newgunner wrote:I'm about to buy my first reloading press. I like the Dillon RL550 ones which are progressive I believe, are these better than a good single stage press?
Do progressive presses have issues with consistent loads?
"issues with consistent loads" is over stating it but there can be some variances, more so than with a single stage press.
A single stage press is single and rigid, between raising and dropping the handle there isn't really anything that can change.
Will rotating and moving parts in a progressive press there is going to be more flex in the press and variances. Might be a fraction of a gr of powder here, a few thou seating depth there. etc.
In terms of speed though a single stage can't compare, a progressive press will blow it away. So they're hugely popular for pistol reloading because it doesn't matter in the slightest for that kind of shooting.
I'm not bagging them for rifles. If you're hunting or target shooting for fun and use a lot of ammo it wouldn't be a bad idea. Or if you just want to save time. If you were seriously into your target shooting and every thousandth of an inch of your group counts though, you'd go a single stage.