My Dillon 550 has turned out thousands of trouble free rounds using Lee carbide dies exclusively.

I’ve loaded on Dillon RL-550B and XL-650 and both are fantastic machines and their smoothness and build quality absolutely, unequivocally blows away any Lee progressive press EVER made, hands down, no question.

You cannot show anyone anywhere on any site where I have —EVER— said anything that disagrees with my statement right here in this post.

I take issue with the pathetic idea that Lee equipment is junk and cannot be made to work. Read again what I wrote.

Now, boys...!

Cheers!

P.S. Can we at least agree that the Hornady LnL quickchange bushings (which thread into both the single stage LEE Classic Cast Iron & the RCBS RockChuckers) is an excellent system, and that their lock rings are probably the best...?

Can we please agree that 9mm is superior to 45ACP in every possible way....

While I know Dillon makes good stuff...I have to say...there are other makes and models. I started out loading with a Lyman tong tool. Worked fine. I had a Lee Classic cast single stage press given to me...and like the offerings from the other companies I am sure it was an ok press. Not everyone NEEDS a very expensive press. I have the presses and equipment that I do because I like NICE tools. Ones that have a good reputation...not just the reputation for one that people say is a good product for the money

in a word....NO

Someone who has written a book on reloading told me that, in his opinion, Lee has some very innovative products at a very attractive price point. When you get them dialed in, and you keep an eye on things, they work just fine.

And with the plethora of aftermarket doodads available for them, many of them inexpensive 3D printed improvements for refined usability, they are a great bargain. But you need to educate yourself, and get them set up right.

I have 2 Lee Loadmasters that I got used for about 1/3 of new. They will feed the bullets, feed the brass, feed the primers, meter and dispense the powder, and spit out finished rounds. That costs a lot of money to get in other maker's presses.

And everyone seems to rave about the Lee Factory Crimp die.

Same Experience Here all My Dies are LEE many I've owned since the 80's Zero Issues & Also have a Older Turret Press that has been converted from a 3 to 4 Hole plus one of the Newer Classic Turret Presses all have served Me well,If I was shooting competition or going through a lot of ammo then I would be looking @ Dillon or if I had plenty of $ to spend,My Scale is a Older RCBS 5-10 I bought in the Mid 80's

Last night while in couch potato mode I loaded a box of 50 32 H&R Magnum using a Lee Hand Press and hand priming tool.It's good exercise for this senior citizen.
The Lee Classic Turret Press is set up on a bench in the garage with the Lee Safety Prime attachment.I have no trouble with the Lee Pro Auto Disk as long as the powder charge is large enough to drop reliably from the smallest cavity.All works well for me but I'm a tweaker/tinkler and a somewhat perfectionist.

If I was 30 years younger and a large volume shooter I'd certainly have a Dillon but I'm not and I can't turn back the clock.

If you're a good reloader you can make good ammo with whatever is at hand.

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NEVER GIVE UP YOUR GUN

I hope the OP posts again with his selection.

I've got 3 Lee Pro1000 presses, a Rockchucker and Lee single stage press on my bench.

For the single stage presses, the Rockchucker is a better press, but there are some things I like doing on the Lee.

I keep the Pro1000s set for 9mm, 38 and 45 so I don't need to change over. The 9 and 38 presses both have may tens of thousands of rounds through them. They take some work to set up and maintain, but work well. I can load about 400 rounds an hour if I don't get distracted. I started with these because it was what I could afford at the time. I'm happy with them.

Currently I use 2 Dillon 550s, 2 Lyman T-2s and a Bair Kodiak. Mostly use rcbs dies but have a few Lee dies. Prime my pistol loads on my presses but use two old round tray Lee Auto-primes to seat primers on my rifle brass. One for large and one for small. They work fine until the thumb lever breaks but some jbweld and a piece of aluminum fixes them fine.

I started out on a LEE Challenger kit (O-frame single stage). Within a year the tedium got to me and I moved on to a progressive. After much research, I chose the Hornady LNL AP and have no regrets.

In hindsight, I could have just as easily learned on the Hornady as with the LEE by just using one stage at a time.

My other observation is depending on the volume of shooting, within a year or 2 the initial cost of the press becomes irrelevant compared to the cost of the components.

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Common sense isn't so common.

Oh, absolutely. Even with the price of primers you easily save a hundred a case of 9mm reloaded, so after under t
10K, you are ahead, even with a VERY nice new progressive press. You are loading 10mm or .357 mag, WAY fewer round to be ahead. Rifle other than 223? a few thousand probably.

all depends on your need i guess i would rather have a dillion 650 but im very happy with my lee breech lock single stage press . make great ammo and lee is inexpensive compared to the rest but still quality

A press thread and no mention of me?

No Lee dies here but if on a budget their presses will work for the OP's needs.

Only a Lee Hand Press for the range/travel.
Lotsa Lee Loaders including a Zero Error kit for 223/5.56 from the '70s.
For single shots and bolt guns.

550.
Spartan.
RCBS big enough for 458WinMags.

Dies:
RCBS
Redding
One Lyman All American steel 45ACP from the '70s.
Just use the crimper in the 550 with RCBS dies.
Only load 45/380 ACP on the 550

Attached Images

6E2016BE-6210-43CE-93BB-928FA0408FEB.jpeg (16.1 KB, 10 views)

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Have Fun/Stay Safe

I'll chime in.

I'm a firm believer in the walk before trying to run camp. Besides being easier to learn the ins and outs of the processes, a single stage press is something that I'll always have a need for.

Load development is much easier for me using a single stage. You may someday find you want to load some milder rounds for that old '06 that's been collecting dust.

I won't get into the brand war. Properly used and maintained most any of today's single stage presses will likely outlive the user.

Learn and decide if handloading is for you on a single stage. Believe it or not, I've found it ain't for everyone. Some don't enjoy it, some are simply too impatient to read the damned instructions. Either way, it doesn't work out for them.

Over the last 35 years I've owned a plethora of presses. Some I liked much better than others, but they all worked. A straight wall round, carbide dies, a couple of loading trays and you can turn out a surprising number of 1st quality rounds in a couple of hours using any single stage press.

My $2 worth. (Due to inflation 2 cents no longer viable.)

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GOA
USA Shooting Supporter

If the object is to save money, and you don't need more than a few hundred rounds a month, then just buy any major brand single stage press. They are a lot less expensive and any of them will do the job handily.

At the moment my single stage is a Lee Challenger. It's O.K. The Classic cast is probably better. I've had RCBS before. It was good. Not really a lot of differences to be honest. These things are a giant hunk of metal with like four moving parts.

Look at the peripherals. How is on-press priming handled? The Lee is a plastic-fantastic rinky-dink swinging gizmo that never feeds the last primer.

Lee isn't as inexpensive as they look. I find I replace the lock rings (with Hornady). Now that they've gone to the silly "Breech Lock Bushing" you get to buy those too. Though it's lost on me how much time you really save swapping out a die on a single stage press. Maybe eight seconds? Add the cost of the bushings to cost of the dies.

For handgun ammo you don't need a big press. I even have a Lee Reloader press somewhere. I don't use it much because has gotten sloppy after some use. It's too light. A Rocker Chucker will last forever but is a bit overkill for handgun ammo. I'd get the best press for the best price I could. Right now stuff's on sale so look around. There's another thread here about that.

I also have a Dillon. When I bought it they were making the 450. I upgraded the frame to a 550 so I could get the interchangeable tool heads. I guess it's a 500. Sometimes you see 450's on eBay cheap. Be sure it's all there. You only need a Dillion if you either need a lot of ammo, or don't have a lot of time to reload. But the cost of caliber conversions is also much higher than just a single stage.

I mentioned the Co-Ax in an earlier post as the one I use most for rifle cartridges. I've used mine for decades but wouldn't recommend it as the only press one should have because I've found a few things that are better done on a conventional single stage press.

It doesn't handle press mounted collet style bullet pullers well. Some file-type trim dies may not work at all on a Co-Ax. Forget the Co-Ax if you want to use an RCBS primer pocket swager. Seems like there were a couple of others that I can't remember at the moment...

Granted, these are not handloading procedures everyone does, but some people do and they need a press that will handle the chores. A conventional single stage will handle any handloading procedure I can imagine.

I'm not critical of the Co-Ax. It's my favorite press and the one that gets used most for rifle cartridges. It just has some very minor shortcomings.

I highly recommend a Herter's single-stage press.

There has to be a lot of these around. I started with an R.F. Wells basic single stage "C" press and it appeared to be the same tool as the basic Herter's single stage. These were good presses. If they're not worn out from use, they should work about as well as any single stage you can buy today. They don't offer compound leverage, but that feature is seldom needed for most handloading work.

How many can you use?? I still use one or two with decapping dies. The only real problem with the Herter's is the shellholders. And the handles are sometimes broken as they are cast iron. But you really do have to work at it a bit.

Any brand name single stage press will serve you well unless you shoot a couple of hundred rounds a week. Consider Hornady, Lyman, RCBS and Lee. Dillon also makes a basic press that can be upgraded later. It is called the BL 550 and can be purchased on time. Get a good reloading manual first and study it before jumping in with both feet. Finding an experienced reloader buddy is also a great way to learn.

No problem! This works great!
Herters Shell Holder Adapter : CH4D
jcelect

You are right. Adapters were made even by RCBS in the past. Still kind of a little problem though....The adapters cost more than the presses are worth...except maybe the 234? turret. I loaded many many rounds on the Herter's presses back in the day. Used their dies too. I still have a couple sets of dies that were made by RCBS for Herter's. The darn company made very little themselves. We did buy the solid plastic duck and goose decoys though. I was a receiving dealer back then too. Met George quite a few times. If you ever read the catalog?? That is how GLH talked!

I don't think a press that was discontinued long ago is a good first press for someone who is just getting into reloading.
OP if you are still around, check out the RCBS Rockchucker kit for sale on Midway dirt cheap. Grab a Lee four die set while you are at it and you will have all the tools you need to make great ammunition.

i have a dillon square deal I got used many years ago when I only shot pistol. when i started rifle competition i got a rockchucker and have been happy with it too the only down side of the Sq deal is it uses non standard sized dies so when i thought about going to a 550 or 650i realized i'd have to sell the sq deal and dies. looked at the cost and the rounds i load and decided the cost of all the change over kits and what not just didn't make sense. when all the craziness is over I should get a 9mm setup for the Sq deal and then I can do all my pistol rounds on it and rifle on the rock crusher.

but running small batches of different bullet and loads is a lot less trouble on the single stage

Precisely...My first was a 650 to which I added all the bells and whistles as time passed...Eventually I added a 1050 as its next door neighbor on the bench...Save money and headaches by buying the best first...I only wish I still had them both...Selling them when I built my store was a poor decision......Ben

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Cogito, ergo BOOM!...

If you are not in a big hurry to get started there will be a big increase in the availability of used reloading equipment hitting the market over the next couple of years.
I would buy a single stage press now. Preferably RCBS; then when the number of used Dillons for sale shoots up due to lack of components and the prices of said components when they ARE available, you will see some real deals out there.
Factory ammo in pistol calibers may be a better deal to buy than loading your own for a while. That seems to be the case with shotgun shells now.
I expect primer prices in the 10 to 12 cent each range will become the new norm.

I used a Lee three-hole turret in the 80's, after a reccomendation from my LGS owner. Later sold all my guns during a cash flow problem, then sold the press to a co-worker who makes .38 and .45 cowboy loads for his daughter.

Now I again own .38, .357, .44, .45ACP, and .223 guns, and load for all in a Lee four-hole progressive. I took the progressive "turner" out immmediately, and use it as a turret one-step-at-a-time press. Every step gets checked, a rule I learned 40 years ago. Long ago I got used to the Lee moving slightly when strong seating occured, and learned how much to adjust. Today I use taper crimp dies on almost all loads. It loads accurate rounds, when I have accurate load data.

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Heavily armed old man.

Check out the Redding T—7

As others have said, read a couple of good manuals thoroughly cover to cover first.
Then, I would recommend starting with a Lee Classic turret kit. Remove the advance rod and use it as a single stage until you get really comfortable with the process.
Once you're proficient with single stage loading, you can put the advance rod back in and start loading higher volume using it as an auto advancing turret. 150-200 rounds an hour is do-able that way, and a lot of us never shoot enough to need higher production than that.
Even if you do ever get to the point that you need the higher production of a progressive, the turret will still come in handy for load development.

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Send lawyers, guns & money...

I am going to read the paper manuals on 357 reloading first, but once I learn I plan to get a Dillon 550. Their customer service and replacement parts make it worth the extra $$$ for me. In life I have found you usually get what you pay for, so I'd rather just pay more up front for the best version and one I do not need to upgrade. Even so, I will not order until I finish a few books as I want to know what the heck I am doing first.

Not a bad choice. If you stay with shooting and reloading, you probably will end up with a singe-stage press on your bench. The progressive is very good for making lots of the same ammo at a time, but the single-stage is useful when you just want to make one box of hunting or personal defense rounds.

None of us hate Lee. I respect Lee for what they've done for the industry. They've opened the door for many shooters who are just dipping their toe in.

I have first hand experience though, and it's NOT based on snobbery:

In the 90s the handle on my turret press snapped. They sent me a new one...still pot metal.

Their "balance beam" scale was utter junk and would not return to zero. Replaced with a metal Hornady and problem solved.

Their powder measure sucks. Plastic and not repeatable. Replaced with a metal Hornady and now a Redding. Problem solved.

Their progressive shotshell reloader at the time was a massive nightmare and was utter junk. It was so horrific that I think think they pulled it off the market a long time ago (Lee LoadFast. Search the shotgun forums for THAT one. Yikes!) I replaced it with a Mec and it was like an epiphany.

Their dies are okay, but have aluminum seating plugs instead of steel. I've galled the threads on several sets. RCBS is better.
Reddings are better still.

Their bullet molds....UGH...don't get me started on those. My recommendation is buy an iron mold with better quality. But again, the Lee's are half or less of the cost of entry and that is attractive to get people started in casting.

I DO still use their dipper set, and their collet sizing dies. Both of those products are great, but even the collet dies require modification sometimes because the tolerances are not right. Their loading manuals are also GREAT!

So, you see, I'm using first hand experience, not snobbery. Other products simply work better, but if Lee is all you have, you can certainly make it work as you can attest.

I hope Lee is in business forever...just have to know what you're dealing with. I'm not sure why anyone would have a "hidden agenda" against Lee? I sure don't.

The best advice I can give is to find a Mentor.
You will save months of frustration and maybe a couple of fingers.

Mentors are everywhere and happy to help.

I recommend the Lyman Cast Bullet Handbook: 4th Edition for education and load data.

Prescut

Superior in speed and capacity absolutely. But .45acp is the lords caliber. Won us two world wars. On a serious note though, 9mm, .40 S&W, .45acp and most other commercially available calibers have been modernized. The 9mm that caused the FBI to switch to a more powerful caliber, is not the same 9mm that they switched back to. And the same ballistic improvements have been applied to .40 S&W, .45acp, etc.

This world is ruled by .45acp, 9mm is just allowed to exist because .45acp doesn't feel threatened by its existence.

That all said, neither are the BEST caliber. That would go the .40S&W. People may count it out, but it is here to stay.

-Mike, the crazy .40 guy.

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Please no more EZs...

Can we all agree that we wouldn't want to get shot with either one?

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So many S&W's, so few funds!!

Damn right!!

I am very much in favor of keeping all my fingers, thanks for the wisdom

There seems to be a misconception here about the main reason for choosing a Lee press and it's not the cost.
Most of us Lee users can afford the pricey alternatives and would gladly pay it if there was a need.
I "enjoy" using my Lee Classic 4 Hole Turret Press
.I only load .38spl on it now so the turrets set up for .44sp,44mag,45acp,45AR,and 357mag sit idle.
My range sessions are only 22LR,38spl and 32H&R now with less frequency than previously.

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NEVER GIVE UP YOUR GUN

Hey OP, Goudy686

Tell us what state you're in and we might be able to find that Mentor for you.

Prescut

I started casting 230 .452's in 1975. Being a Lee guy from before then, I naturally got a Lee mold.

Now I'm up to about 20 Lee aluminum molds and have casted tens of thousands of boolits. That .452 is used for ACP and "Long Colt" and my original mold is still in service.

On a rare occasion my second drop goes into the "good" pot. Usually the first round is good.

In contrast I once worked with a guy that used steel Lyman molds, and they took forever to heat up.

That's just my experience. All I ever did was follow the instructions and have not messed up a mold yet.

I have had a few Lee molds...mostly ones I couldn't find in other mold varieties. Most of them didn't get used all that much. With a couple that was a good thing...they were junk. but most worked ok...and they weren't for large batches. In fact I happen to have a light 41 cal mold for making light bullet loads for my 41 mags. I think I would like to try one of Lee's buckshot molds though. I also used some Herter's molds in the past...but all I had were made by Lyman I think. I still have one around someplace. I've never had trouble getting steel molds up to temp. The molds I liked more than others were the H&G molds and a few Lachmillers

Lots of good advice here.

I used a single stage Lee press for almost 20 years. Loaded thousands upon thousands of rounds with it ... and other than regular oiling and wiping down, it never needed a single thing.

There's a lot of other great brands out there, of course. Reloading is an art that you can make as simple or as complex as you want to. I kept things on the simple side.

The best advice I can offer about reloading is to approach it with a calm and undistracted mindset. I reload in my "quiet time" ... cell phone is off, no music in the background, and I can give my work my undivided attention. I think that, more than the press or the dies or anything else you can throw money at, will yield the best results.

Mike

I own a Star Progressive and a Dillon 550 B. When provided with a minimum amount of maintenance and care they chug along steadily and churn out ammo by the boxful. OTOH, my shooting partner bought a pair of Lee Progressives when he was shooting a lot of ammo for Bullseye and PPC. Yes, he was able to produce large quantity of 45 ACP and 38 Spl respectively, but he was constantly fiddling with the presses due to their inherent slop… they never seemed to just settle in and work. Admittedly a limited sampling, but it’s actual observation.

OTOH, I have other Lee products that I use with great success. It seems to be a matter of building to a price point. My very early Lee priming tools (with screw in shell holders) are my preference by a long shot. Other Lee tools accomplish their intended tasks well, BUUUT it appears that Lee often builds to a price point, and in this case, an “affordable” progressive press appears to have been to great a reach.
JMHO, YMMV.
Froggie

Update:

This year, 370 prairie dogs down.

366 fell to .223 with 50gr V-Max
4 fell to .45 Auto with 200gr Xtreme

All fell to ammo crafted on Lee equipment.

Green Frog, the Star machines are phenomenal… I don’t know how such a great product line didn’t survive.

The original Dillon was based on the Star. I would guess the Star would cost far more to build today than most would be willing to pay. Lots of steel, lots of machine work.

Green Frog,can you give an explanation to exactly what "inherent slop" is.
I'm not familiar with the term.
I never owned or used a Lee Progressive so I have no first hand knowledge but there may be more adjusting/tinkering required in getting a Lee Progressive operating correctly.I can't say one way or the other.
I can say because of years of 1st hand experience with a Lee Classic 4 Hole Turret Press that it is very well made and will make excellent ammo.
Adding a Lee Safety Prime and Pro Auto Disk adds more adjusting and tinkering to the setup process but the benefits and rewards are well worth the effort.
The Lee Hand Press is a great addition to any reloader's bench.
The Lee Hand Priming Tool is nothing to rave about but it does work.
The Lee Ram Primer is another nothing to rave about but it works as intended.
The Lee Aluminum Single Stage is great bang for the buck but not for everybody.
Lee Carbide Dies are excellent.
The Lee Bench Powder Measure is accurate but has a very small leakage out the side.
The Lee Pro Auto Disk powder measure with Riser mounted on top of the Expander Die works well for some powders but so so for other powders when used with the Classic Turret Press.

Non Lee:
RCBS 10-10 scale = Very Good
RCBS Primer Flipper Tray = Not So Good
RCBS Primer Flipper Tray 2 = Better than original
RCBS Bench Primer = Excellent

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NEVER GIVE UP YOUR GUN

Inherent slop. in fact the Lee progressives do have enough leeway that it takes an awful lot of adjusting to get them to work right. I have had about every kind of progressive and the Lee for some odd reason are not consistently perfect. Esp priming...which in a progressive metallic press can be the dangerous part. Even RCBS has made a few items not well thought out. I've run the Star's and CH Marks and they worked pretty well . Another Lee quirk is the o rings on the dies...easily replaced but they tend to not stay adjusted as they should esp on a progressive. Too much going on. The reason people like the Dillon's and even the Hornady progs is they usually can be depended on to work consistently with very little adjustment needed. For those who use the Lee's and like them most are very detail oriented(and some OCD). I sold and worked on Mec Dillon P-W and Hornady/Pacific presses. But never Lee. Most of the problems they had were user generated... Lee does make some neat innovative stuff...but because of price points use too much plastic which DOES wear and degrade over a shorter period of time than most others.If you can get a Lee Loadmaster to work consistently day after day week after week. Congratulations. Life is too short for most of us. I have a Lee Classic Cast Turret. Also have T-7s. BTW the average Lee user did buy the Lee because of the price of their stuff. Not because it was as good...but was just good enough for them. And that IS the truth. We all have our cheap ideas...a few actually work