Dillon rl550b or Hornady lnl?

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laker415

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I am planning on adding a progressive to the bench in the near future and cannot decide what to spend my money on. I currently have an rcbs for single stage work. I will be reloading .40, 45acp, 223 for starters. I am not a super high volume shooter due to life but I would say 500 ish rounds a month per caliber, time dependent of course.

I have watched countless videos and read this question asked on other forums. I am drawn to dillon for quality and the fact you rarely hear complaints. I am drawn to the hornady because it is pretty well liked and is far cheaper to get into (also auto indexes). I put together a kit on the dillon site and with all the things I would want I am right around $1000 canadian. I think the hornady could come in a few hundred less. Any opinions are appreciated, especially from actual users of these presses.
 
Hornady. its a true progressive press, and easier to change out calibers.

Both have lifetime warrantees and excellent customer service.

For the price of the Dillon you can get a complete Hornady LnL Ammo Plant (basically fully automated). pull the lever and a completed round comes out. automated bullet and case feeder.

Other than that, one is red, one is blue.
 
If I ever got a Dillion it would be a 650xl or 1050 otherwise I would opt for the LnL. But until I get into really high volumes of ammo I'm happy with Lee.
 
The 550 was designed well over 20 years ago, the 650 would compare to the LNL. I have had my 550 since 1990 and it still works great, I would like to go to the 650 but the cost for the caliber conversions for what I currently load on my 550 is way too much.
I have also heard a lot of good reports on The LNL, you really can't go wrong either way. If you decide to buy the LNL the money you save could be used to buy reloading supplies.
 
I have been running a lnl for 2 years now and love it. Easy set up and switching between .223, .243, .308 takes a mere 6 minutes (I was bored one day). It can slip out of timing but really easy retime.
 
Thanks for all the input. I am sure either will suit my needs. I am leaning towards the hornady at the moment. If I didn't care about expense I would probably go for the 650 but for my shooting volume I think the hornady has me covered
 
I have a 550. No experience with the 650. It was easy to learn reloading (self taught) on the 550. I load usually for an hour to two at a time. I can easily load 500 9mm cases an hour on the 550 with no case feeder, including the time to fill primer tubes.
 
I use the Hornady and although it is the only press I've used, it seems to function flawlessly once I got it tuned right. Caliber changes are a breeze with the locking die bushings and shell plates come off quick

Mike
 
laker415 said:
Thanks for all the input. I am sure either will suit my needs. I am leaning towards the hornady at the moment. If I didn't care about expense I would probably go for the 650 but for my shooting volume I think the hornady has me covered
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I just purchased a Hornady and hope that by next week to be crankin out bullets....I had a lot of the same go around about presses and ultimately made the same decision as you for pretty much the same reasons....
 
I find that the Dillon 550 is a nice balance between flexibility and output volume. I can change calibres in about five minutes, including primer size and can easily beat 500 rounds/hour cyclic rate loading pistol cartridges.

Auto indexing is not really a big deal until you add a case feeder to your press. In that case, the proper comparison would be between the Dillon 650 and the LNL. I would not buy a 550 if I was planning on using a case feeder.
 
I have 2 550's so yeah I drank blue kool-aid 24 years ago. The original 550 had a few worn parts one call and all sent free of charge no questions asked gotta love it!
 
LNL is good, that was my first progressive after starting on a RCBS single stage. But early last year I added a 650 and now I see the time I wasted with LNL - tinkering, readjusting, getting it dialed in, cleaning when it balked - whereas the 650 just runs. I know you asked about 550, it is less capable then 650 for a bit less money. If I had to do it all again I would have just got the 650 to start.
 
CdnInAz said:
LNL is good, that was my first progressive after starting on a RCBS single stage. But early last year I added a 650 and now I see the time I wasted with LNL - tinkering, readjusting, getting it dialed in, cleaning when it balked - whereas the 650 just runs. I know you asked about 550, it is less capable then 650 for a bit less money. If I had to do it all again I would have just got the 650 to start.
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What kind of volume were you pumping through the hornady? I could see doing 2-300 rounds a session and probably not every month For my current needs. I am trying to balance quality and price as it won't be used often enough to justify Tonnes of money into it, but enough that I want it to run.
 
Dillion every time. I too drank the Blue cool aid and still live by it. (To the degree I feel uneasy about RCBS and Redding dies being mounted upon the blue machine). But go the Dillion route and never regret!

Candocad.
 
My experience is with a 550 and it is great press. At the time I rationalized that with the required volumes, calibers , and conversion kit costs I was better off with a 550. give that the Dillon design at least with the 550 has had minimal design changes the only difference between my13+ year old press and today's is a grease jerk. I could sell my press for as much as a I paid for it now. For those concerned about high cost, the Dillion's hold their value and with the longevity of the design, if you hold onto it you will get your money back. The cost recovery is even better if you buy when the dollar is par with the USD and sell when it is low
 
laker415 said:
What kind of volume were you pumping through the hornady? I could see doing 2-300 rounds a session and probably not every month For my current needs. I am trying to balance quality and price as it won't be used often enough to justify Tonnes of money into it, but enough that I want it to run.
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I too was faced with which one to go with. My son and I went with the LNL. We do not have case or bullet feeder. There are some videos by a guy named Billl Morgan on how to tune the LNL. I adjusted the LNL with his tips and have had zero issues with it.
Bass Pro was less than anyone else in Calgary.
I just could not justify the cost of a 650. Was not interested in a 550 as it is a manual indexing press.
With that said you are the only one who knows how much money you want to spend and how much ammo you want to make.
If you haven't seen this article it may help you with your decision.

http://www.comrace.ca/cmfiles/dillonLeeHornadyComparison.pdf
 
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