Quote:
Originally Posted by cigarmonkel
I was looking at that one earlier today. My buddy said I should save the money and go straight for the dillon 550b. He said ill adventually want one sooner or later. The reviews on itare all aamazing. But is it one of those tools you need experience to use kinda things?
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I wouldn't jump straight to the Dillon. Here's why:
1) Starting with a turret or single stage will force you to slow down, take your time, and focus on what you're doing.
2) Presses hold their value. Try finding a used press more than a few bucks cheaper than new. If you do decide to upgrade, you should be able to sell your starter press for at least 80% of the new price.
3) You won't want to sell the starter press though. You'll set that one up for a special cartridge you want to load slowly for utmost accuracy (probably rifle), and use the progressive for plinking pistol ammo.
I'd go with a turret press over a single stage. All the advantages to the single stage PLUS you can load faster once you get the hang of it. Honestly I think it's safer too since you work one cartridge at a time, start to finish. Seems less likely to accidentally double charge or no charge a case because you got distracted and forgot where you were in your loading block.
Here's a few additional things you'll probably want that may not be in a kit:
Calipers (I prefer digital, but it's your call) - you'll want to measure overall cartridge length.
Tumbler - If you want to reuse your own or range brass, you'll need to clean it.
Digital Balance - Mine cost $20, works great. I use a few bullets as test weight, it's very consistent and a lot easier to use than a beam balance.
Bullet puller - For
WHEN you screw up and need to separate components.
Ammo boxes - I use a combination of flip top plastic boxes, surplus ammo cans, and empty paper boxes picked out of the trashcan at the local range.
Finally, don't overlook the Lee products. They cost half the price of the other brands but that doesn't mean they're bad. The cost difference between RCBS and Lee will buy you a lot of powder, primer, and bullets.