[SWO1]

Of course by updading I mean....Buy More Stuff.... Now that the Wife and Daughter are shooting .38s and my grandson the .40 we are going thru quite a few rounds a week. So time to start reloading pistol. Was debating on getting a progressive press, a Lee 1000 or a Loadmaster. After a lot of research and watching videos of the operation and setup I have decided on a Lee 4 hole Turret with Indexing. I wil be using the Lee 4 die sets in .38/.357 and .40. Studying my manuals I will use the same powder, primers, for all three. Same bullet for .38 and .357 also. Since Im shooting the .38s thru 3 different guns am getting the 4 die set with the Factory Crimp Die that full sizes the cases. And I like the .40 round, just not thrilled about the auto pistol, so may at a later date look at a revolver in that caliber.

According to the Lee site they will start shipping the presses with the new roller cam handle after the first of the year. Otherwise its a $30 upgrade.

 

[FOUR4D4]

I have the siearra manual it has both the 38/357 reloading data for rifle and hand gun this is interesting reloading for both the same calibers for a rifle and hand gun.My wife boght me a Rossi Ranch hand with the 12 '' barrel and a Smith and Wesson revolver with 6" barrel Im watching this one SW01 keep us informed.Sorry and hope i didnt jump your thread SW.

 

[SWO1]

I have the siearra manual it has both the 38/357 reloading data for rifle and hand gun this is interesting reloading for both the same calibers for a rifle and hand gun.My wife boght me a Rossi Ranch hand with the 12 '' barrel and a Smith and Wesson revolver with 6" barrel Im watching this one SW01 keep us informed.Sorry and hope i didnt jump your thread SW.

It all goes together. Does the Rossi shoot both .38 and .357 ? I too am using the Sierra loadings. I will start with Unique powder and Sierra JHP 125 gr. bullets for .38 and .357 using CCI 500 regular primers. Think I will start with the Sierra 155 gr. JHP for the .40 with the same powder and primers. I looked at the Lyman data but there is a VERY LARGE DISPARITY between them and Sierra on loads. Lyman has the .38 MAX loads of 6 grs of Unique and Sierra 7.2 grs. Thats a lot. Also the min load in Lyman is way below what Sierra suggests. When I get the Lee dies I will see what they say. So far When I tried the Lyman and Lee loads for the .308 I didnt like them at all. Dont think I can get much better than the Sierra formula for the .308 and .223 besides tweeking a little.

 

[greyhawk50]

SWO1;
Sounds great. Reloading is therapeutic and time with the family is precious.
After a short search, it looks like Natchez has the best price at $72.
http://www.natchezss.com/product.cfm?contentID=productDetail&prodID=LEE90932

I'm curious if you intend on using Carbide Dies. Sounds like you plan on loading massive amounts. Using Carbide would save time, make it easier and would save on the cost of case lube.

Be sure to keep us updated on the project. Inquiring minds want to know.
Others might want to know the logic behind your choice. Points of interest that were OK, NG or equal. If you have the time??

Thanks for including us in your project.

 

[FOUR4D4]

The Rossi shoots both 38/357 I chose that caliber because of cost. SW and Hawk it sounds like carbide dies are the way to go.Meanwhile ill step back and observe while i learn a few things here from the both of you

 

[SWO1]

My thought process on going with Lee 4 hole turret press and the Lee 4 die Pistol set.

Presently loading on a Lee single stage with Lee 3 die rifle dies in .223 and .308. Couldn't be happier with the equipment. I have loaded on RCBS press and dies and see no difference. Looking at the necessity to load about 200-300 rounds a week, maybe more on occasion, I decided a more efficient setup was needed.

Presses: Candidates were

1. Lee Pro 1000 progressive press. This is a 3 hole press. Price wise it comes in at around the $130 range. It does come with 1 set of dies in your caliber choice. Has the case feed attachent, disk powder measure, and on press primer both large and small. Can be changed over to other calibers by adding another shell plate and dies. Does accept the Lee bullet feed attachement and increased volume shell dispenser tubes. According to lee volumes that "can be" obtained with all the bells and whistles is 300 per hour.

2. Lee Loadmaster progressive press. This is a 4 hole press. Price at around $225. All other options as with the 1000 with claimed volumes at 500 per hour.

3. Lee 4 hole turret press. Price at $75. Dies, On press powder measure, on press primer are an option. Does not support case feeding or bullet feeding. By adding powder dispenser and on press primer, a set of dies and the price is about the same as a 1000. Again volumes claimed is 250 an hour.

In going with the turret my primary reason was setup with keeping tuned. Volumes and price were NOT a consideration. It reading reviews and watching videos of all three there seemed more PM on the progressive units than the turret. Change over to other calibers was simpler. All in all the turret looked to be more sturdy in its operation.

Dies: The Lee 3 die pistol are CARBIDE. Crimping is done in the seating die. IF the case needs to be full length sized an adjustment may be required on the die.

The 4 die set contains the same dies as the 3 die set with the addition of the Lee Factory Crimp Die. This is to perform crimping and full sizing as a seperate function apart from bullet seating. The FCD has a carbide sizing ring at the bottom of the die and if the case is out of specs it will do the job. If the case is OK the ring will never touch the case.

These are my opinions and thoughts. May or may not satisify alls requirements. And I could change my options as I progress. I have already decieded to swith over to the Lock ring die bushing from the standard bushing on future dies. I will start with OFF Press priming and dump my powder case by case from my on bench measure. Time is really of no importance and I feel I can load 300-500 rounds in a good day once I get up to speed.