The Lowdown Of Presses

When buying the equipment to begin reloading your own ammunition, you will soon find that there are many different options available. As the industry’s technology advances, the amount of options available only increases. Reloading presses come in a multitude of shapes, sizes, and styles and finding the right one for you can be difficult. That’s why we wanted to take the time to explain each style of press, as well as their pros and cons.

Single Stage

This is the most basic, and easiest to use, style of reloading presses available. These are often used by beginners looking to get started with as little start-up money as possible, as well as those wanting a more precise, one-at-a-time reload experience. With this style, the die is screwed into the top of the press while the casing is attached to the ram. Most operate by pushing the lever down, which then raises the casing to meet the die.

Most presses of this style do not have the ability to place a primer, though there are some that do. Therefore, if the press you purchase doesn’t have that ability, you will need to buy a hand-priming tool. The down side to this style is the rate at which you can reload. The pro is that you can fine tune your loads easier.

Turret Press

In terms of operation, the Turret Press is similar to the Single-Stage press in many regards. The difference, however, is that the turret style press can hold several dies at once, though the user still has to manually index the die. However, there are some turret presses that have the auto-index abilities.

This style does still require many moves of the lever before the process is complete. However, with the ability to have several dies, the reload time is substantially increased. Many beginners willing to spend a little extra will get this press because of the time saving ability. It does still allow for some precision in the load, as well.

Progressive Press

This is the industrial beast of the reloading world. The lure of the progressive press is its speed and near-automation abilities. With each pull of the lever a completed round is produced. Not only does this allow for the mass production of rounds, it allows the user to have every aspect of the reloading process in one press.

While some progressive presses require the user to manually load in the empty casing, most models will have the option to install a case feeder system. This system can be either mechanical or electronic but works to automatically install the next casing onto the press. This greatly increases the speed at which you can reload.

This style of press is the most common among those that shoot semi-automatic guns, whether it be pistol or rifle. That’s because these types of guns often shoot through ammunition quickly. However, those shooting single-shot guns, such as revolvers and bolt-action rifles tend to still use the single-stage or turret style presses. The downside to using a progressive press is the amount of time it takes to change caliber sizes, as well as the inability to fine tune a load.

When choosing a press style, take into consideration how often you will be shooting and how many rounds you will be reloading. Also decide if you are wanting to fine tune each round or are ok with each round having the same load factors.