago i purchased my first loading press,a Lee turret.(OK , now dont start ranting about Lee, I know their not top of the line stuff but that was before I knew anything about reloading and that is what my gunshop ower recommened.[B)]) Anyway I lost interest for several years but now I'm getting back into it. Currently I'm loading .357 and .243and possibly in the future .223. Well last night I was gonna load some .243 and the handle broke while neck sizing, so I had to order a new one.[:(!]
Now my questions
After reading some post on other reloading forums I see that alot of people use a single stage for rifle and a progessive or turret for pistol.
Why is that? Is a single stage sturdier?
If that the reason I was looking at the Hornady Lock and Load or maybe the RCBS Rock Chucker for rifle and keep the Lee for pistol.
Next Question is do the bushing for the LnL accept standard 7/8" dies, couldn't find any info on that, Im currently using Lee dies and would like to continue using them so I dont have to buy new ones.
And last question is, I've looked on RCBS website and they decribe it as cast iron construction but couldn't find what the Hornady is made of. I've seen some made of cast alloy. What is the difference and which does everyone prefer,cast iron or cast alloy?
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Comments

  • rufe-snowrufe-snow Member Posts: 18,650 ✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    I've been using the Hornady "Lock and Load" system in my Rock Chucker for years. It makes the changing of the dies ultrafast, accurate ( Once the dies are set up for the proper dimensions ), and easy. It accepts all makes of 7/8 - 14 dies.

    "Cast Alloy" usually refers to cast aluminum, It's lighter, BUT for REALLY heavy duty sizeing and forming operations, you probably be better served with a cast iron press. If your just loading 243 & 223, I wouldn't worry about it. Go with the press you like best and can get the best deal on.

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  • bobskibobski Member Posts: 17,866 ✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    shake factor is one reason. when dropping wts of powder, you need to be uniform more on a rifle cartridge than you do with a pistol. turrets spinning, arms moving, things shaking (and breaking) can give different readings and drops. single staging a reload forces the reloader to depend on scales set off to one side, forcing him to weigh every single powder load. it requires it to be put in by hand and requires him to sit every bullet in place by hand, not allowing for mechanical error. most diehards set up 4 presses for each step, rather than to retool the press after one step is complete. the rcbs is stable and sturdy. but even with a bullet proof press like a rock chucker, its only as good as the bench its mounted to. if your table is flimsy, it will shake. it must be mounted to a slab of granite or eqivilent! so, with that said, you must decide if perfection is worth the extra effort by owning a solid press, or if recreational shooting is all you desire. if its the latter, the turret style will do. hope this helps.

    former air operations officer SEAL Delivery Vehicle Team 2. former navy skeet team, navy rifle/pistol team member. co-owner skeetmaster tubes inc.. owner/operator professional shooting instruction.
    Retired Naval Aviation
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    MO, CT, VA.
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  • IconoclastIconoclast Member Posts: 10,515 ✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    Many pistol calibers are straight wall cases so one can use a carbide sizing die and not worry about lubricating the brass before sizing and cleaning the mess afterwards. Most rifle cartridges are bottle-necked and require full length sizing (there are circumstances when this is not so) and thus lubrication. Messy to do this with a progressive machine and as bobski noted, typically one is seeking a greater degree of precision with a rifle. Another factor is volume . . . one can shoot several hundred rounds of handgun ammo in an afternoon, but doing that with a rifle is not as much fun . . . unless one is rocking and rolling. While some makers offer carbide dies in bottle neck designs, this is purely a matter of longevity . . . without going into detail, trust me, you do not want to try full length sizing of a rifle cartridge without lubrication, no matter the material used in the tool!

    "There is nothing lower than the human race - except the French." (Mark Twain) ". . . And DemoCraps" (me)
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  • jonkjonk Member Posts: 10,121
    edited November -1
    I only have ever used single stage presses as I shoot mainly rifle, and what pistol I do shoot is less often and never more than 50 rounds. I have tried the Lee C and O frame presses and the RCBS Rockchucker.

    For pistol cases, any of these presses is fine. You just aren't putting enough force on the cases to cause problems.

    For rifle, I would stay away from the C frame press, it is small, has a short arm, and is a bit wibbly wobbly so to speak.

    Lee's O press is a fine press in all regards but one. The two piece clamping arrangement that holds the handle in is made of cheap pot metal that after a good deal of resizing has been known to break (I broke one, a buddy two) this is especially true with collet neck dies. i got through several thousand rounds before this happened to me, my buddy only through a few hundred. Lee does have a nice warranty, but if it breaks after, you must buy the new piece. This piece isn't expensive, but you shouldn't have to consistently replace it. If Lee made this piece of better steel or altered the design otherwise, I would say their press would be among the best.

    The RCBS press is marvelous, but I don't like the way it catches spent primers.

    So I would say if you don't plan on reloading a lot, go with the lee. If you do, go with the rcbs. It's that simple.

    "...hit your enemy in the belly, and kick him when he is down, and boil his prisoners in oil- if you take any- and torture his women and children. Then people will keep clear of you..." -Admiral of the Fleet Lord Fisher, speaking at the Hague Peace Conf
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  • MIKE WISKEYMIKE WISKEY Member Posts: 10,046 ✭✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    IF YOU WANT A PROGRESSIVE PRESS GO DILLON, THE 550 WILL HANDLE ANYTHING SHORT OF CASE FORMING. BEST WARRANTY AND CUSTOMER SERVICE IN THE BUSINESS. I'VE LOADED .222/.223'S THAT HAVE S.D.'S <10FPS WITH THE 550.
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  • ATFATF Member Posts: 11,683 ✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    MIKE WHISKEY,what's the difference between warranties from Dillon or Hornady?? Aren't they both the same?
    [:)]

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    A little lemon and seltzer will remove those pesky ink stains after you've been fingerprinted. "
    Martha Stewart







    ATF,Eagle Guns
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  • MIKE WISKEYMIKE WISKEY Member Posts: 10,046 ✭✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    don't know about hornady, never had any of thier presses. about seven years ago my home burned, the only thing left of my dillon 450 was the ram and handle and the shell plates. sent them in and dillon replace every thing, even gave me a vidio (machine gun magic) to cheer me up. it don't get no better.
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  • warcrobwarcrob Member Posts: 358 ✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    One of the reasons why many reloaders use both progressive and sinngle stage pesses for reloading is the fact that bottle neck cartrigdes often require trimming prior to reloading. The decapping and resizing die often times will stretch the bottlenecked case past it's case demensions and thus require trimming to correct this.

    Secondly, you will most times get a more uniform powder charge using a ball type powder, If you are useing an extruded powder with large granules it is best to load on the single stage press and when measuring your powder charge use a powder trickler to fine tune the charge.

    I have a friend who loads bottleneck cartidges on his progesive press.
    Resizing is done on his single stage stage thentrimmed to length and then loaded on the progessive press using a ball type powder that meters well. He also checks about every tenth round to insure an accurate and uniform charge.

    If you ain't got a sense of humor you got no business bein here!
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  • ATFATF Member Posts: 11,683 ✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    warcrob,Good post.I agree with you 100%.MIKE WHISKEY Dillon has a great Warranty I'll agree, but so does Hornady .The reason I chose Hornady was the auto index and the Lock-N Load feature.
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    A little lemon and seltzer will remove those pesky ink stains after you've been fingerprinted. "
    Martha Stewart







    ATF,Eagle Guns
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  • gunnut505gunnut505 Member Posts: 10,290 ✭
    edited November -1
    Mike Wiskey/Mike Dillon....coincidence?
    I've loaded .32acp all the way up to 300win mag on my 550B over the last 12 years, and have never had a hiccup. My chronograph has proven time and time again that there is no difference in velocity or standard deviation between my single stage Rockchucker and my 550B.
    That said; I always use a trimmer before each session, I only use powders that meter through both the 550B's powder measure and my Lee powder measure, I make sure I am never distracted during loading, and I honestly can't tell the difference between either press' product.
    Lock'n'load might work, but once I've set up the dies for a particular caliber, I just leave them in the toolhead; no fuss, no muss, just pull 2 pins and slide the old head out, and slide the new head in. Saved me from a nasty bout of helicophrenia (from screwing dies in & out).
    I don't know of ANY other makers' warranty; but Dillon's is truly NO B.S., fast turnaround, get what you need now, maybe even some extras, and no shipping on warranty stuff. Oh yeah, it's FOREVER!

    If you know it all; you must have been listening.<br>WEAR EAR PROTECTION!
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  • fergusonmorse392fergusonmorse392 Member Posts: 432 ✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    Best value is the Lyman orange crusher. Will do anything the Rockcucker does for less money.
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