[BodySnatcher]

Looking for an experienced reloading eye to review my purchases so far to help me sort out what is necessary from what is extra and what is crap.

I'll be reloading .30-30; .40S&W; & 9mm (of course more in the future )

So far I have aquired:

Manuals --
Modern Reloading 2nd edition
Lyman Reloading 49th edition
5 or 6 powder manufacturer's reloading pamphlets

Press--
Lee Classic Turret Press
(2) extra 4 hole turrets

Dies--
Lee .30-30 Win DLX 3 Die Set
Lee .40S&W/10MM Carbide DLX Carbide 4 Die Set
Lee 9MM Lugar Carbide DLX Carbide 4 Die Set

Priming--
Lee Safety Prime Combo

Powder Handling--
Lee Pro Auto Disk
Lee Auto Disk Riser
Lee Swivel Adapter
Lee Charge Bar Adjustable
Powder Funnel

Scale & Measures --
Hornady 1500 GS Scale
Dial Caliper

Error correction device--
Graf Bullet Puller

Misc.--
(3) Lee Round Die Box
Lee Resizing Lube
Lee Case Conditioning Kit

Known Needs--
ABCs of Reloading 9th Edition
Powder(s)
Primers (CCI 200 & CCI 500)
Bullets
Reloading Bench

Anything else that is Manditory? Nice to have?

 

[beaglesam]

Brass tumbler and media

 

[jjfuller1]

yeah just a tumbler for making en em look purty.. you have way more listed gear than i did to start with. lol.. now get the bench together and your ready to start

 

[steve4102]

Case Trimmer.

 

[44ablast]

Get one of those 6"sand sifters, they are great for removing media from your cases. It's a lot faster and cleaner than doing it by hand.

 

[Catfish]

I believe that you made 1 big mistake, but you can live with it for a while. The Lee press is not heavy enough to hold up to heavy loading. I have been loading my own since 1965 and over the years have had alot of Lee stuff, and it all let me down sooner or later. For low volume loading pick up an RCBS Rock Chucker, Layman Orange crisher or similar. For hogher volume Dillon is the best on the market. You can get all kinds of data form the net, but never use any of it without cross checking it with a good source, ie loading manual, or powder manufacture web. page.

 

[Txhillbilly]

I believe that you made 1 big mistake, but you can live with it for a while. The Lee press is not heavy enough to hold up to heavy loading. I have been loading my own since 1965 and over the years have had alot of Lee stuff, and it all let me down sooner or later. For low volume loading pick up an RCBS Rock Chucker, Layman Orange crisher or similar. For hogher volume Dillon is the best on the market. You can get all kinds of data form the net, but never use any of it without cross checking it with a good source, ie loading manual, or powder manufacture web. page.

Give up on the Lee bashing,Catfish.
I've been at it for over 30yrs myself,and have always used a Lee Turret press for my reloading needs.I have loaded countless thousands of rounds with my stuff without failure.
Yes,I have replaced a few parts that had a decent amount of wear on them,but no matter what brand of press you have,if you use it a lot there will be parts that begin to wear over time.

I'd put a Lee turret press up against any other brand's Turret press anyday of the week.
Lee does have some things that are completely useless,like their scale and powder dispenser.But,Lee dies and turret presses are as good as any other brand made.
I use my Deluxe Turret press for my pistol ammo,and my Classic Turret for all my rifle ammo,and I load a lot of ammo with both.

To the OP,The only thing that I'd change is the powder dispenser.You can use the Lee on your pistol calibers if you want,but it will probably give you more trouble than it's worth,depending on the powder you use.
Redding,RCBS,and Hornady all make great powder dispensers,I personally use a Redding BR3,and RCBS Uniflow when I'm not using my electronic dispenser.

 

[BodySnatcher]

@beaglesam -- thank you -- shiny clean brass is next to godliness!

@jjfuller1 -- bench will be built tomorrow -- 4x4 legs, 2x4s laminated together for the substrate of the table top with 3/16 cold rolled steel as a working surface -- that press isn't going anywhere!

@steve4102 -- Thank you, on a double check I missed a trimmer guage. Thanks for catching that.

@44ablast -- You and beaglesam are going to cost me with the 'budget officer'

@catfish -- and dare I say I drive a Ford? You are a Chevy man correct? Thank you for the multi-source advice for powder loads.

@Txhillbilly -- Thanks. I knew the powder dispenser was a weak point for rifle loading. I'll have to dip and scale for now, hence the digital rather than the balance scale. I have a very strict 'budget officer' and to get this far I had to pull out the Father's Day, Birthday, and its MY money arguments. That last one will be the cause for 2 weeks of celibacy... Thanks for being a voice of reason.

 

[44ablast]

@beaglesam -- thank you -- shiny clean brass is next to godliness!

@jjfuller1 -- bench will be built tomorrow -- 4x4 legs, 2x4s laminated together for the substrate of the table top with 3/16 cold rolled steel as a working surface -- that press isn't going anywhere!

@steve4102 -- Thank you, on a double check I missed a trimmer guage. Thanks for catching that.

@44ablast -- You and beaglesam are going to cost me with the 'budget officer'

@catfish -- and dare I say I drive a Ford? You are a Chevy man correct? Thank you for the multi-source advice for powder loads.

@Txhillbilly -- Thanks. I knew the powder dispenser was a weak point for rifle loading. I'll have to dip and scale for now, hence the digital rather than the balance scale. I have a very strict 'budget officer' and to get this far I had to pull out the Father's Day, Birthday, and its MY money arguments. That last one will be the cause for 2 weeks of celibacy... Thanks for being a voice of reason.

Na,my suggestion is the cheapest out of all.go to any dollar store, wallyworld,walgreens and go by beach/ pool toys and get one for 1.00$ , it will make separating brass & media a1000 times easier,faster, and cleaner .

 

[BodySnatcher]

Oh, THOSE sand sifters! Haha, good idea. Thanks for the clarification, I had something entirely different mind. Doh!

 

[locutus]

I, too, have been reloading since 1965. both as a hobby, and for 5 of those years commercially.

And after extensive experience, both hobby and commercial loading, I could never, in good, conscience, recommend LEE equipment to anyone.

It just doesn't even come close to the quality of the other brands.

And yes, it will work, and load safe and shootable ammo. But put it side by side with Redding, Dillon, RCBS, Lyman, Hornady, etc, and the difference in quality is quite obvious, even to the untrained eye.

Sorry guys, but in reloading equipment, as in everything else in life, you get what you pay for..

 

[Txhillbilly]

I, too, have been reloading since 1965. both as a hobby, and for 5 of those years commercially.

And after extensive experience, both hobby and commercial loading, I could never, in good, conscience, recommend LEE equipment to anyone.

It just doesn't even come close to the quality of the other brands.

And yes, it will work, and load safe and shootable ammo. But put it side by side with Redding, Dillon, RCBS, Lyman, Hornady, etc, and the difference in quality is quite obvious, even to the untrained eye.

Sorry guys, but in reloading equipment, as in everything else in life, you get what you pay for..

I beg to differ!
Opinions are like A$$holes,Everybody's got one.

Now with a Progressive type reloader,you are correct,but with a Turret press,I'd rather use a Lee than the stuff that RCBS and Lyman produce.Both of those brands only support the turret in the center,and the turret will always move when you push the cartridge into the dies.
I have tried them all,and setup dial indicators to record the turret movements.While none were really great with new equipment,I'm sure that with age,those numbers would really get farther out of being centered than I'd care for.With the Lee,the turret plate is supported from the outside of the ring,and although it does move,it is constant,and doesn't change.

I like/have products from all of the reloading mfg's.They all have some products that are made better or work better that another brand does.
But a Cast iron press by RCBS/Lyman isn't any better than a Cast Iron press by Lee.

Some friends/shooters of mine won't use anything for reloading unless it's painted green.They only use RCBS Competition dies,and are very anal about their ammo.We had an argument about reloading equipment one day,and they bet me that ammo out of my equipment wouldn't shoot as good as theirs.
I wrote down all of their loading data,and loaded some ammo exactly to their specs.We went to the range,and the ammo that I loaded with my Lee Turret press,and with Lee Deluxe dies shot just as well as the ammo that they produce with their equipment.
Was it luck? No,I don't think so,I've always shot really well with my ammo.

If you like a certain brand of reloading equipment,that's great. But to say that Lee's isn't worth having,your either a brand snob,or have only had some bad experience's with something that they made at one time.
Anything made by man or machine can break or have problems,and yes I've broken a few things from just about all of the reloading brands.That doesn't keep me from using other things that they make.

 

[robocop10mm]

I will support Hillbilly on this one, kind of. Lee makes some products that are on par with green or orange. Their dies work well. I use dies from RCBS, Lyman, Dillon and Lee. I have no complaints with any of them. I happen to use Dilon RL450, an RCBS Jr. single stage, a Lyman 450 lubrisizer and a MEC shotshell loader. I would have no reservations in using the Lee single stage or turret press. I would avoid the Lee progessives. Lee bullet molds are good products. Their handles leave a bit to be desired, but the molds are great values.

 

[willfully armed]

I don't recommend the steel top.

A laminate old kitchen counter is what I used. Won't conduct electricity, won't let oil soak in won't rust....

 

[BodySnatcher]

Okay, so I need to pick up some green and orange paint.

The steel I have for the bench top is 25 years old, and still has no rust on it.

Now the issue of conducting electricity... I'll have to think on that.

 

[tiberius10721]

You made some good choices with the equipment you bought. Do not let anybody tell you that your lee turret press is not a good press because its not built as heavy duty as other presses. This silly argument was settled many years ago. The fact is All modern day presses are way overbuilt for the amt. of force needed to reload ammunition. When you get a chance buy a chronogragh this will help give you a better idea of what is going on with your reloads as far as fps and pressure. I have a lee turret press which i have used for 12 years without any problems.

 

[willfully armed]

Okay, so I need to pick up some green and orange paint.

The steel I have for the bench top is 25 years old, and still has no rust on it.

Now the issue of conducting electricity... I'll have to think on that.

Now, a good layer( or ten) of oil based high gloss on that plate.....

 

[ktmboyz]

+1 on the Chrony, not absolutly needed but very valuable to figure out where you are with you loads. but you can get by with out that for a while,, put it on you x-mas list

Another if you plan to hunt with your rifle loads would be primer pocket sealer, and a primer pocket cleaner.

 

[Vikingdad]

A steel top is fine for modern smokeless powders but as I understand it if you ever use black powder steel is a big no-no.

I think a lot of these opinions differ because of the volume of reloading they do. I did have a Lyman turret press that I inherited and it was nothing but trouble for me. It had seen little use with the previous owner and virtually none with me. I gave it away. I kept the RCBS Rockchucker. My main press is a Dillon 550B. I am new into reloading though. Just been doing it a couple of years. I also have an RCBS Ammomaster progressive that I have used a few times. It seems to be a good press.

Keep your eyes open and who knows what you will end up with.

 

[sarg1c]

you might want a dry mica neck lub kit....again, lee makes one as well as others. also I like the Lee factory crimp dies....