Reloading Press / Dies

[pbrazendale]

Hi all,

I'm looking to buy a reloading press, dies and some scales in advance of my FAC arriving.

I will be primarily loading .357 and .44 loads for gallery rifle.

What I want to know is what is the best route to go down? There seems to be a high availability of Lee stuff but I've read mixed reviews, The RCBS is more expensive and seems harder to get hold of, but it gets better reviews.

What is everyone's experience? Would a Lee press and does be a good starter for the beginner doing the above? If so which press would be the best to get? Or should I go RCBS?

Help would be greatly appreciated.

Kind Regards


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[phaedra1106]

First press go for a classic "O" frame single stage, it will last you for life. I have no problems with Lee gear, yes a few bits aren't great but their presses and dies are fine.

My choice would be either a Classic Cast Breech Lock or the non-cast version, the breech lock allows quick changes of dies between operations and calibres.

As for dies, the Lee carbide 4 die pistol sets are excellent value.

I load my gallery rifle ammo on two Lee progressives (44mag & 300aac) but these are not for beginners and can be a PITA to get set up. When you're more confident a 4 hole turret press is great for 357/44.

http://www.henrykrank.com/index.php?mai ... ts_id=2334

http://www.henrykrank.com/index.php?mai ... ts_id=1987

http://www.henrykrank.com/index.php?mai ... ts_id=2299

http://www.henrykrank.com/index.php?mai ... ts_id=2301

This is the classic turret, it has more clearance than the standard turret so you can also load 308 etc. on it,

http://www.henrykrank.com/index.php?mai ... ts_id=1553

Apart from those get a good beam scale (RCBS) don't get the Lee one.

[WelshShooter]

I can only echo what Phaedra has said, but would like to further highlight the importance of carbide die sets. These do not require you to lubricate the cases compared to standard steel dies which saves you a lot of time. I have RCBS carbide die sets for my .357 but I have the Lee ones for my .30 carbine. Both die sets work well so just get the cheaper of the two.

[saddler]

What Phaedra said, almost. to Jeff
The Lee Classic Cast is a great press & will load anything up to .50-BMG

Lee also make a great unit for lower volume reloading & load development. The Lee Loader
All you need is a flat work surface & a small plastic hammer/wooden mallet...still got the first one I bought over 30 years ago.
Loads a round at a time from an empty fired case to complete cartridge. Great little unit to learn the basics on & build up confidence/experience.

Another very very good press, that I feel is above the Lee one in build quality is the RCBS Rock-Chucker: been around for decades & has had several minor changes/tweaks - so easy to find 2nd-hand to save a few quid. There is even a PiggyBack unit for it to change it into a progressive press.

Lee die sets are worth the outlay. There are better available, but the price jumps accordingly. The 4-die sets are good.

I can only echo what Phaedra has said, but would like to further highlight the importance of carbide die sets. These do not require you to lubricate the cases compared to standard steel dies which saves you a lot of time. I have RCBS carbide die sets for my .357 but I have the Lee ones for my .30 carbine. Both die sets work well so just get the cheaper of the two.

While it's not necessary to lube for most pistol caliber cases, it IS of benefit to lube a few cases from each batch, to smooth things out a little; say every 10th or so.
Esp. true the case if nickel cases are used, or longer cases such as the .30M1 & the .357

[WelshShooter]

I can only echo what Phaedra has said, but would like to further highlight the importance of carbide die sets. These do not require you to lubricate the cases compared to standard steel dies which saves you a lot of time. I have RCBS carbide die sets for my .357 but I have the Lee ones for my .30 carbine. Both die sets work well so just get the cheaper of the two.

While it's not necessary to lube for most pistol caliber cases, it IS of benefit to lube a few cases from each batch, to smooth things out a little; say every 10th or so.
Esp. true the case if nickel cases are used, or longer cases such as the .30M1 & the .357

That's a good point - the .30M1 does require every other case to be lubed since the case walls are tapered, but straight. I've never had to lube the .357 cases but you do need a bit more elbow grease.

You can lube the cases to ease the sizing out but it's not necessary. If you don't lube cases for standard steels dies then you'll just rip the rim off the case when trying to pull them out.

[pbrazendale]

Ok guys, thanks for all the replies, if I go with the Lee Classic Turret press, am I right I can place the 4 dies from the set into the turret and just turn it round to select a different die at each stage?

Also if i get the .38spl 4 die set do I just need to back it off a bit for the .357?

Thanks in advance.


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[Andy632]

Ok guys, thanks for all the replies, if I go with the Lee Classic Turret press, am I right I can place the 4 dies from the set into the turret and just turn it round to select a different die at each stage?

Also if i get the .38spl 4 die set do I just need to back it off a bit for the .357?

Thanks in advance.


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Yes & yes.

[WelshShooter]

[...]
Also if i get the .38spl 4 die set do I just need to back it off a bit for the .357?

Thanks in advance.


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I have the RCBS die kit for .357 magnum/.38spl. The dies are set up for .38spl but includes a "space/washer" ring that you slip over the die then thread into the press. The spacer ring is the same thickness as the difference in case length between .38spl and .357mag. I don't know if this is the same as for Lee dies.

[ukrifleman]

A Lee Classic turret is a good buy, as you can use it as a single stage press or, fit the indexing rod and turn it into a `semi progressive for pistol calibres.

I use the indexing rod on my Lee Classic turret to load 44-40 and 45 Colt with a Lee auto disc powder measure fitted to the turret and can crank out up to 200 rounds an hour once I get a rhythm going.

I remove the indexing rod when loading bottle neck rifle cases and you just turn the turret by hand to the next die.

Having die sets fitted to individual turrets makes changing calibres fast and easy.

Lee dies are good value, but buy a good quality beam scale such as Redding or RCBS and avoid cheap digital scales as they tend to suffer from `wandering zero`.

Check out the Lee Precision web-site, as they have promotional videos and you can see a turret press in action.
ukrifleman.

[FredB]

I have both Lee and RCBS presses and every make of die set that you can think of. All volume produced ammo is loaded on a 35 year old Lee turret press. The RCBS single stage press gets used for operations such as case forming for obsolete calibres.
All fired brass goes through a Lee universal de-capping die in an old, small Lee single stage press. After cleaning, brass is re-capped in Lee hand priming tools----the old types.
At one time I had four 357mag revolvers and loaded a lot of ammo for them: for this purpose I had a Lee progressive loading press. These are great if you only use one calibre and one bullet with one charge. When the revolvers went, I gave it away.
My favourite gallery calibres are 310 Cadet and 8.15 x 46R. These are both loaded without the use of a press or dies.
Fred