Personally, I would not give up my time on a single stage for anything. I think it really helps you to learn the process. As another posted, ideally they newb would learn on a borrowed single stage vs buying one but initial time spent with a single stage is time well spent.Originally Posted by 125 mph
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Yes, I hear this but you can run one piece of brass at a time through a progressive press, or even insert/remoe a piece of brass from any stage. So it's not like you can't break the process down step by step.
No reason to not start with a 550, but if you start with a single stage you will probably not regret having it around.
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I hear what you are saying but you are talking about making a complicated piece of machinery, simple. Looking back, it seems easy to do. For a newby, start simple.
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My thoughts about the 550 is that the way the primer feed works, it is simple to start out processing one case at a time, not much more complex than a single stage.
But I am also an advocate of getting a single stage, because you can load your first 500-1000 rounds on it and keep it around.
But all of this is also dependant on the mechanical aptitude of the user.
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I started loading on a 550 way back in the day. Went to a 650 and loaded for a lot of different calibers. These days I'm averaging 17-20k rounds fired a year. I get most of my rifle ammo from work so I really just load pistol. 40 and 9mm competition loads. So my main motivation has been large volume of ammo that gauges correctly. Secrets I've learned from the years of loading:
1. Buy in bulk. Real bulk, like 10k+ at a time. I usually always buy bullets in this number. Just got in an order for 20k 40's and 30k 9mm's. Go in on a group buy with buddies and you can really get the price down, even for premium bullets. I shoot JHP zeros and pay about what I would for coated. Primers usually no less than 25k+. Only time I've ever bought brass was loading ammo for Nationals.
2. Set up your loading for volume. 1050 is the bees knees, especially when loaded up with the bullet feeder, case feeder ... and now I have the Mark VII. I load about 1500 rounds in an hour. The primer filler is a must as well.
3. Case prep is everything. I wet tumble and that eliminates a lot of crap in the press. Try and sort out bad brass, especially glocked brass in 40. I have a friend with a roll sizer and that thing has been gold. Lube the living hell out of your brass prior to loading.
4. Shockbottle hundo is top notch. I have my daughter help me fill it up when I'm done loading and then I transfer it to boxes, and date/label them.
5. Have good records and labeling. If i'm loading thousands of rounds a week and there's an error in a batch, you want to have that batch as small as you can so you don't have to go pulling massive quantities of ammo. I always try to shoot my oldest loaded stuff first as well.
6. When loading, every 1k rounds or so check your ammo to make sure it's in spec. Powder load, OAL, primer depth, etc. I had been forgetting to check my powder load and it had walked about .4 grains. Not dangerous, but out of the power factor I wanted.
7. Trade brass. I get 556 and 40 brass falling out of my ears. When I needed 9mm I put up a post to trade 'home depot orange bucket full of 556 for your bucket full of 9'. Had some idiots try to play the price game with me. Don't care, give me bucket. Finally found the right guy and everyone was happy.
If you load lots of calibers, go for the 650. If you load one or two and want to turn out large numbers, go 1050. I am cresting over 50k loaded on my 1050 and it's been outstanding.
1k rounds a month? No way in hell that I would consider a single stage for that. I'd at least go with a 550 for speed. I learned on a 550, it's not hard.
#RESIST
I bought a SDB back in September of this year after moving with my girl. Before that I had reloaded on a Lee single stage and averaged 1000 9mm a month. I was being stubborn and cheap with equipment hence why it took me so long to upgrade. Don't know what the hell I was thinking. I kept telling myself I needed more space for a progressive, but now I know that was nonsense. I only load 9mm and have no need to experiment with my load. I use berrys 115rn, titegroup, whatever primers I can get cheapest, and any assorted brass I find at the range. Normally a box of 50 runs me $6.75, but honestly as long as it's below $7 I'm happy.
My broken record - 9mm only and 1000 per month = Dillon Square Deal.
How long does it take you to load that? Some people don't want to waste that time loading and would rather be shooting. Especially when you have two jobs, kids, and a wife to keep happy. On my rig I can load and box that up in an hour. How much is your time worth?
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