I am looking to get into reloading. Mt main goal is accuracy for the 308. That is the reason I want to reload, so I can get betther then factory match ammo.

I would like the abillity to do pistol calibers in the future. But for now I will concentrate on the 308 only. With the 308 being the ONLY rifle I will be loading for.

What would you recomend as far as presses go? A single, turret or progressive. I know I do not need a progressive, nor will I ever. I will never be loading for quantity, only quality. So I was thinking the single stage was a good choice to go with.

What is the main difference between a single stage and a turret press? What is the advantage of a turret over a single? Which would you recommend for my situation?

Also which brand would you suggest?

Thanks for the advise in advance. I know this is the place to come to for a informed answer on this question.

FWIW,
I would suggest a Forster Co-Ax Press and Forster Bench Rest of Ultra dies. If anyone makes a better single stage press I've yet to see it. I would personally avoid a Turret press, however, if you want one make sure it's a Redding.

Regards, Matt.

Might I suggest the RCBS Rockchucker master kit, and RCBS dies....You will have it the rest of your life and it will serve you WELL!!
Turret presses are fine but are best left for smaller calibers.
ShondorP

Embalmer, As with the posters above, I would recommend that you select a single stage press. I reload a lot of ammunition, and feel well served by my single stage presses. It is my opinion that you have had recommended to you 2 very nice presses. There are others with small differences in quality---I started out on a very inexpensive Lee O-Frame press--It loaded ammo of as good of quality as any press on the market, though I found myself continuously tightening the handle back on....Today I use an RCBS Rockchucker and that old Lee for numerous rifle and handgun calibers. I would be as happy with the other major brands (including Midway), And can see little difference. I do prefer Lee dies, but I use RCBS dies with no problem...I have tried no other brands. The thing about reloading is this--Your brain is the most important piece of equipment, followed by scales, measuring equipment, your eyes, ...you get the point-the press is WAY down the list...You sound like the kind of guy who will really enjoy making handloads. Regards, Chuck

Dittos to the recomendation of the Forrester Co-ax press. It is far and away the best single stage press.

You asked the benefit of a turret press, the primary benefits are you can rapidly change the dies, and they are already screwed into the turret plate, so you don't have to screw the dies in and out each time you change them. I used to have a Lymann turret which had sloppy tollerances, but replaced it with the co-ax. Since dies slide in and out of the co-ax, they are changed as quickly as a turret.

I load both rifle, and pistol on the co-ax works fine for both. If you really want to crank out the pistol ammo, then you'll want a progressive.

The Forster Co-ax and the RCBS Rockchucker are both great presses. They are solid and align very easily. Also, they are about as strong as they come.

As to the turret style presses, I am not a fan. They may be a little faster since you can rotate the dies into position, however, I think you would be just as well off getting a loc 'n load from Hornady. At least you won't have the potential problems of moving parts. And, in my opinion, precision reloading is best served with a single stage. Or at least when you are first learning.

When I decided to get into reloading, I bought the Rockchucker kit. Oddly enough, after many years, I own several more presses, yet I always resort back to the RCBS for working up accurate loads. I also use a Co-ax, but I am more comfortable with the RCBS. I guess I'm just sentimental.

Accuracy will be acquired through consistency and attention to detail. The press will help, but most good presses will do fine. I prefer Redding dies for accuracy. And, I weigh and measure everything.

Have fun with it!

Hey Embalmer,

No one ever made a mistake by starting with a single stage press like an RCBS Rockchucker, a Forster, a Lyman, or a Hornady. All make very good and strong presses.

Best wishes,
Dave Wile

I would recommend a turret press such as a Lyman T-Mag II. This press is used as a single stage, much like the others, except that once the three to five dies are properly adjusted and locked in place you don't have to remove them. To work on a round all you do is rotate the turret to align the die to the shell, then rotate again to align the next die to the same shell, and to the next... This saves you the trouble of having to remove the die after a stage in the reloading operation, and having to install another die for the next stage of the reloading process. The only problem with the T-Mag II is a "tiny" movement that is felt at the turret's stop, but it is not bad enough to create any problems.

My favorite of all the turrets is the one made by Redding, specially the newest model. The turret will hold seven dies, and is built like a tank. This press is almost three times as expensive as the Lyman T-Mag II, but it should last a few hundred years of use. Best of all, there is not movement whatsoever at the turret when seating bullets. The Redding press the the "Mother" of all turret presses.

[ 01-01-2003, 00:14: Message edited by: Ray, Alaska ]

Most important:an accurate scale,imo.
I do have Lyman,RCBS and Lee dies and favor the RCBS's.A single stage press is the most reliable.
Little difference between most brands,so I suggest to stay with the one you can easely obtain,and can get spare parts for it.
Hugh.

I have to also recommend the RCBS Rockchucker. This is the press all others are compared/judged by. However the Forster Coax is also a fine press, but it is unduly expensive, selling at almost twice the price of the RCBS. No press made today can produce any finer or more accurate ammo than the Rockchucker. I've been using one now for about 35 years myself.

I agree with the other poster, in that IMHO, Redding dies are probably the best manufactured today, from a standpoint of precision and accuracy, but that could be considered a debateable point by others. I have and do use RCBS, Hornady, Lyman, Lee, Forster, and C & H dies, as well as Redding. I cannot say that any of them are bad, but I feel that the Redding dies are the most precision.

Regards, DLM

I have tried many presses and loaded many thousands of rounds. All of the above listed presses are good. I personally would get a Lee turret press, which costs about the same as most of the other single stage presses. It gives you the option of loading pistol ammo in some quantity later, if you like. Not having to continually remove and replace the dies adds consistancy to your load as well.

From an engineering viewpoint, the Lee press is superior because of its inexpensive cost with superior performance. Lee's inovative use of materials allows this.

I gave my daughter a Lee turret press when she asked for reloading equipment.

I use my Rockchucker on 98% of my loading. I haven't heard anyone mention Dillen presses. I own a Square Deal D for my PPC pistal ammo and a 550 for small varmint loads. They seem to do a great job and are a real time saver. But my Rockchucker still gets the most use. Great piece of equeptment.

[ 01-01-2003, 03:03: Message edited by: ol crip ]

Another vote for the Co-Ax, especially if you're not scraping pennies. The locking rings on the dies make it almost as fast as a turret press and the universal shell holder is great. However, I really don't think it will do any better job from an accuracy standpoint--I just think it's a better made more convenient tool. I agree that powder measure and scale combo is very important here too.

Good Luck!

Embalmer, do yourself a favor and check out the new Redding T-7 turret press. Go to the Redding website and look at it's features. Midway sells this press for about half of msrp. Also read the reviews. I use a progressive, but if I was in the market for a turret, this would be the one.
Bronson7

Embalmer, I would suggest Redding's T-7 even just to get started. Buying kits, as far as I'm concerned is a waste of good money. Though If you were set on a kit I would have to suggest Redding's "Big"Boss Delux Reloading Kit, part #45000 sugg. retail is $ 598.50 but it can be had much cheaper. Try Lock, Stock, & Barrel. This kit come with one of the best Powder Measurers the Model # 3BR, and an above average trimmer, the Model #1400, a scale equal to or better than RCBS's 505, and has everything needed to get started. Redding's "Big"Boss has the large die bushing that the Boss doesn't have, and a deeper throat than either the Boss or the Rock Chucker. I don't see any benifit to the Co-Ax, especially if your going to be using a hand primer, and it doesn't come in a kit anyway. But as I said I would prefer the T-7 myself, Willson Trimmer, Redding Powder Measurer, scale, and Redding Die's.

Just my poor man's 2 cent's

Phil

After trying the Dillon XL650 (which I sold asap...) I discovered the best of both worlds, the Ponsness Warren Metallic II.

I konw that this brand is very little mentioned in the press or the forums, but it's a marvel.

Give it a look, it's worth every dollar.

Regards, Gus

Embalmer,

If you are willing to take the time, check out the gun shows in your area. I have found several used presses at gun shows, and have several times seen rockchuckers go for $25-$35. Often you can get a complete reloading outfit for about $100, which usually includes a lot of small tools like primer pocket cleaners.

Just a thought. I like bargains, and have not bias against used goods.

I have been using a Redding UltraMag for two years now and are happy with it. I use it to load 308 all the way to 450 Rigby without any problems. Good luck.

Thanks for all the advise guys. Desert Rat, I do plan to check out the local gun shows. A coouple are coming up in feb.

It looks like the majority of the posts lean towards the Rockchucker. Which seems to be the overwhelmingly favorite by everyone for a beginer. With the Co-Ax coming in secong and the T-7 and T-mag coming in after those.

The idea I like about a turret press is the set it and forget it idea of it.

When using a single stage press is there alot of adjusting to get back to your original load settings once you have worked up the perfect load? What I'm worried about is having to adjust everything each time I switch dies to get back to the setting I know works. Is that even a concern? Or can everything be set then just popped in with the single stage press? I'm worried about consistancy with the switching between dies with the single stage presses. Is this something I should be worried about? Or is it a non issue? I have not seen the reloading process so I dont know exactly what is involved. Although I have read up on it. Seeing it person will make a world of difference.

Most of the dies have set screws, or in the case of the Lee dies (much superior in my opinion) an O ring to hold the retaining nut in place. Theoretically, you can remove dies and put them back in with no problem. In practice, some of the time the set screws come loose and they have to be readjusted. Similarily, if you use different bullet weights, the bullet seater will have to be readjusted most of the time. I like the Lee turret, because you can buy extra turrets and leave the dies in them, and you don't have to take the dies in and out for resizing and bullet seating. Consider the Lee collet dies for extreme accuracy. Lee even has a warranty on them that says if you can produce more accurate ammo with someone else's dies, he will refund your money. The cost of Lee dies is so low that you can afford to buy a turret with each set, if you like. I'd recommend buying the dies from an ad in shotgun news or midway. You can get the more common calibers for $10 without a shell holder, and about $15 with the shell holder.

There are also some excellent deals on used presses out there. I've seen $800 press set ups go used for $100. Some of the old, out of production presses were great, and well worth it when you can pick them up for pennies on the dollar - and that was when a dollar an hour was mimimum wage!

the dies are not hard to setup.I use a log book,and write the threads that are exposed for each caliber,and even if the set screw loosens I can put the die pretty much back where it goes.if you get the rock chucker you can later convert it to a manual indexing progressive.the die plates can be bought seperately,they slide right in and lock down with pins.you can setup a die plate with a complete set of dies for 1 caliber,then just slide in another when changing calibers.

Embalmer,
I'm only a year into my handloading hobby and also load exclusively for .308 match grade ammo.
I just wanted to point out that there are only two dies used for loading. Regarding the concern about needing to fidget with the dies every time you change them I have found this to be a non-issue for me as I full length resize so when you put your sizing die in you just screw it in to the point where the ram just hits it and you can feel with the press arm that you have made light contact and feel the arm go just past the resistance and you're done. Total time 30 seconds to 1 minute max.
The other die is for seating the bullet and this is where I went with the RCBS competition dies. The seating die has a micrometer adjustment and a port on the side to place the bullet on the case as it comes up to the port. I set the micrometer a little long and then using the micrometer I dial it in, check the round with a comparator, dial it some more if necessary and you're done. The micrometer makes it very easy to dial in. If your comparator says you're .020" long then dial in .020" more on the micrometer and you're done. In reallity this may take 3 steps as the last one I would actually dial in .018" to make sure and then finish. Total time 1 to 4 minutes max Closer to the 1 minute mark after you do it a couple times.
So I'm sure that I may be opening myself up for some polite disagreement but I would get a Rock Chucker and spend the extra money on the competition dies and then on your scales, calipers, comparator(s), micrometer and other quality tools.
Just one beginner to another. Good Luck

I will probably end up getting the Rock Chucker set and a good set of Comp or Benchrest Dies. It looks like that will be the best way to go along with the most advised.

With the Rock Chucker I can get the Piggy Back Conversion to make the press into a Progressive later on down the line right? If that is the case, then I'm set. Then it is just a matter of finding the best deal on the RC kit.

Embalmer I think FWIW that you have good plan but make sure you recognize the difference between a 'turret' and a 'progressive'. You can convert the 'Chucker' into a turret, not into a progressive. If you are like me you're probably excited about getting into handloading. I would also like to point out that IMHO it's wise to get the best equipment you can afford because in most cases there is no 'upgrade path' for most tools. For example you can't convert a dial caliper into a digital, so because there is no upgrade path, when/if you do decide to get a digital caliper then your dial set will move off the bench and probably never see the light of day. This applies to everything from scales to throwers vs dispenser and many other tools. It took me a looong time to decide I would reload primarily due to the $numbers$. If you add up the price of bullets, powder, primers and brass you will find a difference of x pennies per round as compared to factory match stuff (which is excellent ammo). It takes a LOT of rounds to offset the price of your loading equipment, manuals, tools, workbench, time etc. Again, this is from one new guy to another. Whatever you decide, best of luck and enjoy, what can be, a very satisfying experience of firing rounds you built down range. Enjoy...
XWind

http://www.corbins.com/sitemap.htm Take a look at this press I do not own one but will. To me it is the best press on the market at a fair price.