I believe that fred is correct. The main reason I put off handloading for many years was because I didn't want to spend the money for the equipment. There have been times when I simply didn't have the money and other times when I just had different financial priorities. But it has to be admitted that when you start looking at the cost of things and especially the cost of Dillon machines, it looks like a ton of money.

There is a primary reason why we all finally took the idea of handloading and converted it to a reality. At that exact point in time we opened up our wallet and made some decisions. Just how wide we opened up the wallet on that day probably had a lot to do with the primary reason we started this endeavor.

If that reason for beginning this adventure was to save money then you probably figured that the manufacturing time wasn't as important as the cost factor. So you might have settled for a low cost solution. On the other hand if you decided to compete in USPSA matches (for example) you need a lot of ammo and you probably would be looking at throughput speed.

It is easy to convince yourself that you can live with the slow speed of a single stage or turret press. But if your interest in the shooting sports grows then there is a point in most of our lives when we have to face the fact the reality is we need more speed. Of course I speak in general terms but the truth of the matter is pistol shooters that consume 500-1000+ rounds of ammo per month are very likely to have a progressive press even if they are retired and have time that those of us still working don't have. When that day came to me I made the tough decision to buy the more expensive stuff. But after the damage to my finances was done I realized that my reloading bench had less money tied up in it than my modest collection of competition guns and gear.

My main (but not only) competition gun is a S&W 929 revolver. If I add up the cost of the gun, the cost of having a pistolsmith do his thing, the cost of sights, cyl release, grips and so forth there is north of $2K there which is less than what I have on my reloading bench. My belt/holster/moonclip holders cost more than my press did. My point is a decent but stock handgun costs will exceed the cost of a good progressive press in most cases.

Is a progressive press for everyone? No it's not. However, if your ammo needs are there then nothing beats a progressive. I know because I have worked my way up the ladder from single stage to turret to progressive. Personally my advice for those who are not sure or have a small budget is to get a something like a rockchucker and skip the turret. There is always a use for a single stage and the increase production rate of the turret press is not that great over a single stage. Then save your money and get a decent progressive.

But even if you feel you must have a turret press the Lee models are very inexpensive. The amount of mental handwringing that those contemplating this purchase is amazing to me. What I don't understand and it's none of my business what anyone else does with their money, but I don't understand why some who claim poverty then go on to buy excessive amounts of dedicated accessories for inexpensive and slow by design machines. I say all this to offer an opinion on the matter only.