Progressive press

[Vince]

Thanks all for the great info. I also failed to mention that I don't use a powder measure when I load. The coarse grain powders don't meter well. I use a plastic spoon for all of my rifle loading and weigh every charge. That can take forever for 500 rounds of 45. I will look about and see what I can find.

I have an amigo that is a Dillon fanatic.
So much so that he doesn't even own a single stage press anymore. He would tell you to get a 550 and load your rifle ammo on that too.
His standard for accuracy is different from your's, or mine, but he doesn't hunt and likely his furthest rifle shot will be well inside 100 Yards.
If you're just loading one, or two at most, handgun calibers I'd still suggest the Square Deal B.

Vince

 

[Ridgerunner665]

Thanks all for the great info. I also failed to mention that I don't use a powder measure when I load. The coarse grain powders don't meter well. I use a plastic spoon for all of my rifle loading and weigh every charge. That can take forever for 500 rounds of 45. I will look about and see what I can find.

The Lee kit does good with smaller flake powders (I use Power Pistol), and ball powders in the 223...

Getting Unique through it is like trying to get corn flakes to flow through a screen door....

 

[Darkhorse]

Thanks all for the great info. I also failed to mention that I don't use a powder measure when I load. The coarse grain powders don't meter well. I use a plastic spoon for all of my rifle loading and weigh every charge. That can take forever for 500 rounds of 45. I will look about and see what I can find.

I don't know what kind of measure you've used, but I have a ancient RCBS uniflow and the only powders I feel the need to weigh are the ones it has to cut. Like IMR 4350. I weigh none of my pistol charges. If you are weighing all your charges then a progressive press won't help speed things up a whole lot.

 

[Elkman]

One of my goals is to use a measure for the pistols. I typically load H-1000, 4350, 3031, Varget and other similar. I recently layed in a supply of RL-15 which will meter. When I started loading the manuals always said that if your loading near max,to weigh every load. Measures were cumbersome and not very accurate. So instead of adding and subtracting to get it right, I got in the habit of using the spoon. I have been loading for about 55 years and old habits are hard to break.

 

[kraky]

Buy something nice...you'll soon forget the price......get a Dillon!

 

[Vince]

Measure rifle rounds.
Throw pistol rounds.
To do otherwise would see no benefit to a progressive press.

 

[Darkhorse]

I weigh all my hunting rounds, max. loads and test loads in the rifle. I set my measure to throw just under the target load, then using a powder trickler I bring the load up to weight.
My uniflow will measure short powders like 4320, 3031 and Win. Ball powders very accurately. Same for Unique in my pistols. Unique is my main pistol powder for practice loads in several calibers.
I've used the powder scoop with my first loader, a Lee standard set in 7X57 way back in '71 and I just don't trust them for accuracy.