Is there any reason not to get a progressive for starting out?

[ctbreitwieser]

Hopefully, if all goes well, Im going to be starting the college stage of my life in August. Im 23, so Ive already went through my drinking/party stage of my life, and now Im more focused on spending my money and time on more important things. So my plan is to just reload in my down time. Im going to school for gunsmithing so I would imagine I wont have much homework.

BATFE just approved my paperwork for my M11/9 full auto, so I have a feeling Im going to be going through a lot of 9mm really fast. I also have a suppressor in the works, so I would like to shoot mostly subsonic. Subsonic 9mm can be kind of expensive, and Im gonna need a lot of it. So I would like to get a reloader and start reloading my own subsonic rounds. Ive never reloaded, and this will mostly be for 9mm and .223/5.56 only.

Since I would like to load as much as I possibly can and pretty fast, a single stage seems like it might be slow for what Im wanting. Is there any reason someone who is just beginning and doesnt know anything about reloading should not start out with a progressive? Im planning on buying the "ABC's of reloading" handbook to help get me started, is there any other books I should consider getting?

And with all the research Ive done, I still can not for the life of me, understand what all is needed to begin, and I have no idea what all these parts are, and what their purpose is. There seems to be so many different things that people have for reloading, and it looks like some things arent needed, but are nice to have, such as tumblers. All I know is I would like a tumbler because I can throw my suppressor baffles in it to clean them. Thats seriously the only thing I know about it.

Im know this gets asked alot, and I apologize for asking a recurring question, but I just can not understand it all. I know this was pretty long winded, and got a little off topic, but I figured Id just throw it all out there.

Thanks ahead time for any help or advice.

 

[Rookie]

I don't see why not. You would end up with one sooner or later, so save some money.

 

[melensdad]

I started (20 years ago) with a Dillon 550 for metallic and a 'MEC' progressive for shotgun. Start slow, double check powder loads, carefully hand inspect, but go progressive. As you get comfortable with the machine you will switch to periodic spot checks.

I still have my MEC but switched to a Hornady LNL. Don't waste your money buying a single stage UNLESS your goal is for ultimate precision rifle loads out of a bench rest gun.

 

[Double T]

Yes. The fact that you may miss something silly. Would hate for a squib charge to stay in the barrel of a F/A and then the following charge be normal.

 

[melensdad]

Yes. The fact that you may miss something silly. Would hate for a squib charge to stay in the barrel of a F/A and then the following charge be normal.

For whatever it is worth, I never had a squib load with my Dillon or my Horady progressives.

 

[ctbreitwieser]

For whatever it is worth, I never had a squib load with my Dillon or my Horady progressives.

So an LnL would be good one tho start out with?

 

[melensdad]

So an LnL would be good one tho start out with?

I honestly see no reason why it would not be a perfect set up for starting out.

As I said, when you first start out you should double check your loads, remeasure powder charges, confirm everything, and make sure the machine is doing exactly what it should do. Powder charge double checks (triple/quadruple) at the start AND ALSO every time you refill the powder hopper AND ALSO every time you make a change to the drop amount. But yes, if you are careful and check yourself early and often then you will be loading at high speed soon enough without having to buy extra presses, etc.

 

[EPD1102]

I started out reloading with a Dillon 650 and I've never regretted it. I would recommend that you take a reloading class from Andrew at Red Star in Indy. I think his username on here is Aszerigan. He can help you get started correctly. I believe in the old saying "Buy it once and buy it right." I think you would be very well served by a Dillon 650.

 

[ctbreitwieser]

Can you reload pistol and rifle rounds on the same press? Im assuming thats a yes, but how does it make up for the length difference?

 

[tatic05]

Can you reload pistol and rifle rounds on the same press? Im assuming thats a yes, but how does it make up for the length difference?

Different dies is what you will need regardless when you start out. There is a die for each caliber, and actually different kind of dies for the same caliber. There is carbide dies and non so make sure to get what you are really trying to get, because there is a difference between the two and different steps you might have to take to reloading them.

 

[ctbreitwieser]

Is it really this easy and fast?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IfmMK99UiwM

 

[melensdad]

Yes and No.

It is that fast and that easy, but only if you buy the optional case and optional bullet feeders. Not as fast as that without those options, but yes it's still pretty easy. Insert case, pull handle, insert bullet . . .

 

[ctbreitwieser]

Yes and No.

It is that fast and that easy, but only if you buy the optional case and optional bullet feeders. Not as fast as that without those options, but yes it's still pretty easy. Insert case, pull handle, insert bullet . . .

So if its that easy, why do people always talking about lubing,case widening, primer resizing, seating, and all that other stuff? Thats what gets me confused.

 

[butthead]

I use a turret press, I just enjoy not reloading real fast and can watch my loads better. If you start with a progressive make sure it will reload pistol and rifle. There are some that only reload pistol. Some powder measurers too.

 

[melensdad]

So if its that easy, why do people always talking about lubing,case widening, primer resizing, seating, and all that other stuff? Thats what gets me confused.

With the exception of primer seating, that stuff is done BEFORE you load the cases into the machine, so that is all prep work. The primer is seated during the loading process while using a progressive press.

But pistol cases don't need to be lubed (bottleneck rifle cases do), primer resizes is almost never needed if you standardize your brass to one or two quality brands, etc.

 

[Iroquois]

Had aprogressive years ago and didn't like it. Too many things happening at once to watch
For errors. I still like my single stage cause it's simple. You are learning a new craft and you
Will make mistakes...a single stage may allow you to catch them sooner. You will always find uses for your single stage once you graduate to a progressive

 

[ctbreitwieser]

Had aprogressive years ago and didn't like it. Too many things happening at once to watch
For errors. I still like my single stage cause it's simple. You are learning a new craft and you
Will make mistakes...a single stage may allow you to catch them sooner. You will always find uses for your single stage once you graduate to a progressive

Whats really there to mess up? I mean, it dumps the powder, puts a bullet in, and seats it. What needs to be watched?

 

[melensdad]

Whats really there to mess up? I mean, it dumps the powder, puts a bullet in, and seats it. What needs to be watched?

All those things need to be watched, but in fact what you wrote is pretty accurate. It seats the primer, dumps the powder, seats the bullet, crimps the case. Each of those things need to be checked. But once the machine is set up and working properly it will very rarely fail to do those things. Running out of primers is something that must be watched, ditto running out of powder.

You can tear, fold, crush a case rim. That will be found at final inspection.

 

[ctbreitwieser]

You guys are really a big help. I tried to rep you guys, but apparently I used it all today. Hmm, never had that happen before.

 

[mac45]

I started w/ a Dillon 550.
I would recommend starting off with just the 9mm. A lot of those extra steps you mentioned are just for rifle rounds.
If you haven't already, get a manual and read thru it. Most of your questions will get answered. I like Speer and Lyman, some folks like Lee as well.
The other thing, is don't expect to get up to full speed right off. Take your time, learn what each station does, and work up to it.

Have fun