Pure lunacy to not at least have the capability of loading your own ammo, independent your state of residence.
A single stage qualifies.
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I don't want to have to curtail or stop my recreational shooting because there's been a run on ammo or components. If I can't load my own, I am 100% beholden to whatever I can stockpile. Having a few presses and some components is a hedge against shortages.
What's the difference between buying 50,000 rounds of ammo and buying 50,000 rounds worth of components?
Nobody who's ever loaded on a good progressive is EVER going back to loading on a single-stage.
The difference between 50K rounds of ammo and 50K rounds worth of components is that you'll have less than 50% of the $$ tied up into components. You also have options, WAY more options.
I like having prepped brass ready to go, I don't necessarily have to have a bajillion rounds loaded. With prepped brass ready, if I want to try a new component, it's easy and fast. With prepped brass ready, I can run enough ammo for a big game rifle to get ready for and through season in < 1hr.
Last edited by horse1; 04/07/20.
I can walk on water.......................but I do stagger a bit on alcohol.
Regarding going blue, I would do it and not look back. I'd also pony up for Dillon dies.
I absolutely hate reloading on a single stage press. It is the most mind numbing, minutia-driven repetitive work there is. You couldn't pay me enough to do it for someone else. I only do it for the results. I'll be moving in the direction that Horse1 describes above for several rifle rounds with the 550.
For 223 (and anything pistol), an auto indexing press is awful nice, and case feeders and bullet feeders don't hurt either. You're buying time there, along with capability and capacity.
I enjoyed handloading for decades. It benefited my shooting but for me it was almost as rewarding a hobby as shooting itself. That stage has passed and I only load now for cartridges that are insanely expensive to purchase or difficult to find.
Are you looking for another hobby?
Not really. Been reloading shotguns on a 600 Junior since I was a kid and rifles on a Rockchucker since I was in my early 20's.
This is about wanting to shoot pistols a lot more, getting into a progressive press, and, being in Cali, getting ahead of the game.
I bit the Dillon bullet in the 80s.. its LONG paid for... no worries as they say.
We can keep Larry Root and all his idiotic blabber and user names on here, but we can't get Ralph back..... Whiskey Tango Foxtrot, over....
Rick, if you have the availability of bullets, powder, cases, primers but all the 45ACP ammo is off the shelf then its worth doing it. I am not sure I would start at the $1300 mark, maybe there is something that is faster than a single stage, but costs a few bucks less.
Rick, if you have the availability of bullets, powder, cases, primers but all the 45ACP ammo is off the shelf then its worth doing it. I am not sure I would start at the $1300 mark, maybe there is something that is faster than a single stage, but costs a few bucks less.
That's a sure way to spend your life paying exponentially more for what you want.
I can walk on water.......................but I do stagger a bit on alcohol.
Try chewing, smoking, or swilling beer for a year and see what you've pissed off!!
Wait till you learn to make your own beer - then lust after fully electric brewery in your basement with multiple glycol chilled fermenters, bright tanks, yeast ranching, draft system, and the bar to go with...
Well, after reading all these responses and thinking about it a little bit, I know I am OK with paying a premium up front for the good stuff. Never had an issue with that when I plan on having something a long time. Buy once, cry once, I get.
What's sticking in my craw a little bit is the cost and procedure for setting up for multiple calibers thereafter. Upon further examination, it's more like $300 per caliber swap, and the path leads to a bunch of toolheads and powder measures and dies all preset. I'd have to rig some kind of wall mount or cabinet or something where I'd have, oh, ultimately half a dozen or more of these preset assemblies. I am sure it can be done more inexpensively, but it seems like every step back one takes requires more and more hassle when it comes to caliber swap. I don't have the experience with the machine to know where the sweet spot might be for me in terms of how much stuff to have preset, but I do know for sure, the path set by the company leads to half a dozen toolheads/powder measures/die setups mounted on my wall for easy caliber swaps.
Along these lines, I see a lot of guys actually advocate for and end up with multiple presses, precisely due to the hassle of swapping calibers. I don't know that I want to do that.
So now I am looking at a different color. Looks like they have a similar five-station machine for about $1300, with a case feeder, but they also include a bullet feeder, which is an extra $500 with the first color. Also, caliber swaps seem much easier, without the need for multiple preset assemblies, and more along the lines of swapping dies. And my experience with the second color is all good in therms of quality.
Looking for downsides ...
"What we obtain too cheap, we esteem too lightly: it is dearness only that gives every thing its value. Heaven knows how to put a proper price upon its goods; and it would be strange indeed if so celestial an article as freedom should not be highly rated." Thomas Paine
Assuming you're not swapping primer size or brand and assuming we're talking about a 550.
If you have a toolhead set up w/dedicated powder measurer and dies for each chambering. Caliber swaps are <30sec. Disconnect the powder reset linkage, pull 2 pins, slide tool-head out, slide new toolhead in, re-connect powder bar reset linkage and you're done.
Swapping primer size and/or brands of primers adds ~10min to the swap.
About $150 to have a dedicated toolhead/powder measurer/chambering for a 550.
Last edited by horse1; 04/07/20.
I can walk on water.......................but I do stagger a bit on alcohol.
If you need the volume then a progressive is the answer. They have a TON of accessories to make thing even faster. I went the cheaper route, a turret press. Not as fast, but I don't load more than a couple of hundred at a time. (pistols) I do what several others have mentioned, I do it in stages, I have a ton of prepped case all ready to go. Doesn't really take that long to finish the process. I start again when the pre-done cases get low. For rifles, I don't really need volume, as mine are hunting calibers. A range trip might use 20 or so per rifle. Pistols, are the weak spot for time invested.
I'm not going to read this whole thing, but a decent turret press isn't going to cost you, and it's fairly fast. I can do 9mm on mine at a pretty good clip. My buddy's Dillon is faster. The Dillon isn't as fast to set up however. 2 cents worth...
