progressive press, rifle and pistol ?
- Thread starter rebs
- Start date
condor bravo
New member
Handgun loading of course with the progressive, but 98% rifle with single stage. With the 4 station 550 press, progressive rifle loading gets a little cramped but I do load some like .45-70s by cycling only one round through at a time to completion. Slow but don't do many that way. I also find that certain rifle calibers may put excessive pressure on the 550. Especially with the four Remington Ultra Mag calibers that can be difficult even with single stage. Even with good lubing, these cases can be difficult to size and withdraw from the sizer. Possibly due to not having a belt and sizing is done lower down on the case body.
And some cases need some extra attention like trimming and primer pocket depth uniforming that are separate operations.
And some cases need some extra attention like trimming and primer pocket depth uniforming that are separate operations.
Last edited:
No, I do not
My preferred progressive press is the Lee Pro 1000, which is almost exclusively aimed toward pistol calibers.
I prefer to do all my rifle relaoding on my Rockchucker single stage. My rifle reloading volume is very low and the single stage batch method is the only thing I am interested in for those calibers.
My preferred progressive press is the Lee Pro 1000, which is almost exclusively aimed toward pistol calibers.
I prefer to do all my rifle relaoding on my Rockchucker single stage. My rifle reloading volume is very low and the single stage batch method is the only thing I am interested in for those calibers.
I don't, but it's not because it's a bad idea. Especially not for high volume shooting. I just find I have too many intermediate steps I go through for precision rifle to make it attractive. After resizing there is trimming to do. Long range rifle is sensitive to primer seating technique, so I usually do that off the press. If the brass was from previously fired military ammunition, I have to run it through a primer pocket swager (though a Dillon 1050 has swaging built-in and has a priming ram you can adjust to get your desired priming action, so that press is an exception to some of this). Board member Hummer70 has carefully documented testing from his days as an Aberdeen Proving Grounds test director showing that carbon left in primer pockets gets hard enough to be abrasive and shorten barrel throat life, so I am removing it before re-priming. There are a few more odds and ends, but you get the idea. Resizing doesn't fit in a progressive sequence the way I currently reload rifle ammo, and on any press short of a 1050, neither does priming.
kilimanjaro
New member
Yes, 18 calibers, Dillon 550b.
Also use Lee Classics for a couple of calibers, they are permanent dedicated loading stations for just those calibers, I never have to touch the dies.
Also use Lee Classics for a couple of calibers, they are permanent dedicated loading stations for just those calibers, I never have to touch the dies.
Just out of interest I do not just "chuck brass in & get bullets out" of my progressive.
I usually deprime on a single stage, then process brass before completing all the other steps on the RL 550. It slows me down a little, but lets me clean primer pockets & work around Dillon's less than spectacular spent primer handling.
Using this method I've compared loads made on the single stage with weighed charges & so on against the progressive & there's no detectable difference in either measurements or performance.
I usually deprime on a single stage, then process brass before completing all the other steps on the RL 550. It slows me down a little, but lets me clean primer pockets & work around Dillon's less than spectacular spent primer handling.
Using this method I've compared loads made on the single stage with weighed charges & so on against the progressive & there's no detectable difference in either measurements or performance.
JeepHammer
Moderator
Progressive, like you flip stations by hand,
Dillon or Lee Turret presses,
OR,
Auto Indexing Progressive,
Dillon XL650 for pistol or smaller rifle calibers.
I've found my Dillon XL650 won't whip quite a lot of .30 and up brass,
It will load them, it won't get the case right...
I have screwed up three 'Cups', top of the ram, just under the shell plate trying to support that shell plate so I can get a SAAMI resized brass out of it,
And it just refuses to do older, harder brass, or even newer .308 brass sometimes.
No Dillon primer pocket swager, still have to swage or cut the military crimp by hand,
No length trimmer without running the brass through twice over working the necks.
I recently laid hands on a Dillon 1050 for two days,
Works OK on newer .308 brass, has a primer pocket swage that likes to take bites out of the case head,
Still have to run through twice to get trim to length.
Even the 1050 at nearly $2,000 won't whip the older .30 and up brass reliably.
About any progressive will whip pistol brass, save the Lee Load Master,
It won't do anything very well without CONSTANT tuning to keep rounds consistant.
Don't get me wrong,
I REALLY LIKE the Dillon XL650,
With some tuning, it will crank out pistol loads and small case rifle loads without having to adjust it again.
I was trying to make it screw up, see how long it takes to fall out of adjustment,
With like new cases, it went 4,500 rounds without serious problems, and that was the point I have up trying to find serious flaws.
At another point, some friends & I loaded 10,000 9mm & .45 ACP without a serious hitch.
An occasional flipped primer (1 in about 500 rounds) is all we could complain about.
You are lucky to get 25 rounds out of the Lee Load Master without a jam, powder throw issue, or something else going wrong...
And the Lee Turret press is one of my all time favorites!
Still use my turret press quite often, but that Load Master is a pain in the buttocks!
If I were doing say, TWO calibers (sidearm & one rifle caliber),
I would probably spring for the Dillon Square Deal X2.
One in sidearm/sub carbine, one in full size rifle and forget about everything else.
Seems a little goofy to buy TWO presses,
But the case feeder would swap, and setting bullets manually isn't that big a deal,
And you will save yourself the expense of small/large primer feeder/swaps,
And all the case feed hardware you have to change to switch calibers.
Before you spring for a $250 case feeder,
Check out YouTube videos on home built case feeders,
And how cheap small gear motors are on eBay!
I'm never buying a case or bullet feeder again!
No point when you can build one for $20 and three hours of your time.
Dillon or Lee Turret presses,
OR,
Auto Indexing Progressive,
Dillon XL650 for pistol or smaller rifle calibers.
I've found my Dillon XL650 won't whip quite a lot of .30 and up brass,
It will load them, it won't get the case right...
I have screwed up three 'Cups', top of the ram, just under the shell plate trying to support that shell plate so I can get a SAAMI resized brass out of it,
And it just refuses to do older, harder brass, or even newer .308 brass sometimes.
No Dillon primer pocket swager, still have to swage or cut the military crimp by hand,
No length trimmer without running the brass through twice over working the necks.
I recently laid hands on a Dillon 1050 for two days,
Works OK on newer .308 brass, has a primer pocket swage that likes to take bites out of the case head,
Still have to run through twice to get trim to length.
Even the 1050 at nearly $2,000 won't whip the older .30 and up brass reliably.
About any progressive will whip pistol brass, save the Lee Load Master,
It won't do anything very well without CONSTANT tuning to keep rounds consistant.
Don't get me wrong,
I REALLY LIKE the Dillon XL650,
With some tuning, it will crank out pistol loads and small case rifle loads without having to adjust it again.
I was trying to make it screw up, see how long it takes to fall out of adjustment,
With like new cases, it went 4,500 rounds without serious problems, and that was the point I have up trying to find serious flaws.
At another point, some friends & I loaded 10,000 9mm & .45 ACP without a serious hitch.
An occasional flipped primer (1 in about 500 rounds) is all we could complain about.
You are lucky to get 25 rounds out of the Lee Load Master without a jam, powder throw issue, or something else going wrong...
And the Lee Turret press is one of my all time favorites!
Still use my turret press quite often, but that Load Master is a pain in the buttocks!
If I were doing say, TWO calibers (sidearm & one rifle caliber),
I would probably spring for the Dillon Square Deal X2.
One in sidearm/sub carbine, one in full size rifle and forget about everything else.
Seems a little goofy to buy TWO presses,
But the case feeder would swap, and setting bullets manually isn't that big a deal,
And you will save yourself the expense of small/large primer feeder/swaps,
And all the case feed hardware you have to change to switch calibers.
Before you spring for a $250 case feeder,
Check out YouTube videos on home built case feeders,
And how cheap small gear motors are on eBay!
I'm never buying a case or bullet feeder again!
No point when you can build one for $20 and three hours of your time.
I loas 5.56, 7.62X51, .30-30 and .30-06v on a Dillon.
I tumble the fired cases, size and deprime on a single stage, wet wash to remove lube, and load normally on the Dillon. I usually load in batches of 1000. One evening is spent preparing the brass, and one evening loading it.
I don't lube handgun brass, so they get washed, and then loaded. I load handgun brass in lots of 2000. One evening I wash and dry, and the next I load.
I tumble the fired cases, size and deprime on a single stage, wet wash to remove lube, and load normally on the Dillon. I usually load in batches of 1000. One evening is spent preparing the brass, and one evening loading it.
I don't lube handgun brass, so they get washed, and then loaded. I load handgun brass in lots of 2000. One evening I wash and dry, and the next I load.
JeepHammer
Moderator
My mistake.
I got a chance to use a Dillon Square Deal a while back,
Should have got it to do pistol instead of the Lee Load Master.
So much easier & smoother on the Dillon.
I got a chance to use a Dillon Square Deal a while back,
Should have got it to do pistol instead of the Lee Load Master.
So much easier & smoother on the Dillon.
condor bravo
New member
Not that I want a Square Deal B, but why not a .44-40 and 9mm?
condor bravo
New member
Yes, really thought so; just misinterpreted the post.
