What kind of press is best for me?

[mapper]

considering the choices between hand presses,single stage presses,turret presses and progressive presses, and even the lee loader,
I find it better to get a idea of what you want to do ( pistol,rifle or both) what comprises a typical loading session, your expected production needs,
And what type of workflow you want to have.

the steps you need a press for are the following: ( pistol) depriming and sizing, case mouth flaring (with or without powder charging) and seating/ crimping (although sometimes this is done in 2 separate steps)

For rifle it is depriming and sizing, seating/crimping (although this can be done in 2 separate steps)

Priming for both pistol and rifle can be done either on the press or with a hand or bench primer.

A single stage press requires you to batch process your operations as it ony does one operation at a time, then you swap out the die to do another operation.

So loading would be depriming/sizing, repriming then putting in loading blocks, changing die to flaring case mouth if pistol, charging case with powder, changing die to seating die and then seating or seating/crimping.

A turret press still does one operation on the case at a time, but all the dies are present so they don't have to be swapped out. You can load like on a single stage, or you can do 1 step, then rotate the turret to the next step, then to the other steps required and load a complete round.
The advantages are less brass handling and die swaps. Some turret presses are auto indexed and rotate the turret to the next position, others are not.
Usually 3-4 pulls on the press handle for a loaded round. I have seen turret presses in 3-7 die position configurations.

A progressive press has a shellplate with 3-5 positions for dies.so you are doing multiple operations at the same time on the brass.
When the shellplate is full it deprimes/sizes in one station, primes and charges the case with powder in another station and seats or seats and crimps in another station. A pull of the handle gives a loaded round,
Some progressive presses index to the next step, others must be manually advanced.

So it really depends on where you want to end up, control and production wise as what is best for you.

I loaded a lot of pistol and rifle ammo on a lee classic cast turret,
And I also loaded a lot of pistol ammo on a dillon square deal.
They both have their place on my bench, but there is a use for a single stage press as well.
they all make good ammo.

I saw this thread about someone who loaded on a single stage press and wanted to increase his production, it is worth a look, there is a sub discussion about press deflections that needs to be treated as its own topic though.
https://thefiringline.com/forums/sho...76#post6486276

Now if I was trying to size 308 brass shot in a machine gun, Id want a press with enough leverage to handle the job.

I also found this somewhere else
http://ultimatereloader.com/2012/01/...tart-off-with/

worth a read as well, from someone who has single stages and is thinking about a turret press
https://thefiringline.com/forums/sho...98#post6450198

Another resource worth reading.
http://dailycaller.com/2016/01/11/reloading-101-how-to-load-your-own-ammunition/#ixzz4Qn5YW13G


https://forum.capitalcitygunforum.co...ding-questions

[mattb]

I can add ... a Lee progressive press is the worst, most disfunctional heap of shit ever visited upon modern man. Only spend $$ one of those shit piles if you have the patience of Job and nothing better to do.

[Dale Gribble]

I can add ... a Lee progressive press is the worst, most disfunctional heap of shit ever visited upon modern man. Only spend $$ one of those shit piles if you have the patience of Job and nothing better to do.

You are quite right, if you expect it to be easy the loadmaster is not a good choice. However with a little work it can be made pretty reliable.

[mapper]

The lee pro 1000's work a *little* better if you take the size die out and feed them sized primed brass,Job taught me that.

The classic cast turret is a solid versatile easy to use well functioning press,that the saftey prime works good on.
My progressive press is blue.

[FLT]

Short answer , get what works for you. I've been loading more than 50 years and for the most part don't get rid of any loading tools. I have presses from Dillon x 4 RCBS x 2 Lyman x 2 Mec x 2 and a couple of precision presses from folks most people have never heard of that are used to load precision target ammo. I find them and the accessories that go with them intriguing . After all these years I'm stilling learning and enjoy the process of loading my own ammunition .

[AB]

I have a single stage from RCBS that came in a kit I bought in 1990 or so and then I went straight to the Dillon 650 in about 1999. If I ever decide to get a press that is in the middle of those two, I could see getting a Square Deal B or 550 for smaller runs of things. I can't imagine getting a press from somewhere other than Dillon.

I really think folks that get other presses are just being purposefully contrary

[Dale Gribble]

Trust me, when I started reloading if I could have afforded a 650xl I would have gotten it.

[AB]

There was some overtime worked after the purchase of that 650! One of my only complaints with Dillon is there is a huge difference in the "big print" price and the price to have a machine that is capable of the advertised number of rounds per hour.

I even prefer the 650 to the 1050, too.

[Dale Gribble]

There was some overtime worked after the purchase of that 650!

I work plenty of overtime. I just don't get paid for it.

[Cattle/Horses]

I work plenty of overtime. I just don't get paid for it.

But you get paid sometimes when your not working too! It evens outs.