Progressive press suggestions?
- Thread starter woska
- Start date
Hornady L&L AP. Got my L&L with auto case feeder from Cabelas. Cost me $C 948.00 including shipping, exchange and taxes. I sent Hornady another $US 21.00 to cover shipping on their 1000 free bullet offer,, still waiting. I'm confident the bullets will eventually come as Hornady has already made good on bullet shipments to other CGN'ers who bought their L&L AP's before I did. Hornady = same quality and warranty as Dillon. Dillons are blue, Hornady's are red. Hornady's cost less. You can see em both in operation on YouTube. Happy shopping 
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Extensive writeup and debate here:
http://www.canadiangunnutz.com/forum/showthread.php?t=127691&highlight=dillon+lee+hornady
- Location
- North of Toronto and South Carolina
You'll find lots of informative threads on CGN. Just search "Dillon" or "Lee", for example.
The arguments boil down to this, I think:
Dillon is relatively expensive, and smooth, and its owners promote them. They never admit to missfeeds, jams or broken parts. It will last forever.
Lee is relatively cheap, needs careful setup, It's a fraction of the price of the Dillon and will last forever. It's owners promote them. They admit to missfeeds, but say that the low price of the Lee is compensation for that. The main complaint involves the primer feed setup. But if you keep it clean, and keep a sufficient number of primers loaded, it will be fine. Just keep some compressed air nearby to clean any powder from the primer loading mechanism. I can tell you that any missfeed on the Lee is very easy to clear. I don't know about the Dillon.
I can't speak for other companies, but both Dillon and Lee give superb customer service.
I should tell you now that I use a Lee Pro 1000. I got it for free as part of a deal on a 686. I have no plans to replace it with anything else.
I suppose that if I had money coming out of my rear end, and I loaded a thousand rounds each week, I'd get a Dillon.
Fair warning, however. "Favourite progressive press" threads, like "Why do people like Glock" threads, go on forever on every gun board on the Internet. Anything that can be said has already been said.
The arguments boil down to this, I think:
Dillon is relatively expensive, and smooth, and its owners promote them. They never admit to missfeeds, jams or broken parts. It will last forever.
Lee is relatively cheap, needs careful setup, It's a fraction of the price of the Dillon and will last forever. It's owners promote them. They admit to missfeeds, but say that the low price of the Lee is compensation for that. The main complaint involves the primer feed setup. But if you keep it clean, and keep a sufficient number of primers loaded, it will be fine. Just keep some compressed air nearby to clean any powder from the primer loading mechanism. I can tell you that any missfeed on the Lee is very easy to clear. I don't know about the Dillon.
I can't speak for other companies, but both Dillon and Lee give superb customer service.
I should tell you now that I use a Lee Pro 1000. I got it for free as part of a deal on a 686. I have no plans to replace it with anything else.
I suppose that if I had money coming out of my rear end, and I loaded a thousand rounds each week, I'd get a Dillon.
Fair warning, however. "Favourite progressive press" threads, like "Why do people like Glock" threads, go on forever on every gun board on the Internet. Anything that can be said has already been said.
...my experience (you milage may vary)
I've only ever used Dillon...so I won't give you an opinion on the other brands.
I had a 550 for about 9 years...works great...and is the perfect press if you want to load 5-10k per year (of different calibers) I added the case feader...and while it does speed up production a bit...it is a pain to setup (the design could be improved) and is very unforgiving about even the slighest amount of dirt or powder spillage
My biggest beef about the 550...hate the primer system...and the press has too much flex (and yes it's solidly mounted to my bench) Too much flex for a machine that you want to "semi automate" I especially hate the little chute system for depositing the spent primers in that little cup. Cheesy...
Also with only 4 stations...you don't have alot of options (like a powder check die)
I've never used a 650...but I'm told it has the same issues (primer system and flex) Since it is a machine that you can truely "semi automate" (ie. case feeder and bullet feeder) be prepared to spend alot of time tuning the settings to keeping it running.
I just upgraded to the 1050 (and am adding a GSI bullet feeder)
The build quality is miles above the 550. The bench would collapse before this machine flexed a hair. I love the alignment rods...and this machine cranks out alot of consisntent ammo.
It's the ultimate machine if you need to crank out many 1000's of rounds of the same claiber...but the setup costs are high.
I've only ever used Dillon...so I won't give you an opinion on the other brands.
I had a 550 for about 9 years...works great...and is the perfect press if you want to load 5-10k per year (of different calibers) I added the case feader...and while it does speed up production a bit...it is a pain to setup (the design could be improved) and is very unforgiving about even the slighest amount of dirt or powder spillage
My biggest beef about the 550...hate the primer system...and the press has too much flex (and yes it's solidly mounted to my bench) Too much flex for a machine that you want to "semi automate" I especially hate the little chute system for depositing the spent primers in that little cup. Cheesy...
Also with only 4 stations...you don't have alot of options (like a powder check die)
I've never used a 650...but I'm told it has the same issues (primer system and flex) Since it is a machine that you can truely "semi automate" (ie. case feeder and bullet feeder) be prepared to spend alot of time tuning the settings to keeping it running.
I just upgraded to the 1050 (and am adding a GSI bullet feeder)
The build quality is miles above the 550. The bench would collapse before this machine flexed a hair. I love the alignment rods...and this machine cranks out alot of consisntent ammo.
It's the ultimate machine if you need to crank out many 1000's of rounds of the same claiber...but the setup costs are high.
I bought a LEE 1000 years ago when I was a student and really couldnt afford a Dillon.The plan was to stick it out with a LEE and finally upgrade to a Dillon when i could afford it.Well 15 years later and 10s of K loaded rounds later I still have that LEE.I really cant justify the expense of a Dillon as the LEE works perfectly well.There are a few quirks about it,but after using it for awhile you get used to them(Im sure that the Dillon has theirs as well).Still,if I was getting into loading and had lots of $$'s,I would start off with Dillon,theres no denying their quality
Although there is this tendency to knock LEE products,they have got alot of people into reloading who normally wouldnt have been able to afford to
Although there is this tendency to knock LEE products,they have got alot of people into reloading who normally wouldnt have been able to afford to
i've got 3 lees, a loadmaster and a dillon 550- that was dictated by the science of the time- they'd all be loadmasters if i was to get 1 now- i beleive in having a press for every caliber plus 1 spare for the ose "oddballs " that i only do short runs with
I had a lee pro 1000 the priming system is finicky at best spent more time cleaning dumped powder out of the loader than i did loading.When a machine takes to much playing around with to work you make mistakes 3 squib loads in the month i used it.I bought an Dillon SDB because i only load pistol have loaded thousands of 45+9mm with very few problems usually its a case that is the issue not the press.
There is. Good product, great marketing, and mindshare on the brand (since they were one of the early entrants).
stormbringer
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
- Location
- S.W. Ontario
because that is how math works?
Take an objective look at what you think your needs are and buy a quality press that fills them. The one-time cost of tooling is small relative to components in the long run.
I think that the Dillon 550 is the best press avaialable if you want to own one press to load moderately large quantities of both rifle and pistol ammo of multiple calibres. The manual index doesn't slow you down unless you are running a casefeeder and calibre change kits and toolhads are less expensive than the 650.
I run a 550 and my only major criticsim of it is that I would prefer a cleaner system for handling spent primers that doesn't get primer residue all over the press and bench. It would also be nice if the powder measure came with a better adjustment setup. I put a brass MRDial on mine and there is also a micrometer setup available to fix this.
If you want to load larger quantities of a smaller number of calibres, the Dillon 650 with a casefeeder would be a better choice than the 550. The Hornady Lock-N-Load is roughly equivalent in terms of capacity and is also a good press.
Lee makes OK single stage and turret presses for the money, but I would stay away from their progressive presses. They tend to require more fiddling to run properly.
RCBS makes progressive presses, but I have no idea what they're like. They don't seem to be as popular as other makes of progressive presses.
I think that the Dillon 550 is the best press avaialable if you want to own one press to load moderately large quantities of both rifle and pistol ammo of multiple calibres. The manual index doesn't slow you down unless you are running a casefeeder and calibre change kits and toolhads are less expensive than the 650.
I run a 550 and my only major criticsim of it is that I would prefer a cleaner system for handling spent primers that doesn't get primer residue all over the press and bench. It would also be nice if the powder measure came with a better adjustment setup. I put a brass MRDial on mine and there is also a micrometer setup available to fix this.
If you want to load larger quantities of a smaller number of calibres, the Dillon 650 with a casefeeder would be a better choice than the 550. The Hornady Lock-N-Load is roughly equivalent in terms of capacity and is also a good press.
Lee makes OK single stage and turret presses for the money, but I would stay away from their progressive presses. They tend to require more fiddling to run properly.
RCBS makes progressive presses, but I have no idea what they're like. They don't seem to be as popular as other makes of progressive presses.
Started with a Lee Turrent Press. Then I went and bought a Lee Progressive 1000, made up new swear words using it. Seemed like I was always adjusting it, and trying to get the indexing timed properly. (stupid plastic gears etc.) Finally when a primer got flipped, crushed, and detonated, causing a chain reaction up the primer tray chute, sending primers and plastic primer tray parts all over the basement, and powder burns to my forehead, I got rid of it. Went to a Dillion Square Deal next, used it for about about 15 years (about 75,000 rnds. loaded) with very few problems, just had to replace a few items due to normal wear and tear. (bushings/nylon wear bearings and a powder bar that got scored somehow) A couple years ago, I come across a used Dillion 650 with lots of extras for a good price and bought it. Been using it since, no problems. By the way, when I sold the Square Deal, I got more than I paid for it. Try that with a 15 year old Lee 1000.
I know that lots of people use the Lee 1000 seemingly with little issues, but in my case, I found that the Dillions are a lot more reliable. With the Square Deal, I was loading 400-500 rnds./hr. easily, with the 650 it is around 500-650/hr. without much effort.
I know that lots of people use the Lee 1000 seemingly with little issues, but in my case, I found that the Dillions are a lot more reliable. With the Square Deal, I was loading 400-500 rnds./hr. easily, with the 650 it is around 500-650/hr. without much effort.
Perhaps it just seemed that way to me. Maybe you can price up a D 650 plus a case feeder with taxes exchange, and delivery. I can't be bothered. Never mind the free bullets, they're only worth a couple of hundred $.
