Page 232 - The Lost Ways

bag provided that the reloader brings along ammunition components, such as powder,
primers, and bullets.

The kit contains all the basic tools to remove the fired primer, seat the new primer, flare
the case mouth, measure and pour powder, seat the bullet, and crimp the bullet in place.
Because it only resizes the neck portion of rifle cases, it is advised to only use it to reload
brass that has been fired from a single rifle.

This low-cost entry ($30–$40) is often a gateway tool into more dedicated reloading, but

it still holds a place in most bug out or survival situations and can be handy to take to the
range for basic load development.

The Single-Stage Press

The heart of most reloading workshops is the single-stage press. Most reloaders that
move on to progressive or automated systems will still use classic single-stage presses for

case preparation or calibers that are not loaded as frequently.

Single-stage presses are manufactured by a variety of companies, such as RCBS, Dillon,
Lee, and Hornady. Essentially, these presses consist of a device to hold the cartridge case
in place and a handle to move the case into one of the dies.

The user must remove each case from the press after each step is completed. When each
stage of assembly is finished, the reloader removes the die from that stage and places the

die for the next one to complete the loading sequence.

Production is faster and much more stable than the Lee Loader but not as fast as the
progressive or automated press.

The Progressive Press

If ever there was a press that changed the way ammunition is loaded, it would have to be
the progressive or multi-stage press. Similar in operation to the single-stage press with
regard to moving the handle, the progressive press makes use of several dies at once by
means of a tool head.

Most progressive presses are hand indexed, meaning that the reloader must manually
move the cartridge case from one stage to the next, but a fair number of presses are
coming to market with an auto indexing feature. Auto indexing allows the cartridge case

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