Need Progressive Press....But Which One?

c-fbmi said:
Well I "bit the bullet" as they say (forgive the pun) and ordered a new Horn LNL AP c/w case feeder and set up for 3 calibers to start with. Will put the bullets on by hand for now, see how lazy I get in the near future. Got the large and small case wheel for the feeder so I should be all set. Just waiting for Henry to ship 'er out to me and I'll let you know how I like it.
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Got mine all setup.
Check out the Bill Morgan youtubes on it. He's a bit long winded, but knows how to setup the Hornady quickly and how to adjust it correctly.
Just did a few hundred rounds of 9mm and wondered why I waited this long.
 
You will be very happy with the LNL AP I do around 400 rds a hour with mine at a nice even pace You can easily do more but I check every 10th powder throw and take my time. the LNL does take a bit of tinkering to get it to work perfect but Once You get it going seems to stay that way. Make sure You call Hornady and tell them your LNL bushings are twisting out so they send You free shims before You even get started. They are much needed to tighten up the bushings. You will also want the micrometer adjustments for the powder measure otherwise it's a pain in the ass to change calibers. CA's feeder works pretty good but I had to adjust mine at the top so 9mm cases wouldn't accidentally spit out the side and hit me in the head. Henry's business card and a peice of tape has worked fine. Make sure to order extra case retention springs. the do seem to get damaged quite easily.
 
ripitup911 said:
You will be very happy with the LNL AP I do around 400 rds a hour with mine at a nice even pace You can easily do more but I check every 10th powder throw and take my time. the LNL does take a bit of tinkering to get it to work perfect but Once You get it going seems to stay that way. Make sure You call Hornady and tell them your LNL bushings are twisting out so they send You free shims before You even get started. They are much needed to tighten up the bushings. You will also want the micrometer adjustments for the powder measure otherwise it's a pain in the ass to change calibers. CA's feeder works pretty good but I had to adjust mine at the top so 9mm cases wouldn't accidentally spit out the side and hit me in the head. Henry's business card and a peice of tape has worked fine. Make sure to order extra case retention springs. the do seem to get damaged quite easily.
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Thanks for the tips on the shims. I do find the powder measure coming loose.
Yes, a little tinkering and it's all good.
 
I have dillon 650 w/ budget re-loader case feeder with the pistol/.223 plate... Great setup gets me around 800 per hour on the pistol rounds. I am set up for 9mm/.45/.32acp/.357/.223

I bought when our dollar was higher than US dollar direct from Dillon... Now I would prob just go with the LnL kit from a local vendor due to price and availability of equipment and accs.

I love the Dillon though :) very sturdy
 
Interesting to hear impressions and feedback. I have an older RCBS progressive and it can be a but clunky. I want to churn out 9mm by the barrel. And to a lesser degree, 45acp and 223.

More interested in smoothness / ease of operation than if it takes me an extra hour to reload. I would prefer to load slower but consistently compared to mucking about. :)
 
I gave the Rotary Primer Disc a good cleaning and polished it and each primer hole. Seems to have reduced the sideways primers although I still get 1 every ~300 rounds. I thought the backwards primer was my fault for loading the a primer upside down in the primer tube. Haven't noticed one of those in 2-3000 rounds.

ipscgraz said:
Another vote for the 650.

Excellent support, only problem I have had with 9MM and 38 Super is the primer somehow being inserted sideways or backwards. Oddly enough, more so with new brass.
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My hornaday projector has loaded over 200,000 rounds in 25 years, with some mods with dillon pick upntubes and such, 700 rnds an hour is easily achievable.

No issues but the primer set arm, loaded 9mm, 38super, 357, 40, 10mm, and 45acp on it.

Have to look at the warranty info, see if they consider parts wearing out covered.
 
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I had the Hornady AP Ammo Plant - then fully modded with Inline Fabrication parts. I probably loaded about 50K 9mm over 3 years on it.

I found that until I got the lock rings from Hornady that the dies (especially the powder measure) would unlock and cause me problems. As long as you are aware of the possibility of that than you should be good to go. Put small lines on your press beside each bushing port, the bushings and dies themselves with a sharpie marker to ensure that nothing is starting to move on you.


My recommendation specifically for 9mm or all pistol calibers is:
  1. Dillon 3 die set (spring loaded decapper will save you jamming the shellplate with primers) ( The bevelled edge on the bottom of die ensured that shellplate was lined up properly )
  2. Lee Factory Crimp Die
  3. Hornady lock rings for bushings (they will send them for free to you) **** CRITICAL ****
  4. Hornady Powder Through Expander (PTX) **** CRITICAL ****
  5. PTX Powder Measure Stop **** CRITICAL ****
  6. Inline fabrication lighting kit
  7. Inline fabrication - Dillon powder check conversion **** CRITICAL ****
  8. Inline Fabrication - Strong Mount
  9. Inline Fabrication / Dillon - Low primer alarm
  10. Roller Handle

Stay away from the Hornady bullet feeder, it is junk.
For 9mm you should do separate seat and crimp so you lose a spot. Meaning either bullet feeder or powder check and I do not recommend any bullet feeder for the LNL AP as powder check is a better investment.
I sold it as it was not capable of producing the amount of ammunition I require. Overall it was great as just a progressive press, but the case feeder and bullet feeders just caused me too many headaches as they where not reliable. I look at it as an intermediary between the Dillon 550 and the Dillon 650. You gain the auto indexing; I think though that the case feed was an after thought as it isn't 100% functional.

The reason that I sold it was that I was trying to make it into something it was not with all the modifications. As an action shooter I consume ammunition and I needed something that could actually produce 800 rounds per hour.
 
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Well, it's all mounted, set up and adjusted...........no biggy at all !!! Pretty much straight common sense...........took me a couple hours from in the box to loading 45 ACP. Well I haven't really loaded any yet but everything is set to go and all adjusted, just haven't loaded any primers, powder or bullets yet but ran a handful of cases through the feeder and around the stages and got my dies all set up and the powder thrower functioning properly. So all I need to do now is to load up the primer tubes, throw some Bullseye in the hopper (and set for my charge) and cases in the feeder and open a new box of bullets and get at 'er.
 
I went through this whole dilemma when i started shooting IPSC. You know what sealed the argument for me whether to go Blue (Dillon) or Red (Hornady/Lee)... Simple, look at the resale value of a Dillon vs Hornady.
Blue holds its value for a reason. Its next to impossible to find a deal on a dillon. They are build like tanks and if you see them run side by side, the Dillon is just way more solid.

Ive had my 650 for over a year and well over 10K rounds on it. Other than some crapy primers getting jammed in the primer tubes at the beginning, its run flawless.
Unbeatable warranty that is praised across the industry.
Dont think about it anymore, go Blue.
 
Trazor said:
I went through this whole dilemma when i started shooting IPSC. You know what sealed the argument for me whether to go Blue (Dillon) or Red (Hornady/Lee)... Simple, look at the resale value of a Dillon vs Hornady.
Blue holds its value for a reason. Its next to impossible to find a deal on a dillon. They are build like tanks and if you see them run side by side, the Dillon is just way more solid.

Ive had my 650 for over a year and well over 10K rounds on it. Other than some crapy primers getting jammed in the primer tubes at the beginning, its run flawless.
Unbeatable warranty that is praised across the industry.
Dont think about it anymore, go Blue.
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Too late to be drawn into the BLUE CULT.........I'm all set up and running RED now...........I for one don't care about press resale value, I still own the very first RCBS Jr. I bought more than 40 years ago............
 
+1

My projector is over 30 years old and only replaced minimal parts. Is minimal I don't ever recall calling the Hornady warrenty depot.

Loaded over 200,000+ rounds over my IPSC career in Alberta. I have the used primers to prove it in 8lb w540 cans :)

GO RED!!!!!!!
 
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madcow said:
+1

My projector is over 30 years old and only replaced minimal parts. Is minimal I don't ever recall calling the Hornady warrenty depot.

Loaded over 200,000+ rounds over my IPSC career in Alberta. I have the used primers to prove it in 8lb w540 cans :)

GO RED!!!!!!!
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Just curious why do you keep used primers??
 
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