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

[762 shooter]

I started with a Spartan single stage press that came in my first kit.
Then I got a Dillon 550B to load more rounds. Then I got a 1050 to load more rounds faster.
Then I got a Rock Chucker RC single stage.

Seems like I was fiddling with the progressives a lot when they weren't cranking out rounds at 110 miles per hour.

There is something to be said for looking at and into every round you are going to fire near your head. The purpose of a progressive is you don't have to do that.

Brass prep is the time stealer in reloading. If you have your brass prepped and primed ahead of time, you can load 200 rounds in less than an hour.

In my old age I have a policy that every round I load I would bet my life on to be safe and to fire 100% of the time. I also bet my son and brother's life. I can't do that with a clear conscience on a progressive.

762

[Jack Stanley]

Would I suggest a single stage for handgun only? Sure , One can turn out a fair amount of ammo on one . The only thing between the operator and ammo is time and ambition .

Jack

[Big Wes]

I started loading 25 years ago, taught myself on a Dillon 550b. Since then picked up a SDB in 45 acp & a 650 set up for 308 & 223. I've been thinking about getting a single stage just for small runs of ammo. I've been looking at the Mec Metalic Press $209.00 plus the stand for like $50.00 more, or a Rock ChuckerJust, can't make up my mind.

[Petrol & Powder]

Full disclosure, I didn't read all the posts in this thread. I did read the first post.

As to why single stage presses are frequently recommended for new reloaders of handgun cartridges comes down to budgetary reasons.
A true progressive press or even a simple turret press is far more useful when loading large amounts of handgun cartridges BUT most new reloaders are either reluctant to shell out a lot of cash OR simply cannot afford a lot of gear. So, the compromise to get them into reloading is a less expensive single stage press.
You say, "but wait; a turret press is only slightly more cost than a single stage and offers far more functionality". While many people do advance to a progressive press the issue isn't where you start but rather, where you finish. By starting your reloading career with a single stage press, you set up a situation where you will always have a single stage press.
Yes, you could start with a simple turret press and add a true progressive press later but then you would end up with a large collection of toolheads that may or may not be compatible. Like say if you had a Lee 4 hole turret press and a Dillon 650.
A single stage press is just a simpler foundation to begin a reloading hobby.

One argument is, if you're reloading handgun ammunition you are likely to end up with a progressive press eventually, so why not start with a progressive press"? The flaw in that argument is not everyone ends up with a progressive press.

[ReloaderFred]

I'll just throw out one more thing here. I currently load for thirty-five (35) different calibers, and of those, twenty-two (22) are handgun calibers. Some are low volume, and some are high volume. For me, a single stage press will always be on my bench. In fact, there are three single stage presses mounted to my bench at the current time, with another a couple more on the shelf. In the middle is a progressive press (Hornady LnL), which is used for my high volume handgun calibers.

My single stage presses can do things progressive presses can't, such as swage primer pockets, form brass for calibers that aren't available otherwise, and the various steps in swaging handgun bullets from cartridge brass. They're also used for case trimming, sizing and sundry other steps that a progressive can't handle with any reliable accuracy.

When I first started loading in 1963, it was for one caliber, .30-06, but I quickly added a second caliber, .357 Magnum/.38 Special. I had no idea at that time what my little hobby would morph into in the year 2021, but suffice it to say I had no clue in the early years where my hobby would end up. Without that first used Hollywood Senior press, purchased from one of my college professors for $25.00, none of what I have today would have been possible.

Hope this helps.

Fred

[BamaNapper]

My personal reason? Space. I don't have much of it. Less than 4 feet dedicated to reloading. It's a hobby, not an infection, and I can keep it from spreading. With that much real estate I leave the SS set up all the time and do every step of any caliber I wish. To be completely honest I do swap it out with the lube-sizer for one caliber, but that's maybe once a year. If I used a turret or progressive I'd have to move it for rifle rounds, boolit sizing, pulling, etc. I'm lazy.

For years I had even less space but I was only loading for a couple calibers. I had a bench where I could bolt the press. My whole SS setup fit in a 20mm ammo can under the bench. A second can held my consumables and casting gear.

I've been using the same press for 40 years. I have never had an instance where I couldn't put together enough ammo to shoot as much as I wanted. It's a matter of how much time you want to spend on the hobby. If you're only willing to spend an hour on Tues nights, a SS is not your tool. If you're looking for a hobby to fill a couple nights a week and maybe a rainy Saturday, give you a chance to listen to some music or a podcast or two, a SS is more than capable. As mentioned above, if you have your cases prepped, 200 rounds an hour is normal. Think about the numbers. One evening in case prep, and a second evening for loading. At 2-3 hours per that's 500 rounds a week without breaking a sweat. How much are you going to shoot?

[Petander]

I cannot see a single stage for handgun loading. An inexpensive Lee Turret for Handgun seems much more productive and enjoyable.

[Petrol & Powder]

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..........."

[monadnock#5]

Back in the early 80's a single stage press is what the reloaders I knew recommended to me. I didn't have a teacher to show me the ropes. Just me and my Lyman manual. Primarily loading for revolvers. Never felt handicapped by low round count or the time invested.

A single stage press isn't necessarily what I would recommend to a new reloader today however. With all the videos and online services available, everything needed to setup, run and troubleshoot a progressive is at our fingertips. For the newbie shooting semi auto pistol rounds by the bucket full, I'd be okay with that.

This of course assumes that equipment and components again become available at reasonable prices and youtube doesn't shut us out by changing algorithms.

[500aquasteve]

Single stage, for me starting first loads 3 weeks ago, allow fine tuning case flair and roll crimp. I also used cases varying 0.004" in length per batch, no need to trim cases if I am still finding the sweet spots.

Once I have the ideal settings that work for the load (500SW), then there will be 0.001" case uniformity with whatever progressive system I choose to use, depending on supply.

[Minerat]

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..........."

SO, sometimes what you use explains why you would recommend it. I think recommending a single stage over progressive promotes safer reloading and allows one to observe and stick to detail. Sure progressives help eliminate double charges but they can also cause no charges, high primers or no primers and for beginners it does not promote component inspection or a firm base understanding of the reloading process like a single stage can. I use a single stage for pistol loads. But admit to having a piggyback for use on when I feel lazy and want some blasting fodder. Then I might do 300 rounds over one setting.

[onelight]

One recommendation for a single stage is that no matter what press you have in 10 years the single stage will still be an asset even if you have a turret or progressive .
If you want to see how true this do a poll on how many still have uses for single stage in addition to a turret or progressive ,excluding press collectors a different game. For handgun rounds a turret does double duty for a lot of things but progressives don't without a lot more setup time .

[high standard 40]

All beginners should start with a single stage press. There is much to learn and get a feel for when it comes to setting up dies. Many times you can "feel" an issue when raising the ram and a potential problem presents itself. A new loader needs to learn to identify these issues by feel. With a progressive press and three or more dies being used at once, it becomes harder for an issue to be noticed and identified. I've been loading for about 45 years. I started with a Rockchucker and it is still my only press. I've never felt the need for anything else and I load 1000s of rounds a year.

[375supermag]

Hi...
I reload almost all of my big bore revolver rounds on my RockChucker.
I process the brass in stages and load in batches from 50-500 depending on available brass and the load.
I resize and deprime and then flare the case mouth. I prime the cases on an RCBS APS bench mounted priming tool. Magnum primer cases are stored separately from standard primer cases. I then dump powder charges and seat bullets.
With resized, reprimed and flared cases, I can fill as many loading blocks with charged cases as I want to load and then seat and crimp bullets. With processed cases Ican generally dump powder and seat bullets fairly quickly. I can charge and load several hundred rounds in a few hours.
I actually enjoy loading big bore revolver cartridges on my RockChucker.
Is also do my .38Spl cartridges on my RockChucker. I usually do them in batches of 500 a few times a year.
Big bore revolver cartridges are loaded just about every week.
Despite the relative slowness of reloading on a RockChucker, I usually manage to go through about 2000 cast bullets per month in .41Mag, .44Mag, .45Colt, .45AutoRim and .44Spl total.
Is know that because I am buying about that many cast lead revolver bullets each month

My son and I load all of our auto pistol and .357Magnum ammunition on Hornady LnL progressive presses.

[bigwagon]

I have a turret, a progressive and two single stage presses on my bench, and feel like I could still use one more SS for what and how I reload. I absolutely would recommend any new reloader start with a single stage for all of the reasons previously stated, and it will never be a waste of money to have one nor a waste of time to have learned on one. No matter how many rounds you load through progressives or other types of presses, there are still too many reasons that a SS is useful to have to even list.

[VariableRecall]

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.

[1hole]

I have a buddy charge the cases ..... seats a boolit, and hands the ready to complete boolit over to me.

To quote good 'ol Charley Brown, "ARRRRRGGGGG!" ( )

[Murphy]

I wouldn't hesitate to recommend a single stage for handgun loading to a beginner. There is a learning curve when it comes to reloading. It's better to learn and observe what each stage does during the reloading process. Better to produce a few rounds and find out you've made a mistake, than having several hundred you now have to break back down into components and start over.

Anyone else ever loaded up a couple hundred rounds of .38 Special semi-wadcutters and discovered they wouldn't chamber? Oops, seems that seating and crimping at the same time thing really can create an issue. Better to find out after running of 50 on a single stage than 500 on a progressive. Just my 2¢ worth.

Murphy

[megasupermagnum]

It looks like you didn't flare the brass, and didn't seat the primers hard enough. I don't see how that is any fault of the press.

[VariableRecall]

To quote good 'ol Charley Brown, "ARRRRRGGGGG!" ( )

Don't worry, We've gotten to the rhythm of the process. He's not going to hold onto the boolit and charged brass combo and yank it out of my press as I operate the lever.

When I reload alone, I charge all the cases, inspect them, and seat boolits to the charged cases when I'm satisfied with the results.