Progressive Press Due Dillagence

Brewster20

Brewster20

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Hello folks....just getting into reloading..hope I'm not duplicating earlier posts !
I have been researching presses and judging from my needs, a progressive is the way to go. I want to do pistol, 38 & 357 for now. I have it down to the following, in no particular order: (these are the best prices I could find)

Dillon Square Deal...$430. at Epps (with dies)
Dillon 550B............$460. at Epps (not in stock) (needs Dillon dies)
T-Mag II ..............$237. at Shooting Edge (needs dies)
Hornaday Lock & Load Progressive......$490. at Amazon.com, $540 at Wholesale
(needs dies)
Lee Load Master......$336. at Wholesale (with dies)
Lee Pro 1000..........$236. at Wholesale (with dies)

The Lee Pro 1000 seems to come out ahead, at least economically, but what I'm looking for is the other side of the equation, ie build quality and ease of use, accessories.etc. etc

Is there any press that "shines" above the rest in overall quality, cost and ease of use ? (or is the Lee the way to go ?)
By the way, has anyone in Canada bought at Amazon.com...their prices seem very good, even the shipping rates ! (even allowing for exchange)
 
The square deal requires special dies, the 550 can use any dies from my understanding.

You may want to look at the Dillon 650, I think you can get more upgrades to increase production in the future if you want to.

If it was me I'd probably look at the Dillon 650 or Hornady Lock and Load.

Dillon has great warranty, I have not used a 550 or 650, but I have used the 1050 and I absolutely love using it. I find with reloading equipment the cheaper stuff will make quality ammo, but if you want to enjoy reloading, spend the money on equipment that is a pleasure to use, and requires less tinkering.

Just my $0.02
 
You will spend as much time tinkering and pulling your hair out with the Lee presses as loading ammo... They have a forum the size of CGN related to fixing them.

Stick to the LNL AP or a Dillon, at least you will be able to sell them for what you paid for them if you decide reloading is not for you, both are very nice machines with the edge going to dillon... Both will last you a lifetime with excellent warranty and tech support.

If you don't want an auto indexing press then the 550 is the way to go and caliber conversions are cheaper then the 650... If you have a single stage press then go for a 650 to compliment it...
 
I just did this whole dance... In the end.. I purchased the Lee..

Now I want to caution you.. The Lee does require some fiddling to get it to work well. It took me a good 8 hours to get it nice and dialed in so I can spit out ammo fast.

If you are the kind of guy that doesn't like fiddling and can get frustrated easily, then the Lee probably isn't for you.

I have not heard anything bad about the Dillon SDB. If you are looking to turn out Pistol ammo with zero nonsense.. SDB is the sheet...
 
In the end I went with the 550 and have not regretted it. The only thing is it manually indexes, which for me is fine and it produces about 300 bullets/hour for me taking my time, which isn't bad.
 
I have a Dillon Square Deal and love it. I'm the third owner and have so far loaded 2k .38 specials with no problems other than 1 squib (my fault not the press) The guy I bought it from estimated he'd done at least 10k .38specials with the press.
I can easily load 400/hour once I get into the groove, dies are easy to adjust, primer feed works great, just make sure to get all your fingers out of the way when you're going fast!
 
for pistol only i would say square deal but for a good all around press its hard to beat a 550. the beauty of the 550 that everyone seems to miss is because it does not auto rotate it can be used like a progressive, a turret or a single stage. this versitilty is great when working up loads.

my 2 cents
 
I have a Dillon 550, and it indeed uses standard 7/8x14 dies (I don't actually own any Dillon dies). It is slower than an auto-indexing press, but I find 300 rds per hour easily managed, and do find myself using it as a single stage press, even though I have a Rock Chucker mounted beside it.

It is only a 4-station tool head so if you want to use a lockout die, you have to seat and crimp in a single station.
 
first- write off the 1000 unless you WANT to spend a lot of time fiddling with the primer feed- they also go out of time from time to time( replace the nylon ratchet ) and that will frustrate the heck out of you if you don't know what's happening and how to fix it- also there's only 3 stations, which is fine for automatics, but no good for revolvers
2) the 550 is NOT an auto- index press- you have to rotate the shelplate by hand( actually you use a star wheel) for each station-ie it's a 2HANDED OPERATION- ONE HAND TO ROTATE THE WHEEL, ONE TO RAISE AND LOWER THE RAM
however, it DOES do RIFLE CARTRIDGES-which may or may not be a consideration
i can't tell you of the rest, as i have the 550 , loadmaster, and 3 1000 on hand
3) the loadmaster- uses a system similar to the 1000, and, being nylon, WEARS OUT- if you go this route , be sure and get EXTRA SLIDERS and tops- lucky they're cheap
i can't tell you of the rest, as these are the ones i have on hand
 
ampegor said:
for pistol only i would say square deal but for a good all around press its hard to beat a 550. the beauty of the 550 that everyone seems to miss is because it does not auto rotate it can be used like a progressive, a turret or a single stage. this versitilty is great when working up loads.

my 2 cents
Click to expand...

+1...Some people seem to believe that the 550's manual indexing is some kind of flaw, completely forgetting that it has this single stage feature, which only adds to its versatility....Add in the fact that the 550 an handle about 160 different calibers...

I have been using a 550 for about 18 years and it has always given me excellent service....At the very least, save out the few extra dollars and but a Hornady Lock n Load or a Dillon, bu stay away from the Lee's...
 
Another vote for the Square Deal.

I have four; one each set up in in .45 ACP, 9mm, .38 Spl, and .40 S&W. ( I don't like fiddling with calibre changes)
 
Airwolf said:
+1...Some people seem to believe that the 550's manual indexing is some kind of flaw, completely forgetting that it has this single stage feature, which only adds to its versatility....Add in the fact that the 550 an handle about 160 different calibers...

I have been using a 550 for about 18 years and it has always given me excellent service....At the very least, save out the few extra dollars and but a Hornady Lock n Load or a Dillon, bu stay away from the Lee's...
Click to expand...

I did alot of research before I got my 550 and I am very happy with my choice. I also see the manual index as a bonus, instead of a flaw, as it really helps when working up a load or when tinkering to get my adjustments right.

I bought it to load 9mm on. Soon I will be adding 38spl and 223 to that mix, which is great as the press can handle all of them.

I was also eyeballing the hornady LNL AP before I made my choice, but ended up drinking the blue instead of the red and I am happy...
 
Any users of the T-mag from TSE?

Edit- never mind. Just looked it up and saw that it's a turret press not a progressive. OP, if you are looking for a turret press just go with the Lee 4 hole turret press. It's my first press and I'm all ready pumping out 150ish rounds an hour.
 
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Airwolf said:
+1...Some people seem to believe that the 550's manual indexing is some kind of flaw, completely forgetting that it has this single stage feature, which only adds to its versatility....Add in the fact that the 550 an handle about 160 different calibers...

I have been using a 550 for about 18 years and it has always given me excellent service....At the very least, save out the few extra dollars and but a Hornady Lock n Load or a Dillon, bu stay away from the Lee's...
Click to expand...

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
 
At one time, I had three 550Bs, can't say anything negative about them and and was very happy with their performance. Did 400 rounds per hour when in a hurry, but was not fun at all.

Sold them because my needs changed...as in do not shoot as much anymore. So I got an all-Lee bench now: Loadmaster for .38spl/357mag and 9imm, Classic Cast Single for rifle and Classic Turret for 40sw and 45acp...and still as happy as when I had the Dillons.

There's a reloader for everybody's budget, skills, patience and needs. Rather than ask everyone what reloader to buy, ask yourself first what kind of reloader are you?
 
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
Click to expand...

I had a LM that would flake out and not index automatically... IMHO if your silly enough to use charges under 50% of case volume then your asking for trouble and you will get it... But that's going off topic!... Lee bashing is not!

Oh hey did you all hear Lee has updated and apparently fixed the primer shuttle problem with the LM?... For the 3? 4? 5? Time now... And it's for sale, to quote richard lee "at a reasonable price".
 
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