I am looking to buy a new reloading press and I'm looking for some ideas. I dont want to spend a fortune but I would like to get some type of turret or progressive. The lee presses and Lyman presses are quite a bit cheaper than some of the other companies. Does anyone have any experience with these? All I have now is an RCBS Partner press and it works fine but is slow.Thanks
Looking for a new reloading press
- Thread starter Rambo
- Start date
Bob Addy
New member
Rambo, it all depends on what you are going to reload for. Rifles I recommend the proven Rockchucker. If you are more into pistol I say the Dillon machines are tops. I have both setups. I have thought about a turrent but eventually the turrent will loosen up with heavy rifle reloading. The RCBS turrent does look interesting. I have two Rockchuckers set up beside one another and they work great. I got into the 2nd press pretty cheap when a guy quit reloading.
CWeeks
New member
I have thought about getting a new press kit. If I do it will be an RCBS hands down. I am sure the dillons and lymans.... are good. RCBS however has earned my business with their customer services mixed with their great quality.
I have seen a couple of RCBS presses that were 3 generations old. And after their customer service treated me 2 weeks ago their is no doubt RCBS will be my next purchase when I upgrade.
I have seen a couple of RCBS presses that were 3 generations old. And after their customer service treated me 2 weeks ago their is no doubt RCBS will be my next purchase when I upgrade.
Speaking of customer service, I moved nearly 300 miles three years ago and in the process I lost a few components from one of my Dillon presses. I called them up to order the parts, told them what had happened and that I needed to replace those items. Dillon sent me the parts for free, even after it was my screwup to begin with. Now that's customer service. Dillon has a lifetime "NO BS" warranty for all their presses, parts and tools. I have two RCBS Rock Chucker presses and 4 Dillon presses, those are the only two companies I'll buy from /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grinning-smiley-003.gif
IDBob
New member
I've been reloading for near 50 years now. Used most of the presses on the market. I've been using the Lee single stage and a Lee turret press now for quite a while. I can't tell any difference in accuracy between the ammo I loaded with my Rockchucker and with the Lee presses. All I've used make quality ammo.
I like the Lee turret press because I can put all three or four die pistol sets in it's own ten buck turret and just pop it in the press all set up and start loading. With the little Lee O frame single stage press I load both the 300 Rem Ultra-mag and the 8mm Rem mag along with a bunch of other calibers.
I've used RCBS, Hornedy, Co-Ax, Lyman and Lee presses and this is one place where quality reloads really don't depend on the price of the press.
This is my bench setup today.
Here's how my powder measures are set up, this gives lots of bench room.
Here's both presses in operation.
I like the Lee turret press because I can put all three or four die pistol sets in it's own ten buck turret and just pop it in the press all set up and start loading. With the little Lee O frame single stage press I load both the 300 Rem Ultra-mag and the 8mm Rem mag along with a bunch of other calibers.
I've used RCBS, Hornedy, Co-Ax, Lyman and Lee presses and this is one place where quality reloads really don't depend on the price of the press.
This is my bench setup today.
Here's how my powder measures are set up, this gives lots of bench room.
Here's both presses in operation.
I have a Lyman T-mag 2 turret that works well and isn't very expensive. I have three turrets for it that can be changed out in a matter of seconds. I had rockchucker also and sold it because I don't need it now. I've loaded 2000+ rnds past two weeks alone and usually about 500 every month for the past year. There is a tension bolt that eliminates any play and locks the turret , so as mentioned above slack is a non-issue.
The only press I would upgrade to would be a nice Dillon.
The only press I would upgrade to would be a nice Dillon.
AWS
Custom Accessory Maker & Retired PM Staff
I've got a Lyman T-Mag, All-American and a Tru-line w/ 7/8 head. It's nice to have all your dies set up and not have to change dies. Other than that they aren't any faster than a single stage. I like to weigh all my charges so wouldn't feel comfortable with a progressive press loading rifle ammo. I've had powder measures bridge or short load too many times to relie on them.
AWS
AWS
I have had the LEE and the quality is just not there. Buy cheap and get cheap. I also had a Lyman and the turret kept getting loose with rifle cases. When I got my Dillon, the quality is evident and no problems or issues. Pay the money and get top quality and you wont be looking later to dump the other stuff.
