GarandNewby, I've never heard of a rifle case collapsing during resizing, I've never seen it done or have done this myself, sounds kind of strange. I do not mean this offensively nor do I question your reloading abilities, I've been reloading for years, I'm just saying that I have never seen or heard of this happening, one would wonder if this did happen was it because of no case lube or maybe on part of the equipment, particularly the dies maybe, that would cause a case to collapse.
Ughh, the reason why you would want to use case lube in steel dies is because, and this is if I can remember this correctly, my dad explained this to me years ago, is because when you force the case up into the resizing/decapper die, you have the metal case rubbing against metal trying to reform the case if it has any bulges or dents in the case. There are some instances where the case might fit so tight that if you don't have any case lube on the case you are reloading, there is the chance that the case will get stuck in the reloading die. I have also had it explained to me that it also helps to protect the die from getting scratched up on the inside from "burrs" on the mouth of the case.
Like I had explained in my last post, if you are reloading pistol, get you a good set of carbide reloading dies, don't know if they have a special coating or if it is the material that they use (never got a clear answer on that one), but you don't need to use lube when working with carbide dies. But I have not found rifle reloading dies that will work without case lube. So if you are planning on reloading rifle, get some case lube, fairly inexpensive, but just keep in mind not to over-do it with the lube, a little bit goes a long way.
Do you need a different press for all calibers, no, the press that I posted to you in my last post is for reloading rifle and pistol, what you will need are reloading dies that will fit the thread of the reloading press, and I say this because I have been told (and if I am wrong someone please correct me) that RCBS dies won't work in a Dillion press (something about the reloading die wouldn't fit the threads right). The only time you would need to change presses is if you are going reload shot shell, or reloading 50 BMG. So if you are planning rifle or pistol, one press is all you need.
As far as single stage vs. progressive, in a progressive press, this press is good for pumping out a lot of ammo in a short amount of time, I have not seen a powder dispenser yet that has thrown the same exact charge twice in a row, so now you gotta think, if you are running through doing up a bunch of rounds, one round might be right on, might be anywhere from + - .01 gr to + - .1 grain, and you don't get the chance to check because the rounds are being assembled like on a assembly line without a stop in process. With a single stage press after you "bell" the mouth of the cartridge to accept the bullet, the process stops there, now you can use a powder scale to measure out the amount of powder that you want to use, and you can use the powder trickler to "creep" up to the amount of powder that you want. IMHO, if you want plinking rounds, go progressive, if you want precise loads, go single stage.
What makes the shot count is finding what the firearm likes, what shoots accurately, then do it again, consistency. A lot of competitor shooters that I know say that that is what they are looking for, they know that a bullet weighing X amount of weight, with a powder charge of Y amount, using primer A and brass cartridge B, is going to give them the shot that they are looking for, so they make sure that X, Y, A, and B are always the same every time. So they wouldn't want to speed up the process with a progressive press, they want to slow it down, weight everything to make sure that what they have is what they have, the complete the finished product.
On another note, if you are looking for a little more speed, with a degree of accuracy, look into a turret style press, you can mount all your dies and as you need them, just turn the turret. In my earlier post I suggested a single stage because you are new to reloading, and since there are less moving parts with a single stage that may be what you would want to look into for your first press, but if you have someone there to mentor you, either family or friends, then check out the turret style presses as well.
THR, if I have told Ughh anything that is incorrect or you have further insight into what I have told this individual please respond, I don't know why but I have been keeping an eye on this thread since it started, I think it is because I would like to hear about this individual succeeding in his reloading endeavor, but as I have stated, if I have told him anything incorrect please post, it could also be a valuable learning experience for myself.
