[LDBennett]

If you buy the right progressive press you can load anything from 25 ACP to the biggest magnum rifle cartridges. I have a Dillon RL550B which does that with ease. It is versatile enough to be able to load single stage, turret, or full progressive. I reload for over 30 different calibers, both handgun and rifle, on this press and do not own another press. It uses regular two die die sets with 7/8 x 14 threads (the standard). Dillon lisst perhaps 150 caliber conversion kits (shell plate, powder funnel, and case locating pins) which include both straight walled and shouldered cases of all sizes.

Not every time but maybe every third or fourth reload of a shouldered case, I use the press as a single stage press to de-prime and size a batch of cases. I then trim them and return to full progressive reloading with the sizing die removed. Other times I do full progressive if the cases do not need trimming. It is just as easy to do shouldered cases as straight walled cases.

There are several choices in the market place of progressive presses. The most prevalent you will find out there is the Dillon RL550B which has been on the market virtually unchanged for maybe 40 years. Meanwhile others have gone through a multitude of different designs only to get closer and closer to the Dillon design in the latest offerings.

The main difference between the Dillon RL550B and most of the others is the Dillon RL550B does not have auto indexing (in my view an advantage). That feature uses the motion of the operating handle to move the shell plate to the next stage. If something goes wrong (you do know about Murphy, don't you) then auto indexing can be a detriment to getting things quickly right again. The lack of auto indexing barely slows down the reloading process.

To be frank I would not reload without my Dillon. It has allowed me to have many different caliber guns (always my desire). My gun collection today would be minimal if I did not reload progressively. I have used single stage presses in the distant past and the effort and time are wasted using single stage presses, in my opinion for ME. Others think otherwise and that is fine with me.

LDBennett