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Lost Sheep · April 14, 2012, 02:27 PM

I, too would love to know the comparative speed, convenience and expense of swapping calibers on progressive presses.

I know that caliber swap on my Lee Classic Turret takes about 10-20 seconds if I don't have to change the powder measure and a couple of minutes if I do. A little more to re-set and verify the powder drop (though the auto-disk is supposed to be immune to changes in setting, I have to re-verify with several weighed powder drops for my peace of mind).

I used to have a pair of Lee Pro-1000s (one for large primers and one for small) and here's what I remember from that experience and I think some of it transfers to your three brand choices:

If you spend the extra money for a spare carrier for each caliber, the caliber swaps can be very fast and easy. If you use the same carrier and swap parts, it takes longer.

I believe most loaders leave their presses set up and just cover them with a drape or dust cover when not in use.

If you do long runs of a single cartridge, your time spent swapping calibers becomes less and less a percentage of your loading time than time spent on the other two activites: 1) The one everyone concentrates on - Cranking the handle and 2) the one few talk about - Keeping the case feeder, powder measure, bullet feeder and primer dispenser filled.

So, everyone who answers, please specify if you keep multiple powder measures mounted on tool heads (which costs more, of course, but is a savings in convenience and time, but how much of each is what the OP seems to be asking and is what I REALLY want to know). Specify if you have multiple carriers and how much they cost in dollars and how much they save in time.

Thanks.

Lost Sheep

April 14, 2012, 02:27 PM	#2
Lost Sheep Senior Member Join Date: January 24, 2009 Location: Anchorage Alaska Posts: 3,341	Me too, I, too would love to know the comparative speed, convenience and expense of swapping calibers on progressive presses. I know that caliber swap on my Lee Classic Turret takes about 10-20 seconds if I don't have to change the powder measure and a couple of minutes if I do. A little more to re-set and verify the powder drop (though the auto-disk is supposed to be immune to changes in setting, I have to re-verify with several weighed powder drops for my peace of mind). I used to have a pair of Lee Pro-1000s (one for large primers and one for small) and here's what I remember from that experience and I think some of it transfers to your three brand choices: If you spend the extra money for a spare carrier for each caliber, the caliber swaps can be very fast and easy. If you use the same carrier and swap parts, it takes longer. I believe most loaders leave their presses set up and just cover them with a drape or dust cover when not in use. If you do long runs of a single cartridge, your time spent swapping calibers becomes less and less a percentage of your loading time than time spent on the other two activites: 1) The one everyone concentrates on - Cranking the handle and 2) the one few talk about - Keeping the case feeder, powder measure, bullet feeder and primer dispenser filled. So, everyone who answers, please specify if you keep multiple powder measures mounted on tool heads (which costs more, of course, but is a savings in convenience and time, but how much of each is what the OP seems to be asking and is what I REALLY want to know). Specify if you have multiple carriers and how much they cost in dollars and how much they save in time. Thanks. Lost Sheep