Single stage presses?

[jay_cue]

Do you understand that after a case is charged it advances forward on a Dillon 650? You would have to manually remove a charged case from station 3, remove the empty case waiting at station 2, insert the charged case back into station 2, and then pull the handle again in order to drop a second charge into it. On the other hand, all you have to do to double charge a case while loading on a single stage press is forget to move the funnel forward on your loading tray (which I've done many times).

station 3 on a 650 is also the powder check station. which gives an audible beep if well over or under charged. in addition to me looking at each round.

[the86d]

With the minimal price difference, might as well go with a RCBS Turret.
Backordered right now, but 189.99 at Midway.

Holds 6 dies that would theoretically never have to adjusted until you change brass, or bullets. I am planning on doing .357, and .38 on the same head, better priming system than the RCBS Partner I am doing single-stage .38 and .357 on, but I am charging manually and individually... off the press.

[JagerDog]

Do you understand that after a case is charged it advances forward on a Dillon 650? You would have to manually remove a charged case from station 3, remove the empty case waiting at station 2, insert the charged case back into station 2, and then pull the handle again in order to drop a second charge into it. On the other hand, all you have to do to double charge a case while loading on a single stage press is forget to move the funnel forward on your loading tray (which I've done many times).

When single staging with loading tray, review the tray of charged rounds with a flashlight before installing bullets. The eye will pick up even small variations, let alone a double charge.

[tonyjr]

the86d
The big problem if you do more than 2 or 3 calibers - the tool heads were about 50 last year .
Tool heads are almost always out of stock - @ least when I checked .
I looked into - wanted the extra hole - [ my load master only has 5 . ]
I was thinking about using a powder check for pistol cases .
Bottle necks come off press after depriming / sizing for cleaning and after reprimed - there re enough die holes .
My advise is to get at least one extra tool head and 2 would be better . It kind of sucks to buy another gun and then have to swap out dies to another head .

[hambam105]

Why RCBS Turret instead of Redding T7? Because RCBS has a extra hole?

My Dillions & Rock Chucker never me let down. Just trying something new. It appears to me that Redding's equipment is a step ahead of RCBS quality wise.

[knucklehead0202]

Cute, yes I understand these things. I also understand that even fancy things like Dillon powder droppers and powder check stations with beepy things can malfunction. Do you? The only failsafe on ANYTHING is double-checking, which is why I don't trust expensive crap to think for me. If I did that i'd buy some modern douchebag car that'd correct me if I got out of lane or was about to run into somebody because i'm texting. Frankly though, I prefer to just handle things on my own, like a grown-up.

I'm not saying you're an idiot for going progressive, i'm just saying that those of us who choose not to are not idiots. Personally I prefer simple things that offer less to go wrong. I'm sure people have blown stuff up reloading on single-stage presses, but i'll guarantee that folks on progressives have caused much more damage, despite "experience" or being attentive. More complicated=more risk, hands down, which is why it's not a great choice for everybody, particularly newcomers. That's all.

[opos]

Been loading for decades and have used most of the equipment at one time or another..I believe whatever a person has and uses is what they become acustomed to and will feel is the best and I think every style of every manufacturer has it's good points and it's not so good.

I'm a "Joe average" loader...no big volumes for AR's and not a bunch of precision for long range targets...I have no need for speed as I look at the loading as part of the hobby and am not just interested in the stuff that spews out at breakneck speeds...I like to tinker with the equipment and try new stuff if it's reasonable priced.

I settled on a Lee Classic Cast single stage with the quick change bushings for my rifle loading..I hand weigh every charge for rifle cases so a measure is not a consideration..I do use an RCBS 5-0-5 scale as it's accurate, well made and easy for old eyes to read...use an RCBS trickler to "top off the charges"

I have a Lee Classic cast Turret for my handgun loads and use a new Lee Auto Drum (not auto disc) measure...with the powders I've petty much settled on (and stockpiled) I have great results with the Autodrum.

I use all Lee dies except for my 25-06 and my 7mm Mauser..they came with dies (one Redding and one RCBS) and I just use what I got. They all have their little idiosyncricies and once I get used to them...no problems.

Finally I have a little Lee hand press and a minimum set up in a portable box that I can bring in the house from the garage when it really gets hot...I do my case prep in the garage all year long and just set it aside...then when it's time I want to load and it's hot and dry...I can just sit at my desk and plug along making ammo....

I have no use for a big progressive as I'd never shoot up what I'd make and being older I like slower and more cautious...I like to look over and handle the components several times as I'm loading to inspect the pieces and parts and also inspect the final product.

We are so far ahead of where I started back in the late '50's that it's not much of an issue...we loaded, shot, developed loads and hunted with stuff that I'd be concerned about having around today..but we did just fine...and frankly slower is better for me in a lot ot things so a progressive is not of any interest.

[tonyjr]

knucklehead0202 and opos
I agree . I removed the primer stuff from my load master - I had lot of problems with it .
It made little sense to me to decap the case , remove clean and reinstall .
I decap and prime by hand .
But then I check my oil , washer , coolant , look at tires , bang on spare - etc . when putting in gas .
Most people can not open their hood or even know where spare tire is .

[ar15barrels]

it would be hard to turn down a $50 pacific, sounds like a great deal

You would think so right?
People keep saying they will take it, but then never actually show up with money...

[NorCalFocus]

You would think so right?

People keep saying they will take it, but then never actually show up with money...

If it's still there in a couple of weeks...I just may add that to the cost of my build.

[popeye4]

I ended up ordering a Lee classic cast to try out. It was pretty inexpensive and if I don't like it, I'm sure I could always find a purpose for it.
Where are some good places to order components? Projectiles and such...

https://www.powder-valley.com/

[popeye4]

You might want to check out people like the AMU and Whidden who've done pretty well loading on progressives. :-) It's certainly doable.

But for sure it's easier to create small amounts of high quality loads on a single stage.

Though I'm sure one can load precision rifle ammo on a progressive press, my experience has been that most of the time spent in loading precision bottleneck cartridge ammo is on case prep, something that is mostly done off the press. (Believe me, as much as I hate doing case prep, if i could find a way to minimize it I would!) I can charge powder/seat bullets as fast with my Harrell's powder measure/Rock Chucker as I can on my Dillon XL650. Progressives are great at loading straight wall handgun ammo, but I haven't seen any advantage in them for bottleneck cartridges.

[tonyjr]

On my loadmaster , it is faster [ I think ] even on bottle necks .
I handle a case one time to deprime and size [ you can do it on a single stage , but I prefer a die does one job - I E - lee universal decapping , then next die for sizing ]
After cleaning and repriming , I handle the cases once more for powder [ one die ] , seating pill [ another die ] , OAL [ another die ] and then comes crimping [ another die ]
On a single stage , I was seating and OAL on one die - sometime the pill got shaved and once in a while the case split - on the loadmaster that stuff was easier to catch than on single stage . [ @ least for me ]
Don't get wrong idea - learning on a single stage is easier / better than on a turret or progressive . I learned on a hand loader , then went to the load master . I used the loadmaster mainly for pistol- I seldom did more than 20 for the bolt action . Jump into the 223 and 308/762 - I needed to crank out more rounds and it was worth the time to set up mainly the powder drop .

[knucklehead0202]

knucklehead0202 and opos
I agree . I removed the primer stuff from my load master - I had lot of problems with it .
It made little sense to me to decap the case , remove clean and reinstall .
I decap and prime by hand .
But then I check my oil , washer , coolant , look at tires , bang on spare - etc . when putting in gas .
Most people can not open their hood or even know where spare tire is .

This. There is no one-size-fits-all when it comes to handloading, just like there is no "best pistol for me" as so many people like to ask. Suggestions are mostly based on opinion, which we all know the story on. I'm an experienced loader on what i'm experienced on, but I won't claim to be a teacher, an example, or whatever. Like Dirty Harry said; "A good man, always knows his limitations.". My limitations are time, money, patience, and caution, not necessarily in that order. While I know that just about every type of press and loading setup out there CAN work, I also know that s**t happens, so I make it a point to give less opportunity to said s**t.

For the record, I also do NOT reload or shoot in high-volume so pumping out a jillion rounds is not important. That said, I've taken steps to streamline my operations on a single stage and there have been times I've cranked out a good amount of ammo for things like our autoloading rifles. I don't do every operation in a day is mostly the key. I'll tumble brass one day, decap/resize and re-tumble another day, then load another day. If you have less time than I do you must be a busy mofo but I manage to get it done when I actually work at it.