Progressive Rifle Handloads

I tried the Lee LoadMaster, and it was a lot of trouble to use. I have been wanting to get a Dillon progressive press. However, I want to make sure that whatever I buy, I will be able to load rifle cartridges as well -- the ones I use in semi-auto rifles with large magazines. Specifically, this is:

These cartridges require lubricating and trimming, which is something that a normal progressive operation can't do. However, I have been reading information from a guy who does two progressive operations: one for case preparation and one for loading.

Case Preparation

Case preparation begins by tumbling fired brass. Then use a spray-on lube, such as Dillon's, and dump the lubricated cases into the hopper. I need to figure out how to accomplish these steps in the progressive press:

After that, they go back into the tumbler to delube, this time with untreated media.

Loading Cartridges

It looks like this step can be done on a five-station progressive press. There is nothing exotic about it. I'd like to know if I can get a bullet feeder to operate reliably on the thing.


I need to learn about products which swage or clean the primer pockets on the press. I'm not sure I even know what swaging is. The Dillon primer pocket swager is apparently the one to get, universally recommended over the RCBS tool.

I need to look at products which trim the cases on the press. Apparently the Dillon Rapid Trim 1200B Case Trimmer is what I want to look at first. Can it deburr and chamfer? Apparently it requires a special sizing die. They are available for 223, 308, and 7.62x39, but apparently not for 6.8 SPC. It appears that the 2238 and 308 dies cost $42 each, but for some reason the price of the 7.62x38 die is listed as being $220.