Best single stage press for my needs

[gundog10]

I won't get into what is better, just what has worked for me. With my single stage press I had to remove one die and replace it for the next step of the reloading process. With a turret press you just load and adjust all the dies for a specific caliber and you are done. It just saves time. I full length size all my brass and as the Lyman turret press has a rod brace at the rear of the turret I have found no difference in the quality or accuracy of my reloads. Is it as strong as my rock chucker "NO", is it as fast as a progressive "NO" but, for someone like me who likes hands on "quiet" "me time" without the need to continually swap out dies, turrets are the cats meow

 

[Lilhigbee]

If you are going to buy a progressive eventually anyway, just buy the Dillon 550B to start with and use it like a single-stage when you want. It is cheaper in the long run than two presses or a press and an adapter. Added advantage of removable tool heads so you don't have to reset the dies every time. True no BS warranty too!! You can prime on or off the machine, as you wish, powder drop on or off the machine too. Very versatile and excellent quality.

 

[ron]

Take a close look at the Dillon bl550 at $260 as it will do just about anything your single stage can do at not much more cost and can be upgraded to the auto prime and powder drop for about $125 when you get ready for it. The 550 is not really a true progressive press but more of a vastly improved turret press and can be used just like a single stage. As for dies Lee is your friend I prefer my Lee dies over any others for most aplications. Rcbs and hornedy are less than Lee quality for close to Dillon prices.
For a good quality single stage look at the Lee classic cast o press as it can be had for quite a lot less than a rock chucker though in many years of reloading I have only used a single stage for limited things that can't be done on a progressive like sizing cast bullets.

I agree. What I like about my Dillon 550. Once you adjust your dies they are set.
Same idea behind Hornady's Lock and Load adapters. When resizing rifle brass it
is important to bring down the shoulder of the case to spec. I measure my
sized brass with a RCBS Precision Mic. Adjusting the sizer die accordingly. In a
single stage screwing the dies in and out every time you will get a variance?
When doing load development the mantra is "change only one thing at a time".
Bullet, seating depth, powder, powder charge, primer, brass?? So many variables.
The 550 can be used as a single stage. I have reloaded on my 550 for over 25 years.
I have broken and worn out numerous parts. Always replaced no questions asked.
I shipped it to them a couple years ago and they did a complete rebuild. And painted.
Always no charge. I predict you will want to step up to a progressive within
6 months. My single stage I would do 100 357s in over 3 hours. Once the
550 is set 100 rounds of 357 in 20 minutes taking it easy.

 

[fxdc]

The rcbs RC supreme at Bi mart is 129 as I look at it.

 

[Member 5605]

I won't get into what is better, just what has worked for me. With my single stage press I had to remove one die and replace it for the next step of the reloading process. With a turret press you just load and adjust all the dies for a specific caliber and you are done. It just saves time. I full length size all my brass and as the Lyman turret press has a rod brace at the rear of the turret I have found no difference in the quality or accuracy of my reloads. Is it as strong as my rock chucker "NO", is it as fast as a progressive "NO" but, for someone like me who likes hands on "quiet" "me time" without the need to continually swap out dies, turrets are the cats meow

True and there are collet styles such as the Lee Breechlock and there is one by Hornady as well. While they aren't feasible for all pistol calibers they work remarkably well for rifle when you don't have so many calibers to reload.

I use a turret press for pistol and .223 while precision rifle rounds are made in a collet style single stage.

 

[fxdc]

Was the deal on this site ? Sounds like you know your stuff and have a piece or two of equipment .

You can do it!
Pictures of the RC and piggyback 3
LOL

 

[ageingstudent]

If you are going to buy a progressive eventually anyway, just buy the Dillon 550B to start with and use it like a single-stage when you want. It is cheaper in the long run than two presses or a press and an adapter. Added advantage of removable tool heads so you don't have to reset the dies every time. True no BS warranty too!! You can prime on or off the machine, as you wish, powder drop on or off the machine too. Very versatile and excellent quality.

If I had it to do over again I would go this route with the bl550 to start. However, I have added the Inline Fabrication upgrades and the Auto-Drum powder measure to my LCT and it's like a whole different world loading pistol or .223. I like having the auto index option for that, and that I can easily disable the auto index for high power rifle stuff. I've managed to get some excellent results with my 22-250 so the LCT is certainly capable. Maybe when I retire or if the LCT wears out I'll put a 550 on the bench, but for now there's no reason to replace a tool that works so well.

 

[Papercidal]

If I had it to do over again I would go this route with the bl550 to start. However, I have added the Inline Fabrication upgrades and the Auto-Drum powder measure to my LCT and it's like a whole different world loading pistol or .223. I like having the auto index option for that, and that I can easily disable the auto index for high power rifle stuff. I've managed to get some excellent results with my 22-250 so the LCT is certainly capable. Maybe when I retire or if the LCT wears out I'll put a 550 on the bench, but for now there's no reason to replace a tool that works so well.

I agree completely though I have never understood those who say you must have a single stage for precision rifle as I have managed well under 1" groups at 100 yd through a 79 year old rifle and scope combo with rounds loaded on my 650.

 

[orygun]

I still have my first press, which is a Lyman turret press. It would likely still be my only press except my wife bought me a Dillon 550 for my birthday many moons ago. I really like the turret style press and have loaded thousands of rounds on one. I would recommend buying one instead of a true single stage if possible. I don't think a turret press is much faster, but it can save you time lost to set up if you do several batches of the caliber before changing out dies.
If money's not so much of an issue, you can step up to something like the Dillon 550 that you can use as a progressive, or any single stage, or combination of stages, that you want. Because of the options it provides, I've only used my 550 for the last few years.

 

[ChiefStealth]

(snip)Does anyone make a progressive press that allows you to shut down all of the automated features allowing it to be used as a single stage ?

And yes, I ask stupid questions , it's my specialty .

The Lee Classic Turret Press. You simply remove an operating rod and the press becomes a SS press. I typically load all my 30-30 and my "precision" .223 on the LCT setup SS. I load all pistol and "bulk" .223 with the press setup full turret.

 

[Crohnos01]

I have been reloading for 40 or so years now, and I am still just running a single stage RCBS RCBS Supreme. I thought about putting a piggyback 4 on it, but those are no longer made, although sometimes you can find them online here and there. RCBS has a progressive that is cheaper than trying to find a PBS conversion anyway, although I have heard a lot of grumbling about the primer feed system being weak and breaking which has kept me from buying one.
In my case, I shoot a lot of bolt actions and going through 100 rounds at the range takes a while anyway. If you prefer to "spray and pray", seeing how much lead you can have in the air simultaneously (not slamming anyone here, it's just not how I shoot), a single stage is eventually not going to keep up with your demands. I think a single stage still has its place even on the bench of a volume shooter for load development before going into mass production on the progressive. The turret systems are kind of trying to be both single stage and a quasi progressive at the same time, which is kind of the "one size fits all" approach.
I have been an RCBS guy forever, but mostly because my wallet is too anemic to step up to a Dillon. if you have the cash, I would listen to those who are recommending the Dillon solution. Short of that, go with a RCBS supreme to get started and plan on including a progressive on your bench down the road.
My humble opinion and probably worth less than you just paid for it.

 

[fxdc]

I have been reloading for 40 or so years now, and I am still just running a single stage RCBS RCBS Supreme. I thought about putting a piggyback 4 on it, but those are no longer made, although sometimes you can find them online here and there. RCBS has a progressive that is cheaper than trying to find a PBS conversion anyway, although I have heard a lot of grumbling about the primer feed system being weak and breaking which has kept me from buying one.
In my case, I shoot a lot of bolt actions and going through 100 rounds at the range takes a while anyway. If you prefer to "spray and pray", seeing how much lead you can have in the air simultaneously (not slamming anyone here, it's just not how I shoot), a single stage is eventually not going to keep up with your demands. I think a single stage still has its place even on the bench of a volume shooter for load development before going into mass production on the progressive. The turret systems are kind of trying to be both single stage and a quasi progressive at the same time, which is kind of the "one size fits all" approach.
I have been an RCBS guy forever, but mostly because my wallet is too anemic to step up to a Dillon. if you have the cash, I would listen to those who are recommending the Dillon solution. Short of that, go with a RCBS supreme to get started and plan on including a progressive on your bench down the road.
My humble opinion and probably worth less than you just paid for it.

Yeah
But they can be found like you said.

The new PRO chucker is plagued with problems. That I got a pro 2000 auto index it can be disabled and used as single stage or manual indexing progressive. And changes calibers and priming systems as fast or faster.

The big thing over a 550 is that it's a solid cast steel and yes heavy!

The 550 is aluminum and has only 4 stations. The OP may be fine with a 7 station Turret. I wish him luck.

 

[Certaindeaf]

Single stage? Get a Lee.. cast iron or alloy (same as RCBS). Unlike most all the rest, especially RCBS, Lee through-drills the steel ram for positive primer collection. You'll be picking up half the decapped/filthy primers off the floor for the rest of your life with the "coveted" Rockchucker or their alloy offering.. for triple the price.

 

[Crohnos01]

I will admit the primer collection catching system out of the box may not be wonderful on the RCBS allowing spent primers to slip between the catcher and the press. I have found a rubber band stretched around the primer catcher to snug it up to the cast iron frame solves the problem with spent primers dropping on the floor. It took all of ten seconds, the cost of a rubberband, and has worked for years. Personally, I can deal with such a minor tweak to get the RCBS amazing customer service on other more major issues.

 

[fxdc]

I will admit the primer collection catching system out of the box may not be wonderful on the RCBS allowing spent primers to slip between the catcher and the press. I have found a rubber band stretched around the primer catcher to snug it up to the cast iron frame solves the problem with spent primers dropping on the floor. It took all of ten seconds, the cost of a rubberband, and has worked for years. Personally, I can deal with such a minor tweak to get the RCBS amazing customer service on other more major issues.

Inline fab has a fix for it also. But yours is free.

 

[3MTA3]

I'm going to suggest as others the Dillon RL550/550B route. Because it indexes manually you can use it as a single stage or as a progressive. The interchangeable tool heads make setup a snap and make for a solid setup. My experience is that revolving turrets tend to be a bit sloppy.

If you were looking for a single stage they are pretty much all good. I have an ancient RCBS that works well and I haven't noticed the primer issue noted above.

I'd look for classified ads here, other forums, craigslist, and eBay if you want to save a few dollars. The Dillon is rock solid and parts are available/inexpensive even if something is worn or damaged. I do like the stand, but wish I'd have known about Inline Fabrication before I bought the Dillon stand.

 

[41ae Guy]

It's starting to sound like a Turret press may be the way to go. I started this thread after talking with a co-worker who is really into looooooong range shooting where 1500 yards is not uncommon. He shoots a very custom .338 laupua, his scope retails for more than all my rifles combined . He swears up and down that for accuracy a single stage is a must, he uses a Rock Chucker.
I am not that "serious" about it, but for the .308, 6.5 Creedmoor, and .41ae I would like the charge to maintain +/- .5 grain. obviously volume is low. With the 5.56 and 9mm it's a different story. I have one 5.56 pre-ban H-bar 1:7 that I use for throwing 62-77 grain as far as I can, then I have a 5.56 1:9 16 inch barrel that I plink 50-100 yards with 55 grain. Sometimes I get bored and unlock the slide fire stock just to throw lead and brass, a couple hundred rounds is gone in no time. ditto on the 9mm. Jericho 941, low volume , Calico 950 with the 100 round drum burns it up.
It sounds like a good turret will provide me with the accuracy and take enough labor out that I won't cringe when I squeeze the trigger .

 

[Certaindeaf]

It's starting to sound like a Turret press may be the way to go. I started this thread after talking with a co-worker who is really into looooooong range shooting where 1500 yards is not uncommon. He shoots a very custom .338 laupua, his scope retails for more than all my rifles combined . He swears up and down that for accuracy a single stage is a must, he uses a Rock Chucker.
I am not that "serious" about it, but for the .308, 6.5 Creedmoor, and .41ae I would like the charge to maintain +/- .5 grain. obviously volume is low. With the 5.56 and 9mm it's a different story. I have one 5.56 pre-ban H-bar 1:7 that I use for throwing 62-77 grain as far as I can, then I have a 5.56 1:9 16 inch barrel that I plink 50-100 yards with 55 grain. Sometimes I get bored and unlock the slide fire stock just to throw lead and brass, a couple hundred rounds is gone in no time. ditto on the 9mm. Jericho 941, low volume , Calico 950 with the 100 round drum burns it up.
It sounds like a good turret will provide me with the accuracy and take enough labor out that I won't cringe when I squeeze the trigger .

TiborasaurusRex .. long-range guru of youtube fame reloads his long range ammo with a Lee turret. A lee turret is essentially an O press, like a Rockchucker or the like, not like a normal C press or conventional turret press.

 

[MrElectric03]

Just my opinion and I'll probably get beat up for it but I've never seen a reason to have a turret. 550s can be had for very good prices and will both allow you to learn the process as well as crank out rounds with less pulls of the handle once you get more used to it.

To answer your question about the lock n load system...I have my rockchucker setup for it. It's nice being able to not reset the dies each time. Not as nice as changing the whole tool head though not as expensive either.

 

[PaulB47]

i have a Rock Chucker, but if I were to start over I would go with this:
Classic Turret Press - Lee Precision

I like the idea of having the dies all set up, without dealing with the fussiness of a full progressive press.