Who needs a progressive. . .

[ole 5 hole group]

Not sure who needs them but the folks that want them, want them to increase production while decreasing the amount of work needed.

if you don't know what your doing to can make mistakes with any press but properly setup the human element is all but taken out of the equation.

^^^^^^^THIS^^^^^^^

I started casting & reloading as a kid - probably around age 8 or 9. Pa had an ole Pacific single stage, a small casting pot and a GI one burner stove to use with it. Didn't have any extra money to purchase anything else and just purchasing primers and bullseye powder for the 38 special was tough enough. Don't remember the powder used for the 30-30 or 30-06 but didn't have much of that either.

Many years later I started shooting 2700 and there's no damn way you can make enough ammunition on a single stage to keep up with the volume of shooting needed to move up in the classifications and shoot matches once a week. I suppose you could if you had someone load all day long, a couple days a week for your week's ammo supply. Shot between 100 and 250 rounds a day, six days a week and on Sundays shot 270 rounds at the match - 180 rounds 45 ACP and 90 rounds 22lr. Never practiced much with the 22lr, as it was the most expensive to shoot back then compared to our reloads in 45 ACP and 38 Special and when we did it was at 50 yards - actually, 95% of our practice shooting was at 50 yards. Our handloads shot every bit as good as the ole Western Super-Match mid-range ammunition that the Service Teams shot back then - they always beat hell out of us, as they were better shooters. But they always gave us their empties to reload and sometimes several loaded boxes of that high priced Super-Match. We loved to see that 8th Army Armorer's Truck come rolling in with 2 or 3 top gunsmiths on their way to a major competition on the left coast - Great bunch of guys and most of the shooting team were members of the 2600 Club and back in the late 60's, that was saying a lot.

I still load on a progressive - started with a Starr Universal and now throw with a Hornady LnL.

[Silverboolit]

When I went from a single stage to a turret, I thought that was the best thing that ever happened to reloading. I feel as though I don't shoot enough to use the advantages of the progressive over the turret.

[DerekP Houston]

I'm satisfied with my setup but if I'd known twenty-five years ago that I'd end up with some much stuff I might have bought a progressive from the start.

I dunno, I love my LnL AP for the speed, but the classic turret is just about as fast just requires me yanking the handle more. Since I shoot so little rifle rounds a year I don't mind the slower speed. Still havent' gotten all the shell plates yet either and tuning em for each round is a bit more involved. I might just leave mine permanently setup for 38special as that is my current favorite and use the turret for the rest. If I took up IDPA or another sport I might need more rounds but I'd probably just buy another press and dedicate it to that gun.

[Char-Gar]

I have been loading since 1958 and have never needed or wanted a progressive. I have a couple of turret and three single stage presses. Just for fun I have a couple of Tru-Line Jr. presses and about a dozen Lyman 310 sets. Throw in 50 plus Lyman Shell Resizers and Wilson hand dies for the arbor press and I am good to go.

For the record, I would not have a red Lee press in the shop. So, I am a no blue and no red guy.

[OS OK]

I feel like you do about the turret but years back I bought the LnL with all the shellplates and powder drop expanders to do the entire stable of rounds that I load for. I thought that at the rate I jam out rounds on the turret the LnL is going to be phenomenal! Well...after all that 'supposition' on my part...good reasoning I thought too, I have only one caliber adjusted and locked down in the LnL and it never changes...it's the .45 ACP, the only one I really need a large quantity of at any given time. All I have to do then is re-adjust the seater die to accommodate whether I seat a RNFP or a SWC, I run a lockout style powder cop die and have an aftermarket light mounted on the underside of the press top...pretty quick, pretty simple, pretty foolproof (as long as I do my part) and most enjoyable to boot.
That's the only high volume loading I do any more, my 9's are gathering dust in the safe these days...all the other runs are from 100 to 500 and of several different calibers mixed in. The Lyman T Mag I use has 4 heads with everything set up and ready to stuff lead. The rifle rounds are done on the old chucker I bought in 74.
I know, "but it takes more time"...I'm retired and enjoy stuffing brass as much as I do shooting them...I'm odd that way I guess.

I would suppose that every loader has his requirements, his own quotas and time restraints to contend with...that's prolly one of the main reasons that there are so many options out there. Just because I do something one way doesn't make the next fella wrong about it.

charlie

[OS OK]

I have been loading since 1958 and have never needed or wanted a progressive. I have a couple of turret and three single stage presses. Just for fun I have a couple of Tru-Line Jr. presses and about a dozen Lyman 310 sets. Throw in 50 plus Lyman Shell Resizers and Wilson hand dies for the arbor press and I am good to go.

For the record, I would not have a red Lee press in the shop. So, I am a no blue and no red guy.

Better change that flag in your avatar...you look pretty 'red and blue' there and 'white' to boot! Being 'white' these days ain't too popular with some of them Dem. protesters! ... ...

[dragon813gt]

The Hype of Progressive Is Just that Hype..

Hype is different from personal preference. Hype implies it doesn't do what the manufacturer says it does. This couldn't further from the truth when it comes to progressives. They make ammo faster, w/ less case handling and less pulls of the handle. They do this job very well. Because it doesn't fit your style doesn't mean it's hype.

I guess I'm the only one w/ elbow issues. And I'm a lot younger, late thirties, than most here. The less I have to pull a handle the better my elbows feel. I bought a Dilllon so it's one pull for one finished round. W/ the LCT it's four pulls per loaded round. That's a huge stress relief on my elbows. I bought a Star sizer to run off an air cylinder to save my elbows as well. A LCT is a lot quicker to swap cartridges and setup. Every press has advantages and disadvantages.

[OS OK]

Well dragon...I guess you didn't go blind after all, you just had problems with your elbows...must have been all that repetitive motion in life? ... ...

[robg]

Still use a single stage press ,well two ,quite fancy a turret press but I've been wondering if its worth it as I size decap ,then trim shamfer clean primer pockets expand etc in batches would I really save anytime at the risk of more errors?

[dverna]

I would not shoot much pistol or shotgun ammo if I did not have a progressive presses. If your whole life is reloading and you do not shoot much maybe a single stage press is great. I have better things to do than get anal about pistol and shotgun ammo.

I have loaded 4000 12 ga shells in one day. Try that on a MEC 600. At one time we shot 20,000 rounds of 12 ga per year. Then there was pistol and rifle on top of that.

There are people who cannot handle the complexity of using a progressive. They should not use one. Some people cannot reload even on a single stage press. They need to buy their ammo.

I am anal about rifle ammo. I have never loaded rifle ammo on my Dillon presses.

If you load small batches (under 300 rounds at a time) for multiple calibers, a progressive may be a poor choice. You need to factor in the time to swap tool heads and primer systems. Once a quality machine is set up, it will produce quality ammo that has far less chance of being a squib or double charge unless YOU take the machine out of sequence. Both the Dillon 650 and 1050 can be fitted with a powder check die so even if you screw up it will check for a double charge or no powder. How simple is that ?

[M-Tecs]

Once a quality machine is set up, it will produce quality ammo that has far less chance of being a squib or double charge unless YOU take the machine out of sequence. Both the Dillon 650 and 1050 can be fitted with a powder check die so even if you screw up it will check for a double charge or no powder. How simple is that ?

Very true.

Two RL 1050's, one RL 1000, three 650's and a bunch of single station press. If I had to only load on a single station I would have to shoot a lot less. Normally I load 10,000 to 12,000 rifle cartridges per year.

All my F-class, 1,000 yard and prairie dog ammo is loaded on a progressive.

[EddieNFL]

Show me a progressive press (or any other style) that ever turned out a bad round and I'll show you a guy that shouldn't own a toolbox.

[Ole Joe Clarke]

Well boys and girls, let's not get all het up about something that don't really matter. As I heard one time, "whatever cranks your tractor." I love to look at and play with mechanical things, but that don't mean I want to work on automobiles.

When I was a kid I wanted to learn to play the guitar. Years went on and I progressed from a Sears Silvertone to a Gibson Super 400 electric, which was at that time the top of the line in archtop electrics. Then life got in the way, and I quit playing, sold my guitar and all the junk that goes with it. Ten years later, I decided I wanted to play again, but this time I went the other way, all acoustic, no electrics. I'm happier playing the ole Martins that I have than I was the electrics. Why? It suits me, just like my reloading choices. I play music when I want, and shoot and reload when I want.
It's a personal choice, so if you have a dozen progressives in your stable, or an old Pacific like I do, as Frisco Darling would say "more power to ye." Let's be friends, ok?

Leon

[M-Tecs]

The OP asked a very straight forward question. "Who needs a progressive. . . with a setup like this for rifles!

I load 10K to 12K rifle per year plus handgun and shotgun. For me and my shooting requirements progressives are a must.

Reloading is nothing more than a means to an end. After the first 100K on a single station I reloading becomes as enjoyable as doing the dishes. For me the only time I enjoy reloading are when my progressives are running like a fine tuned Swiss watch.

Herein lies the problem. I never see progressive advocates spreading BS about single station reloaders. The reverse is not true. The amount of pure BS claims made by some about progressives are simply amazing.

Are progressives the best choice for every one? No, but for lots of folks they are a necessity.

[THG]

I loaded one a single stage for a very long time and I still do for some cartridges. I went to a Dillon 550 when my kids started shooting. The next year I went to a Dillon 650, then added another 650 and taught the kids to load on one. Keeping up with the four shooters shooting USPSA and Steel Challenge was a chore, but the two 650s made it possible without too much pain. Loading (and casting with Master Caster) is a means to low cost volume shooting for us.

[bradley.moss72]

Ok guys,

This thread was not meant as a finger poking the eye of anyone who uses/owns a progressive. On the contrary, it is a light-hearted "look what I've been goofing off doing" post. I haven't even, and didn't intend to load the first round. Could I? Yes. Like I posted earlier I took a mental inventory of equipment and toyed with the idea, and decided to start putting stuff together and see how far I could get. I'd only be able to do this with 30-06 sized case heads because I believe that is the only thing I've got 3 shell holders for.

I will say this, Dillon's advertisement on there website greatly over simplifies the process for people who are not experienced reloaders. They basically say, buy a Dillon, and all you have to do is add components and pull the lever and you will have loaded rounds. So my buddy bought a 650 from a big box retailer. He bought the version set up for 223 but without dies. It has been several weeks and he hasn't got the first round out of it. Not because he is not mechanically inclined, as he was a mechanic by trade and Sergeant Major in an engineer company in the Marine core. He knows very little about reloading. I've been trying to help him, but I have never set up a progressive. (Not that I'm qualified to teach anyone anything and I live an hour and a half away.)

I agree that once the machine is set up it should produce good ammo, but only if you keep everything fed and pay attention to what's going on, just like loading single stage.

Loading is a short process, deprime, size, prime, charge, seat, crimp. Sure there are other things that can be done in between, but those are the main duties no mater what type press you use. Any one of those can be screwed up no matter what equipment you use.

BW

Sent from my SM-G900V using Tapatalk

[rosewood]

I started with a 550B because a friend recommended it. Pretty much taught myself from reading and internet surfing. I am quite mechanically inclined, so I caught on quickly. I began with loading for cowboy action shooting and needed the volume. I finally started loading rifle cartridges and found out it was more involved. I got hooked when I found out I could make my guns shoot better than factory ammo. After I got the first 2 .223 brass stuck in the die, I decided to buy a Lee single stage for the resizing process. I now resize all of my bottle necked cartridges on the single stage as I typically run them through the tumbler after resizing. However, I do still use the Dillon for loading rifle cartridges, I just leave that first hole empty unless I need to bell the cartridge, then I use the Lee universal expander in that hole.

A progressive is no doubt more complex. However, once you wrap your mind around the process, it is way less work and I think less prone to error than single stage. I don't like the idea of adding powder to a bunch of pieces of brass and have them sitting on the table while I am doing something else. I like to drop the powder, and immediately put the bullet in it. Of course, if you have several single stage presses you can still do it this way.

Rosewood

[jmorris]

Herein lies the problem. I never see progressive advocates spreading BS about single station reloaders. The reverse is not true. The amount of pure BS claims made by some about progressives are simply amazing.

That is just people talking about something they have no knowledge of.

I will say this, Dillon's advertisement on there website greatly over simplifies the process for people who are not experienced reloaders....Not because he is not mechanically inclined, as he was a mechanic by trade and Sergeant Major in an engineer company in the Marine core. He knows very little about reloading. I've been trying to help him, but I have never set up a progressive.

I suppose Ford and Chevy commercials over simplifies things a bit too. I started metallic reloading on a progressive over 30 years ago as a kid that just knew how to put plastic models together. The way I started is the same way I set up a press today, one at a time.

You are not doing anything that you don't do on a single stage, load one case into the machine at a time until you have everything under control.

Just because you can load 100 rounds in under 4 minutes on a progressive, does not mean you should try on the very first 100 rounds you have ever reloaded.

[jmort]

jmorris has mad-skills. Me, not so much. I will stick to batch loading. My next step will be the stripped-down BL550. I have trust issues with charging on a progressive. But the Lee Auto drum is proving to be a champ.

[DerekP Houston]

jmorris has mad-skills. Me, not so much. I will stick to batch loading. My next step will be the stopped down BL550. I have trust issues with charging on a progressive. But the Lee Auto drum is proving to be a champ.

Shrug, I see them all as tools designed for a purpose. I couldn't get the Lee progressive to work for me, but others can just fine. To each their own, I assume that is why there are so many varieties. Don't see the point in bashing one brand vs another as my lee gear works great.