Great article padre, thanks for posting.
Powder goes in the shell right? Is that before or after you seat the primer?
One thing I learned about reloading is do you homework regarding presses. While it's suggested that newcomers learn the process on a single stage, which is what the late Dave Waits and other members here shared with me, but my philosophy is always been "work smart, not hard". And for me, that is just not the case regarding single stages.
It was said that on a single stage, you will go slower and not make as many mistakes. Really? How many squibs did I have my first batch? I know, that was MY FAULT, I FORGOT THE POWDER. Had I been using a progressive press like a Dillon with a low powder alarm set up or another progressive type press with a powder drop, I wouldn't have missed those 3 cases would I?
On a single stage, it takes me roughly 1 hr to make 100 rounds of finished ammo, because you do everything in a "single step", 5 times - Decap or deprime & resize, flare, hand prime, fill with powder, seat & crimp. Even a manually indexing progressive press is faster as there are no die changes and you can set them up to run like a progressive, except you index it manually.
Not counting the cost of components, but only taking into account what my time is worth, for me it's cheaper to go buy 100 rounds of either 9mm or 45 ACP, even at my local sporting goods store or LGS, tax included!
I know reloading is not about speed and can be thought of as therapeutic, but I've seriously lost interest in reloading because I cannot stand the time it takes. Call me young and impatient, whatever. I just feel there's better ways to spend my time.
I dropped a decent amount of coin to get the complete single stage set up and someday, it'll get sold and I'll spend even more money for a progressive that I should've bought in the first place. This is why I say you need to do your homework and think about what your needs are.
If you're a casual shooter that only needs a fair amount for the month or a hunter that needs even less, but wants more accurately loaded ammo, a single stage is just fine.
But if you're into a lot of range time, training or competition, a progressive press is the only way to go.
Remember, this is just my 0.02. YMMV.
Good day.
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