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Old May 7, 2006, 01:34 PM   #10
BigJakeJ1s
Senior Member
 
Join Date: August 8, 2005
Location: Arlington TX
Posts: 663
I'll tell you what I like, but like the others said, read a lot on your own before going on.

I use a hand press for reloading. It is simple, portable, and reliable. I do most of my reloading from my easy chair, and the rest on the kitchen table. It all packs away in one of those big rubbermaid totes when I'm done.

That said, I'm not easily distracted, so reloading in the family room or at the kitchen table is not a problem for me. If you are easily distracted, I would suggest you set up an area in a quiet corner of the house where you will not be disturbed. Losing track of what you're doing is dangerous when reloading. Double or missed powder charges can KILL you.

I started out with the Lee hand press, and it serves me well, making 45 colt ammo to feed my CAS habit. I still use it for depriming (it has a hollow ram that captures all the spent primers/debris) before I tumble clean the brass. I evenutally purchased a Huntington Compac Hand press, which is just as portable (moreso actually), but better built. It runs about $90 IIRC though, so it is more $$ than the Lee hand press.

If I needed/wanted a bench mounted, single stage press, there are three that I think of as being best in class: Lee classic cast press, Forster CoAx, and Redding Ultramag. The Lee classic cast is probably the best heavy duty O-frame press for the money anywhere, with a combination of featurs not found on any other single press. The CoAx is an incredibly strong, very easy to use press with a unique design to conteract most causes of inaccuracy in reloading presses. But if you like to dump powder from a measure while expanding on the press, or use most collet-style bullet pullers, it does not work for that. Also, the over-the top handle does not clear some of the longer micrometer seating dies (some Hornady w/microjust stems). The Redding ultramag is, IMHO, the best compromize between the two designs. It is a C-style frame press, but the linkage attachment avoids stress and flexure common in other C style presses. It can do anything an O-frame press can do.

I have used Lee, RCBS, and Hornady dies. Of those, I generally like the Hornady dies best, especially the seat/crimp dies. They have sliding alignment sleeves to guide the bullet straight into the case, and they all accept the optional microjust micrometer adjustment screw. And when you load a lot of lead bullets, your seater die gets dirty from the bullet lube. The Hornady seater disassembles while still on the press for cleaning without affecting the crimp or seating adjustment. Lee Factory crimp dies with collets are great for bottleneck pistol and rifle rounds, but I don't find them necessary at all for straight wall pistol rounds, unless you reload on a progressive press and/or don't trim your brass to uniform length. I seat and crimp 45 colt in one operation, and the hornady seater/crimper works great for me.

I like the Lee case trimmer/gauges. Inexpensive but very effective. Foolproof and simple to use.

I use the Lee autoprime hand-held priming tool. It works really well, but I'm going to try the new RCBS hand priming tool for a couple of reasons. It has a universal shell holder that works with virtually any cartridge, and does not need special purpose shellholders like the Lee. It also has a square primer tray that makes it easy to feed primers, right side up, into the tray from standard primer packaging (square trays).

I like digital calipers (vs analog dial) for a couple of reasons. One is that they convert between mm and inch with a push of a button, which comes in handy when some cartridges are metric based, and others are inch based. They also re-zero anywhere along their length at the push of a button. That comes in handy for comparing lots of lengths + or - relative to a benchmark. I've used a digital Frankford Arsenal one from Midway for years and it has been flawless. Just keep a spare battery around... (they last a LONG time, but they never go out at a convenient time!)

When you make a mistake, and you will, you'll need to disassemble cartridge(s). I like the Hornady Cam Lock collet style puller. It is quicker to use than other, screw-type collet pullers, and leaves the powder in the case when your done, where you can easily dump it on the scale to check it if needed. Some folks say it does not work for lead bullets for them, but it works great on 200 gr LRNFP 45 caliber bullets for me.

These are just my opinions, so don't give them any more weight than those of anyone else...

Andy
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