Wow, just a touch on the condescending side, aren't you?
acrashb said:
As a personal observation, and I mean this in the spirit of constructive criticism, the tone and mistakes in your post reminds me of people who bought the 1994-1995 BMW R1100RS' motorcycles. After suffering recalls and out-of-pocket expenses to correct leaking rear drive vents, out-of-sync injectors, rapid wear of the right side of the front tires, terrible turbulence and noise from the tiny windscreen, and so on (I know the list by heart, as I have one), they continued to insist, with limited critical thought evident, that the BMW was the be-all and end-all of motorcycles. The phenomenon is a defense mechanism related to high-ticket items.
I think, as you've pointed out in your 'personal observation' you have me all wrong. There really is no 'tone' to my original post, I'm simply asking questions, and providing some rebuttle to your views in the write up. Your analogy of comparing fervent owners/riders of the BMW R1100 to me 'defending' Dillon is way off base, and quite frankly, it just doesn't make any sense.
FWIW, I have Lee, Hornady, RCBS, Lee Forsester, and Dillon Equipment, so I'm hardly an 'equipment snob'. I actually paid very little for my used Dillon equipment, so I'm not defending paying outlandish prices based on some 'phenomenon' either.
beltfed said:
Incidently, what came of the Dillon 650 you had?
acrashb said:
Please re-read the writeup more carefully: "I’ll miss the Dillon – finely-made equipment is a joy to have around.
Pardon me. Maybe I should have worded it 'Incidently, what will or has come of the Dillon 650 you currently have or had?'
Here's one better - Why wouldn't you just be civil, and answer the question?
beltfed said:
In no way did you see benefit to what Dillon offers.
acrashb said:
Yes, I did. Two examples, both in the conclusions:"The Dillon should, in principle, make more accurate ammo", and "Does the Lee allow for powder check and separate seat/crimp stations? No - if that's a show-stopper for you, you have to take the Dillon."
Other examples are left as an exercise for the reader.
Actually, what I meant (and I actually thought you would have read into my meaning by the
bold text -no matter, I'll re-word it), was this:
While I thought your write up was generally well done, you make comparisons between the two with (arguably frivilous) titles such as 'primer feel', 'missed primers' & 'space', you clearly sidestep the main comparison, and (likely) the largest contributing factor for the higher initial costs of the Dillon equipment, which is as someone pointed out 'blindingly' obvious -the lifetime, no hassle warranty.
acrashb said:
Because the cost of acquiring the Dillon (and ancillary issues like acquiring a new calibre capability) is 3x the cost of acquiring the Lee. This is the only cost that we clearly know.
acrashb said:
It's blindingly obvious that post-acquisition costs will be lower due to the warranty issue, but it is completely opaque as to how much lower they will be, because I am unaware of any factual study of replacement rates for the various components on the two presses.
Really? What about this statement?
acrashb said:
One of my shooting buddies has two Loadmasters, one with nearly one million rounds through it and one closing in on six hundred thousand. He’s replaced a lot of wear parts, like the inexpensive wedge-lock bar (it advances and locks the shell plate).
I'm sure free of charge from Lee, Right?
While I would agree they are 'opaque' how can you dismiss the countless, first hand, substantiated stories of people having Dillon equipment replaced or repaired FREE of charge -not only on countless threads on this and other boards, but even in this thread?
acrashb said:
The 650 is mostly better (save for a few items described in the writeup). How much better? Not 3 times better, which reflects the price difference. A person who wants the best and can accept diminishing returns will go with a Dillon.
Who is claiming Dillon equipment is 'three times better'?
How is it exactly a 'diminishing return'?
If you have an axe to grind over Dillon prices and equipment, that's fine. If you are a steadfast Lee supporter, that's fine too, just don't insult my intellegence doing it.
