What’s the best reloading press for beginners?
Depends on the reloading you plan to do. – Rifle – Single Stage
Pistol – Manual indexing progressive
A few years back I was talking with a buddy of mine about the gun hobby. This is the same friend that got me into assembling AR-15’s. The more we talked, he started telling me about reloading and my curiosity was peaked. After going over to see his single stage RCBS setup, I knew I had to get started reloading too. But ….. what’s the best reloading press for a newbie like me? As my wife will tell you, I’m a research geek when it comes to new things and after hours of research this is what I found.
What’s the best reloading press for beginners? That depends on what you are planning to reload now and in the future. There are multiple types of reloading press, and each has its own unique attributes that make it best suited to the particular goals and tasks you have as a reloader.
As I searched for my first reloading press, everyone seemed to agree that a beginner should start on a single stage press. The reasoning I found was so you have a chance to master each step of the reloading process before moving onto a turret or progessive set up.This makes total sense because when you are dealing with a progressive press you are completing multiple steps at once and that could definitely overwhelm someone just starting to learn. Based on this, I followed that advice and purchased a Hornady Classic single stage press. But, after several years reloading and purchasing multiple presses, I have a different take on it now and here’s the advice I give to my friends and family when they ask.
When you are planning to buy your first press you obviously are not going to know everything about reloading but step back and ask yourself a few questions.
- What caliber do you currently shoot the most?
- What calibers do you think you would like to reload in the future?
- Do you hunt?
- Do you currently or have plans of shooting in USPSA, IDPA or 3 Gun competitions?
- Do you currently or have plans to compete in precision rifle competitions?
These basic questions can point you in the right direction and here’s why. If you mainly shoot rifle calibers for hunting or precision rifle competitions then precision loading is the name of the game and you need to look very seriously at a single stage press setup. But, if you are shooting mainly pistol calibers and you have any interest in competing in USPSA, IDPA or 3 Gun you are going to need large quantities of ammunition. Because of that I would highly suggest looking into a turret or progessive press. Let’s take a look at some of the attributes of each.
Single stage reloading presses complete a single stage of the reloading process with each pull of the handle, just as the name implies. This is ideal for precision loading because it allows you to have the most control possible over every step in the process. That control allows you to make the precision adjustments that are required to manufacture truly precision rounds. Remember, when you control every component… every measurement…every detail …you have infinite customization of the rounds you fire. It will take some trial and error, but you can customize a load to each gun you own and that offers you a level of accuracy not possible with off the shelf ammunition.
That being said, single stage reloading is great for learning the reloading process,so if you are just looking to reload small amounts of any caliber you can’t go wrong with a single stage press. I started on a Hornady Classic single stage and I still use it today.
If you know that you are going to need to reload large quantities of ammunition, especially for pistol calibers, I’m going to give you different advice. While a single stage reloading press completes just one stage of reloading with each pull of the handle, a progressive reloading press will complete multiple stages with each pull. Bottom line, once your reloading session is up and running every time you pull the handle … a completed round of ammunition comes out. This is a huge advantage if you are going to be reloading for competition.
Using my single stage press I can typically load around 50 – 100 rounds per hour without much problem. That’s great if I’m just plinking around, but if I’m competing or short on time, I need more. Using my Dillon XL650, I can easily increase that to 800 rounds per hour without breaking a sweat.
Now I’m not suggesting that a new reloader go buy a Dillon XL650 (around $1300 for all the bells and whistles), but I would highly recommend a Dillon 550 for the beginner. Unlike the auto indexing 650, the Dillon 550 is a manually indexing progressive press. This means you have to manually rotate the base plate to index the round to the next die. That means you maintain the control over each step while also giving you the advantages of a progressive press. Here is the disclaimer though. While it is still a progressive press, the manual indexing does slow you down. You can expect to average somewhere around 400 – 500 rounds per hour.
I ran across a deal on a barely used 550B and I love this machine. I really think it’s the perfect beginner press if you’re looking to load higher quantities of ammunition in the long run because it gives you that true progressive experience. But for the beginner, there is no reason you can’t treat it as a single stage press. This is as simple as only installing one die in the toolhead instead of the four you would use normally. There you have it! …. a single stage press to learn on that magically turns into a full fledged progressive when you’re comfortable taking that step.
Honestly, if I could go back and restart my journey in reloading this is exactly what I would do. I would have spent a lot less money on equipment and had the best of both worlds. Then again….. I really do love having three presses on my bench….