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Post by bula on Nov 26, 2018 12:03:15 GMT -5
A year and more ago I gave a single-stage press to one of my nephews and another to a young friend. Before either of them had them bolted down, both asked me about progressive presses. Sigh. Told them reloading is not a look at the watch thing, it is a look at the calendar thing. Over my loading table is a some years back calendar pic of ole Phil Robertson, Duck Commander fame, with the saying, " I'm a low-tech man in a high-tech world". That's me. The young friend is off and running with a 2nd mentor and the internet for info. loading 10mm and 45/70. The nephew, pretty sure the press is still sitting in the box. Feel like I'm batting .500..
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Post by sixshot on Nov 26, 2018 13:00:52 GMT -5
A progressive press isn't necessarily the best place to start for the beginning reloader. A single stage press might be a better start up press unless the new guy has an experienced reloader looking over their shoulder. Just my opinion, later on you can add a progressive if you really get the bug.
Dick
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Post by bula on Nov 26, 2018 13:07:08 GMT -5
Why the "sigh". Gave them what they needed. They of the "APP" gen..click, I get what I want. The young friend, trying hard to learn from ground up. Promise shown.
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Post by Burnston on Nov 26, 2018 13:58:43 GMT -5
As a young guy and a relative reloading rookie, I can appreciate your concern. I spent several years covering bases with a single stage "rock chucker" I found in my grandfather's shop. While said device may not be for everyone, I can say for myself that the patience gleaned from this single stage helped to reinforce principles of reloading, safety, and long-term gratification that a progressive or turret may not have taught me just starting out. I have since moved on from my trusty single stage, which sits on a bench of it's own always primed and ready to start cranking out my favorite .44 special load. Needless to say, starting on a single stage, along with significant advice and help from elders, provided an irreplaceable beginning in my reloading education.
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Post by paul105 on Nov 26, 2018 14:28:56 GMT -5
A little more than a year ago, my son got into rifle reloading. I gave him my spare rock chucker other necessities to get him going. He knows I have 4 Dillon's (2 SDBs, 2 550s), but he's shown no interest so far.
With that said, I got my first 550 back in the early 80s and only use the rock chucker for rifle ammo and occasionally load development. I don't enjoy reloading, just view it as a necessary task to shoot as much as I want (don't take that as "recklessly running the 550s or SDBs full out", because I don't).
Personally, I wouldn't hesitate to recommend a 550 to a new loader and suggest they operate it like a single stage until more familiar with the whole reloading process.
FWIW,
Paul
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Post by magnumwheelman on Nov 26, 2018 15:37:08 GMT -5
my problem is I have too many guns, in too many calibers... at least for progressive reloading... I'm the kind of guy that takes out 3 guns, & shoots 20 - 30 rounds through each in an afternoon... it's easier to load 50 rounds at a time on a single stage, than setting up for 20 rounds of 3 different calibers on a progressive... I seriously gave thought to a progressive when I was shooting CAS, & if I were shooting 1000's of rounds in a competition of some sorts, I'd have one... a turret press is as big as I have right now, out of 5 different single stage presses
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Post by coldtriggerfinger on Nov 26, 2018 20:16:53 GMT -5
Not being of the (mow down internet role play game) crowd. I don't do the massive volumes of shooting that some do. Making things last is important to me. And , I enjoy reloading when I have time. Also, I started reloading with Lee hammer smaker kits. I think it's a deal where if a young person wants to learn to reload and actually do it. They Need to buy the stuff and have at it like most of us did.
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Post by bula on Nov 27, 2018 8:39:38 GMT -5
I also started with a Lee kit that required a hammer, in 44mag for my SBH. Still lived at home. Drove Mom crazy. WHACK WHACK WHACK ! Fired test shots out my bed room window. HEY MOM ! FIRE IN THE HOLE !
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JSilva
.30 Stingray
Posts: 184
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Post by JSilva on Nov 27, 2018 8:57:33 GMT -5
I started with a Dillon 650. Doing so taught me the value of measure thrice and pull once, maintaining a proper headspace (place of thought) for the activity, and patience.
It’s easy to turn out lots of bad ammo in a progressive press and if you’re too eager, you’ll be like I was in the early days and have 200+ .45 acp that need to be pulled with an impact puller. I learn the hard way, even my dad says I’m hard headed and I’m certainly not a kid anymore! I suppose the point I’m trying to make is I often think about that pile of .45 that I keep around each time I get going at the bench. It reminds me of the priorities to hand loading . Patience, triple checking, no distractions.
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Post by crazycarl on Nov 27, 2018 15:57:48 GMT -5
I've got a Lee Classic Turret press & use it as an index-able single stage, vs. semi-progressive. I'm a perfectionist & like to check everything carefully & it's easier for me to break things up into batches- prime & size 100pcs, then charge those 100pcs, etc.
Takes me about an hour to do 100rds (pistol ammo), but I'm in no rush & just don't have a warm & fuzzy about progressives. Too many ways for something to go wrong, IMO.
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Post by bagdadjoe on Nov 27, 2018 19:36:56 GMT -5
My first press was a Forster Co-ax...I've loaded on it for the last 30+ years. It works as good as the day I got it. It's *fast* enough. I have all kinds of loaded ammo sitting around waiting to be shot, even though I have 3 AR's to feed. I ventured into Dillon land about 10 years ago. I still have a coffee can full of .45 acp labeled "do not shoot" because I'm not sure how many might be double charged. The Dillon 550 is gone, I kept the tumbler and media separator. I do just fine with the Co-ax...have a little Lee single stage I use to size bullets for powder coating.
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jsh
.327 Meteor
Posts: 884
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Post by jsh on Nov 27, 2018 20:08:10 GMT -5
Lots of good angles on do's and don'ts.
I ran a rock chucker for years. (Still do) I loaded piles and piles of ammo on it in the winter for summer matches. Sure I wanted a progressive, but at that point $$$ was in short supply. I learned a lot on the single stage, which in turn helped a bunch with getting progressives to run well later on.
I don't know how a body can be without a single stage. To me it is just a lot easier to do load work on when getting a new rig setup. I had wanted a Forster COAX for years, finally snagged one this past summer. It won't replace my RC, but has a place on my bench. I have three Hornady progressive presses and two Dillon square deals, the RC and the Coax all monted on my bench.
I have a couple of younger buddies that started reloading a few years ago, progressives from the start. They have more issues than I ever imagined. As mentioned it's easy to load a bunch of bad ammo in a hurry. One of them loaded close to 2k of 223, all of it is crap, buldged the shoulder. What a mess in an AR. I was always told you had to walk before you could run, and another, "look before you leap". I take heed of that and it has served me well.
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Post by coldtriggerfinger on Nov 27, 2018 20:15:59 GMT -5
A friend and I loaded up a thousand 9mm luger on his Dillon a long time ago. Once we got started making good ammo it went fast. But, there was plenty of dumped powder and bullet pulling to get to that . His machine had a buzzer that sounded if a case was double charged or didn't have . iirc. I want to get a Lyman turret press.
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Post by Cholla on Nov 28, 2018 0:32:45 GMT -5
Thank goodness my dad started me out as a 12 year old loading shotshells for my trap shooting competitions on a single stage press. I worked hard loading 500 shells for the state meet! FINALLY he got me a MEC 650. I loaded metallic on a Rockchucker for years, then moved to the country where I could shoot whenever I wanted, as much as I wanted and got an old Lyman 6-hole turret press, much better. Then one day I realized I was spending WAY more time loading than shooting and picked up an old Dillon 550B for my .44 Special and 45 Colt appetite. MUCH better. I do cringe when a new handloader starts a conversation with- "...yeah I've been watching youtube videos, and the guy says to load this way, and cast bullets that way..." UGH...what ever happened to reading manuals?
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Post by squawberryman on Nov 28, 2018 3:20:09 GMT -5
My first press was a 550 over ten years ago. I bought the bearing kit for the plate, micro adjustable powder bars, stuff for the powder funnel, etc. It has YET to put out a round. I've got an RCBS and two Hollywoods that I use. Now that my 8 year old likes to reload, the start date of the 550 seems out there. I have one of the Schutzen style Harrell's that is accurate as all get-out and he'd rather see the numbers on the electric scale. You go boy.
If you don't have a Harrell's powder measure, Christmas is coming. I don't know of a finer made tool out there for what we enjoy.
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