Choosing a Press, Precision or Volume?

The type of reloading equipment you choose to invest in will be determined by the type of reloading that you plan to do. While almost any press can load just about every caliber for which dies are made, different types of presses are designed for different types of reloading. Reloading rifle cartridges is typically not a high volume affair. For most hunters and shooters, fifty rounds is a lot of ammunition to shoot from a centerfire rifle in one trip to the range. For AR and handgun shooting, fifty rounds is just a warm-up. Before you purchase reloading equipment, spend some time thinking about what types of shooting you like to do, and which calibers you want to reload.  Most importantly, think about how many rounds you want to load and shoot every month.  If you enjoy various different shooting sports, you will likely end up owning all the different types of loading equipment, but if you only enjoy one type of shooting, you should put some careful thought into what equipment you really need before spending your money.

Volume

If you are primarily interested in reloading a large amount of ammunition for practice or competition, you will probably want to start with a progressive press from the beginning. A single stage press is by far the easiest to learn how to use, but if you want volume, you will likely grow frustrated by the slow pace of a single stage press very quickly. The learning curve with a progressive press will be a little steeper, but once you get everything set up and figured out, you won’t have to make many changes in the future. Progressive presses are typically a little more expensive, but you will realize a return on your investment quicker simply due to the large number of rounds you will be loading. You can always start with a single stage press and upgrade to a progressive later, but if you already know that you are going to be loading large numbers of one cartridge, you may wish to skip the single stage and go straight to a progressive press.
If you know that you won’t be loading more than a few dozen rounds at a time, a single stage press is the best choice. The reasons to buy a progressive press are volume and speed. Many reloaders aren’t looking for volume or speed, so for them the single stage press is the obvious choice.

How many Calibers?

You also need to consider how many different calibers you plan to reload. Changing calibers on a progressive press is much more involved than on a single stage press due to the larger number of moving parts and automated operations. Changing calibers on a single stage press is as simple as changing the die and shellholder. If you know you want to load several calibers, you may wish to sacrifice volume for the ease of changeover of a single stage press. When loading multiple calibers, any speed advantage of a progressive press will be quickly lost during the process of changing between calibers unless you only change calibers infrequently or between loading many hundreds of rounds.  If you plan to load only one or two cartridges and want high volume, then go with a progressive press.  Even if you know you are only going to load one or two calibers, but you don’t need high volume, the simplicity and lower cost of a single stage press may be a better choice.

Precision

It is possible to load precision ammunition on a progressive press, but it is much easier to do so with a single stage press. With a single stage press, only one operation is being performed at a time, so it is much easier to keep track of and pay attention to what you are doing. There are very few moving parts on a single stage press and no adjustments are necessary other than die set up and adjustment. This makes single stage presses very rugged and reliable. Loading precision cartridges is rarely a high volume affair, so the single stage press is the obvious choice for those wishing to reload very precise ammunition.

No one but you can decide what type of press you should buy. Some people want lots of control and precision, others just need to reload a bunch of rounds so they can get back out on the range. Whatever you choose, be sure to get the type of press that complements how you like to shoot. The whole purpose of reloading is to shoot more, so get the type of press that will allow you to do so the most efficiently and cost effectively.