progressive vs single stage

[whyohe]

ok i wanted to throw this out to all you. wich do you prefer for wich. single for rifle and progressive for pistol? and whats your favorite press. i was looking at the hornady turret style for my rifle cause i can put all 3 dies in it and it looks very sturdy and nothing rocks.
for my pistols i was looking at the dillon xl650. but it seems pricy but every one i talk tosays its worth it
what you think?

[bubba]

the 650 is nice, BUT, I have a 550, the tool head replacements for other calibers are cheaper for the 550,
AND, most importantly to me, I can easily index the turret backwards on the 550, the 650 does it automagically.

I also have a square deal B for pistol, I think that it does a great job for pistol.

I have a friend that has two hornady's, he still comes over and uses my dillon that should tell you something!

just my penny's worth I guess, I am a big blue fan, I am sure that there are others that are worthy of praise too. I will say that no one can BEAT dillons service, they might keep up with it, but it is impossible to beat them.

-bubba

[ourway77]

I agree with Bubba can't go wrong with the big blue. I have several as I am too lazy to convert from one caliber to another. But I bought all mine many years ago. Had an occassion to return all them to Dillon to be reconditioned, they did so free of charge, they have a no fault policy, that even if you break it they fix it free. Now with my rifle I still stick to a single stage loader (RCBS) have had one for years. Lou

[VirginiaScout]

I would agree on a dillon 550B Hard to beat the price and flexability. Easy to change from pistol to rifle.

[SmokepoleSam]

I have a dillon square deal B for pistol and a Lyman single stage for rifle as I only use rifle for hunting. The only drawback, if you can call it that, is that you have to use special dillon dies for the square deal, all the other presses use regular 7/8 x 14 dies. The prices are very competitive and I have friends who bought other presses and then bought dillons as replacements.

[bubba]

yep, its like the ol saying, once you have had blue, you'll never go back

-bubba

[whyohe]

well its looking like single stagge for rifle and BIG BLUE for pistol. thanks for the advice.

[bubba]

whyohe said:

well its looking like single stagge for rifle and BIG BLUE for pistol. thanks for the advice.

I'd give the 550 a close look for both, it will do it all pardner.

-bubba

[whyohe]

thanks ill look closer at the 550.
always learning more!!! ;D

[a45gunslinger]

For what it's worth I like to use my 650 for pistol mainly .45acp and i use my 550 for .223, the only reason i do it that way is because i shoot way more .45 10,000rnds a year than the .223 maybe 3000rnds.the 650 is much faster...but i don't believe a progressive is as accurate as a single stage so i load all of my hunting cartridges one at a time on a rcbs something or other.

[joe21a]

I also use the blue for reloading .38 for shooting piloce combat 2.8 Gr. 700X abd 158 SWC. But I have never loaded rifle ammo with it .I feel it would do a good job. I use and old (don't laugh)Lyman C press single stage. It works fine and cost very little. It has gotten a little lose but I get great groups and only use rifles to hunt. The turret could be real convient because you don't have to change dies. Buy I only load 20 rifle shells a year and only use 1 to 3 hunting, and the rest are used to check 0 the next fall.

[whyohe]

joe21a i had a liman t mag press and didnt like it. the turret kept comming loose.

[joe21a]

That is why I never got a turret Press. Mine is a "C" press but after 35 years it is pretty lose. As long as I am careful and because of some mods I did it still does the job.

[mlhunter]

whyohe, if you don't want to go the full dillion route, Redding T-7's are a great piece of equipment. Mine is a smooth reliable press. The only thing that is missing is a handle for the turret. The handle would really speed everything up. But, if you truely need mass quantities of rounds in the shortest amount of time... Dillion is the beast to buy.

[whyohe]

mlhunter if i have the money id like to do both cause i have a 44 mag and a 40S&W and i shoot alot (just for fun and practice) me and my friend last sat went threw apx 500 rounds that evening!!

[cjp45]

whyohe,
I have had my RCBS Rockchucker for over 20 years with no problems. I currently use it for rifles only. When I load any round,I load them as precise as possible for either hunting or target. A single stage is great for that but it can be time consuming.

[wilmsmeyer]

cjp45,

I have the same set up as you. I'm usually never in a hurry or shoot vast amounts of ammo. (Not having a semi-automatic centerfire pistol or rifle sure helps out in that dept!)

I like the single stage a lot and it keeps me in the basement longer......and I like it down there surrounded by all MY stuff!

Those Dillon folks sure have a lot of cute daughters though that get put on their catalog covers!

[bubba]

yes they do !

[RAF]

I've also got the single stage RCBS Rockchucker and it works great for me. Had a friend who shot handguns competively and went through a lot of ammunition for practice. He had a Dillon progressive. It's what he needed for the numbers he produced.
I enjoy my time making bullets so single stage is for me.
Matter of fact I was down in the basement yesterday all afternoon catching up on bullet supply. Refilling my supply of 243. Ran out of powder and saw I have lots of brass. Going to get another box of bullets. I also have a supply of brass and bullets for my 22-250 but not enough powder. Will have to get that too . should be busy for several days now .

[wilmsmeyer]

Bubba,

Does she have a single stage or a progressive stroke?

[bubba]

I am not sure..............

I guess it depends on who is doing the operating !

AJ sure works for me tho.