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lws380 wrote:

Great advice!

You better believe it, primers without powder are just powerful enough to end your time at the range with that gun...

And yes, out of the thousands of rounds I've loaded, I have done this more than once!

Or blow up your gun, or some parts of your hand if the bullet lodges down the barrel and allows you to chamber another round behind it and you pull the trigger. That is why you need to recognize the sound of a squib load. Essentially if it makes a small pop instead of a big bang, stop, and inspect!

Amen to that... I've been lucky enough that each time I did it was with .40 S&W and my Browning Hi Power did NOT chamber the next round. A stuck bullet in a barrel with another coming is bad news...

Thanks for all the feedback, guys.

Why can't you use a progressive with rifle rounds? I have been looking hard at the Hornady Lock n Load AP, but if I can't produce accurate, safe, and inexpensive ammunition then I will go with the Hornady single. I am leaning towards the Hornady because it is all made in the USA.

mblud wrote:Thanks for all the feedback, guys.

Why can't you use a progressive with rifle rounds? I have been looking hard at the Hornady Lock n Load AP, but if I can't produce accurate, safe, and inexpensive ammunition then I will go with the Hornady single. I am leaning towards the Hornady because it is all made in the USA.

You can load rifle with a progressive. Most reloaders get into "accuracy improvement" for their ammo in the rifle rounds. Those often entail time consuming powder measurements, case preparation, more control over bullet seating and crimping. There is jsut no real need for more than a ingle stage when loading that way.

With my progressive all the steps would be happening to different cartridges at different phases of the reload. Much less attention to individual detail, so probably less accuracy than on a cartridge to cartridge basis.

lrb111 wrote:

mblud wrote:Thanks for all the feedback, guys.

Why can't you use a progressive with rifle rounds? I have been looking hard at the Hornady Lock n Load AP, but if I can't produce accurate, safe, and inexpensive ammunition then I will go with the Hornady single. I am leaning towards the Hornady because it is all made in the USA.

You can load rifle with a progressive. Most reloaders get into "accuracy improvement" for their ammo in the rifle rounds. Those often entail time consuming powder measurements, case preparation, more control over bullet seating and crimping. There is jsut no real need for more than a ingle stage when loading that way.

With my progressive all the steps would be happening to different cartridges at different phases of the reload. Much less attention to individual detail, so probably less accuracy than on a cartridge to cartridge basis.

I've obtained extremely high accuracy reloading .223 for two rifles (one an AR-15) and another .22-250 for prairie dog hunting using my 550B.

So how many rounds per hour can one expect to produce using a single stage press?

It varies but, under optimum conditions you should be able to load 100-150 rounds per hour. Now that's steady getting after the program.

When I was using a single stage press to load I batch loaded. I would 1. resize and deprime 2.reprime 3. charge powder 4 seat and crimp bullet. I used a Lee autoprime to seat primers while watching TV. It's easy to load several hundred rounds of ammo this way. A progressive does speed things up a good bit.

AndyC wrote:Also, get a good caliper (accurate to 1-thou') and a bullet-puller.

Yep, I have both a good caliper and a set of standard and metric mics from my outside machinist days. I did get a bullet puller.........and have already used it

Thanks for everyone's help and advice. I ended up getting the Lock-n-Load Classic Single Stage press. Here is a photo of my new reloading bench!



I ended up only having time to reload two rounds. The first was a Winchester cartridge case the second a Federal. I was surprised to find that the Federal was way longer then the Winchester after re-sizing. I had to trim .018" off the Federal, but the Win was within spec without trimming. Is this normal for Federal......maybe why they are so much cheaper?

I loaded both of them at the lightest load that was in the Hornady book.
Bullet: 155 gr. A-Max
Powder: IMR 4064 at 44.2 gr.
Primer: CCI LR

Going dove hunting tomorrow......think I will take the M1903A3 for a few (2) test fires as well!

interesting question.. I like the turret press idea or Dillion 550. I think you can skip the single stage press since you can use the turret press in single stage mode anyway. Why bother buying another press???? Don't like the Dillion 650 since you would be constantly dumping a primer on every handle pull if you were learning on one shell at a time, and its complex IMO. If you do go progressive i really like the Hornady LNL. Simple design, primer stays put, and you get 1000 free bullets with purchase as promotion. You also have the quick change die system which is pretty cool. I got 1000 45cal HP XPT's for the price of shipping 12.00. The cost of the XPT's easily made up for the price of the press.... oooopps, too late.......

Unless you shoot high volume (many hundreds a month), a single stage will serve you well. I load batches of 100 pistol rounds or 10-20 rifle rounds on my single stage...and have for the 10 years I have been at this game. I find the routine soothing after a chaotic day at work and around the kids. YMMV.

My experiences with turret presses are that they are sloppy...as in machined looser than a decent single stage press. No biggie for pistol and plinking rifle rounds, but lousy for precision loading for accuracy. The 30 seconds it takes to change dies (with the good lock rings now standard in die sets) just isn't worth it IMO.

K.I.S.S. is the watchword when you are starting out. The RCBS starter kit is excellent. Lee tools are underrated, especially for a beginner who may decide he/she doesn't like it.

Have fun!

I was new at reloading and I heard the samething get a single stage. I got a dillion 650. Read alot first. Took my time. Everything has turned out well. I have been reloding for 3 years. So no matter which way you go take your time. Don't rush I go into my reloading room lock the door and reload.

Even if you start with a progressive, you will wind up with a single stage on your bench. And yes, loading rifle on a progressive is not only possible, but a great thing when you shoot stuff like AR's and AK's. I bulk load for both! My choice (currently) is a single stage Lee with the quick change die bushing (LOVE IT!) and a Lee Loadmaster for high volume pistol and rifle. (LOVE that one too!) With ANY reloading system - pay attention and follow your manuals. Overloading or underloading is really bad medicine.

Griz44 wrote:Even if you start with a progressive, you will wind up with a single stage on your bench. And yes, loading rifle on a progressive is not only possible, but a great thing when you shoot stuff like AR's and AK's. I bulk load for both! My choice (currently) is a single stage Lee with the quick change die bushing (LOVE IT!) and a Lee Loadmaster for high volume pistol and rifle. (LOVE that one too!) With ANY reloading system - pay attention and follow your manuals. Overloading or underloading is really bad medicine.

I have the same Lee (Challenger Press), and LOVE the bushings. I'm just about to start loading my 2nd caliber (.380 ACP), and can already see how awesome those bushings are. Even only loading 9mm, the bushings mean I can do small batches of 5-10 rounds to work up a load (adjusting powder by .1 grains each set) and keep all of my adjustments in perfect spec. I'd be wasting SO much time and effort getting everything back in adjustment and keeping track of the different charged shells between batches without them.

I'm considering getting the Classic Turret a few months down the line, to speed up production for plinking ammo once my loads are more established.

chamberc wrote:

mblud wrote:I am getting ready to start reloading and wanted to get some advice.

Should I start with a single stage or bite the bullet (pun intended ) and get a progressive? I know that the progressive is a lot more money up front. But more importantly, as a beginner, is it better to start with a single?

Thanks,

If you know you're going to get into it for good, get a progressive. I have a Blue Press RL 550B and love it!

That is what my brother and I did. We have the 550 as well. It works great and every time we start we double check each stage by running a single round through the entire process and readjust if necessary. We decided on the progressive just because we shoot a lot more in pistol calibers than we do rifle, but this press would do both. You definitely need to pay attention to each process though as you are loading.

We got it through Brian Enos and he was extremely helpful. He called right after submitting the internet order and his website is very descriptive about the pros and cons of each feature or add on. He even let us know that some weren't "necessary", but would make life a little easier, and it has been learning this so far. Because of his forthrightness and informative site we ordered from him and have ordered other items from him as well. http://www.brianenos.com/pages/dillon.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

I know there are others out there, but it was a great Dillon resource, much more so than the manufacturer's site.

We are still learning about case sizing and such though. One thing we learned about the caliber powder tables though is that the book is a good reference, but each powder manufacture supplies a current table on their website.