Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Ask The Gunwriters What was the first die set/press you owned?

Herters then RCBS junior.

A rock chucker I think 25/06 or a 5.56, now I have three rock checkers one partner press a lee press and load for 17 calibres now.

I started with a Lee Loader in .22-250. Soon after I went with a set of Lyman dies in .22-250, because I was shooting a Ruger #1 and the neck sized cases were sticking in the chamber. I used my uncle's Lyman Spartan press. A year later I bought a Rockchucker press.

Lee C frame press. I started doing pistol single stage. Lee scale and dippers. IMO this press gave me problems doing '06 size bottleneck rifle, so I spent the money on a RockChucker. RCBS dies.

Still use the RockChucker for all rifle loading. Have a collection of RCBS, Redding, Lee, Forster dies. Lee collet/Redding bump for 308 Win & 223 Rem for the target guns. Tried Redding bushing dies, did not like them.

Invested in a Lee turret for pistol, though I only do 2 stages at a time. Size, bell mouth. Seat primers by hand, drop powder by hand (old Bair rotary pistol measure), back in press seat boolit, crimp w/Lee carbide die.

Had a Redding turret press for rifle back in the day. Didn't like it.

All sorts of stuff I have, lube sizers, powder measures, concentricity gages, TruTool, measurement tools, DNA anneal lamp, scales, home made power rotary case prep device for mouth trim indexed on mid-shoulder, inside/outside chamfer, cup with 3M pad in it to debur mouth, clean primer pocket, and so forth. All sorts of do-dads that have an assigned function. Home made gages to measure bullet seating indexing on bullet ogive to allow accurate control of bullet jump once I measure MAX coal where ogive is kissing lands. Home made gages to use with dial caliper to measure shoulder to case head to optimize and ensure proper headspace of case in chamber. Some of these tools can be bought commercially these days, not so much years ago.

I have a collection of old Handloader Digest, Gun Digest (oldest one 1946 2nd annual addition), Gunsmith Kinks vol 1-4, Cartridges of the World, 1952 Stoeger "The Shooters Bible No. 43, bunch of other gun related manuals and texts. I page through these old books now and then. Lots of interesting tools and projects the old boys created. Wood & blue steel guns. AND back issues of Hand Loader & Rifle magazines for throne duty.

One article about casting pure zinc bullets. Plans & schematic to make a chronograph. Amazing stuff.

So, all this sarted with a Lee C frame press loading for a 32 S&W Long and 38 Special. Then figuring I could load for Dads old Remington Model 30 cloned from a 1917 Eddystone battle rifle. Still have that rifle.

Great topic Steve.

Lee Loader .410, then a RCBS jr, finally about 20 years ago a Rickchucker which is still going strong. Jr still functional but used mostly for depriming.

Also, a Pacific 105 for scatter gun ammo. Works great.

I learned as a kid on my dad's RCBS A2.
Used it at his place until I was married and had a basement, bought a Lyman Spar T off a bud (loaded .44 mag and .243 win off it- left the dies in all the time).
Finally had room LOL

Currently have a Lyman Mag T

My dad had about 60 presses before he died.
Baer, Lyman, RCBS, Herters, MEC, Pacific, Dillon, Redding, Lee, Star, and others.
Some were NIB, others like new, some restored.....and some needing parts.

Measures, scales and trimmers too.

Nobody wants the old stuff, don't blame em.
Hell I have 3 Herters in my garage, C, O and Turret, w the adapters.
Freakin need 3 jon boats to use em as anchors LOL

First dies were RCBS 8x57. I loaded my first ammunition on an RCBS Jr. press. I still have that rifle and dies.from about 1963 or 1964.

After college I was in the USAF stationed at Seymour Johnson AFB in North Carolina. I ordered my own first press and other reloading equipment through the base Rod And Gun Club. That was probably about 1970. I still have and use that same equioment today.. I bought my first handgun dies then too. A set of steel RCBS 357 dies. Carbide dies were very expensive. Most people used steel dies.

Lee Loader in 30-06

First press was a RCBS jr with RCBS 44 mag dies.

30 yrs later and my turret still .44 and .243 dies.
LOL
Same .44 dies too (Lyman All American).

First press was a 20 ga MEC 600 Jr as was the next except that one was a 12 ga. First was bought in 1977, the second in '78. Still have both presses.

First metallic cartridge press was a Lee 1000 kit set up for 38 Spl. I wore the press out fairly quickly when I was on the local police department's shooting team but still have and use the dies.

Another Lee Loader. 32 Special. It got me started down the reloading path. Shortly after I bought my 788 6mm I graduated to an RCBS Junior.

My first shotgun loading was on a Lee Loadall. I still have it and use it on occasion. It turns out great loads for an inexpensive press.

Lee loader in 1974, .308. With it a box of 150 grain Hornady spire points, box of CCI 200s, and a blue can of 4064. In 1978 after helping load railroad ties for a couple days, I used my wages buy a Rockchucker which I still use. Looks like a lot of us started with Lee loaders. I bought one of the Lee Classic loaders last year, for a caliber I have dies for. Nostalgia.

Initially, mid-60's, a couple Lee Loaders. 1968 saw a big box from Herter's arrive containing a honking big heavy cast iron C-press, a couple die sets, gauges, powder measure and scales, and a bunch of brass and bullets - for the princely sum of $70, with shipping. My Dad and I grinned ear to ear, and we were off and running.

Concurrently with the arrival of the Care Package from Herter's I realized I could shoot one helluva lot more if I made my own bullets too.That idea spawned my first mold, and then another, and another. First lead (scrounged wheelweights) was cast and poured into that first mold via a Campbell's soup can with a pour spout crimped into the rim, held with vicegrips, and heated with a propane torch. Bullets were lubed via the pan method (after first discovering empiracally the need for lube in the first place, but that's a story for another day), and sized with a simple push through die in the Herter's press that my Gramps made for me in his lathe. I wish I knew whatever happened to that die - I would pay serious money to have it back.

Gnoahh, you brought back a memory. For me Lee loader, my Dad made me a hammer by cutting a 4" piece of pitchfork handle for the head, then drilled it for a 3/4" dowel handle. I later got a weighted plastic head hammer and the homemade wooden one is long lost. Wouldn't ming having it to hang over the bench....

RCBS 38/357 mag dies... Bonanza press... When i was 18 my older brother gave me an 8" colt python for Christmas... He had a 40+ ft handgun range in his basement... Max loads of Hercules Unique would almost bounce the furniture off the floor upstairs (or so he say's)... He'd yell, Back Them Fuggin Loads Off Before U Ruin That Thing !.. I would shut the lights off so i could see the flames blast out past the cylinder.. Thank god i wore Silencio muff's...40 yrs later we still have and use the python, dies and press...

KYHillChick gave me a Rockchucker Supreme Master Kit and several sets of RCBS dies for Christmas in 2000.

Mec size master for 12ga at age 15. Great loader but it’s long gone. I had no need to load shotgun anymore.
RCBS rock chucker at estimated age of 24. Great loader, still have it. RCBS 45 colt dies.