Considering seriously about getting into reloading. I look for 223, & 308 ammo to get impossible to get, and I'm not going to pay $40 or more for 20 rounds of 308. Question is I want to get a progressive loader, what's the best I can get?? I've already got chills about getting started and doing this task correctly, but I know a lot of you have been doing it a long time, and are sucessful. I do know in long run it saves money, and you're able to customize you round for your particular rifle. Any help, appreciated.
It would be much easier if you shared with us:
What do you expect to shoot in the future, chamberings, quantities and how much per year.
What are your shooting goals? Hunting, Long-range ultimate accuracy, casual plinking, some kind of competition, etc?
What limitations to your setup are there? Will you have a limited space? Do you have an entire garage? Will you be able to leave your gear set up more or less permanently or will you pack it away when not in use?
What's your budget?
Are you a ready-made kit kind of guy or one who wants to select his tools one at a time? (Both approaches have their advantages and drawbacks, see below)
About the press type., it is easier to learn on a single stage or a turret than a progressive. Lots of things going on simultaneously on a progressive unless you operate it (at first) as a single stage. Even so, it is easier on a single stage. I like it to this metaphor. A child can learn to walk wearing roller skates, but it is easier in shoes.
Also, although you can operate a progressive as a single stage, the the fact that the ram is not colinear with the die being used means there is an off-axis stress and flex to deal with.
Here is a short essay I wrote comparing Single Stage, Turret and Progressive presses.
A single stage can only do batch operation, turret can do continuous operation of batch and a progressive only is "natural" doing continuous operation. Single is slow. Turret can be maybe 2 to 4 times as fast and progressive up to 10 or 20 times as fast as a single stage.
Prices: Single stage is $50-$100. Turret is $80-$150? Progressive is $150-$2,000 (these prices are wild guesses, as I have not priced them in a while).
A turret is a single stage with multiple die stations. That is the only operational difference. But that difference allows a turret to do either continuous operation or batch where a single stage is practical only for batch processing.
Single stages tend to be (but are not necessarily) stronger and stiffer. This is mostly because single stages' frames are usually of one casting where turrets are of at least two parts assembled, and they move, which pretty much requires some clearance. In practice, the difference is vanishingly small. But we still argue over it. Progressives have several mating parts which move and commensurately more play.
Like a single stage, a turret press does only one thing (operation, like size/deprime, belling case mouth, seat/crimp) at a time, but switching between those is nearly instantaneous. This makes continuous processing practical.
Batch processing, you are probably familiar with. You can do your batches in 50 as I do or 20 or 100 or 1,000. But the operations are the same. (For pistol) Size/deprime and prime 50 rounds, then switch dies and bell and charge 50 rounds. Inspect the charges in a batch and switch dies. Seat and crimp 50 rounds. Batch is done. Move on to the next batch.
Continuous processing: Put the empty case in the press and do all the operations (size/deprime, bell/charge, seat/crimp) and remove the finished cartridge only when all the steps are done. This saves a lot of handling the cases (at least three insertion-removal cycles) and amounts to a lot of time saved.
If the press indexes the dies automatically, this saves a LOT of time. If you index the die stations manually, it is a little slower, but still much faster than batch processing.
Turret presses can do either batch processing (as a single stage) or continuous processing with nearly equal facility.
Because many loaders of bottleneck (rifle) cartridges do manual operations or inspections in the middle of the loading process, they choose to break up the continuous process into smaller groupings of operations, making loading a hybrid of batch and continuous. Other loaders of such cartridges use the continuous process, but temporarily interrupt the process to pull each case from the press before continuing.
Progressive presses can do batch processing, but are designed from the ground up to do continuous processing. It is simply their main reason for being; production rate.
Progressives, by definition do multiple operations simultaneously (except if the operator desires single operation, which can be done). That multiplicity of operation allows producing one completed round with each cycle of the handle. This is true whether the progressive is a 3-station, 4-, 5-, 6-, or 7-station press. Extra stations allow for adding things like a powder-check die or separating the seating and crimping operations, but detracts nothing from the one round per stoke output.
I suggest you view the many (almost too many) videos showing the operation of various presses.
Whatever method(s) is(are) chosen for your new press (you know you are going to buy it), if the production algorithm is well designed for the cartridge and the user it will work and is, by design, perfect for them, their temperament and production needs.
Lost Sheep
