Expatmedic,
I'm a rather persnickity loader myself. I have a Dillon BL 550
http://www.dillonprecision.com/bl-55...8_1_25792.html and it suits my load style for handgun cartridges perfectly.
For me, brass prep and actual loading are two discrete steps that I will never merge. After the brass is prepped, they then get a ss pin tumble for a nice shiny cleaning before I begin the load process.
Furthermore, I want to hand-prime my brass and I want to hand charge my cases in a loading block - where I can view the charge levels before placing a bullet atop.
So my Dillon progressive is either set up for brass reconditioning, or for actual loading. Yes, I have separate toolheads for each. So when I'm reconditioning, the resize/decap die and the flair die is in place - both steps are done with one press stroke. I don't bother with locator pins with this step - I take the case out at station 2 after it's been flaired.
After ss pin cleaning, the brass is then primed by hand, and placed in a loading block- where they are then charged by hand using an RCBS Uniflow. After checking the powder charge level, I place a bullet atop and take them to the press for loading. The first die seats. The second die taper crimps. The third die roll crimps (if applicable).
This process works for me. So in my world, I don't need anything more than three stations - which is why I got the 550 (it's a 4-station press; I just never use station #4).
I recently started loading rifle (223 Rem) ammo - after 32 years of only loading for handgun. All my rifle loading is done on my single stage press. So far, at least, I see no reason to go progressive with rifle ammo.