progressive loaders - which one

unstableryan

unstableryan

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I have about a 700 dollar budget for a progressive loader. I currently single stage with RCBS equipment and I'm getting bored. I shoot 6.5x55, 45-70, .40, .357 mag and 9mm. I'm OK with single staging rifle, but I wouldn't mind the press being able to make my 45-70 cowboy style loads. .40 is most important as I shoot IPSC, .357 next and so on.

A good buddy has a Hornady lock and load and it's an OK piece of equipment, but everyone is saying just buy a Dillon once. The no bs warranty and quality are great. I've been poking around but who are the dillon dealers in BC and who do you recommend dealing with? I'm ok with $700 for a fully setup .40 loader with extra calibers to come in the in the future and I have RCBS carbide pistol dies for each caliber already.

Will this get me into a 650 with enough accessories? I would be extra thrilled if I could buy the stuff to do .40 and .357 at the same time as my revolver makes me happy.

What are Canadian prices on this stuff? I have only seen the suggested retail on the Dillon site so far.

Thanks for your help everyone. I really want to learn about it and buy the right one once.

Ryan
 
Why are you saying LNL AP is an 'ok' press? Is it an older ProJect system and is jamming on ejection once in a while? He can get conversion for $30 to make it EzJect that is 100% reliable.
I have LNL AP and load 9mm, .40S&W, .45ACP and soon .44MAG (still to get shell plate).
Hornady, as well as RCBS moved on to 'no BS' lifetime warranty long time ago, you break a part due to your own fault - they send you free replacement. Dillon is one of the best and has very steady following for many years, they had very little to non-existent competition back in the day, so, those who bought the machines, are not fully up-to date on current market.
If you do go with Dillon, go with at least 650!!! Roll handle and strong mount are NOT absolutely necessary. If you shoot more than 2K of 9mm a month and quite a bit of other calibers, you may even have to get either a better 1050 or a press (like 550 or Square deal B) dedicated to just 9mm and another for other calibers.
I honestly like my LNL for ease and speed of switching of calibers too. All dies are in their bushings = no re-adjusting, shell plate and primer tube and primer seater get changed in under 10 mins. And if one has powder metering inserts for their loads - no need to re-adjust that either, just swap the inserts.
In my eyes, LNL AP is equal and in some areas beats 650 function and price wise.
 
unstableryan said:
but everyone is saying just buy a Dillon once. The no bs warranty and quality are great.
[...]
I really want to learn about it and buy the right one once.
Click to expand...
1) dillonophiles say the darndest things. While the warranty and quality are great, they aren't unique.
2) look up to the sticky "dillon / lee / hornady progressive comparison" and read the links therein.
 
go dillon and you wont be disapointed but i understand hornady makes good machines too. IMHO i would not look to lee for progressive stuff but everyone else makes good stuff. As for dillion the 650 is a little faster but the 550 is more versitile and cheaper to change calibers.
FWIW i load .38/.357, 9mm, .40 , 45acp and .308 on my 550 and it all works great.
If you set up your loading area right the strongmount is not a requirement.
I love my dillon but alot of the "accessories" are just overpriced and you don't really need them. I built a strong mounting bench for my 550 and with some ingenuity made a place to hold my bullets and empty cases all with dillon style akro bins.
just my 2 cents
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I've been a Dillon 550B user for about 16 years now. Doing pistol on the single stage near drove me nuts. I load all of my pistol stuff on the Dillon (save for the black powder cartridges), and have done some rifle. I shy away from using stick type powders and the "Dot" powders in their measures. I'd say for most average users that don't burn horrid amounts of ammo every week, a 550 will give you best versatility for the money you want to spend. 650s are more for shooters who compete, and the 1050s are more for small custom reloaders or shooters who think they shoot more than they do :D. If you only want to do pistol, go look at the Square Deal B (I've never used one). Most every maker does make pretty decent progressive set-ups, its just the Dillons are so simple and serviceable.

And for the love of all things holy... stay away from LEE "Precision".
 
Who is dillon dealer in/around BC? Which have the more reasonable prices or should I order from the company itself?

I have noticed that progressive press (hornady) prices are a little inflated locally. I try to buy local, but I can't give over another 150 bucks just for the hell of it.
 
curese and Henry Nierychlo both sell Dillon and they're in Maple Ridge and Surrey. Both are good guys to deal with. PM them for prices.

I've had other presses and I have to say I'm a Dillon convert. Easy to set up, smooth and a true "no-BS warrenty".

You won't have a 650 for the money you want to spend but I can see a 550 in your future.
 
for the differential in price,i'd go with the 650 even if you dont exactly need it!lol.

auto indexing is addictive, i can make 400 rounds an hour sleeping behind the press. i dont have the bullit feeder ,still,i'm able to run 600rounds an hour if i keep a slightly higher pace than my usual, wich is slow lolol.
 
Send PMs to CustomAmmo (John and Brad) and Henry for pricing and availability, they are excellent to deal with!! Ordering press from USA is always an option, just make sure they don't ship it with UPS or FedEx or you may be in for a surprize to pay a very stiff 'brockerage fee'.
 
Additionally to what has been said, the Hornady fans will have you believing the LnL is cheaper - when the dust settles the pricing is comparible to Dillon.

Personally, I don't think you can go wrong with either.
Unless you are in a rush, watch the EE for the occasional deal.
 
I know people that own both Dillon and Hornady.......I have a Dillon 550.

I don't think you will go wrong with either.....as far as I can tell they both have just as good a warranty.

I wouldn't mind buying a Hornady, just to have a second press, and see what the differences are, but I believe member ascrab has done a great job breaking down each.
 
Here is a good discussion of the relative merits of the Dillon 550 vs. 650:

http://www.brianenos.com/pages/dillonfaqs.html#550650

Don't bother with the 650 unless you plan on using a case feeder with it; auto indexing gains you almost nothing unless you also have the case feeder. 650 conversion kits and toolheads are significantly more expensive than for a 550, but this may not be a problem if you only ever plan on loading 2 or 3 different cartridges with it.

I can easily break 500 rounds/hour with my 550. If you think you need more than this, then you will want to step up to the 650 with case feeder.
 
I've had nothing but problems with my Hornady press, just check my posts in this forum.

I firmly believe now, after going through about 4-5 different shellplates, that the Q&A dept is lacking. So many of their shellplates are out of spec.

You probably won't notice though until you add on the casefeeder

One thing I will say is that the warranty is great on the press....never had any trouble getting replacement parts, never had to show a receipt, always had good guys to deal with. And I got 1000 free bullets.
 
I agree. The 650 is only a good option if you get the case feeder.

I was on the fence but John (curese) convinced me to get it right away. WOW is all I can say. I can load 100 .223 rifle rounds in 8 minutes (700 an hour) and 9mm is to 800-900 an hour.

Before this I was loading 100 rounds an hour of rifle on my Lee turret press and 400 rounds an hour of pistol on my Dillon Square deal. While the 650 cost more than the 550 I didn't think it was that much more in my mind and my time is worth something too.

Dillon%201.jpg


Dillon%202.jpg
 
I went with Hornady, and like it. I have broken two parts on it (110% my fault, not the press) and they had replacement parts to me no questions asked. For the price, it was either a 550 with manual index, 4 die stations, or Hornady LNL with auto index and 5 stations. The extra station is handy for a powder check die (the RCBS one is great, as it locks the press automatically, no need to look at the die every stroke).

Like I said, I never tried them side by side, but the LNL is a great press. Don't sweat the extra cost if you decide to go with a 650, as you will have this press for the rest of your life, so if you amortize the cost, its peanuts.
 
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beltfed said:
Additionally to what has been said, the Hornady fans will have you believing the LnL is cheaper - when the dust settles the pricing is comparible to Dillon.
Click to expand...

My LNL w Case feeder arrived on my doorstep costing $Cdn 948.00 , direct from Cabelas. It seemed the cheaper option at the time. "Great Press!!"
 
beltfed said:
Hornady fans will have you believing the LnL is cheaper - when the dust settles the pricing is comparible to Dillon.
Click to expand...

I'll agree to that on initial purchase, mostly because the LNL case feeder/collator is somewhat pricey, although that's mitigated by the LNL free bullet offer (now standing at 500 bullets).

Where the LNL pulls strongly ahead, price-wise, is calibre changes. They're quite a bit less than the equivalent Dillon because the LNL comes with all the parts you need except dies and shellplate (you may end up buying case collator plates depending on what calibres you're using). So the LNL starts to look quite cost-effective for multi-calibre reloaders.
 
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