If I were feeding an AR or shooting competitively, I’d get a progressive. For most purposes, a single stage is fine, although a turret lets you set up several sets of dies and leave them in place. I break up my loading into steps so to keep it from getting too much like work. I usually prep 50 or 100 cases and then go back later and load them up.
Yard sales might get you in cheap, but it may be a long time before you find all you need. Buy a solid basic setup for the cartridge you shoot the most, and learn how to do the basic stuff before you start adding stuff. Consider a package deal that may get you all you need to begin.
