First bench-mount press was a used RCBS Jr model. Later added a RCBS RockChucker. Somehow ended up with a Lyman, very similar to the RCBS Jr. All three are single-stage presses. All three have had much use over the past 40-plus years.
For handgun ammo I use my "coffee can" method, sizing, decapping, neck-expanding, usually 500-1000 rounds at a time. Priming is done separately, at a leisurely pace that allows for best control. Then I charge, seat, and crimp at a controlled rate of about 150 per hour. Bottom line, for most handgun loads I average 1000 rounds per 5 or 6 hours, and do those hours a couple at a time over the course of several evenings.
Rifle ammo is usually done in batches of 100 rounds. Get them all sized, do all the decapping and priming, neck-expanding as needed, charging, seating, crimping, etc. Probably takes me an hour and a half to crank out a hundred rounds.
Never had a progressive, even when I was active in competition shooting. Somehow I just kept turning them out as fast as I was shooting them up.
For decades now, every time I add a new caliber I always order a set of dies and at least one bullet mold. Still casting bullets in over a dozen calibers, easily turning out 1000 or more in an afternoon session. Then lubing and sizing, seating gas checks as required, etc, over another afternoon. Got a little spoiled through the 90's with very reasonably priced hard cast bullets, but now shipping charges are adding up and making home casting more attractive again.
Retired now. Have access to a nice indoor range 24 hours per day, 7 days per week, just enter my door code and turn on the lights and fans. Shooting a couple of times every week. Sometimes just testing a new load for accuracy and function, sometimes burning up a couple of boxes in rapid fire combat exercises.
Short version, single-stage presses have always done everything I need and continue to do so. I can load any caliber I use for 3 to 6 months in advance, go to the range anytime I want to, and shoot as much as I wish. Yes, two or three single-stage presses are handy when loading in bulk, cutting down on set-up time, etc. But everything I have has paid for itself many times over and I'm not about to go out and spend all of my primer and powder money on a progressive outfit to save myself a bit of time here and there.
Back when .22LR shells were about $0.79 per box I figured about $1.50 for 9mm, .38 Spl, .45ACP, etc, with home-made bullets. Now I figure about $4.00 to $5.00 per box for the common handgun calibers, just as long as primers and powder are available at reasonable market prices (not hoarder-scalper prices). Given a choice between a new progressive outfit, 10,000 or 20,000 primers, or 15 lbs. of powder, I think I would go for the primers and powder every time. I have everything else that I need.
