How much reloading merits a progressive press?

[LGB Loader]

you can buy a progressive press anytime you have the money and want to.

I'm old skool and think you should learn the craft and perfect it but that is just me and my opion which don't mean sh*t to anyone but me. Others think differently and think you should jump right in and learn on a progressive and the same rules apply to their opinion.

question 1- Do you think your ready?
question 2: Do you consistantly shoot the amount stated?
question 3: Can you financially afford the press and needed expendables so that it does not take away from your familie's well being?

If yes to all the above, my opinion is YES, buy that 550B you want, mine has served me well. But only you really know your situation and a good amount of honest with yourself soul searching is in order.

Another way to go is what Bill Steele advised and go with the Lee Classic turret, it is a great little press and worth a Google.

Good luck with your decision.

LGB

[$P-Ritch$]

Best wishes when you do get the progressive. I roll 200 rounds or less in a given month or sometimes week so single stage is enough for me. I do mine in stages also when I have to process 500 or 1k of brass. Then load in another time so I do not get overwhelmed. I do enjoy and find it relaxing loading even though at times it's slow.

I know exactly what you mean. You sound like you follow the exact same method of reloading that I do. I just finished prepping about 800 pieces of brass this weekend to go into the "reserve." That will save me a lot of time when reloading the next batch of 1-200 rounds for a match.


Thanks to everyone for all the advice. I can, and have been, getting by with my SS. I'll probably wait until the end of the summer to see if I still feel the same way and also to make sure I have enough saved up for the following school year. Then, if I have some money to burn, I may consider it.

Thanks again, Jon.

[Noxx]

If you're really burning up the straight wall pistol ammo as indicated, a good budget option would be a Dillon Square Deal. It wont handle rifle, or anything with a shoulder, and the die sets are proprietary... However, it's inexpensive, it's bench footprint is very small, and you can really go to town on 9mm, 45, etc to the tune of 300-400 an hour.

[IrishPirate]

my Lee Loadmaster was $230......my buddies Lee Pro 1000 was $150

https://www.midwayusa.com

[Lead Waster]

My advice is this. IF you are going to get a progressive, then get it sooner rather than later. The sooner you get it, the sooner you start saving time and the sooner it pays you back in "time equity". If you wait a year or two, then in two years you will have your progressive, but have also spent 50 hours reloading (or whatever) that you didn't have to ... and you eventually bought the press anyway!

[CGK60]

I started with a RCBS single stage, upgraded to a lee turret and for how much I shoot its fast enough for me.

[Cowboy T]

my Lee Loadmaster was $230......my buddies Lee Pro 1000 was $150

www.midwayusa.com

Here's a pair of videos that shows some real-world output on a progressive. The example press is one of my Pro 1000's, but the idea is applicable to any progressive press. Since the OP is obviously very experienced (10,000 rounds single-stage--got me beat by a mile), he's a great candidate for a progressive.

http://www.sanfranciscoliberalwithagun.com/videos/TheValueOfProgressivePresses.ogg

http://www.sanfranciscoliberalwithagun.com/videos/TheValueOfProgressivePresses-MakingTheAmmo.ogg

These will play directly in Firefox 3.5 or later, with no need for browser plugins.

BTW, like CGK50, the OP might find that a good turret is plenty fast enough. Count on about 100-120 rounds/hour with such a press.

[Triple R Munitions]

my first press was a hollywood 4 station press (a big single stage) with a powder measure. after ~4-5k i bought a dillion 1050. then after a year and 4 more 1050's later (now automated) i moved up to a Camdex.....

its really how comfortable you feel when loading. speed is nice, just have to understand what is going on because it can get overwhelming very fast.

my .02
R

[bruce381]

you are ready for a 550 or 650 but if you do only 1 caliber maybe the dillion square deal is a good start.

[Nessal]

I agree and disagree with this. My first metalic cartridge press was a 550. I now own a 550, a 650, an Ammomaster progressive and a bunch of single stage presses. Now, I tend to load most rifle rounds on SS presses instead of progressives. I also feel that anyone with a progressive should also have a SS press on their bench or, at least, a Lee hand press.

Amen to that. Rifle goes into the single and pistol goes into the progressive. Reason being that I demand a lot from my handloads for my rifle. I rarely ever blast with my rifles. So using the single stage and making a million measurements by hand is required. Time savings is not a factor at that point. However, if I ever want to say crank out 2k of .223 ASAP, I'm going to be using the progressive.