Progressive Press Due Dillagence

t-star said:
i don't consider it's a flaw, it's a BLOODY NUISANCE- i'm experienced enough that i have progressed ( pardon the pun) beyond the necessity for any single stage
and i find it downright dangerous- consider this- you've already powder charged your case, something happens to break your cycle( phone rings, kid breaks his hand, whatever) and you FORGET that case is charged- you cycle it AGAIN WITHOUT LOOKING in the case- BINGO-DOUBLE CHARGE- that DOESN'T HAPPEN WITH THE AUTO INDEX, even with the lees
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I dunno. I am fairly new to reloading and I have only loaded about 2k of ammo - all on a 550. That said, I have never double charged a case. I know it is possible with a 550, which is why I always pay very close attention to what I am doing. I have a light specifically fixed on station 3 and visually check every case before seating a bullet. Every time. Doing this as I am, I am not sure how I would fail to see a case with a double charge or no charge at all.

Personally I like having to pay attention to the whole process. I enjoy it actually. I also think that the auto-indexing can (doesn't mean it will) lead to people not paying as close attention to the process, which is not good. I know people who use auto-indexing machines and pay almost zero attention to what is going on once they get started. Hopefully most people don't do that. I find on the 550 that I have to pay attention to what is going on and that is a plus.

I don't feel in any way handicapped by using a 550, nor do I feel that it is any more unsafe then using a 650 or a 1050. It's just different. I also like that I can use the machine to load almost any cartridge that I will ever shoot in my life.

To each their own. All of the Dillon machines are solid. The Hornady LNL AP also looks solid. I have never handled a LEE machine, but the cast turret press also looks good.
 
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well this topic has been done to death but i will chime in again. I use a hornady lnl ap and really enjoy it BUT i think if i did it again i would go with the dillon 650. mainly because in my experience the overall cost of dillon is more and so is caliber changes but with the extra money caliber swaps are faster and dillon's case feeder is leeps and bounds better then hornady's. the lnl system is cool in theory but really doesnt give you that much of a advantage also i have found the dillons to be better built with tighter tolerances. and as far as everything else i dont think anything else is even on the same level as hornady and dillon
 
Just get 650 or LnL. Lee looks like good start, but the consensus is that it will drive you nuts and resale value for it is crap. For the price I would get LnL (well this is what i got) across the border. Grafs seem to have sale right now for 400$ + u get 600 bullets. 550 is same price as LnL but I don't see the point of paying more for less. True large progressive with extra station is sure nice. Warranty wise blue and red are close. Both are far superior than Lee.
 
I just want to say.. Don't let the negatives about Lee discourage you..

I read 100s (really 100s) of posts before I bought and most of the stuff I read did not turn out to be true once I purchased the Lee.

Yes the Lee takes some tinkering.. but once its dialed in.. It turns out good ammo fast...
 
t-star said:
i don't consider it's a flaw, it's a BLOODY NUISANCE- i'm experienced enough that i have progressed ( pardon the pun) beyond the necessity for any single stage
and i find it downright dangerous- consider this- you've already powder charged your case, something happens to break your cycle( phone rings, kid breaks his hand, whatever) and you FORGET that case is charged- you cycle it AGAIN WITHOUT LOOKING in the case- BINGO-DOUBLE CHARGE- that DOESN'T HAPPEN WITH THE AUTO INDEX, even with the lees
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Well, after about 18 years using a 550 and an untold number of reloaded rounds, that has never happened to me, and I know of no other person that this has happened to...Using a powder that almost fills the case also makes this a on-issue....

As a matter of safety, if one is called away from their re-loading, and then returns, you always check where you left off....
 
Airwolf said:
Well, after about 18 years using a 550 and an untold number of reloaded rounds, that has never happened to me, and I know of no other person that this has happened to...Using a powder that almost fills the case also makes this a on-issue....

As a matter of safety, if one is called away from their re-loading, and then returns, you always check where you left off....
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i've had mine since 92, and b/c i use it strictly for 308, i've NEVER had it happen either- you just can't put 80 grains of powder in a 308 case- but in certain applications, it IS concieveable-ie using 231 in a 44 magnum case-that makes nigh onto 20 years
 
I had a Lee 1000 and the weakest link is the priming system. The way the machine is designed, if the primer is not seated or is missed when the ram is up getting charged with powder, the powder falls thru the open primer hole and down into the gears. This will usually jam up the gears and if the primer is sideways will stop the machine. Now you have to completely strip and clean out the mechanism, put everything back, re-time it and load everything up to go again. It would take me about 15 minutes every time it happened.

This would usually happen about 3-4 times a loading session and it got to the point that I just deprimed the cases (only had the deprimer die in the shell holder) ran them thru so it only primed the cases. Then changed the shell holder with powder measure and seating die and finished the session.

It would usually take me from 7pm till about 12pm on a week night to load enough ammo for the weekend at the range with the Lee 1000. With the Dillon 550 I can get it done in about 1.5-2 hours and that is at a leisurely pace doing 3 calibers.

When I want to practise cowboy then I get the 650 machine out and it is set up for .38 spl and that really cranks out the ammo. My LNL machine handles .45lc just as well as the 650 does on .38 spl, I bought both presses in the US at an estate sale when visiting my brother for the price of one 550 machine in Canada. Hardly anyone was there at the auction and mainly over 65 crowd so I didn't have much competition,lol.

It was also a pain checking to see if there is powder in the case on the Lee 1000, almost impossible unless you get out of your seat lean way over with a light to see if there is powder in there. That gets old really fast. On the 550 you have a light and can easily see if there is powder in the case where you are sitting. With my 650 and LNL machines I have a powder checker. I have never run a Dillon square deal so I can't comment.

As far as running any of the machines, if you are distracted by the phone etc. as soon as you sit back down to the machine I remove all the brass from each station and set it to the side and start fresh over again. Doesn't matter which machine I am using, always remove all brass and start fresh. At the end of the session you can clean up what needs to be done to the ammo.
 
hunter64 said:
I had a Lee 1000 and the weakest link is the priming system. The way the machine is designed, if the primer is not seated or is missed when the ram is up getting charged with powder, the powder falls thru the open primer hole and down into the gears. This will usually jam up the gears and if the primer is sideways will stop the machine. Now you have to completely strip and clean out the mechanism, put everything back, re-time it and load everything up to go again. It would take me about 15 minutes every time it happened.

*snip*
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Or 3 seconds with a small can of compressed air you would use to clean your computer.......

I have used a SDB, I tried a lee 1000 as it was cheaper than a cal conversion for the SDB.......

I now have 5 Lees on my bench, sold the SDB years ago....... I found no differance between the 2 when it came to fiddling with this or that. Both presses need a good look-over and clean/lube every 2-300 rnds (or once an hour)

IMHO the SDB needs as much TLC as the Lee, the differance between the 2.... The SDB you can't blow out spilled powder with a can of air.....

This is the opinion of a guy who loaded single stage for 20+ yrs before he even looked at a progressive press!

YMMV
 
Yay notsorichguy beat me to it..

Canned air is the solution. Also ensuring everything is setup right from the beggining. The first primer stoppage almost always results from running the primers too low, or an f'n Small pistol primer brass getting mixed in (on 45).
 
I have had my Dillon 550 for 20 plus years and I have not had any major problems with it. I started out with a Lee turret a good little press to start with. A couple of years later I got the Dillon.

Recently the powder measure started to not work as well as it did in the past. Talked with the people at Dillon, I was told to send it back and we will send you a new one.

The Dillon press and parts have a life time no BS warranty. That is what convinced me to get the Dillon.
 
notsorichguy said:
Or 3 seconds with a small can of compressed air you would use to clean your computer.......

YMMV
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I had the 10hp air compressor right beside me so when I mean you had to strip it apart to clean it, it was after the 4th or 5th time blowing it out with air.

There will always be an endless debate about which machine to buy. My thoughts are buy the best you can afford because ultimately you want it to last a long time. The amount of money you save on reloading your own quickly pays off the investment and if you are not happy with the machine you can always sell it on eBay and put that money towards something else.
 
Bart212 said:
Hornady LnL $460 at Budget Shooter Supply in the Banner ^^^^

Also check out this

http://www.canadiangunnutz.com/forum/showthread.php?t=127691
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THIS!!! :agree: I just bought it from them a couple of weeks ago with Lee dies.

Primer feed had a few hiccups but very minor and easy to adjust, same with the decapper, so far I've cranked out about 1200 rounds and can do about 300 an hour. Comes with a dvd explaining teardown, cleaning and setup. Money WELL spent in my eyes and Henry is awesome to deal with
 
I think posters should be specific about which model Lee press they dislike.

The Pro1000, yes I agree it is a big challenge, at least the one I had 23 yrs ago.

If the Loadmaster, a little patience to spend some time fiddling with the primer feed (which BTW Lee has put out a new primer feed mechanism said to eliminate the primer alignment problem) and basically understanding how everything in the LM works, will save a lot of grief later.

The Loadmaster needs to be understood well by the operator. Not being derogatory or insulting but just realize that people are all different. If a prospective reloader lacks some patience and mechanical skill, I recommend looking elsewhere, or you will probably not be happy with the LM.
 
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