11-01-2024, 02:42 PM
I have a few reloading presses, and chose them mostly based upon the volume of ammo I planned to reload with them.
I have two Square Deal B presses from Dillon, one set up for small primers, one for large primers. I shot a lot of Bullseye pistol back in the 80s and 90s, and these presses were set up for .45 acp, and .38 special. I could do 100 rounds in 20 minutes without any trouble on these presses. That was all about volume and those two presses let me load up good ammo at the volumes of ammo I needed back then. The Square Deal isn't big enough for any bottleneck rifle reloading, only handgun.
I also have a Ponsness Warren 375 for 12 gauge. That was a hand-me-down from my dad when he shot trap, and came to me when I started shooting a lot of trap too. That is a great press and works like a turret press, except you move the sizing die around under each station, not move the turret. Loading ammo on that isn't as fast, but adequate for what I shot. If I remember correctly, loading 100 rounds was over a half hour.
I bought the RCBS Rockchucker kit back in the late 80s/early 90s and have used that for rifle since then. I loaded all my .223 ammo for service rifle on that press, one at a time, but generally used thrown charge weights, and didn't weigh every one. That was pretty repetitive once you had a good load. I have dies to load .44 magnum, and .45LC on the Rockchucker, and load those there for hunting loads, where I don't load for volume. I can also load .357 mag, .40 S&W, and .44 mag on the Square Deals, have the toolheads set up for those. You can load like a single stage on the progressives if you want, and I load heavy .357 loads that way. Most of my loading lately is for a few rifles I have, and trying different bullets and powders. Usually it's loading only 10 or 20 rounds at a time for testing.
So decide what volume you need of the ammo you want, and pick a press for that. You can load volume on a single stage, I did that for service rifle for a long time. You can also load singly on a progressive, I do that for my .357 lever action hunting ammo. I think it's universally accepted that a single stage allows you to produce ammo with greater precision, so nobody shooting benchrest would use a progressive, but they don't need the volume anyway. I'd also say that switching to loading for a different cartridge is easier on a single stage, and most of us break up the resizing, the brass prep, and then the charging and bullet seating into different sessions, so you can mix that up for different cartridges too.
One last point is that it's generally accepted that people reload to save money on the cost of factory ammo. Yes, you can reload ammo, usually better ammo than factory loads, for a component price that works out to less than factory ammo. But the reality is that it becomes a bit of a rabbit hole that ends up with you having a significant investment in your reloading equipment, and that often becomes a bit of a hobby and a pursuit all on its own.
I have two Square Deal B presses from Dillon, one set up for small primers, one for large primers. I shot a lot of Bullseye pistol back in the 80s and 90s, and these presses were set up for .45 acp, and .38 special. I could do 100 rounds in 20 minutes without any trouble on these presses. That was all about volume and those two presses let me load up good ammo at the volumes of ammo I needed back then. The Square Deal isn't big enough for any bottleneck rifle reloading, only handgun.
I also have a Ponsness Warren 375 for 12 gauge. That was a hand-me-down from my dad when he shot trap, and came to me when I started shooting a lot of trap too. That is a great press and works like a turret press, except you move the sizing die around under each station, not move the turret. Loading ammo on that isn't as fast, but adequate for what I shot. If I remember correctly, loading 100 rounds was over a half hour.
I bought the RCBS Rockchucker kit back in the late 80s/early 90s and have used that for rifle since then. I loaded all my .223 ammo for service rifle on that press, one at a time, but generally used thrown charge weights, and didn't weigh every one. That was pretty repetitive once you had a good load. I have dies to load .44 magnum, and .45LC on the Rockchucker, and load those there for hunting loads, where I don't load for volume. I can also load .357 mag, .40 S&W, and .44 mag on the Square Deals, have the toolheads set up for those. You can load like a single stage on the progressives if you want, and I load heavy .357 loads that way. Most of my loading lately is for a few rifles I have, and trying different bullets and powders. Usually it's loading only 10 or 20 rounds at a time for testing.
So decide what volume you need of the ammo you want, and pick a press for that. You can load volume on a single stage, I did that for service rifle for a long time. You can also load singly on a progressive, I do that for my .357 lever action hunting ammo. I think it's universally accepted that a single stage allows you to produce ammo with greater precision, so nobody shooting benchrest would use a progressive, but they don't need the volume anyway. I'd also say that switching to loading for a different cartridge is easier on a single stage, and most of us break up the resizing, the brass prep, and then the charging and bullet seating into different sessions, so you can mix that up for different cartridges too.
One last point is that it's generally accepted that people reload to save money on the cost of factory ammo. Yes, you can reload ammo, usually better ammo than factory loads, for a component price that works out to less than factory ammo. But the reality is that it becomes a bit of a rabbit hole that ends up with you having a significant investment in your reloading equipment, and that often becomes a bit of a hobby and a pursuit all on its own.