Yes you can reload unlimited calibers and rifle and pistol with that setup. The Rockchucker is more than you need for pistol, you do better with it for rifle and it does pistol just fine as well. I had the Junior for my pistol when I started and its doing other work now, no press is wasted. Multiples are nice if you have the room. Used are fine.
However, the following is my road to hell write-up on reloading. If you are going to get into, count on something around $1500 and as I note, its better to go to the final solution than inch your way to it and have unused equipment left behind.
I have mostly avoided that, but I was lucky to have a brother who research's and explores this area a lot. I get to try his new equipment out as well.
The problem with advise is its almost impossible to say what you need when you don't know for sure where you wind up.
What I will say is get the best stuff out there to start with, don't hink and jink your way up to the stuff that works.
My view is not always shared by others, but I am pretty serious about it and my brother and I bounce this stuff around a lot and its all based on what really works.
And that is a issue, there is a lot of Urban Legend stuff.
In my case I started out very basic (with a Lee hand kit, piece of junk, 3 loads and the cases were gone and those were straight wall)
Next up was a RCBS Junior, it worked at the time for pistol just fine and fit in what little space I had (ahh the good old days, tiny trailer at construction jobs, shooting on the day off)
I got into rifle latter, as I was hunting it turned out to be a waste to reload. The gun I had did not care what was in it, 1.5 inches and that did perfectly fine for hunting. But I got a RCBS Rockchucker and the accessories.
The straw that broke the back was I thought I had rounds and did not and did not have time to re-load, get the trip pulled together and do the sight in.
So I grabbed a couple of boxes of Federal Premium from the store, spot on and 1.5 inches (hmmm) and off I went.
So I quit for a lot of years, then got back into shooting but target only.
Then it all came into use and the money started to flow out as the hard lessons on extended reloading began.
Case break at the base, yep, have to learn to do minimum bump and you need a .001 micrometer to check the minimum bump back.
Split necks? Yep, you need to anneal to stop and that regardless of what folks say, is a dark art that I can bring light to, I found a post by one guy who advocated you could heat brass up to 1300 degrees and not damage it. By the way, that is insane! You have to know the difference between damaging metal where it not longer is metal and what heat treatment is and does (hint, 800 maximum for a fraction of a second, 750 is more better and NEVER head the case down to the base over 450, the case will blow up.
So, one thing, no press is ever wasted. I use the Junior now down at the range, I load some COAL spot on and the rest long and I play with COAL to tune a load that way. Works a treat.
My other brother gave up his reloading and I got his Rockchucker as well.
I reloaded in a 2 foot closet (width ) with a bench high floor) and did ok, but I was loading one caliber. You can go small but its a pain.
5 feet works if its a dedicated bench. You want shelves above and not real wide ones (not cabinets) Things get to the back of a cabinet and you never find them again.
I just got up two shelves above my prep bench (my other one is a combo work and reloading). I am finally seeing light in brass organization (3 calibers)
So, for the serious re-loader.
Case Trimmers: Nothing works as well as an off the shoulder trimmers for fast and consistent and no fuss. , if you have more than 5 calibers then the Gerard motorized unit is by far the best.
My other brother gave me his RCBS trimmer. . Lengths were never the same, latch in, turn, measure, too short, too long, too - total pain. It has do with length below the shoulder and base depth.
For a couple I of calibers I have the drill chuck upside down in a vice and Gerard tri trimmers (saves steps, length, chamfer and debur)
This last time it was start over or modify for the drill (which I put upside down and clamp in a vice and lock it on) and it works great.
I am trying the Trim it II with inserts, sort of a poor mans Gerard. I should have gone with Gerard it, but got lured in to thinking only two cases to load (remember the thing about getting the best?)
Yea a Gerard sets you back $500 or so, inserts are like $30. Right now I have about $200 into Tir Timmers and another $150 into the Trim it II (but I can add calibers now at about $20) though I have to adjust the cutter, its setup for that and I do keep a lot of brass and it only gets sized about 1 in 5 times. Still the Gerard is swap and play. I am pretty close to it now.
Powder Charging: Got straight to the mechanized disperse with electronic scales, Lyman has a nice one out (y0u need a touch pen if you have fat finger like I do. Hornady one is a lot bigger but easy to use, RCBS is a great one. Beams? Nothing beats an electronics scale for ease of use and versatility. Ever try to sort bullets on a beam? Is it 168 or 175. Hmmm, adjust, slide adjust slide, ok now for 175, repeat adjust slide thing. Ok if its wrestlers weighting in, not for reloading. $157 for the lowest cost one (and its good to have second scale, Lyman makes a nice one, its the wrigh only use and backup to the other one as it has a built in trickler I can load fairly fast with.
Dies? I found the Micrometer type are really nice, those are not cheap, $100+ for an RCBS or Forster.
Anneal: I tried the torch. Saw how iffy that is quality control wise. I used my brothers Annie until I got my own (induction heating). Even then it takes some work to get right (hint, heat low until you are sure, then move up, complete cleaned brass heats slower (odd) than brass not cleaned inside. $484 (shipped and life time warranty)
Brass Polishing: That is the next step. Stainless pins and the right tumbler clean out the brass and the primer pockets. The right tumble is $350. Still not there yet but that's what I will get.
I will probably not do it each time, just when I anneal, but you8 will need to anneal by 5 rounds, 8 if you are lucky. 5 is a good number./
How much have I run you up through?
Oh yea, forgot the primer. Again opinions vary. I fell in love with the RCBS universal. Why? I don't' have to put in shell holders! One for large and one for small base (primers0
And I broke it and RCBS sent me almost an entirely new assembly (with the broken part)> I think that is only $50.
RCBS prep station, always handy. I had to resize 7.5 Swiss primer pockets that were too small (one source of Brass for that these days though its good stuff, its size for European large primers and those are a shade smaller than US)
Also has the primer pocket brush and de-burr and chamber and those are handy for all sorts of things. That's only another $100 something.
I think I have you up through $1500 (I had the presses to start with) and we haven't bought the stainless pin unit yet! ($350 and a fruit dryer rot dry the brass off afterwards)
