How To Choose A Reloading Press

Reloading Press Purpose

The purposes of a reloading press include shaping spent cartridges to the correct size under pressure, and to achieve precision and accuracy when seating bullets. Although presses generally consist of the same parts, there are a variety of different types of presses available on the market.

Reloading Press Setup

Presses need to be mounted very rigidly onto a sturdy table, in order to ensure accurate reloading of bullets.

How To Choose A Reloading Press

Before choosing a reloading press you need to determine what your needs are. There are three categories of reloading presses available today. Each has its own unique characteristics which will help you decide which reloading press will best suite your needs.

Traditional single-stage press:

The traditional single-stage press is generally a heavy, solid steel structure. It consists of dies screwed in at the top of the press, which descends onto the cartridge in order to do the reloading. It is important to keep in mind that these presses are often made to fit a specific caliber.

This is a good choice as a reloading press for beginners, those who are on a tight budget and accuracy is the most important aspect for you. Even if it costs you a little extra time to reload.

Turret reloading press

Generally strong and high quality, this press has different dies (for different calibers) that can be loaded onto a turret at the top of the press. Turret presses are slightly faster at the reloading process that single stage reloading presses.

Turret reloading presses are ideal for those reloading rifle and pistol bullets who prefer accuracy over speed.

The progressive reloading press

These presses are generally more automatic in nature. With the pull of a single lever, a progressive reloading press performs several of the reloading functions at once. Although these presses are often more time efficient than the alternatives, the risk of losing some of the precision and accuracy linked to other press types should be taken into consideration.