progressive press sugestions
- Thread starter ringanator
- Start date
I started loading last year and went with a Dillon 650 with case feeder, I think it was worth it, a big investment to start especially having no gear or experience and adding calibers is expensive. I was considering the Dillon, Hornady and Lee when making my decision, the Hornady was originally the front runner because it was a little cheaper and caliber conversions were less than Dillon and the Lee seemed to require some small mods and tinkering in order to make it function reliably (I like it to come out of the box and work). A shooting friend has a 650 and he may have gave me blue fever but if I had to do it all over again I would still go Dillon it is a quality bit of metal and you pull it out bolt it down and it works. I don't think you can go wrong with the Lee, Dillon or Hornady press just what meets your budget and space, if you can find someone near you that has one so you can check it out in action that is the best, hope that helps
coldestcanuck
CGN frequent flyer
- Location
- lower mainland bc
You'll never hear anyone say " I wish I'd bought the Lee instead of the Dillon"!
Klebelenator
Regular
- Location
- Red Deer, AB
I bought my Lee Turret press over 20 years ago. No regrets! Still going strong. (303 British, 303 Savage, 223, 22 Hornet, 30-30) Many thousands of rounds.
- Location
- The Orion Arm
x2
I bought the Dillon 650 5 years ago and reload over 10 different calibers with it. Will buy another one as soon as I get back this summer.
They all have their idiosyncrasies, but in my experience, the Dillon (650) is more user friendly and straightforward, once you understand how everything works. It's not as simple as some other brands, but it works for me. YMMV
- Location
- West Quebec
Dillon 650 was my upgrade from a single that I still use.. very happy indeed..
I've only ever reloaded on one press, I use the Lee Pro 1000 and I happen to like it. I now have 5 of them (bought a couple used) and have each one setup ready to go all the time for different calibers. I cant comment on any of the other more expensive progressive presses but I am sure they are great, however, I'm completely satisfied with my Lee Pro 1000 presses.
I run a Lee Loadmaster. I chose it over the Progressive 1000 because it has a 5 hole turret and not just 3. I used to run it with station 1 being a Lee universal deprimer, station 2, Lee sizer, station 3, flare and powder drop, station 4 is seating, but with the crimping spun back, and station 5 the crimp. The only thing I have changed is I now deprime off the Loadmaster. I find it keeps my press cleaner longer, which ultimately makes it run smoother, and more reliably. I now take my used brass, do a quick pre-wash with a contractors bucket with citric acid and salt. I cap it, roll it around, and let it sit for 5 minutes, roll it again, wait 5 minutes, and that gets rid of most of the dirt. I then deprime off the press, and then I run it in a wet rotary tumbler with stainless pins. This way the primer pockets are super clean, and brass is in nearly like-new condition and I keep my press clean.
I typically get less than 0.1 grain variance in my drops. It rarely goes over 0.1 grain variance. My loads tend to put me around 5 grains/round, so even at up to a 0.1 grain variance, or about 0.05 +/- intended, which means it's roughly about a 1% +/- in intended powder drop which is enough to keep me consistent in IPSC for major power factor. I have 2 go to loads now, one for "plinking", and one that makes major power factor with a little safety room. The only thing I do is adjust the dropper to a different sized cavity when switching.
With clean brass, and everything setup, I can usually crank out anywhere between 350-500 rounds/hour depending on whether I need to stop to recalibrate something or not. If all goes well, it's around 500, if I have to stop to say adjust the case feeder (I don't run a bullet feeder . . . I use that step after the flare/drop before I place the projectile onto the case as a visual check to see if the powder level seems unusual) it's more like 350/hour. The only time I have ever reloaded less than 300/hour is when I was first setting it up.
Admittedly, I did a lot of research, and information like this:
http://www.ar15.com/mobile/topic.html?b=6&f=42&t=318058
Helped to make my Loadmaster run very smoothly. I'm sure it would not run as well if I did not do the filing, sanding, smoothing, etc. Like sanding the powder drop, and smoothing the indexer rod that rotates the plate between turrets, or lubricating the grease nipples, and fine tuning the case feeder.
I have now reloaded thousands of rounds on my Loadmaster. I paid just over $200 US for it back when the exchange rate was like 0.95, and not 0.80 like it is lately, at 3% sales tax instead of 13% locally. It was about $45 more than the best price I could find on a Progressive 1000 at the time. Heck I paid almost as much for my tumbler as the press. I have now tried a Dillon 550, and it is a nice piece of equipment, but to get similarly setup with the 550 would have cost me about $750 instead of $225. Is it nicer? Sure. Could I produce more rounds? Maybe a tiny bit in terms of peak rate, but in terms of over a long trend as once you get it setup, it tends to stay that way, while the Loadmaster and I'm assuming Pro 1000 require some tuning up every 500-1000 rounds? So ya that is nice, but 3 times the price nice? Not for me I guess. Don't forget all the other stuff you'll need beyond the press like a chronograph, and highly accurate scale. Too much at stake to not use them. Would I buy another Loadmaster? Hell ya, if I ever start reloading anything else than the 1 caliber I do now, I'd get another Loadmaster without hesitation. Would I rather have a Dillon 550? Definitely. But it's not triple the price and $500 better to me. Your mileage may vary.
I typically get less than 0.1 grain variance in my drops. It rarely goes over 0.1 grain variance. My loads tend to put me around 5 grains/round, so even at up to a 0.1 grain variance, or about 0.05 +/- intended, which means it's roughly about a 1% +/- in intended powder drop which is enough to keep me consistent in IPSC for major power factor. I have 2 go to loads now, one for "plinking", and one that makes major power factor with a little safety room. The only thing I do is adjust the dropper to a different sized cavity when switching.
With clean brass, and everything setup, I can usually crank out anywhere between 350-500 rounds/hour depending on whether I need to stop to recalibrate something or not. If all goes well, it's around 500, if I have to stop to say adjust the case feeder (I don't run a bullet feeder . . . I use that step after the flare/drop before I place the projectile onto the case as a visual check to see if the powder level seems unusual) it's more like 350/hour. The only time I have ever reloaded less than 300/hour is when I was first setting it up.
Admittedly, I did a lot of research, and information like this:
http://www.ar15.com/mobile/topic.html?b=6&f=42&t=318058
Helped to make my Loadmaster run very smoothly. I'm sure it would not run as well if I did not do the filing, sanding, smoothing, etc. Like sanding the powder drop, and smoothing the indexer rod that rotates the plate between turrets, or lubricating the grease nipples, and fine tuning the case feeder.
I have now reloaded thousands of rounds on my Loadmaster. I paid just over $200 US for it back when the exchange rate was like 0.95, and not 0.80 like it is lately, at 3% sales tax instead of 13% locally. It was about $45 more than the best price I could find on a Progressive 1000 at the time. Heck I paid almost as much for my tumbler as the press. I have now tried a Dillon 550, and it is a nice piece of equipment, but to get similarly setup with the 550 would have cost me about $750 instead of $225. Is it nicer? Sure. Could I produce more rounds? Maybe a tiny bit in terms of peak rate, but in terms of over a long trend as once you get it setup, it tends to stay that way, while the Loadmaster and I'm assuming Pro 1000 require some tuning up every 500-1000 rounds? So ya that is nice, but 3 times the price nice? Not for me I guess. Don't forget all the other stuff you'll need beyond the press like a chronograph, and highly accurate scale. Too much at stake to not use them. Would I buy another Loadmaster? Hell ya, if I ever start reloading anything else than the 1 caliber I do now, I'd get another Loadmaster without hesitation. Would I rather have a Dillon 550? Definitely. But it's not triple the price and $500 better to me. Your mileage may vary.
PitBull1973
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
- Location
- Right Behind You
I have one of my 650s set up for 223 only, works awesome
- Location
- West Quebec
That's true and I like Lee..
lejarretnoir
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
- Location
- 162km from Connaught
I've spent some time reviewing Dillon, Hornady and Lee.
Lee needs some tweaking and then it works. 2 yr warranty, lowest cost
Hornady LNL AP may need an adjustment, but generally work out of the box. Better powder measure IMO. Lifetime warranty. Mid cost
Dillon 650 XL work out of the box. Said to be the best pistol press for high volume. Lifetime warranty. Higher cost
I've decided on the Hornady LNL AP for my reasons. I don't care to debate my choice as anyone can research all they want on Google and decide for themselves.
To be honest, I already own a RCBS RockChucker that has served me well for over 30yrs, but I'd like to speed up some pistol loading and leave the RC for rifle stuff.
Lee needs some tweaking and then it works. 2 yr warranty, lowest cost
Hornady LNL AP may need an adjustment, but generally work out of the box. Better powder measure IMO. Lifetime warranty. Mid cost
Dillon 650 XL work out of the box. Said to be the best pistol press for high volume. Lifetime warranty. Higher cost
I've decided on the Hornady LNL AP for my reasons. I don't care to debate my choice as anyone can research all they want on Google and decide for themselves.
To be honest, I already own a RCBS RockChucker that has served me well for over 30yrs, but I'd like to speed up some pistol loading and leave the RC for rifle stuff.
- Location
- Halifax - NS
This is gospel, however - I'll add - there is a massive list of people who mistakenly got a lee progressive, then later upgraded to a Dillon and are still kicking themselves for making the original decision to suffer through the lee.
captainmike
CGN Regular
- Location
- GVA- fraser valley BC
progressive , go with dillon you will never regret it
Having loaded over 17,000 rounds on a lee loadmaster in the past year (my wife and I shoot a lot) my opinion is that the loadmaster has a number of design flaws, the most frustrating of which is the primer feed system.
I have had to replace a number of components during this time, including some small parts of the primer feed (the little plastic bar that moves the primers and the arm), the carriage (it cracked but it was -5 in the garage when I was using it so likely not the presses fault), several decapping pins (they are not as strong as they should be imo), the shell ejector plate, and the indexing rod. The upside is parts are cheap but imo these should not break in the first place.
I use the bullet feeder but without the tubes (even though I bought them) as when there is an issue with the press that requires you to rotate the shell plate or pull the lever it is not easy to remove the bullets from the bullet feeder tubes without spilling them everywhere. The bullet feeder without the tube holds 5 x 9mm rounds which is sufficient as that is about how often I finger tighten the shell plate retaining nut.
On a good day I can get about 300 rnds / hour. Every time I think I have it dialed in and am at about the 200 round mark on a loading session something seems to go wrong, usually a primer feed issue which requires the removal of all rounds from the shell plate and the removal of the shell plate itself as typically the primer or the pin that seats the primer jams the shell plate.
It has been a frustrating press for me.
I am going to switch to a 650 or lock-n-load AP progressive when I find one for a decent price.
If you want to do high volume reloading in short periods of time (which is what I think most progressive press reloaders want) I would steer clear of the Loadmaster.
If you like to tinker, are not pressed for time, are mechanically inclined, are not loading in high volume, and don't get frustrated easily, then go for it. But I pretty much guarantee you will cuss it out from time to time.
The upside to the Loadmaster is it does produce very good quality pistol ammo (I have not reloaded for rifle with it yet) and the powder measure and dies are in my opinion much better than the press itself.
I have Chronoed rounds to ensure they make power factor for IPSC and batch of 20 are usually within about 40 fps, which I am very satisfied with. The factory crimp die is excellent. I think that I have only ever had one FTF and that was likely a magazine issue.
My 2 cents.
I have had to replace a number of components during this time, including some small parts of the primer feed (the little plastic bar that moves the primers and the arm), the carriage (it cracked but it was -5 in the garage when I was using it so likely not the presses fault), several decapping pins (they are not as strong as they should be imo), the shell ejector plate, and the indexing rod. The upside is parts are cheap but imo these should not break in the first place.
I use the bullet feeder but without the tubes (even though I bought them) as when there is an issue with the press that requires you to rotate the shell plate or pull the lever it is not easy to remove the bullets from the bullet feeder tubes without spilling them everywhere. The bullet feeder without the tube holds 5 x 9mm rounds which is sufficient as that is about how often I finger tighten the shell plate retaining nut.
On a good day I can get about 300 rnds / hour. Every time I think I have it dialed in and am at about the 200 round mark on a loading session something seems to go wrong, usually a primer feed issue which requires the removal of all rounds from the shell plate and the removal of the shell plate itself as typically the primer or the pin that seats the primer jams the shell plate.
It has been a frustrating press for me.
I am going to switch to a 650 or lock-n-load AP progressive when I find one for a decent price.
If you want to do high volume reloading in short periods of time (which is what I think most progressive press reloaders want) I would steer clear of the Loadmaster.
If you like to tinker, are not pressed for time, are mechanically inclined, are not loading in high volume, and don't get frustrated easily, then go for it. But I pretty much guarantee you will cuss it out from time to time.
The upside to the Loadmaster is it does produce very good quality pistol ammo (I have not reloaded for rifle with it yet) and the powder measure and dies are in my opinion much better than the press itself.
I have Chronoed rounds to ensure they make power factor for IPSC and batch of 20 are usually within about 40 fps, which I am very satisfied with. The factory crimp die is excellent. I think that I have only ever had one FTF and that was likely a magazine issue.
My 2 cents.
There's a brand new LNL AP in the EE with 500pcs of 45cal pills, shell plate etc at a decent price.
