[Jeff Higgins]

You didn't specify whether you are a high master class shooter with the rifle or the handgun. Reloading match winning ammunition may require different equipment, depending upon which of those you shoot.

You need far less ammo to compete in highpower than you do in pistol. It would be best to use a single stage press for the highpower ammo. Any of the good ones will do. I like the ones with a full frame, rather than an open front, for their added rigidity.

For the pistol, the shear volume you shoot may demand a progressive press. Your 650 should be fine. Any problems with consistancy are not attributable to the press; there must be something else going on. Some powders, for example, do not meter consistantly from any measure so charges must be weighed. Some will never produce match winning ammo.

Cases must still be inspected, primer pockets cleaned, and case length monitored when using a progressive. The progressive press discourages these activities, unfortunately, but they remain important. So many folks just take fired cases and feed them through the press, never inspecting them. After awhile, primers won't fully seat because of the carbon accumulated in the primer pockets. Crimps become inconsistant (taper or roll, depending on pistol or revolver) because case lengths begins to vary.

You can make match ammo for the pistol on a progressive; it's just not that much less work than it is on a single stage. The progressive really comes into its own for the plinking, or the "run, tumble, and shoot" crowd - the IPSC or "action" shooters that are only hitting man silhouettes at ten feet. Bullseye demands a great deal more accuracy, and therefore care in the assembly of ammunition. Lots of guys still take the time to use a single stage for their bullseye loads.