POWERLOADING
The Pleasure of a Progressive Press

Today’s progressive presses are a far cry from the cumbersome and complicated machines of the past, and here’s one that’s safe and easy to use, and produces precision reloads…real fast!

Hand loaders have always wanted a speedier method to reload cartridges — less “hand” and more “loads” — so it was natural that the progressive reloading press came onto the shooting sports scene, rather ponderously, over 60 years ago. Certainly, there are still many applications for single-stage presses, and even ‘hand’ reloading tools. But if you are a varmint hunter or high volume reloader, there’s nothing quite as satisfying as seeing a finely crafted round plop into your cartridge-catcher with every pull of the press handle!

First, let’s see how the progressive press differs from the classic singlestage press. With a single-stage press, each operation; sizing, de-priming, priming, powder filling, bullet seating and so on, requires that you handle the cartridge case with each step, not to mention changing from sizing die to seating die and so forth. (Hornady’s new Lock-N-Load bushing system can be used with their Classic™ single-stage press to quickly change dies, but you still have to handle the cases multiple times.)

With a progressive press, after your cases are prepped-- trimmed, and lubed -- you just place them into the first station of the shell plate and pull the handle down, causing the case to be sized and de-primed as it enters the die above. That’s the last you touch the case until it rotates out from under the seating die and your finished cartridge is automatically ejected into the cartridgecatcher. As the case rotates from station to station, it is automatically sized, de-primed, primed, and charged with a precisely measured amount of powder. You have to place a bullet over the case mouth, of course, before it advances into the seating die. But once you get a functional rhythm going, those completed rounds just start clinking into the catcher at a very swift and satisfying pace. New case/bullet/pull — new case/bullet/pull. Clink/clink/clink… it’s great! And what’s even better is that with the new technology you can get with Hornady’s Lock-N-Load AP (Auto Progressive), it’s faster than ever to turn out precision reloads.

The Lock-NLoad bushing system lets you change from one caliber die to another in seconds. And you can use your existing 7/8”x 14 dies — Hornady or not. Once you set the die, the bushing locks it into perfect alignment, and you don’t have to set the die again. Another nifty feature, among many, is the primer ON/OFF switch which allows you to switch primer sizes — the entire primer tube — without spilling a single primer. A case-activated powder drop is included with the Lock-n-Load. You get a charge from the powder measure only when a case is present to receive it — no spilled powder. The powder measure that comes with the Lock-N-Load can be reset to another charge or powder by just pushing a button and change to another insert that’s preset to your favorite charge for the caliber you’re loading.

In the past, it was a long, involved process to switch a progressive press from one caliber to another, and many shooters just set the press up for their favorite varmint caliber, for instance, and loaded only for that particular round. But with the ‘quick-change’ features on ultramodern progressives like Hornady’s Lock-N-Load, you can truly enjoy the pleasure of versatility, as well as speed, with a safe, easy-to-operate reloading press.