It is the Lee turret press. If it is the original the die holders have 3 stations and if it is newer the die holders have threads for 4. It is a manually operated progressive press. I have had several of them over the years. It is the press I use the most. I probably have about 10 die holders that I keep set up with my most used die sets and a couple of empties that I can use for infrequently used cartridges. The die holders are pretty inexpensive.
You can pretty much reload anything with that press. I have loaded up to 375 Ruger with mine. I don't know if the 50BMG will fit.
Thanks for that confirmation. From what I’ve been reading I was thinking I needed a separate press for rifle rounds.
This place amazes me. I picked up some used reloading equipment this week and ordered al the bits and pieces I need to load 308’s to start with. Only reason is I actually have about 300 casings as one of the few casings I’ve actually saved over the years and recently a buddy asked me to save him some (he will actually help me reloading at first even though I’ve been on the google machine ;-)
It appears I may be the "value" turret press. According to Lee it is "recommended for handgun", whereas the Classic is "recommended for handgun and rifle". Not sure if that means you can't load rifle rounds, or just that it is a bit too compact/short travel. https://leeprecision.com/reloading-presses/turret-press/
I’ll say it again, go to www.thehighroad.org and go to the reloading section. TONS AND TONS of data with fantastic people willing to help you get going.
To those that are reloading, is it as a hobby, to build a desired quality or to save money? I looked into it briefly, but pricing the components needed seemed to make it not worth the hassle from a cost standpoint. Especially for a casual shooter.
This is why I asked. I wasn't sure. Its still foreign to me at this point but I'm starting to sort things out.
For me I obtained the reloading equipment from my father. You would have define casual? At the moment I have the desire to learn the process involved with reloading. What I'm reading is that the initial investment could be steep but after that you're not saving money cause you might begin to shoot more. At least that's what I've read.
I shoot sporting clays, but I can buy a box of shells for $5. That's .20 a shell. Hard to beat that even not factoring your time. I shoot ARs and .223 rounds are .20 for steel case crap up to .30 for cheap brass. My GF shoots 9mm and can burn through a bunch of boxes, but even they are pretty cheap at $7 a box or .14 a round. If you take the hobby aspect out of the equation, is it worth it from a cost savings angle?
Not as cost saving measure but I can see it as something to spend my time doing and at the same time, be relaxing. I also want to explore reloading quality or more accurate rifle rounds if that possible.
it is not cost effective for those calibers/shotguns. it is an enjoyable way to spend time, particularly if you are detail oriented, meticulous, and like being alone. i like to go out and reload when the wife is watching some dumb tv show, the kids are asleep, and i can turn on some music and sit there and enjoy some peace and quiet from the family. This is me too. i pretty much only load for my long range calibers, so i reload for consistency and quality. i only load two different calibers, and they are not my plinking guns.
Good question. I reload for every caliber I own, except 22 rimfire. Mostly it is because I like to reload and can tailor loads to a particular gun for a particular reason. I could probably buy ammo to meet most of those needs, but it may not be available at any particular store. Sometimes I load bullets that I particularly like that aren't available in factory rounds. For instance I like the 300gr Hornady XTP in the 45 Long Colt for hunting at 1200 fps. I also like the Sierra 270gr Game King in my 375 Ruger at 2600fps. I can't buy either of those bullets in loaded ammo, especially at the velocity I want. Finally I shoot some stuff that is either unavailable or expensive like 22 Hornet, 218 Mashburn Bee, 30-40 Krag or 375 Ruger. With those I save money by reloading. I also cast my own bullets for some stuff, just for fun. For the casual shooter that can buy off the shelf, I think you would have to shoot a lot to make the investment worthwhile. For me, now that I have been reloading for 40 years, adding a new caliber is easy. I have 15 sets of dies, 20 bullet molds, 15 different powders and a bunch of brass. I keep a variety of bullets in most diameters around and primers for everything. I just like going to the range and burning powder.
Where do you obtain your reloading supplies? I see national bullet but was curious as to the other companies.
I try buying locally(Gunstop.com) but Midway, Brownells, Powder Valley, Recobs, Bullet Central, Midsouth Shooters, Natchez, Creedmoor Sports and McGees are all good ones to check out. Some are better than others for certain brands/types of supplies.
I’m finally making sense of what loading tools that I have. I’m also sorting through several boxes of National Bullet boxes. I just deprimed some 40 caliber shells and now cleaning the brass but I don’t have any bullets to load. It definitely a learning experience discovering what my father had and now trying to understand how to Use the equipment.
I don't know what you have for cleaning brass, but I highly recommend buying stainless pins(for wet tumbling) and a good rotary tumbler. The amount of time it saves and the quality/quantity makes up for the extra initial costs. Edit: I have this one, but don't expect many will go to this extreme. I do recommend buying one of similar style/build, as there are $250-$300 versions out there. https://lortone.com/collections/tumblers/products/model-c40
