what new reloading press ?

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I am thinking off getting a new press for my birthday in march, my little lee has served me well. i should send the lee in, it's frame is not quite inline like it should be. i am asking what use guys thing would be the best press for me. ps. i don't like the foster coax. i reload mostly rifle, some pistol like 357 and 44 mag.

I would like a nice beefy press, i do a bit of caes forming from all the odd cartridges i like and making. i would like a press with the bushin to use the large dies if needed. i hand prime so i don't care if the press is not setup for it. I am thinking the rcbs rc supreme. the mec looks nice to.

So id like to know if you where out for a new press witch one would you get. thanks. troy.
 
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I like my lee classic turret very much. Not crazy expensive to get up and running I made a lot of 300blk from cut down LC 5.56 brass, about 500 pieces and it didnt mind.

I did a lot of offline processing like hand priming too. so just doing a sizing operation, then the offline processing like polishing, military crimps, trimming, hand priming leaves you in good shape to finish by dropping powder, seating bullet, and crimping. while that still wasn't using 100% capability of the press, it was still faster than single stage. Yet still retaining all the possibility to be as slow or meticulous as you want for match ammo
 
I like my lee classic turret very much. Not crazy expensive to get up and running I made a lot of 300blk from cut down LC 5.56 brass, about 500 pieces and it didnt mind.

I did a lot of offline processing like hand priming too. so just doing a sizing operation, then the offline processing like polishing, military crimps, trimming, hand priming leaves you in good shape to finish by dropping powder, seating bullet, and crimping. while that still wasn't using 100% capability of the press, it was still faster than single stage. Yet still retaining all the possibility to be as slow or meticulous as you want for match ammo
if i go turret press i think the lee, but for now id like a single stage.
 
I am thinking the rcbs rc supreme. the mec looks nice to.

When I replaced my Rock Chucker after about 20 years, I went with the Rock Chucker Supreme because the color matched my reloading scale.:D

No seriously, I’ll bet the MEC is a good sturdy press, even though I’ve never actually looked at one except in pictures. I went with the Rock Chucker Supreme (and subsequently sold my old Rock Chucker) for the simple reason I’d recieved my .45-110 (2 7/8 inch case) Shiloh Sharps rifle, and wanted a taller press for reloading those tall cases, with tall, 500 grain bullets. I got by with my regular old Rock Chucker for a while, but the extra height of my new Rock Chucker Supreme made things a little easier.

So if the height of the press matters to you, you might want to compare the MEC to the Rock Chucker Supreme that way. However, as I said…I’ve never even seen a MEC for real, so I don’t know how tall they are.
 
When I replaced my Rock Chucker after about 20 years, I went with the Rock Chucker Supreme because the color matched my reloading scale.:D

No seriously, I’ll bet the MEC is a good sturdy press, even though I’ve never actually looked at one except in pictures. I went with the Rock Chucker Supreme (and subsequently sold my old Rock Chucker) for the simple reason I’d recieved my .45-110 (2 7/8 inch case) Shiloh Sharps rifle, and wanted a taller press for reloading those tall cases, with tall, 500 grain bullets. I got by with my regular old Rock Chucker for a while, but the extra height of my new Rock Chucker Supreme made things a little easier.

So if the height of the press matters to you, you might want to compare the MEC to the Rock Chucker Supreme that way. However, as I said…I’ve never even seen a MEC for real, so I don’t know how tall they are.
after dealing with rcbs on some broken parts and some other things, they got me liking them even more now. boy id love to see that rifle, i need a sharps in my life lol. i was looking at some 74s
 
Redding Big Boss II is a good HD unit, handles spent primers good and has a good primer feed setup if you prime on press. The RCBS Rock Chucker Supreme is beefy too but the handling of primers is not good, or seating primers. The Hornady new Iron press is built like a tank.

Dillon 550 is not beefy at all, there are lots of functions it can not due, like pull bullets. Most all AP are not built anywhere the strength as the presses I stated above. All have flex in the base.
 
OP: another big advantage to a turret type press, like the Lee classic, the turret heads can keep each cartridge set & ready to go.
I have 7 heads setup from 8mm to 223 & 357 mag for quick change over. Lee turret heads are inexpensive, like ten bucks.
Also use mine like a single stage.
 
yes down the road, but for now i am thinking singe stage press.

Whatever suits your needs best of course.

I'll throw this out there....I thought in addition to my LCT I wanted a single stage to leave dedicated to universal decap die. Bought the classic cast - nothing fancy. And at times was convenient to have right there and leave the turret alone. But eventually gave it to a buddy getting started in reloading since it wasn't worth the bench space. It's literally a 5 second process to pop out a turret, pop in another that has decap die in an otherwise unused hole.

Even if you had the LCT and the index rod never moved once - wasn't even there - just the convenience of leaving a turret ring setup is really nice. For the most part, you set your dies up once and that is it. Extra rings are cheap - like <$10 cheap. I liked the simplification of once I had a set of dies doing everything exactly as I wanted, I could change calibers or not load that caliber again for months & months, yet it was ready to go in seconds next time. Changing projectiles had to readjust seating die & auto disk, but that was it pretty much.

Either way, I'd lean toward Lee since you already have the shell holders you need. They're cheap and maybe universal and the Lee shell holders you have work on any brand press - I have no idea - so not a huge investment, but you do already have all the Lee ones you need.....
The Classic Cast I had seemed nice. Single stage wasn't for me, but that wasn't the press's fault.

But I get the "I only want single stage" mindset. My uncle is that way. He gripes about how he dislikes having to load .223 in volume to feed an AR because it takes so long....but won't consider a turret to make it more efficient. His solution was to add a second single stage so he can go from one operation to the next, double handling everything...... but whatever you're comfortable with is what matters most I guess.... And the Classic Cast did feel "stronger" than the LCT. Just beefier and you don't have the turret ring moving up which looks odd at first. Never broke anything on the LCT and it did countless thousands of rounds for me. .308, .223, 300BLK, .45ACP, .40SW, .357SIG, 9mm, .380ACP, .38SPCL, .357MAG I think are everything I ever did on it.

I don't know how much press is needed for reforming brass so the LCT might not a good choice if you do lots of that. Converting 5.56 to 300BLK is all I've ever done along those lines - it held up to that just fine, but other types might be a lot more demanding.
 
I'd go for the RCBS Rockchucker. A good, solid press that will easily handle your case forming. If you wish to automate it slightly for 357mag, you could always add a case kicker to your press?

See attached picture. I bought an inline fabrication micro riser as my bench is a wee bit too low, case kicker, primer deflector thingy, ergonomic roller handle and some bins for my cases.

20170904_221418.jpg
 
Whatever suits your needs best of course.

I'll throw this out there....I thought in addition to my LCT I wanted a single stage to leave dedicated to universal decap die. Bought the classic cast - nothing fancy. And at times was convenient to have right there and leave the turret alone. But eventually gave it to a buddy getting started in reloading since it wasn't worth the bench space. It's literally a 5 second process to pop out a turret, pop in another that has decap die in an otherwise unused hole.

Even if you had the LCT and the index rod never moved once - wasn't even there - just the convenience of leaving a turret ring setup is really nice. For the most part, you set your dies up once and that is it. Extra rings are cheap - like <$10 cheap. I liked the simplification of once I had a set of dies doing everything exactly as I wanted, I could change calibers or not load that caliber again for months & months, yet it was ready to go in seconds next time. Changing projectiles had to readjust seating die & auto disk, but that was it pretty much.

Either way, I'd lean toward Lee since you already have the shell holders you need. They're cheap and maybe universal and the Lee shell holders you have work on any brand press - I have no idea - so not a huge investment, but you do already have all the Lee ones you need.....
The Classic Cast I had seemed nice. Single stage wasn't for me, but that wasn't the press's fault.

But I get the "I only want single stage" mindset. My uncle is that way. He gripes about how he dislikes having to load .223 in volume to feed an AR because it takes so long....but won't consider a turret to make it more efficient. His solution was to add a second single stage so he can go from one operation to the next, double handling everything...... but whatever you're comfortable with is what matters most I guess.... And the Classic Cast did feel "stronger" than the LCT. Just beefier and you don't have the turret ring moving up which looks odd at first. Never broke anything on the LCT and it did countless thousands of rounds for me. .308, .223, 300BLK, .45ACP, .40SW, .357SIG, 9mm, .380ACP, .38SPCL, .357MAG I think are everything I ever did on it.

I don't know how much press is needed for reforming brass so the LCT might not a good choice if you do lots of that. Converting 5.56 to 300BLK is all I've ever done along those lines - it held up to that just fine, but other types might be a lot more demanding.
i change my die settings so often and i prefer to screw in the dies. the turrets just don't hold up like a heavy single stage press. one day i will get a turret, i just prefer the single.
 
I'd go for the RCBS Rockchucker. A good, solid press that will easily handle your case forming. If you wish to automate it slightly for 357mag, you could always add a case kicker to your press?

See attached picture. I bought an inline fabrication micro riser as my bench is a wee bit too low, case kicker, primer deflector thingy, ergonomic roller handle and some bins for my cases.

View attachment 822532
ya leaning to rcbs, i lie that kiker what they normally cost.
 
ya leaning to rcbs, i lie that kiker what they normally cost.
According to the website, $60 gets you the case kicker, die holder with rail (forgot to say, but it's also in my picture) and two bins (black or green). Bear in mind that the die holder will only work if the press is raised off the bench as this accessory is mounted underneath the press using the press bolts.

https://inlinefabrication.com/colle...s-rockchucker-single-stage?variant=1001965276
 
I started out on a rockchucker. It is a solid press. If you get one, the primer catcher in WelshShooter's photo is a good investment- the primers went all over the place when I decapped on mine. The rockchucker was more than enough press for anything I wanted to load until I got into 50 BMG. I bought the classic cast for the fifty, and it is also a very solid unit. I like the fact that the spent primers go down through the ram and into a tube. If you want to stay with a single stage, either will work well.
 
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