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E.Marquez wrote:Second round on target
Lee classic current press kit from local shooting supply store in my little town $215 out the door

That's less than the midway price

E.Marquez wrote:

rotor wrote:You really don't need a single stage press, just put your universal decapper in one of the turrets and use as a single stage..

The Lee Turret is an auto indexing design yes? How do you disable the auto indexing so the turret says on the decapper die with each pull of the handle?

E.Marquez wrote:

rotor wrote: Frankford Arsenal DS-750

Thanks , though really looking for a 120v scale ], not battery.
So Dillon Precision 10483 D Terminator 900 Grain Electronic Scale 120 V has my eye right now.

rotor wrote: Turrets, buy a bunch and buy another riser as you probably will want a spare at least of one.

By a “bunch” Im assuming you mean one per caliber, not because they fail and I’ll need spares…yes?
The powder riser ..its just a machined part to extend height, no moving or wear parts that I can tell… What is the reason for a spare? Just to leave it screwed into the die and leave it set up when you remove the turret for storage of that set up caliber? Or do they fail in some way?

rotor wrote: Dies, I use Lee

Im apt to stay with Lee as I assume they work well with a Lee press and powder charger , ect. So unless there is a better mouse trap with another brand I’ll stick with Lee.

rotor wrote: Lee universal decapper die

Yup, looking for a cheap used single stage of any brand to mount and use with a de caper die, as I will be de priming before cleaning cases

rotor wrote: Primer system. I don't like Lee system on press but sometimes use it. I have a Redding universal hand primer

I’m going to try the Lee primer system but have read enough to get the idea its common for folks to bulk prime shells with a hand primer vice doing it in a single stage or turret for ease of use, comfort and convenience .

rotor wrote: Shell cleaning

I use a large, heated 25L Commercial Sonic Tank most every day now, its here, paid for, and I have great experience with it on cleaning gun parts, suspension parts and carburetors. Have cleaning soaps on hand that are safe for any material that cases will be made of.

rotor wrote: Books, I use Lee, Hornady, Speer and Lyman.

Thanks

rotor wrote: I use a case gauge with every caliber I reload- Lyman, Wilson.

Nice, I like, so add one gauge for each caliber .. The Sheridan case gauge looks interesting as well

rotor wrote: Powder dispenser,. You may want to order more inserts for pistol and rifle as once set they stay set.

That makes sense, though I can see that getting out of control real fast with having a lot of them…different guns, different powders, different bullets , different charge weights X x X x X = a lot of powder inserts to be marked, cataloged and stored…..

BUT if I find a load that really works for a specific rifle or pistol and know I will load it a lot, I can see storing the turret and dies in a box with the powder insert for that set up.

Thanks for the insight

E.Marquez wrote:The list....I said in my last post "Kits" were out because they have items I don't want...but I just looked hard at the Lee Precision-Classic-Turret-Press

Lee was one of the brands I was looking at hard, along with RCBS and Hornady.. Reddings is a leader in the press brand wars for sure and others as well... but for a lot of reasons, mostly as there are just Soooo many options and recommendations for why ALL are the best had to narrow it down or a choice was never going to get made.

So if I start with the Lee Precision-Classic-Turret-Press kit, the only throwaway component is the scale....it can go on ebay for 50% MSRP and be gone in a few days Id guess.
The Lee classic Kit includes
Auto-Drum powder measure
Powder Measure Riser
Large and Small Safety Prime
4-Hole Turret
Case conditioning tools included, Cutter, Lock Stud, Chamfer Tool, small and large Primer Pocket Cleaner, Lee case sizing lube, Case Length Gauge.
Lee Safety powder scale.
Modern Reloading Second Edition
NOTE: Lots on the Internet about the priming system issues of the Lee turret, for those with this press, are those real issues? Real but fixed-able? Real and you no longer use the press priming system because of the issue?

Beiruty I think i found the Lee add on case ejector you have https://inlinefabrication.com/products/ ... e-rotation YES?
All the above and

o Lee Safety Prime
o Primer "turner"- are they all relatively the same? better or worse?
o Digital scale - Just a scale, not a charge trickle type..looking for fast power up and calibration, holds calibration, repeatability and 0.1 grain accuracy ... What do you use that meets those specs or better, or what would you recommend?
o Measuring calipers- I have on hand
o Case prep- Sonic tank now with the appropriate soap, if that does not get me where I want to go, then a wet tumbler with magnetic stainless steel pins. Something like RCBS Rotary Case Tumbler.
o 2nd and 3rd reloading book, I understand them to be like potato chips, you cant have just one....the Lee kit comes with theirs, what other two would you suggest?
o Shell holders for my 4 primary calibers (if not included in die set)
o Dies for my 4 primary calibers Lee 223 REM ULTIMATE DIE SET, Lee 4 Die Set Pistol for 45 ACP , .380 and 9mm . If not Lee, whose dies and why please.
o Powder??? ... 5.56 77 grain SMK from a 16" 1:7 barrel ??
o Primers I'll need rifle and pistol sized to fit my brass.. Brand...does it matter? CCI, Winchester , Federal, ect?
o Case lube..is spray the way to go? whose? if not spray, what.. whose?

What did i forget?
What would you add even if not required?
This whole plan is because I can not but the ammo I want reasonable, then after that the self reliance of building my own, lastly money..I hold no illusions that it will save me money, and may actually cost more to produce then buying off the shelf ammo in bulk. After setting up to do it, and learning how... I likely wont load much 9mm, that turret head and dies will get put up for a NEED some day. .380 I'll load occasionally as my wife does like to shoot her optional carry gun and that little stuff is price unless found on sale. .45 ACP, we will just see if it works out.
.338 WIN MAg, .338 Lapua, .300 BLK (don't own yet, but next rifle in SBR I'm getting) will be considered based on use and cost vs time invested.

Thanks all, this has been an education....and it is not done yet.

erik

mrvmax wrote:Anyone can handload but avoiding catastrophic mistakes is the difficult part. You always hear people saying "I've been loading for xxx years...." but that means nothing. It only takes one mistake or some lack of knowledge to cause a catastrophic failure that blows up your rifle. One of the gun mags recently had an article about this with some stories of mistakes (some that caused death). Loading pistol calibers is easy compared to rifle loading. I would start with a single stage and go from there once you have loaded enough to get proficient. There is a lot of knowledge needed for just having the ability to size properly and my guess is that many loaders don't even know enough to do that properly. Start small and read all you can, especially on the mistakes (I tend to learn more from those).