Henry Rifle Forums

I shoot quite a bit of .357 and .38 special ammo, most of which I currently reload using a Lee turret press. I'm generally very happy with the setup I have.

But... there are times when I think maybe I need one of those big blue reloading "factories" from that company that has calendars with cute girls... I seem to spend a LOT of time at the reloading bench turning out enough ammo to feed my habit. My revolver family has been growing recently, and it takes a lot of ammo to keep them all happy.

I know the feelin....I still use the RCBS rock chucker single stage but I love the simplicity of rollin yer own one at a time.

we have been using a single stage RCBS since the '60's, its still setup and ready to go ... 3 or so years ago we added a Hornady Lock-N-Load which really churns out the ammo .... we are very pleased with it for practice ammo but somehow can't get to where we use it for hunting ammo

I've been loading on the LCT for years. I've toyed with the idea of a progressive, but between the expensive of setting up, and the fact that too many things are going on at once for my tastes, I've stuck with the turret.

If I could get around the attitude of the blue folks, I might be able to justify the initial expense of a Dillon. The additional expense and hassles of caliber changeover makes it a non starter for me.

Clovispup and I shoot about 200 - 250 rounds of centerfire a week on average. I can manage that fairly easily on a turret. I don't see us shooting a lot more than that in the near future. If we were going through more than that, I might change my mind.

Well, I pumped out some .357's and some 35 Remington's last night. Need to do some .38 specials and some 30-30's yet this weekend.

I have 3 square deal Dillons they do a great job. If you look around you might be able to get one used at a little better price. I know for me they work just fine and I use a rock chucker for the bigger rounds.

ditto1958 wrote:I shoot quite a bit of .357 and .38 special ammo, most of which I currently reload using a Lee turret press. I'm generally very happy with the setup I have.

But... there are times when I think maybe I need one of those big blue reloading "factories" from that company that has calendars with cute girls... I seem to spend a LOT of time at the reloading bench turning out enough ammo to feed my habit. My revolver family has been growing recently, and it takes a lot of ammo to keep them all happy.

Drink the blue coolaid...!!! You wont regret it one bit.

Very nice setup -- and excellently labeled, Rugerfanboy. That makes good sense to keep all the reloading equipment and supplies under tight control.

If I ever have the chance to move to a larger place (right now we have a 740 sq. ft. apartment -- really small), and I have some room to set up a reloading bench, I'd really like to do .357/.38 spl reloads, plus also reload shotgun slugs. The shotgun stuff really looks interesting to me.

"Feeding the habit" would be nice to do!

I thought about reloading for shotgun when Clovispup and I started trying our hand at skeet. I came to the conclusion it isn't worth it, unless you are shooting .410 or 28 gauge, or need custom loads. The components cost right around the cost of factory loads in target grades.

With centerfire rifle and pistol ammo, I don't really save money. In fact, I shoot way more, so I spend more. What you do get, pretty much from day 1, is better ammo. Seeing was believing for me. My very first handloaded ammo was better than the factory ammo I had been shooting.

I do understand about the difference between saving money, and shooting more for your money when it comes to reloading. I usually tell people there is no way my daughter and I could shoot as much as we do if it were not for reloading.

clovishound wrote:I've been loading on the LCT for years. I've toyed with the idea of a progressive, but between the expensive of setting up, and the fact that too many things are going on at once for my tastes, I've stuck with the turret.

If you consider how many rounds a Dillon RL550B press will put out in an hour (550 per hour)...you'd have a different view point about the expense. Yes...the press is not cheap. Remember...your buying a progressive press and the Dillon quality that comes with it.

clovishound wrote:If I could get around the attitude of the blue folks, I might be able to justify the initial expense of a Dillon. The additional expense and hassles of caliber changeover makes it a non starter for me.

Nothing wrong with us blue cool-aid drinker's being "Loud and Proud" of our Dillon press. You'd feel the same...if you seen what they can do for the reloader. The bottom line is....your just too cheap to buy one. Sorry...just stating the obvious.

Hassles of caliber changeover...people that don't understand or have the patience to set one up properly makes these kinds of statements online. So, please...STOP spreading false statements like these...!!! I can change my RL550B with a quick change kit in under two minutes. From scratch....I can set one up in under 15 minutes. The Dillon RL550B is one of the easiest presses to setup and operate. I own and operate one...so I have first hand experience/knowledge. Plus, the 550B will reload pistol and rifle cartridges cases. You can also use non-Dillon dies on this press. There is also a conversion kit...that the reloader can put on the press and make it a true single stage press. http://www.uniquetek.com/product/T1553
The 550B can used as a single stage press, a turret press and a progressive press. That's a pretty good bang for ones buck...in my opinion.

clovishound wrote:Clovispup and I shoot about 200 - 250 rounds of centerfire a week on average. I can manage that fairly easily on a turret. I don't see us shooting a lot more than that in the near future. If we were going through more than that, I might change my mind.

So...your saying you don't think your daughter will grow in the shooting sport...??? The sport is growing more and more each year. Younger shooters are starting to shoot more at the competitive level than before in history. What's gonna happen when your daughter gets older and see's the cost of ammo and reevaluate her money and decides to start reloading..??

I have no problem with people being proud of the products they own and like. I am like that with Henrys. The problem I have is when folks put others down for owning other products. I see this attitude with brands such as Apple, Glock, and Dillon. I'm am by no means saying all Dillon owners are obnoxious about it, just that there are enough vocal proponents that have the attitude "My brand or you are an idiot!". They refuse to believe that anyone else makes reloading equipment worth owning. I have seen enough of this attitude that it would make me reluctant to ever buy a blue appliance for my reloading bench.

As to not believing that my daughter will grow in the sport, I hope and think she will. I just don't see the number of rounds we shoot each week growing by a lot, unless she decides to get into some type of serious competition. She has shown little interest in this. I would like to see her try it. I think she is a very good shooter. Some of that may be Dad pride. Then again, I often look at her targets and then look at everyone else's targets on the range.

Those big blue reloading presses? Yes, they are really good. But yes, they are also expensive, and both the company and a few of their customers sometimes seem to have a bit of an attitude. Bottom line, though? They're not for everyone, but if a person needs to load a lot of ammo, you can't beat them.

I use Lee products, and they fit my current needs perfectly. If I needed to churn out thousands of, say, 9mm rounds, I'd get a blue one asap.

I am new at reloading, it took me about two and a half hours to load 50 357mag for my henry big boy. Is this about normal or being new am I really slow at this?

larry7293 wrote:I am new at reloading, it took me about two and a half hours to load 50 357mag for my henry big boy. Is this about normal or being new am I really slow at this?

I use a Lee Single Stage Press with dies that have been fitted with Lee bushings, making it quick to change from one die to the next. I can reload 50 in 30 to 45 minutes using the Lee Perfect Powder measure. If I use a dipper to measure the powder (which I do for H110), it takes me about 45 minutes to an hour to do fifty. But, I prime all of my cases as part of the cleaning/sizing process, so priming doesn't factor into my reloading times.

Also, when I'm reloading, there are NO distractions; no music, no phone calls, no visitors -- NO distractions.

larry7293 wrote:I am new at reloading, it took me about two and a half hours to load 50 357mag for my henry big boy. Is this about normal or being new am I really slow at this?

That is a little slow, but that's OK. Do it right and worry about the speed later.

Actually, if that was your first attempt at reloading, and you had to set up your dies, and work out the bugs, that's not too bad.

Everybody moves at a different speed. You will find the pace that is a good compromise between speed and accuracy. I tend to err on the side of accuracy.

Larry, don't be in a hurry. You will get faster with practice and experience, but safety, accuracy and precision should be your goals.

larry7293 wrote:I am new at reloading, it took me about two and a half hours to load 50 357mag for my henry big boy. Is this about normal or being new am I really slow at this?

Slow is not always bad. Being that your a new reloader, you don't have any muscle memory and your probably checking everything as you go from one step to the next. You also don't have the feel yet when operating your press. In time....you will be more productive at reloading. Give yourself some time to develop a routine and some muscle memory. But...always remember....Safety Is Paramount in reloading. If you sideline safety....eventually you'll pay for your mistake and that might include a friend getting hurt standing next to you at the range shooting when your reloads cause an issue. Be safe and enjoy your new hobby...!!!

clovishound wrote:I have no problem with people being proud of the products they own and like. I am like that with Henrys. The problem I have is when folks put others down for owning other products. I see this attitude with brands such as Apple, Glock, and Dillon. I'm am by no means saying all Dillon owners are obnoxious about it, just that there are enough vocal proponents that have the attitude "My brand or you are an idiot!". They refuse to believe that anyone else makes reloading equipment worth owning. I have seen enough of this attitude that it would make me reluctant to ever buy a blue appliance for my reloading bench.

As to not believing that my daughter will grow in the sport, I hope and think she will. I just don't see the number of rounds we shoot each week growing by a lot, unless she decides to get into some type of serious competition. She has shown little interest in this. I would like to see her try it. I think she is a very good shooter. Some of that may be Dad pride. Then again, I often look at her targets and then look at everyone else's targets on the range.

Good thought out response....I really like that...!!!