Why would you recommend a single stage press for handgun only loading ?

[oley55]

I'd have to say as a reloader who just started this August that recommending the Lee Hand Press was one of the most important parts that helped get my reloading adventures started. A lot of us young folk don't have the luxury of a garage or the ability to drill something like a reloading bench due to lease agreements. There's always the table-top option from Inline Fabrication (looks neat too!) but that's also a large investment of space and cash that we don't have much of.

When it comes down to a tabletop press to get next, I'm thinking the best solution is going to be a Lee Turret Press. It's compact, newbie proof, and I like the notion of not dealing with excessive set up times.

You can also greatly speed up the process of reloading on a single stage by preparing all other "dry" or non-powder charging/bullet seating steps ahead of time. I'm bundling all my brass in batches of 50 that have the same number of times fired, and state. (Primed/Unprimed)

Another essential, if you have someone else handy, is having a buddy perform non-press actions that assist you while you're making use of the press. For example, I have a buddy charge the cases with my Lee PPM (after we calibrate the thing of course), seats a boolit, and hands the ready to complete boolit over to me. That way, it saves me the trouble of putting the press down to do those actions.

I'm certain that I won't have a progressive press until I have a home to myself. Which could take a long while.

I recon you would need one of these handy dandy go anywhere wood Lee Turret Box/press platforms. I'm guessing they are rarer than hens teeth though. Those are pics of the brochure that came with my Lee Turret circa 1985, ordered through Shotgun News I think.

[Landric]

I always enjoy the posts that say basically:

"Don't use the reasons you might want to do X and then tell me reasons why you might want to do X."

The OP basically discounts the reasons to start with (or stay with) a single stage and then wants us to tell him other reasons that might exist. He has made up his mind that there isn't a valid reason to use a single stage in the circumstances he describes. I don't feel any need to try and convince him otherwise. For some reason I'm still posting here. Go figure.

[Mk42gunner]

I've already responded, but I thought of a few analogies:

For the same reason my dad started my brother and I with a single shot .22 rifle. To learn the basics.

The same reason I taught my daughter to drive a manual transmission, even though she may never own a vehicle with one. Just in case she needs to know how, i.e. the basics.

Robert

PS, I spent many a night weighing charges of IMR-3031 with an RCBS 502 scale, dribbling powder from a teaspoon, and filling .22-250 cases while my buddy seated the bullets. We made quite team loading and coyote hunting.

R

[W.R.Buchanan]

I would recommend this tool which is a singe stage press that fits in a tool bag with the rest of your stuff. it will do anything any of the bolt down bench mounted presses will do but takes up much less space. So if Space is a consideration then you need one of these.

There are no progressive machines that will fit in a tool bag. This tool will and it will load any brass round smaller than .50 BMG at home, in your camper or tent.

So yes I would recommend this tool over a progressive even for only loading handgun rounds,,, depending on your circumstances.

just sayin'

Randy

[VariableRecall]

I recon you would need one of these handy dandy go anywhere wood Lee Turret Box/press platforms. I'm guessing they are rarer than hens teeth though. Those are pics of the brochure that came with my Lee Turret circa 1985, ordered through Shotgun News I think.

Now that's neat!

[W.R.Buchanan]

I always enjoy the posts that say basically:

"Don't use the reasons you might want to do X and then tell me reasons why you might want to do X."

The OP basically discounts the reasons to start with (or stay with) a single stage and then wants us to tell him other reasons that might exist. He has made up his mind that there isn't a valid reason to use a single stage in the circumstances he describes. I don't feel any need to try and convince him otherwise. For some reason I'm still posting here. Go figure.

Maybe you should just convince get him to buy one of mine? At least one of us would be happy!

Randy

[nhyrum]

I would recommend this tool which is a singe stage press that fits in a tool bag with the rest of your stuff. it will do anything any of the bolt down bench mounted presses will do but takes up much less space. So if Space is a consideration then you need one of these.

There are no progressive machines that will fit in a tool bag. This tool will and it will load any brass round smaller than .50 BMG at home, in your camper or tent.

So yes I would recommend this tool over a progressive even for only loading handgun rounds,,, depending on your circumstances.

just sayin'

Randy

That would be a GREAT tool to bring to the range and do all the load work in one go! Man I might pick up one of those

Sent from my SM-G975U using Tapatalk

[perotter]

Personally I won't recommend a single stage in such a case. Kind of falls into the area of "pennywise, pound foolish".

I figure a person is going to reload a bunch of ammo or decide not to reload at all. A lot of people find it to do tedious to do repetitive hand labor. And if the new reloader does like repetitive hand labor, he'll dream up a way to add work to using a turret or progressive press.

[Three44s]

I would suggest any newbie that must have a progressive for a first press to go ahead.

Then report back after you have gone that way and tell us who suggest SS presses as a first press how wrong we were.

Three44s

[GT1]

I always tell them to go ahead if they are certain sure reloading is for them. If they can change their own car tire, do basic service on their vehicles, or thread an old sewing machine, they can certainly run a progressive press.
If they don't or can't do those things, then do more studying.
I absolutely can't stand that standard antique advice to start on a SS press. That shtick is from many decades ago when there was basically a star, and everything else, and it should be tossed.

[Scrounge]

I always tell them to go ahead if they are certain sure reloading is for them. If they can change their own car tire, do basic service on their vehicles, or thread an old sewing machine, they can certainly run a progressive press.
If they don't or can't do those things, then do more studying.
I absolutely can't stand that standard antique advice to start on a SS press. That shtick is from many decades ago when there was basically a star, and everything else, and it should be tossed.

That's kind of funny. I can't stand the silly advise to start with a progressive. Most people don't need a progressive press. Heck, most shooters don't really shoot enough to justify an expensive single stage press. Maybe it makes sense for someone like my brother. He shoots a lot, and proselytes reloading like a Mormon Elder. I believe he's got 3 Dillons, but he still has a couple single stage presses, too. They are more versatile. It is a pain to set up a Dillon for a different caliber, and you need a bunch of expensive stuff to do it. With a single stage press, you need a set of dies. Period, dot, end of message. IIRC, he does his load development on the SS presses, then sets up one of the Dillon's. Makes perfect sense for him to do things that way.

The thing is, not everybody does the same stuff. You cannot generalize a progressive press as necessary for every shooter. But every shooter can use (not necessarily needs, but can use) a SS press. If you shoot one caliber, one load, one bullet weight, and one set of components, you could probably be quite happy with a progressive press. Once you've developed that load, anyway.

Not to mention "basically a star, and everything else..." I've been shooting and reloading on and off for over 55 years. Never owned a Star anything. Dad had, IIRC, Herters and C&H reloading equipment when I was a kid. I don't remember sizing boolits, and do remember pan lubing. For best accuracy, sizing is good, but if your molds throw good boolits you can get way with as-cast. Especially if you're mostly shooting old worn out guns. I don't think he shot a lot of J-words, but I didn't live with him full-time from age 4 until 15. Summers and other vacation times, we'd often be at his place, and helping him reload, or out in the desert at our step-grandfather's homestead shooting those old worn out guns. There are still a lot of folks who would do fine with a SS press for all their reloading needs. For those folks, it's still good advise. The investment won't kill their budget even if they eventually decided they do need a progressive or three. And it will still be useful if they get another gun in a different caliber, since all they'll need to develop a load will be a set of dies and a mold. You can do that with a progressive press, but the die set is going to be more expensive. Fine if you really need it, but a waste of serious money if you decide you don't like shooting that gun.

For me, BTW, if I need something I can't find or afford, I can probably build it. Recently wanted a sizing die for a 91/30 Mosin Nagant with a way oversize bore. Shoots well with properly sized boolits, and not worth a darn with j-words. I could shoot as cast. I've miked the cast boolits at .3165. I've made a .316 sizing & lubing die for my Lyman 450. I've still some work to do on the shop to get where I can get crazy about casting and shooting again. I have a fine little Spar-T SS turret press. It's plenty versatile enough, and I've had it for about 40 years or more. Now I'm retired, I may someday find the need for a progressive press, but I'm not in any hurry about it. And I do not see that it makes sense to buy a thousand dollar press for a new reloader when you can get a SS press and everything else you could need to reload for that same money or less, even buying new. Judicious purchase of used equipment could get you going for a couple of hundred dollars all in. Every one is different. There is no one way to do things. Everyone is going to need to figure out what they want, need, and can afford. You ABSOLUTELY do not need a progressive press. IFF you only shoot a few hundred rounds a year in one caliber. You may need one if you shoot thousands of rounds a year, even in only one caliber. If you're a nut case like my brother, and shoot thousands of round a year in several calibers and encourage and help others to do so as well, you probably do need several progressive presses. And, I maintain, at least one SS press. YMMV!

BTW, "IFF" is not a typo. It's Boolean for "If, and only if." Not everyone is going to like reloading. Even if they are mechanically inclined. Oh, and I'm a nut case, too, just not in exactly the same ways my brother is.

[Echo]

I ALWAYS recommend a single-stage as a first reloading press. I helps the tyro learn about in's & out's of reloading. After they have reloaded maybe a couple thousand shells, then maybe they are ready for a progressive. And I'm not talking about a turret press - they are just fancy single-stage presses...

[Livin_cincy]

SO,

The Op's question was, "Why would you recommend a single stage press for handgun only loading?"

The question is NOT, what do you use.

The question is ...." WHY would you recommend..........."

[ascast]

I personally know two ( that's 2 ) people who ruined guns by using progressives presses. They were not experienced reloaders. They did not know to check powder levels, primers etc. Of course it was the presses fault, not theirs'. I made the same mistakes when I got a progressive; just caught up in the excitement of cranking out ready to go ammo in mere minutes. I never ruined a gun, but I missed powder once or twice. The second reason is cost. An old Pacific from the 30's will make very good ammo. Maybe the new guy finds shooting is not his thing, fine, he's not out a lot of money.

[Shawlerbrook]

Agree that a single stage press is a great way for a novice to learn and will always have a use. Besides, it will make your primers and powder last longer in these days of craziness( sarcasm).

[Garyshome]

Because I only needed to load 6 rounds
If you are going to shoot very much pistol or semi auto rifle you NEED a progressive. But everyone should have at-least 1 ss press if not 4 or 5[]

[Der Gebirgsjager]

I'm with the "it's still a good idea" crowd. We're talking advice for a beginner here, not an experienced expert. I started on a used Lyman Spartan loading .38 Spec. wadcutters. I had no idea what an extensive hobby it would become, and therefore no idea about what an investment it would eventually become. It was not originally a matter of big volume, just a box or two for practice. As my interests spread so did my collection of dies, but I rarely found it necessary to load more that a box or two for anything. Today I own 3 single stage presses and one Lee turret press, all of the Lee LoadAll shotgun presses, and a MEC .410 press, and they serve my purposes well. Yes, if I expended thousands of rounds of 9mm or .45 ACP annually in practice I would likely find a progressive press to be an asset, but I have no need. Therefore, I feel that starting a newbie off with a single stage press is still good advice, because his investment is limited and one does not know where his interests will take him, or if a year later the press will be abandoned. Also, he gets a much better grounding in the basics by handling each round, rather that just pulling a handle and filling hoppers.

DG

[Livin_cincy]

so,

the op's question was, "why would you recommend a single stage press for handgun only loading?"

the question is not, what do you use.

The question is ...." why would you recommend..........."

roflmao !!!😆😂😉

[Scrounge]

I ALWAYS recommend a single-stage as a first reloading press. I helps the tyro learn about in's & out's of reloading. After they have reloaded maybe a couple thousand shells, then maybe they are ready for a progressive. And I'm not talking about a turret press - they are just fancy single-stage presses...

Yes, they are! Though a very convenient SS press, sometimes. Like when you have a couple or three calibers you load for very frequently.

[Green Frog]

I spent about an hour or so loading 49 usable 38 HBWCs on a dirty, out of adjustment Dillon Progressive Model 550 press because I didn’t want to spend a couple of hours to tear it down completely and rebuild it to run a small batch (and this doesn’t count the 8 rounds that came through without primers nor the 10 that came through with ruined primers upside down or sideways - let’s not talk about that cost!)

Sunday afternoon I spent less time loading 50 rounds of 327 Fed Mag on a single stage RCBS Jr.

I’m sure glad I don’t have to limit my loading to a fast, efficient progressive press! YMMV!

Froggie