The press is by far the single biggest piece of equipment involved when reloading. The press is used to resize the brass cases, replace the fired primers and seat the bullet.
Single Stage Presses
Single stage presses, are the simplest of all the presses. They perform one step on one case at a time. When using a single stage press, cases are loaded in batches, one step for each cartridge per batch at a time.
Turret Presses
Turret presses, are almost the same as single stage presses, but allow the mounting all of the dies for one cartridge simultaneously, with each die being installed and correctly locked in position with lock rings onto the press at the same time.
Progressive Presses
Progressive presses handle several shells at one time, with each pull of the lever performing a single step on all the cases at once. Progressive presses hold all the dies needed, plus a powder measure and a primer feed, and often also include an additional station where the powder levels are checked, to prevent over or under charges.
Shotshell Presses
Shotshell presses are a special case, and are generally a single unit configuration that handles all functions. Shotshell reloading is very similar to cartridge reloading, except that instead of a bullet, a wadding and a measure of shot are used, and after loading the shot, the shell is crimped closed.