Progressive press not quite meeting my needs any longer.

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Eddy19

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In the days when I was shooting IPSC and High Power, at two different clubs, I had to use couple progressive presses to keep up with the volume I was shooting. But this time around, things have changed, maybe age has something to do with it. I don't shoot anywhere near as much and find I'm happy with at the most 150-200 rounds a day at the range just punching paper targets and that only about 2-3 times a month. Besides, 3 ranges have since closed, making it harder yet.

These days I like to put a little more care and time in reloading, clean primer pockets, washing the brass after sizing, using a stand alone powder drop, bench mounted primer tool, etc. and find a single stage press is preferred. In fact, just bought a turret press, just to keep from screwing dies in and out.

Has anybody else changed their shooting / reloading routines over time?
 
I have used several different setups over the years. Right now my needs are easily filled with a Lee Classic Turret Press for handgun ammo and a Rockchucker for rifle ammo.

A friend had several Dillon progressive presses, a Hornady progressive press and a few single stage presses. The progressive presses had all the bells and whistles too. Like you he cut way back on shooting and now only runs the Hornady progressive and a Forster Co-Ax.
 
I change mine all the time. I don’t load everything on progressives, just the stuff that requires the volumes I want to load.

Lot of rounds I shoot I don’t even own enough brass to justify setting up a progressive for them.

I’m not a big fan of screwing dies in and out either, one reason I am a fan of the co-ax.
 
One if the reasons I still use my progressive is long ago I bought enough tool heads to set up every die for every caliber I shoot and in some cases bullet type as in full wad cutters. So other than swapping out shell carriers and primer equipment it’s just plug and go.
 
When I retire, I think my routine will change. I would like the be more methodical in brass prepping, but it’s just not practical at this time.
 
Hi...
I load a lot of my big bore revolver ammuntion on my RockChucker but have transitioned the 9mm, 10mm, .357Mag and .45ACP to my two Hornady LnLs.
Rifle ammuntion gets loaded on a RockChucker Supreme.
After the holidays, I intend to start transitioning the big bore revolver bulk loading over to my Dillon 550. I have had it for a while but haven't bought new die sets to use with it yet.

Most of the progressive loading and rifle loading is being done by my son these days but I will still do load development and hunting or special purpose loading on my RockChucker even after we transition the big bore revolver loading over to the Dillon.

No intention in cutting back on my shooting or reloading...
 
I resisted buying a progressive press for a long time because I was never loading enough volume of anything to justify the expense.

I bought my first progressive when looking for something new to play with and to learn a new skill. I found that I could do small batches of ammunition efficiently on the progressive as large batches but I prefer to separate resizing and case prep from the loading part.

Among other reasons, I can do case prep on one style of progressive and load the cases on a different progressive. I find different progressives have different strengths and weaknesses and I can capitalize on the strengths for different cartridges.

I still do case prep for rifle on a single stage press. Most rifle loading is done on a single stage but I do load 204 Ruger for prairie dog shooting on a progressive.

If you think outside the box a bit, a progressive press can provide lots of flexibility in operation and set-up.
 
I don't have a progressive but do have a Redding T-7 and find that I'm aging out of loading too many calibers. I sold my .45 ACP dies and my .38 Special/.357 Mag dies. I'm trying to sell my Redding .45 Colt dies along with several revolvers. I'm going to get down to just loading for my Model 70 in .222 Remington and my Ruger Blackhawk in .44 Special and with just those two I'll be one happy camper.
 
Partly age and partly attitude but I prefer a slower pace at the range, trying for greater distance and to make each shot matter. It's still all fun, of course. Since my only competition is a monthly silhouette outing with a flintlock, no need for high volume reloading. A Lee turret press I've used for decades does what I need and that is as a single stage. I do some case prep in my recliner using a Lee hand press. I can listen to a. ball game (Go Nats!) or a book on tape doing the mechanical stuff that doesn't require attention: decapping, case inspection, and priming. I have been known to use a Lee Loader kit, the whack-a-mole style, to make up gallery loads in 45-70 and 30-06.

I'm retired and can take the time to enjoy the shooting and reloading hobby. Might as well take advantage of it.

Jeff
 
Very interesting listening to all the different methods and preferences, thanks! I do use the progressive in loading 45 ACP, I guess it's a carry over from IPSC days when I came home with a gallon freezer bag full. But the rifle for highpower I've always used the RockChucker. I think km101 hit it on the nose for slowing down for me as well, sight and age.
 
I have commented many times to this question and the answer is still the same. I have an old JR3 single stage, a Lee 3 Hole Value Press, a Lee Pro1000 and a new Lee Auto Breech Lock Pro. I use the JR3 the least but I am not going to give it up. I use the turret press quite a bit because I just also started casting and am doing a lot of load development on it. I then use the Pro1000 for most of my bulk pistol reloading and it does just fine with only 3 stations, 3 dies. Then I have the ABLP press to load 45acp on because I have one pistol that is very finicky with reloads and I need to run the plated thru a Carbide FCD.

I will keep the Pro1000 because I can load everything I shoot except that one 45acp on it. I have the dies, turrets and shell plates to load all I have. The reason I keep it is work effort and not work speed. I am perfectly happy only loading 200 rounds per hour on it because I get a finished round with each pull of the handle. Even at a rate of 200 per hour I can load enough to last me 3 month in an afternoon. Then again all this but the ABLP were purchased used and I have less than $250.00 invested so if I only use it 4 or 5 times each year it is no big loss. Not like having a $1000.00 press sitting idle 11 months of the year.
 
I'm a low volume shooter so I can satisfy all my reloading needs on single stage. I will load on average 50 rounds in a session and on rare occasion up to 150 (that takes a while on single stage). Some people value their time and won't bother with a single stage but I throw some easy listening music on in the background and enjoy the process. Whether real or imagined I feel I have greater control over every stage of the reloading process this way.
 
I haven't loaded long, a relative newbie compared to most of you. In the 7 year or so I find myself shooting more. I'm to the point where with the time I have my turret can barely keep up. I seldom have more than an hour to dedicate at a time, and in that amount of time with setup and all I end up loading 100-150 rounds. Last year I shot ~5000 pistol rounds, not a ton, but more than ever for me. I find myself thinking about a progressive press, but every time I think about it I talk myself out of it.

When I started reloading I shot rifle a lot and loaded everything except .223 as single stage batch loading. This past year I barely shot rifle at all except for a few trips right before deer season. I've said this year will be different. I've got the itch for a new rifle so along with that will come reloading for it.

-Jeff
 
My situation pretty much mirrors the OP.
No longer a competitive shooter, I shoot less and reload less.
I have a Lee Turret press, an old Lyman Spar T press, a Rock Chucker and a Lee Shotshell press.
I take my time. Reload more precisely enjoy the process more.
All good.
 
I use my LNL for loading 1 round, 100 rounds, or 500 rounds, so my shooting has little to do with the press I use. Trimming is different, I may trim 1 round on my Wilson trimmer, 100 rounds on the Wilson, or 1K .223 on the WFT chucked up in the hobby lathe. I also have the RCBS & Forster trimmers that get used. I do shoot less than I used to.
 
I have a SD for .357, SDB for 45 acp, a 550 for 9mm, 44 mag, 223, etc and a Spartan for rifles
I’m good to go!
I’ll add these were bought over a period of 45 years of reloading, not all at once! If I had bought the 550 back in 1989 +/- when I bought my first SD, I wouldn’t have either of the the SDs now.
 
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I use a Dillon 550 for loading semi-auto pistol rounds, due to the amount I shoot, but all my revolver and rifle rounds are loaded on my LCT. If I had to downsize, I would keep the LCT.
 
I haven't loaded long, a relative newbie compared to most of you. In the 7 year or so I find myself shooting more. I'm to the point where with the time I have my turret can barely keep up. I seldom have more than an hour to dedicate at a time, and in that amount of time with setup and all I end up loading 100-150 rounds. Last year I shot ~5000 pistol rounds, not a ton, but more than ever for me. I find myself thinking about a progressive press, but every time I think about it I talk myself out of it.

When I started reloading I shot rifle a lot and loaded everything except .223 as single stage batch loading. This past year I barely shot rifle at all except for a few trips right before deer season. I've said this year will be different. I've got the itch for a new rifle so along with that will come reloading for it.

-Jeff
5000 a year is more than justification to buy a progressive IMO. :)
 
In the days when I was shooting IPSC and High Power, at two different clubs, I had to use couple progressive presses to keep up with the volume I was shooting. But this time around, things have changed, maybe age has something to do with it. I don't shoot anywhere near as much and find I'm happy with at the most 150-200 rounds a day at the range just punching paper targets and that only about 2-3 times a month. Besides, 3 ranges have since closed, making it harder yet.

These days I like to put a little more care and time in reloading, clean primer pockets, washing the brass after sizing, using a stand alone powder drop, bench mounted primer tool, etc. and find a single stage press is preferred. In fact, just bought a turret press, just to keep from screwing dies in and out.

Has anybody else changed their shooting / reloading routines over time?
I feel the same way you do! I used to shoot all the time. Trap, skeet, rifles of several calibers. I have a range right at my house and I don't use it near as much as I once did. I guess the age thing is real!!!
 
I believe for most of us older folks that our equipment has mostly paid for itself already so cost is no longer a big factor. Though how much space it takes up might become a factor as we slow down and downsize our hobbies. No right or wrong just another decision to make as to what to keep and what to let go. No need to validate our reasons and decisions as long as we stay happy and can continue with that we love.

I am retired now and have more than enough time to spend only here in SE Wisconsin the number of places to shoot have decreased and the cost to shoot at the available places has increased greatly. Trying to get on a range around here at times is like it was 25 years ago with trying to get a golf tee time on a Sat or Sunday morning.
 
I've got a progressive for my high-volume stuff (just competition shooting, really) and an LCT turret for everything else. I make more individual rounds on the former, but far more calibers and loads on the latter. I've just borrowed a rather aged single-stage press to use as a portable press for loading remotely from my house.
 
I just started reloading early this year...and the whole "progressive vs single" thing rang in my head until it nearly drove me insane.

In the end, I went with a Dillon 550 and did that specifically because it is easy to make it into a makeshift single stage.

When I make full charged loads like a 44 magnum, I hand measure every charge and use the 550 like it's a single stage. I decap, prime, and resize first then store the processed brass. I then charge and seat the projectile as needed later.
 
Have had my Dillon 550 since the 80's---load all my pistol calibers as a progressive and loaded .223, 30-30 and 30 06 as a single stage press.
 
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