Start with a single stage. When you start, you can probably build 100 cartridges with a single stage in 1 1/2 to 2 hours. This will get you very familiar with the components, how each step happens and the "weird" things that you find. Personally, there are a bunch of calibers that I only load on a single stage - most of my rifle cartridges are loaded on a single stage.
When you start to need higher volume of cartridges, especially for normal pistol rounds - move to a turret. This still allows you to check each case, make sure there is a powder charge before seating the boolit, make sure the boolit is seated properly and the crimp is good. It also allows you to "feel" each step - sometimes a step feels wrong or makes the wrong sound and if it does, you stop and check it...
I don't think I'll go to a progressive mainly because I am really adamant that if I have a box of ammo that says it is a COL of x.xxx" with a xxx boolit and x.x grain of somepowder. That is EXACTLY what each cartridge in that box contains.
The advantage of loading your own boolits is that you have a gun and you can figure out what projectile/powder/primer combination gives you really good results in THAT gun. It may not work for other guns. Factory ammo can never do this because they have to make something that works for everything.
When you start to need higher volume of cartridges, especially for normal pistol rounds - move to a turret. This still allows you to check each case, make sure there is a powder charge before seating the boolit, make sure the boolit is seated properly and the crimp is good. It also allows you to "feel" each step - sometimes a step feels wrong or makes the wrong sound and if it does, you stop and check it...
I don't think I'll go to a progressive mainly because I am really adamant that if I have a box of ammo that says it is a COL of x.xxx" with a xxx boolit and x.x grain of somepowder. That is EXACTLY what each cartridge in that box contains.
The advantage of loading your own boolits is that you have a gun and you can figure out what projectile/powder/primer combination gives you really good results in THAT gun. It may not work for other guns. Factory ammo can never do this because they have to make something that works for everything.