progressive press or single stage ? - Page 2

jmorris · January 4, 2016, 06:29 PM

I don't know of any hydraulic metallic reloaders or kits but there are a few electro/mechanical ones out there.

I built this one.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MrFhnDQ-eUU

cw308 · January 4, 2016, 07:02 PM

mikld, said it all. Reloading is enjoyable, if a progressive press makes it more, go for it , you only go around once in life. Make the best of it.

walnut1704 · January 5, 2016, 07:54 AM

I've found I need both.

The progressives are great for cranking out large quantities of a single load in a short amount of time. Caliber changes can be quick, but extra tool heads and shell plates cost real money.

For experimental work, case forming, small quantities, the single stages are much better.

For example: I shoot maybe a couple of hundred rounds of 9mm Makarov a year. Hardly worth the cost of the hardware, or the time to set the Dillon up for it. Simpler to use a single stage.

Plus sometimes I get a crazy idea and try to make a non-standard or obsolete cartridge. The single stage is better for that.

45_auto · January 5, 2016, 08:06 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by rebs

I wish someone lived close to me so maybe I could load a few rounds on one.

Someone probably does. But how are we supposed to know?

You can edit your profile to show your general location with your user name.

rebs · January 5, 2016, 10:09 AM

western NY

wogpotter · January 5, 2016, 11:20 AM

Just a thought, there are frequently reloading supply folks at gun shows who'd be glad to give you a walk through & trial run, maybe check into local shows & see if there is such a dealer there?

rebs · January 5, 2016, 04:13 PM

I have been to gun shows and they sometimes have the Hornady press but still in the box. Never seen one open and on display at a gun show

wogpotter · January 5, 2016, 05:29 PM

OK it may just be the guys round here but 3 of the big shows (& one store) they have them set up & running.
Try calling round see if someone by you has the same.

rdtompki · January 5, 2016, 11:17 PM

I'm doing 40K rounds/year on a Hornady. With 9mm most of the force is the result of the sizing operation and just a bit of push to seat the primer. Using Hornady case lube really decreases the effort and not going overboard with cleaning brass seems to reduce friction as well.

Definitely get an Inline Fabrications roller handle: much easier than that darn ball handle, but if you're a Luddite stick with the ball

. Your volume doesn't warrant a case or bullet feeder and these frills would increase caliber changeover, but should you find yourself cranking out a lot of a single caliber the feeders would decrease the amount of work your shoulders were doing.

Some minor quirks with the Hornady, lots of info on the internet and I haven't replaced a part in 50K rounds.

Good luck!

rebs · January 6, 2016, 12:48 AM

I am going to check out a big gun show in Buffalo this weekend and see if anyone has a Hornady setup.

MrWesson · January 6, 2016, 11:32 AM

Sometimes the journey makes the trip and not the destination.

I use a progressive when I have to reload for a competition or impromptu range day coming up.

When I go into the reloading room for entertainment which because I enjoy reloading is often I reach for the turret press. More involved, simple, easy to swap calibers, etc. Once I get the progressive set up it feels like a ammo factory and changing something mid run is a huge pain.

cw308 · January 6, 2016, 02:25 PM

I can see when reloading large quantities the progressive is the only way to go. I guess once you get comfortable with the press whether your loading 20 or 200 its no big deal. I like my Rockchucker never advanced to the big leagues.

rebs · January 7, 2016, 10:58 AM

Thank you guys for all your help and advice, I'll see what I can find at the gun show this weekend in a Hornady press.

rebs · January 9, 2016, 08:41 PM

Is it possible to batch load on theHornady ap ?

jmorris · January 9, 2016, 08:55 PM

Quote:

Is it possible to batch load on theHornady ap ?

What is your definition of "batch load"?

You can run any progressive like a single stage if you want, including hand priming. Although they are not very "progressive" used that way.

rebs · January 10, 2016, 06:18 AM

what I meant was can you load the powder off press for when you are doing load development and want to change the powder charge is small increments ?

wogpotter · January 10, 2016, 09:26 AM

Not easily, but, what you can do is "unplug" the powder measure, leaving the die in place. Weigh or measure off press then just pour the pre-measured charge into the top where the meter would have sat with the ram fully raised.

jmorris · January 10, 2016, 10:02 AM

Quote:

what I meant was can you load the powder off press for when you are doing load development and want to change the powder charge is small increments ?

Sure, just leave the measure empty and remove and replace the case. At the "powder station". I use powder through expanders on pistol rounds so I would leave the measure on so the case gets belled, if I were going to do it that way.

When I work up a load I take my press with me after setting the measure at a starting load. Then keep turning up the measure until I get the velocity I am looking for.

Saves hours over loading a few of everything and I never have to break down loaded ammunition that I didn't use. Kind of the same reasons I went with progressive presses to begin with.

SARuger · January 10, 2016, 11:11 AM

Being a newb myself, I asked and listened to these good peoples advice. I started with a LEE 4 hole turret, and run it single stage until I am sure of my loads/equipment.

tobnpr · January 10, 2016, 07:18 PM

Quote:

Not easily, but, what you can do is "unplug" the powder measure, leaving the die in place. Weigh or measure off press then just pour the pre-measured charge into the top where the meter would have sat with the ram fully raised.

Or, just pop the case out of the shellplate after the priming station, dump your powder, then replace it. There's no press that makes it easier to remove and replace brass than the LNL- it's just held in with a spring.

I always spot-check (weigh metered charges) about every ten to fifteen rounds when loading large quantities. Drop the charge, pop out the case, weigh it, replace it.

I plan on getting an RCBS Chargemaster- at which point I'll be doing just what you suggested; funneling in the weighed charge at the station that currently houses the meter.

jmorris · January 10, 2016, 08:16 PM

Quote:

Or, just pop the case out of the shellplate after the priming station, dump your powder, then replace it. There's no press that makes it easier to remove and replace brass than the LNL- it's just held in with a spring.

Same thing on the 650 @ the powder charge station.

Economist · January 11, 2016, 11:15 AM

Tobnpr said it best.

It's really easy to pop the case out of the shellplate when you want to do your powder charges off-press. Or, you can take the powder measure off and put it back on the press very easily, so you could leave the powder measure off of the press and batch load just as tobnpr described with no real effort.

gyvel · January 11, 2016, 11:28 AM

Times have changed, but, in years past, I found that a Lyman turret press was no good for reloading CF rifle cartridges as the turret, in order to be loose enough to turn easily would flex too much during resizing. Hence, I always stuck with the single stage press.

About 28 years ago, I did have the opportunity to reload for a fellow who sold at guns shows. He had 4 Dillon 1050s which were very impressive, but my take on them was that they were only good for pistol calibres.

Bottom line is what kind of reloading are you going to do? If it's several hundred pistol rounds for a weekend's blasting, then the progressive is your choice. If you're reloading, for example, .30-06 or .308, then the single stage is your best bet.

briandg · January 11, 2016, 04:21 PM

I believe that using a progressive press that eliminates a lot of possible errors as it is automatically run from station to station is safer to use than a single stage that involves charging and working with your ammo in blocks of fifty. The more ammo you run, the more prone you may be to errors in a single stage, so you may be far safer over your lifetime using a full progressive. I couldn't run 223 on a progressive, it wouldn't work for me. you are probably looking at 2-3 hours a week on single stage, depending on how quickly you work, maybe half that with a progressive. using a turret would cut a few minutes off of your single stage time use.

If i was in your situation, this is how I would work. I would load in bulk on weekends, 500 lots.

The way I work is I keep a huge stockpile of brass. I take a container of several hundred, and work it through stages.
Clean.
deprime/size.
expand.
using fifty round blocks, I then..
charge
load and crimp.

I always have huge quantities of loaded ammo on hand, because I load in huge blocks, and when I shoot, everything goes into a great big unsorted pile until I feel like cleaning it and sorting it. It's not as disorganized as it sounds. Right at this minute I'm doing bulk resizing on 9mm. almost a thousand, i guess, by how heavy it feels. about ten pounds. When I'm done, I will expand, then tumble lightly again. I use an rcbs hand primer, and only prime them as I need them, taking only a few minutes per block of fifty that I plan on loading.

Since you are not planning on shooting HUGE numbers of rounds, but steady and large numbers, this may be a more efficient way of working than a progressive would be. It works well for me.

briandg · January 11, 2016, 05:12 PM

since i wrote the last post, I processed a one quart bin of 9mm brass through my sizing die. just about a full quart, about 4-500 rounds of brass, what, about 5 seconds per stroke on average? excluding the time spent on cleaning and inspecting, set up, or other times, the entire process of loading an ordinary centerfire pistol of pretty much any type will take about thirty seconds start to finish, something in the area of 30-45 minutes to run 100 rounds. loading single stage in bulk is where you save all of your time, by never changing any of your settings, dies, chargers, etc... throughout the whole process of 1,000 or 500 rounds. That's pretty much it. I tend to use up whatever number of bullets I have on hand producing as many loaded rounds as I can, if I'm just using leisure ammunition. I've got a good load for all of my rifles, and same with them, if I get a box of 100, i put 100 rounds into the boxes.

January 5, 2016, 11:20 AM	#31
wogpotter Senior Member Join Date: September 27, 2004 Posts: 4,811	Just a thought, there are frequently reloading supply folks at gun shows who'd be glad to give you a walk through & trial run, maybe check into local shows & see if there is such a dealer there? __________________ Allan Quatermain: “Automatic rifles. Who in God's name has automatic rifles”? Elderly Hunter: “That's dashed unsporting. Probably Belgium.”

January 5, 2016, 05:29 PM	#33
wogpotter Senior Member Join Date: September 27, 2004 Posts: 4,811	OK it may just be the guys round here but 3 of the big shows (& one store) they have them set up & running. Try calling round see if someone by you has the same. __________________ Allan Quatermain: “Automatic rifles. Who in God's name has automatic rifles”? Elderly Hunter: “That's dashed unsporting. Probably Belgium.”

January 5, 2016, 11:17 PM	#34
rdtompki Senior Member Join Date: March 15, 2014 Location: San Franciso Bay area Posts: 108	I'm doing 40K rounds/year on a Hornady. With 9mm most of the force is the result of the sizing operation and just a bit of push to seat the primer. Using Hornady case lube really decreases the effort and not going overboard with cleaning brass seems to reduce friction as well. Definitely get an Inline Fabrications roller handle: much easier than that darn ball handle, but if you're a Luddite stick with the ball. Your volume doesn't warrant a case or bullet feeder and these frills would increase caliber changeover, but should you find yourself cranking out a lot of a single caliber the feeders would decrease the amount of work your shoulders were doing. Some minor quirks with the Hornady, lots of info on the internet and I haven't replaced a part in 50K rounds. Good luck! __________________ NRA Life Member CRPA Life Member

January 10, 2016, 09:26 AM	#42
wogpotter Senior Member Join Date: September 27, 2004 Posts: 4,811	Not easily, but, what you can do is "unplug" the powder measure, leaving the die in place. Weigh or measure off press then just pour the pre-measured charge into the top where the meter would have sat with the ram fully raised. __________________ Allan Quatermain: “Automatic rifles. Who in God's name has automatic rifles”? Elderly Hunter: “That's dashed unsporting. Probably Belgium.”

January 11, 2016, 11:28 AM	#48
gyvel Senior Member Join Date: August 30, 2009 Location: Northern AZ Posts: 7,172	Times have changed, but, in years past, I found that a Lyman turret press was no good for reloading CF rifle cartridges as the turret, in order to be loose enough to turn easily would flex too much during resizing. Hence, I always stuck with the single stage press. About 28 years ago, I did have the opportunity to reload for a fellow who sold at guns shows. He had 4 Dillon 1050s which were very impressive, but my take on them was that they were only good for pistol calibres. Bottom line is what kind of reloading are you going to do? If it's several hundred pistol rounds for a weekend's blasting, then the progressive is your choice. If you're reloading, for example, .30-06 or .308, then the single stage is your best bet. __________________ As always, YMMV. __________________________________________ MIIAA SIFE Last edited by gyvel; January 11, 2016 at 02:53 PM.

January 4, 2016, 06:29 PM	#26
jmorris Senior Member Join Date: November 22, 2006 Posts: 3,077	I don't know of any hydraulic metallic reloaders or kits but there are a few electro/mechanical ones out there. I built this one. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MrFhnDQ-eUU

January 4, 2016, 07:02 PM	#27
cw308 Senior Member Join Date: September 2, 2010 Location: Plainview , Long Island NY Posts: 3,863	mikld, said it all. Reloading is enjoyable, if a progressive press makes it more, go for it , you only go around once in life. Make the best of it.

January 5, 2016, 07:54 AM	#28
walnut1704 Senior Member Join Date: October 28, 2009 Posts: 156	I've found I need both. The progressives are great for cranking out large quantities of a single load in a short amount of time. Caliber changes can be quick, but extra tool heads and shell plates cost real money. For experimental work, case forming, small quantities, the single stages are much better. For example: I shoot maybe a couple of hundred rounds of 9mm Makarov a year. Hardly worth the cost of the hardware, or the time to set the Dillon up for it. Simpler to use a single stage. Plus sometimes I get a crazy idea and try to make a non-standard or obsolete cartridge. The single stage is better for that.

January 5, 2016, 10:09 AM	#30
rebs Senior Member Join Date: January 10, 2012 Posts: 3,881	western NY

January 5, 2016, 04:13 PM	#32
rebs Senior Member Join Date: January 10, 2012 Posts: 3,881	I have been to gun shows and they sometimes have the Hornady press but still in the box. Never seen one open and on display at a gun show

January 6, 2016, 12:48 AM	#35
rebs Senior Member Join Date: January 10, 2012 Posts: 3,881	I am going to check out a big gun show in Buffalo this weekend and see if anyone has a Hornady setup.

January 6, 2016, 11:32 AM	#36
MrWesson Senior Member Join Date: October 10, 2010 Posts: 357	Sometimes the journey makes the trip and not the destination. I use a progressive when I have to reload for a competition or impromptu range day coming up. When I go into the reloading room for entertainment which because I enjoy reloading is often I reach for the turret press. More involved, simple, easy to swap calibers, etc. Once I get the progressive set up it feels like a ammo factory and changing something mid run is a huge pain.

January 6, 2016, 02:25 PM	#37
cw308 Senior Member Join Date: September 2, 2010 Location: Plainview , Long Island NY Posts: 3,863	I can see when reloading large quantities the progressive is the only way to go. I guess once you get comfortable with the press whether your loading 20 or 200 its no big deal. I like my Rockchucker never advanced to the big leagues.

January 7, 2016, 10:58 AM	#38
rebs Senior Member Join Date: January 10, 2012 Posts: 3,881	Thank you guys for all your help and advice, I'll see what I can find at the gun show this weekend in a Hornady press.

January 9, 2016, 08:41 PM	#39
rebs Senior Member Join Date: January 10, 2012 Posts: 3,881	Is it possible to batch load on theHornady ap ?

January 10, 2016, 06:18 AM	#41
rebs Senior Member Join Date: January 10, 2012 Posts: 3,881	what I meant was can you load the powder off press for when you are doing load development and want to change the powder charge is small increments ?

January 10, 2016, 11:11 AM	#44
SARuger Senior Member Join Date: October 11, 2014 Location: Blue Ridge Mountains of VA Posts: 954	Being a newb myself, I asked and listened to these good peoples advice. I started with a LEE 4 hole turret, and run it single stage until I am sure of my loads/equipment.

January 11, 2016, 11:15 AM	#47
Economist Senior Member Join Date: September 22, 2014 Posts: 163	Tobnpr said it best. It's really easy to pop the case out of the shellplate when you want to do your powder charges off-press. Or, you can take the powder measure off and put it back on the press very easily, so you could leave the powder measure off of the press and batch load just as tobnpr described with no real effort.

January 11, 2016, 04:21 PM	#49
briandg Senior Member Join Date: May 4, 2010 Posts: 5,468	I believe that using a progressive press that eliminates a lot of possible errors as it is automatically run from station to station is safer to use than a single stage that involves charging and working with your ammo in blocks of fifty. The more ammo you run, the more prone you may be to errors in a single stage, so you may be far safer over your lifetime using a full progressive. I couldn't run 223 on a progressive, it wouldn't work for me. you are probably looking at 2-3 hours a week on single stage, depending on how quickly you work, maybe half that with a progressive. using a turret would cut a few minutes off of your single stage time use. If i was in your situation, this is how I would work. I would load in bulk on weekends, 500 lots. The way I work is I keep a huge stockpile of brass. I take a container of several hundred, and work it through stages. Clean. deprime/size. expand. using fifty round blocks, I then.. charge load and crimp. I always have huge quantities of loaded ammo on hand, because I load in huge blocks, and when I shoot, everything goes into a great big unsorted pile until I feel like cleaning it and sorting it. It's not as disorganized as it sounds. Right at this minute I'm doing bulk resizing on 9mm. almost a thousand, i guess, by how heavy it feels. about ten pounds. When I'm done, I will expand, then tumble lightly again. I use an rcbs hand primer, and only prime them as I need them, taking only a few minutes per block of fifty that I plan on loading. Since you are not planning on shooting HUGE numbers of rounds, but steady and large numbers, this may be a more efficient way of working than a progressive would be. It works well for me.

January 11, 2016, 05:12 PM	#50
briandg Senior Member Join Date: May 4, 2010 Posts: 5,468	since i wrote the last post, I processed a one quart bin of 9mm brass through my sizing die. just about a full quart, about 4-500 rounds of brass, what, about 5 seconds per stroke on average? excluding the time spent on cleaning and inspecting, set up, or other times, the entire process of loading an ordinary centerfire pistol of pretty much any type will take about thirty seconds start to finish, something in the area of 30-45 minutes to run 100 rounds. loading single stage in bulk is where you save all of your time, by never changing any of your settings, dies, chargers, etc... throughout the whole process of 1,000 or 500 rounds. That's pretty much it. I tend to use up whatever number of bullets I have on hand producing as many loaded rounds as I can, if I'm just using leisure ammunition. I've got a good load for all of my rifles, and same with them, if I get a box of 100, i put 100 rounds into the boxes.