Would you ever suggest...

Dillon 550b;

Set it up according to directions and go slow and all will be sweet. Don't rush or get pushed into rushing but watching people on youtube going at full speed. You can use the Dillon as a single stage until you feel comfortable with the process.

Decision has to go to that person. I was almost ready to buy a RCBS progressive but went with a rockchucker, glad I did. Personally it is teaching me the intricacies of every step to the finished product. I have found out since I buy "once fired brass" vs new, there are some sizing issues, especially with the 40. The process IMO wouldn't really be any faster for me at least.

I can't imagine the situation where you would be better off starting on an auto indexing progressive press as opposed to a learning the fundamentals of reloading on a good single stage press.

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I actually started on a Lee progressive auto indexing press long before there was an Internet. I started loading .44 Remington Magnum. On that first 50 rounds there were two missing the powder charge.

What I feel is important is not a single stage or progressive press but the individual having a complete and full understanding of what is going on. That is what it is all about. I mean as in a full and complete understanding of the fundamentals. With a progressive press there are just more things happening at the same time, as long as the new reloader knows exactly what is going on, in order, they should do fine. It just sounds more complicated than it really is when we look at a progressive verse single stage press. Today I do some of my best and most accurate loading on a RockChucker.

As long as the new reloader understands the process and is comfortable I really don't see a problem.

Just My Take....
Ron

I started on a progressive press and would not do it differently if I had it to do over again.

Like 9mmepiphany said, you don't have to have all station populated. You can either run one shell through all stations one at a time or you can simply use 1 die at a time.

I certainly understand the logic behind starting on a 1 stage press but I don't think it is necessary.

I guess I'm old fashioned too because I feel there are so many fine points to reloading to learn you may not be well served not seeing each step as you learn. A friend started reloading a while back and I suggested he start by using his Lee Classic Turret press as a single stage to start out by removing the auto-index rod. He later told me he was glad he did it that way. (even though you really only do 1 step at a time anyway)

I'm glad I learned on a single stage and still think it's best to learn to walk, then run.

I would not either.

A single stage will teach you too many things in each die & setting's that would be very difficult to understand on a progressive.

And, you will always need a single-stage eventually, to do something right.

I don't care who ya are!!

rc

I have made the suggestion to start on a single repeatedly and always get flamed for it. Here its not so bad, but elsewhere on the Internet it can be brutal. The comment always comes in that you can run a turret or full progressive as a single stage if you want to. I think not because your constantly going to be tempted to run quicker by going into progressive mode.

My first press was a RCBS 4x4 progressive. I took it slow and never had any issues other than the press indexing continuously breaking. Learning to reload on my 650 would be a piece of cake compared to that old 4x4.

A friend locally wanted me to help him learn to reload and I agreed to. He said he purchased things needed to do it. I went there and he and his teenaged son had a Dillon 650 they had purchased from another reloader that was already set up for 40 S&W. They had already produced 500+ rounds sitting in boxes on the shelf that the son had made the week before. I asked if they had any instructions on how to run that press yet. Not really was the reply. Then I asked if they had watched the powder drop to make sure of it happening correctly and the answer was no. So I said that they should not shoot any of it for safety reasons of too much propellant or not enough. The son was " I could weigh them to see". I then explained to them that weighing a bunch of random bullets and random brass then averaging the weight you would get the difference of 2X the weight of the propellant more or less was possible so weighing them could non be any safer. They did not seem to care though.

What they wanted me to do was help them set up a SBD with 223 dies to use as a precision loading setup for an AR. I told them that I never had so much as tried to set one up and they should look to the Enos forum and You Tube as those were better options than my helping. I did say if they wanted to reload on a SS press for accuracy then I would try to show them what my steps are and we could go from there.

OH well, SIGH.

I think the mechanical complexity of the reloading tools must match the mechanical aptitude and tool manipulative skills of the human using them. The best auto mechanic may not be qualified to repair and adjust a classic mechanical watch movement having 250 to 300 parts.

It also helps if the reloaded understands the interaction of components' assembly and their relationship to the firearm when the ammo is fired.

Some people are better off starting out with the simplest and easiest used reloading tools. A few may need careful watching by a competent reloader for safety reasons. Yet a National Champion blew up the Win 70 rifle used to win the Nationals accidentally loading 308 ammo with pistol powder. Blew his rifle apart seriously wounding his face.

I statrted metallic reloading on a progressive press. You can put one round in at a time and do each step one by itself, then one you have a throug understanding run it fully loaded.

I wouldn't suggest a single stage be used to load for many gun games unless the person had a lot of extra time on their hands.

If you are loading pistol ammo and want to start on a single stage for training, you can get a $30 Lee press.

I learned on a Dillon 550. Took it slow and easy, with some help from a friend that also had a 550. With the locating pins removed, it is very easy to use it as a single-stage.

Having said that, I always recommend someone start out with a single-stage or Lee Classic Turret press, depending on if they will be primarily interested in rifle or pistol reloading.

Even though they might quickly outgrow the simpler press, they will ALWAYS find a use for a single-stage or turret press for things like decapping, bullet pulling, etc. I currently have a LCT on one end of my bench, and the 550 on the other. They both get used. The LCT actually gets used more since I use that do decap every piece of brass that I process.

So, going the single-stage route - first - will not be money or time wasted if they end up deciding to go progressive in the future. However, going directly to progressive can make the initial learning process a little more complicated, and most people I know end up with a single-stage later, anyway. Why not start there in the first place. Learning each step individually may also give them some insight that will help them choose which progressive press they would be happiest with.

At some point they'll want a single stage for some stuff anyway.
I'd encourage them to start out with single operations at a time on a progressive.
<opinion expressed by blue kool aid addict>

I started with a single stage, and I am glad I did. I was extremely careful and I believe I learned the basics well which served me well when I bought a cantankerous (brand/model issue) progressive press. If I had to do it over again I would by a Hornady or Dillon and learn using as a single stage. My first loading was 50 rounds of 38 special, and it took me all day to do those - but they were all perfect. ZenDude gave very good advice: start with the $30 Lee and learn the techniques, then buy the progressive. If I had done that - then the $30 Lee would now be in my garage next to the tumbler with a universall decapper die. I reload all my rifle ammo on a single stage anyway.

I think the mechanical complexity of the reloading tools must match the mechanical aptitude and tool manipulative skills of the human using them.

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Exactly, and since we do not know the person we are making the recommendation to it would be wise to start slow on a SS or turret.

550b (not the auto 650 since I wouldn't buy one as my first press anyway) is what I learned on - I abhor the single stage presses - seems like a waste of effort and time.

I know the argument of learning, but you can learn just as much from each stage on a progressive non auto advancing press.

After all you still have to set each die individually, you still have to measure powder until you get it right, you still have to measure the length and width - it's just easier since each stage is right in front of you.

If anything. for this reason alone I think the progressive is a better learning tool anyway - you get to see all stages interact rather than one at a time.

But I would NOT suggest the 650 to learn on - simply because it an expensive hobby and starting out with such an expense and not enjoying it could lead one to walk away from the sport as a whole.

What are the differences, in function, that you see between using a turret press and using a progressive with only one case inserted in the shell plate

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No need to remove dies not being used or to disable auto advance.
No shell plate to make sure its properly tightened/adjusted
No case feed to be concerned with or distracted by
No need to worry about the powder measure or priming system jamming with a partial stroke

You have to look at it from the point of view a person who has never done this before and has no idea of how or why things are adjusted. Not from the point of view an experienced reloader.

Everyone is different. A lot of people should never touch a tool. Plenty of people could start out w/ a progressive and have no issues doing it. Others can't get it right on a single stage and ask all the basic questions that they would know the answer to if they read any one of the manuals. See where I'm going w/ this?