i have been reloading for some 3 years for rifles and i am now starting to reload 9m parabellum and am looking at a progressive press to speed things up. The question is, do people not bother to clean the primer pockets when reloading for pistol? If you are going to deprime then clean the primer pockets and then carry on it seems it seems to defeat the object of a progressive press.

As a rule I do not clean the primer pockets of pistol cases I load on my progressive press, unless they appear to be extremely filthy. Or if I'm loading for match quality cartridges in which case I spare no nuance so as to yield the best ammunition that can be made.

I use a Dillon 550B. I have never cleaned the primer pockets on my pistol cases and never had a problem, either seating a primer, having a primer not go off, or affecting accuracy.

What Abe said. For plinking and informal target work, there's no reason to clean the primer pocket on pistol rounds.

If you haven't bought your turret press yet, take a good look at the Lee Turret. I've been using one for 10-12 years and love it. I guess it's not quite as fast as a full-progressive Dillon setup, but it's far cheaper and far simpler to set up and operate IMHO.

thanks for the replies- it is pretty much as i guessed. I have a Lee Challenger press now and am looking at the Loadmaster or Pro1000. The thing that puts me off the Lee Turret is having to feed primers one at a time by hand (ok i know i can seat them before with the lee tool ,but again it seems to defeat the object of a progressive press!). Also i think i am pretty sure who is going to be loading the ammo for me, my boss and his wife now, so a bit more speed may be useful. I am trying to negociate a day off for loading....Just got a Lee melter and mold today which works great, just wish i had bought the 6 cavity now, not the double!