Hi Y'all,

My "friend" decided that he wanted his reloading gear back that I had rightfully "long-term" borrowed, and now i'm stuck with no reloading gear. Any suggestions on where to get some used or refurbished gear? I have been looking at the Lee turret press kit, for 149$ from Lee, but I'm cheap and am always looking for a better deal.

Lyman has refurbished Orange Crushers on thier site for 64.99.

Lee makes OK stuff. So do the other makers. Buy what you need to do what to you need to do.
I have a mix myself. Satisfied I am. I make good ammo.

You may NOT borrow my tools!

Nice to meet ya,
Cheezywan

All I'm reloading right now is 45-70. Is there certain presses that will or won't reload this round?

Various auction sites have used reloading equipment for sale.

Caveat Emptor!!!!!!

I've got one of the Lee turret presses along with the Lee single state O frame. Ergonomically they are very comfortable to use. So much so that My old Rockchucker went in a yard sale several years ago.

The turret press with several turrets all set up with dies is really handy to use. I disabled the auto turn part and basically use it as a single stage which suits my style of reloading better, it's just handy with the dies all in their turret all set up. I have the three hole model and would suggest the four hole model which are handy with Lee's four die pistol sets that separate bullet seating from crimping. Midway and Cabela's both have very good prices on Lee equipment.

Someone gave me a broken turret last year and I sent it into Lee a couple of weeks ago. Just got a package with a brand new one back yesterday with a note thanking me for using their products.

faucettb, I was looking at their turret press for the same reason, and like how simple and well priced it is. I think alot of the other presses are way overbuilt for what I need them for. Will the lee turret press do a 45-70?

You might be better served with a single stage press loading the 45-70. It's not a difficult cartridge to load but you will full length resize the case, especially if you have a lever gun. It's a long case and you somtimes have to apply a fair amount of pressure to get it sized.

This may help.

http://www.beartoothbullets.com/tech_notes/archive_tech_notes.htm/49

There are no presses that won't do fine reloading any commercial cartridge. That said, I'd suggest a Lee "Classic Cast" (iron) press. It's inexpensive if bought from Grafs, Midway, etc. and is one of the strongest presses on the market today.

Dittoes on the Lee Classic Cast. I don't own one, but a friend does, and I've examined it closely. I truly think it is the finest press on the market today. Get the single-stage or the new turret model, your choice.

Thanks guys. I really appreciate how helpful and laid back you guys are. I was on another forum, work related, and it was such a negative place. All they do is bi*** at each other. So thanks.

faucettb, I was looking at their turret press for the same reason, and like how simple and well priced it is. I think alot of the other presses are way overbuilt for what I need them for. Will the lee turret press do a 45-70?

I don't load for the 45-70, but it does my 8mm Rem mag and the 300 Ultra-mag with no problems. Their the same length as the old 375 H&H mag.

The nice thing about the turret press is at 8 bucks apiece for extra turrets your dies are all set up ready to go, just pop in and load. If I was in the market for a new press I'd take a close look at the new Lee Classic Turret. All the strength of the big cast iron Classic with the advantage of the turret press.

If you would ever wish to load your 45-70's with black powder, or perhaps even just with a lead bullet, you might find the 4 station turret press inadquate.

For black powder cartridges I have six dies on my Lyman Mag II turret; FL sizer, Neck sizer, Neck expander, powder compression die, bullet seating die, and taper crimp die. If you are just loading lead bullets and smokeless powder, you would not need the powder compression die, but the other five would be very nice to have permanently set up on your turret.

Once my cases have been fired, I like to neck size only. This enhances accuracy and gives the cases much longer life, then again, I don't load my 45-70's to near magnum pressures.

I've only ever used my Lee Hand Press to reload .45-70. Even that will resize .45-70s w/o issue, but it is more difficult than it would otherwise need to be (based on the difference I've found between hand press and Challenger press on .30-06).

I haven't used a Classic Cast or a Lee Turret (though I do have a Pro 1000 which is similar), but I've had a Rock Chucker. I'd be very tempted by the Orange Crushers Lyman has on clearance at their site, but basically any of the Lee tools is also just fine for .45-70 IME.

Agree with most all of the above, though there are a few presses out there that won't handle longer cartridges. If you are on a budget and have no loading gear at all, I think I would recommend you just go in the direction of getting one of the Lee press kits. You can get the turret kit, but the Anniversary Kit with the new Breechlock die quick-change version of the little Challenger O press would be great for .45-70. It won't have the mechanical advantage of the big cast classic press, but it will work very well. Unless you shoot a really large volume of .45-70, you won't feel bottlenecked by a single stage press for loading it or other rifle cartridges. It will also allow you to add in special die steps a turret doesn't make room for, like 8iowa uses.

Later on, if you do move to a bigger press, the Challenger will still be useful for odd operations, like using a Lee cast bullet sizing die, or for separate decapping before cleaning, or for a collet type bullet puller. Those are the kinds of things mine does these days. The Anniversary kit will get you a scale and powder measure and funnel, so you will be otherwise set up except for dies. They also have a version with the Autoprime and a set of dies instead of their in-press primer, which I think you would find faster and more convenient.

If you have your heart set on a progressive, the yard sale route isn't a bad approach, either, assuming you live where shooting sports are common. Dillon, Lee, and RCBS all pretty much will replace or send repair parts for broken gear without question. So, if you get a busted up something-or-other for twenty bucks, just add postage, and away you go!