Need Opinions on Progressive Presses

[Bullseye Smith]

I have a dillon 650 and 550, the 650 is about 100 to 300 rounds a hour faster but a pain to switch over. The dillon 550 is the way to go, easy, fast, cheaper to setup. If you don't have a dillon 550 you don't have Jack .

 

[folkenheath]

I went through the same thing about a year ago. I ended up getting the Hornady LNL-AP. Here's why

-It has the easiest changeover, even with primers, with the bushings.
- it has 5 stations
-You can change one die or all 5, you don't have to change all five every time with a whole block. So you can change just a crimper die for a different bullet, etc, and not change the rest of the set-up.
-primer change is only 3 parts, just a couple minutes to change
-you can remove/insert the case easily at any position in the rotation with one hand
-primers are seated from the bottom at a "half" station by pushing the bar forward, so you can feal the primer seat without anything else covering up the feel of it.
- auto indexing, which is not only faster but reduces the chances of a double charge.
- if there is no case at the powder drop, powder won't come out
- I bought the micrometer powder measures, one for rifle, one for handgun. With those two parts it is easy to adjust settings and return the powder measure to those settings for any previous load, makes powder measure easy to set-up, and return to any previous set-up. And you can write down infinite setups and return to them quick and easy.

Because of all this you can also easily use this press as a single stage (without having to change dies because they are all installed if you want) for developing small load batches. Because you can remove and replace the case at any time to clean primer pockets, measure powder or custom add powder, trims cases, etc. And none of the other stations are effected by the fact that there is no case there. And if you only want to run a bunch of cases through and resize and punch out primers, go ahead, just pull out the remaining dies and leave the resizer in there alone. Any combination is possible at any time without readjusting your setup because the whole setup isn't attached to one block.

And to top this off, you can get 1000 free bullets, which reduces over half the cost of the press depending on what bullet you choose. For me it was no brainer. Actually I ended up getting 1600 free bullets because I bought 6 die sets too over the last year. (but with the new ez-ject you can use any brand die set in any station no problem).

 

[VonFatman]

I guess I must be slow minded or something...I've had a 650 for years and I've never had a problem with change-overs. Fast and easy. I don't understand this "issue"....but I hear it spoken of so it must be a problem for some folks. Maybe because I have seperate primer changes (small/large)...and I use the "quick-changes" Dillon offers...it's pretty darn fast. My big slow-down is filling primer tubes but I don't mind the break in the action. I can easily send 750 rounds out the chute without breaking a sweat, hurrying, or feeling rushed. It's an easy 750/hour press if you have the components on hand and the primer tubes full.
Here's a pic...I try to keep all my components and accessories at hand so that I can produce quality ammo when I decide to start pulling the handle. I prefer the auto-index of the 650. I think that it's the safest progressive out there. You can spend more time at the press, but for me, I prefer to spend my time shooting or doing other fun stuff (don't get me wrong, i enjoy reloading, I just don't see the need in spending additional time there when I don't have to).

btw,
forkenheath's information on the Hornady press was very thorough and informative.

Bob

 

[Chuck Jones]

Most people I know use a Dillon, the square deal for single caliber folks, and 550s for the rest with an occasional 650 thrown in the mix (I even know one guy with 2 1050s!).

I started on a 450 and upgraded it to a 550. These are THE press if you load multiple calibers. I'll explain...

The 650 is faster but not that much faster than the 550, if you're organized. And the 650 is more complicated to set up and change calibers. So when I've changed calibers and started reloading the guy with a 650 hasn't started. For me changing calibers is enough of a PITA, even on a 550 if you need to switch primer size, that I've used a Lee hand press, dippers, and a loading block to load 200 .41 .44 or .45 cases in order to leave my Dillon set up for 9 mm or .38 spl.

In fact my ideal set up would be two 550s, so I could leave one set up for small primers and one for large. That would be so sweet since all you'd have to change would be the heads and shell-plates for any caliber. In fact if you had a dedicated powder measure always on the head you'd be off and running in 10 minutes tops. And that's after loading the powder, primers and checking/adjusting the throw weight.

Brian Enos has loaded more ammo that most humans (yeah, like times a gazillion) so read his pages and decide for yourself Dillon Precision Reloading Frequently Asked Questions .

I know good ammo can be made on a Lee and other progressives but very few guys I know use one, and it's nice to talk about your set-up, techniques, and problems with other reloaders.

/c

 

[leas327]

I found an interesting link about comparing presses
http://www.comrace.ca/cmfiles/dillonLeeHornadyComparison.pdf

 

[folkenheath]

Thank you Bob, your set up looks great and well organized.

leas, from what I gather in this thread and forum, you won't be dissapointed if you get the Dillon or the Hornady, people seem to be happy with them. They are both US made quality pieces with a good warranty, you just have to decide which one you like better.

 

[John P.]

I have a Lee Pro 1000. Too many problems with primer feeding and seating. Now I only use it to decap and resize quanities of 9mm and .38 cases, and then finish with a hand priming tool and single stage press. I have an RCBS that I'm real happy with also, but I have only been reloading .44 Mag and specials with it.

 

[Joed49]

In fact my ideal set up would be two 550s, so I could leave one set up for small primers and one for large. That would be so sweet since all you'd have to change would be the heads and shell-plates for any caliber. In fact if you had a dedicated powder measure always on the head you'd be off and running in 10 minutes tops. And that's after loading the powder, primers and checking/adjusting the throw weight.

I couldn't agree more. I started out with a 550. It was a good press to start with. It's only downfall is that it is a 4 station press without room for a powder check die.

One day while visiting a gunshop the owner explained that he was going out of business and had 2 1050's and a 650 to sell. I bought one of the 1050's. Looking back I should have bought both. The 1050 is phenominal, you can't believe how many loaded rounds it is capable of producing in an hour. The 1050 also had one thing my 550 did not, a powder check die.

I had intended to do large primer loads on the 1050 and small primer loads on the 550. It was right about this time that the 550 started giving problems with squibs using Unique. After the third squib I dismantled the 550 and put it up for sale. In the mean time I ordered a 650 with the powder check die. I've also stopped using Unique, replacing it with Power Pistol.

One statement I'll make regarding progressive presses is, I won't own one without a powder check die. Without one sooner or later you're going to have problems. The powder check die catches drastic changes in the amount of powder in a case. It won't catch .1 or .2 difference but it will catch a double charged or empty case.

There is a lot of truth to caliber changes being somewhat of a pain. It depends on how many rounds I need to produce as to whether I'll use the progressive. Having owned a 550, 650 and 1050 I know how long change overs take on each press. The 550 can be changed in less then 10 minutes. The 650 probably takes about 20 and the 1050 about 30 minutes.