When is it time to switch to a progressive press?

[JamesIII]

I am loading about 3500 rds. per year right now and expect that number to rise a little. At what count do you think a progressive press makes sense? I sure wouldn't give up my single stage for large rifle caliburs, but pistol and .223 take up a lot of time. My life is not THAT busy, but during the summer it can get hectic. Thanks, JamesIII

[kynardsj]

I'm thinking you're at that point now. 3500 rounds X about 4 pulls per round on a single stage press  = a bunch. A friend of mine just bought a new 45 ACP pistol. He's fallen in love with it and is going to supplement his Rock Chucker with a progressive.

[Land_Owner]

Made sense to me to go progressive when it incorporated the Rock Chucker I already used AND the need for higher capacity reloading warranted.  Before I needed a progressive press to load handgun calibers, I only owned one handgun, a 45 Colt, which was simple enough to keep fed.  As I acquired more handguns and shorter OAL length rifle cartridge long guns, in particular the .223's, I made the switch to incorporate a progressive that fit my existing equipment.
 

[keith44]

When I was shooting Trap and Skeet, I needed a progressive press.  Now that I shoot less than 1,000 rounds a year again my single stage presses are just fine.  At around 2,000 rounds per year the progressive starts to make sense, due to the time involved.

[jhalcott]

 Don't tell my boss, but when I worked night shift I did a LOT of loading and casting waiting for the phone to ring. I shot Sillohouettes back then and some trap. I STILL use my single stage presses now. I just do not shoot as much anymore. I did see a few guys buy, try then sell their progressive presses. It can be VERY serious if you get in a real fire fight and find out your press MISSED a powder drop!

[Lloyd Smale]

Personaly i value my time. If i was looking at shooting more then 50 rounds a week Id defineatley be looking at loading progressively. I dont want to even load 10 rounds of handgun ammo on a single stage press. Id about bet that anyone who does doesnt shoot as much as theyd like to. they look at that pretty box of ammo and think about the work they put into it and maybe shoot 5 or 10 of them. Me i go to the range with buckets of ammo.

[Empty Quiver]

When my fingers are all smashed up from trying to load 9MM.    Or when my budget allows me the luxury of shooting enough to warrant the cost of both components and press.

[JamesIII]

I thought all reloaders had little core samples removed from their bullet loading fingers! You are correct, loading a bunch of 9mm or 380's will make you look at the progressive a little closer. The one thing that holds me back is I have really worked hard on a system that eliminates screw ups, hopefully a progressive can be as safe. JamesIII

[Forsberg]

When I started reloading about the only progressive press around was a Hollywood. If I could have afforded one I would have skipped single stage.  I have both and I like single stage for rifle cases but there's nothing like a good progressive for handgun ammo. Buy quality the first time so you don't have to spend your money twice.

[LaOtto222]

To me, a progressive press makes a lot of sense when you shoot a lot of the same thing. If you are loading for a police department and everyone carries a 9mm or 45ACP. A department will go through a lot of ammo for practice and qualifying. However for duty carry, i would purchase or load the ammo on a single stage press. Same thing for the guy that likes to go to the range and shoot hundreds of rounds through his AR in a week. Another scenario is someone who shoots competition and again shoots hundreds of rounds a week for practice and competition. Those are some example that I would own a progressive press for. I do not fit any of those situations. I also enjoy spending time at my reloading bench, I do not consider loading rounds a chore. I particularly enjoy the final steps of the reloading process. The priming, powder charging and bullet seating. The case prep, not so much, but I do not consider it a chore, just a necessary part of the process. I have recently bought a mini 14 and an auto pistol. They are fun to shoot and it would take a lot of reloading to keep them fed. If I was to shoot them very much, I would seriously consider a progressive press. They are not my only guns and I did not buy them for fun stuff. So what does this mean? It means it depends...it depends on if you shoot a lot of the same thing, it only makes sense to get a progressive press. If you are shooting a lot of different cartridges, maybe 100 rounds a week, but it is 20 of this one, 10 of that one, 25 of yet another, etc. I do not think that a progressive is all that cost effective. Or if you are like me and actually enjoy the time at the bench, then a progressive press is probably not for you.

Do you need a progressive press? Maybe; are you a weekend warrior, competition shooter, hate spending time at the reloading bench, then a progressive makes a lot of sense.

Good Luck and Good Shooting