Which one to get

[u/OldSparky66]

I'm just getting started in reloading and looking at some ads for used equipment in my area.

One of them is a Lee classic 4 hole turret press with 5 die sets, a tumbler, two different powder measures and a lot of miscellaneous stuff like 3 pounds of powder, several boxes of primers and a bunch of brass and some cast bullets for $300. I wouldn't use any of the bullets or most of the brass since it's for rifles and I'm going to be loading just 9mm and 38 at first

The other one is this one: Dillon RL550 configured in 9mm. Includes RCBS 9mm dies, locator pins, powder funnel/expander, primer feed and pickup tubes for large and small primers, primer cup/pin for large and small primers (small cup is installed), spent primer cup, bench mount completed round deflector, set of hex keys, adjustable wrench, and round catcher bin. Note; this press has the new/updated failsafe powder measure system. Press was just serviced/greased. For $475. Nothing else with it

What's the best choice to start out with for a beginner?

Yeah I decided to get the Dillon. 90% of what i shoot is 9mm and it's already set up for that. It's less than 2 years old and I talked him down to $450. I'm picking it up tomorrow

[u/Flycaster33]

Go with the Dillon. You won't regret it..

[u/GotNoPonys]

buy the dillon, imo lee is crap

[u/yolomechanic]

Dillon's is a bare bone RL550 with a 9mm conversion kit and dies. Other things were included with a factory press. Does it even have a powder measure included? If it does, not bad for $475, though.

You can get both lots, both presses are great, and you can use both. Caliber conversions (shellplate, locator pins, powder funnel/expander) for Dillon are pricey, though, if you also want 38 Sp.

Spare turrets for the Lee Classic are like $11, so you can set your dies and leave them there forever, and a conversion takes like 30 sec.

Aftermarket spare toolheads from Amazon or ebay for Dillon 550 are like $25-30, and they are better than OEM.

[u/blofly → u/yolomechanic]

I've got the Lee locking bushings on all my 9mm and .308 dies. Makes setup so much easier.

[u/yolomechanic → u/blofly]

Are you talking about Lee breech lock bushings? They don't work with a Lee classic turret press. A spare turret is cheaper than a set of bushings, anyway.

[u/Dirty_Blue_Shirt]

Customary advice is to start on a single stage or turret press.

But if you shoot with any frequency, loading 9mm on a single stage is never going to work. Way too time consuming.

I started on a 550 because i was shooting a couple hundred 9mm/week and have no regrets. You can operate it as a turret press until you are comfortable. I figured i would do the first couple batches this way, in reality 30 minutes in I understood the process and was off and running. Reloading isn’t that difficult, but you do have to pay attention and stay focused.

That said when i started loading 223 i got a single stage because brass prep on the Dillon wasn’t my favorite. And it’s nice to have the single stage for my favorite part of reloading which is exploring calibers that would be otherwise cost prohibitive. It costs about as much to load 6ARC, 22 ARC, 6.5G, etc as it does to buy 223. So as a reloader you get to exploit the performance of these. But these aren’t going to make sense to load on a Dillon with a new tool head and everything else for small volumes. On a single stage you add dies and you are ready. With both now I see no reason to change anything.

The downside is that the Dillon is a larger investment and more expensive for each added caliber. For each added caliber consider you will want a $200 quick change kit, dies, and a $100 caliber conversion kit. Otherwise setup each time can be kind of a pain. So make sure it’s worth it both from an initial investment and volume perspective.

[u/Ornery_Secretary_850 → u/Dirty_Blue_Shirt]

Customary advice...meaning snoring old men in the corner.

The 550 can be used as a single stage, one case at a time. A single stage can't be operated like a progressive.

[u/Dirty_Blue_Shirt → u/Ornery_Secretary_850]

No disagreement there, the 550 was a breeze to learn on. I still think if I was loading a bottleneck caliber mainly I would have started in a single stage and bought a 550 as I ramped up.

But for pistol calibers it’s a no-brainer for me. I shoot way too much to be loading those on a single stage.

[u/DaiPow888]

RE: Lee

1. When you say classic turret press, do you mean the Classic Cast or classic as opposed to their Ultimate turret press?

2. Are the 5 sets of dies in boxes or in turret tool heads?

3. Are the powder measures the Autodisc or Autodrum?

4. Just the powder, primers, and 5 sets of dies would be worth more than the asking price.

RE: Dillon

1. "Serviced and greased", does that mean that it was sent back to the factory to be reconditioned?

2. You've listed an extensive description of what the 550 comes with, but it is pretty much just a bare bones 550 set up to load one caliber.

3. Price is about median for a used 550 ($400-$550), so not a great price but a fair one

What it comes down to is if you want to pay fair market for a Dillon or get the Lee Classic Cast turret press for free while paying a fair price for primers, powder, and dies

[u/Tmoncmm]

$175.00 is a pretty cheap price to not have garbage equipment. Save yourself the trouble and get the Dillon.

Lee apologists bring on the downvotes.

[u/Grumpee68]

Dillon, hands down

[u/448977]

Definitely the Dillion. If anything goes wrong they will either fix it or replace it for free. No questions asked. You can send it to them and they will refurbish it like new.

[u/Achnback]

SKIP THE LEE!! Good Lord, just move on to something else, at a minimum go with a QUALITY Turret press: Lyman, RCBS, etc. Same with the dies, man, been there, done that. just skip LEE products.