Progressive Press Choices ?

[Miracle Man]

The first progressive press I bought and the only one I have (lol) is a RCBS 4X4 from like 1985. You can't find shell plates for it and it has several little issues. It's served me well but suffice is to say it's time to move on.

Does anybody have any experience with the Hornady loc and load ? I'm not a super high volume reloader so I don't need blazing speed. And I don't want to pump major money in all the gadgets and gizmos either.

Anybody have any suggestions?

Thnaks

 

[ArchAngelCD]

I'm sorry I can't help you on progressive presses because I'm still using a Lee turret press. I'm posting to ask you if you contacted RCBS about purchasing the shell plate you're looking for? I'm thinking they will have them.

 

[tominboise]

I have owned and used Dillon SDB and RL550 progressive presses. The SDB's worked well but die changes were a pain, so I ended up with 3 or 4 of them. I finally sold them all off and went with a RL550C. It works well but does take some fiddling and attention to detail, like they all do. Spare parts are all over the place as Dillon has made the same product, more or less, for years. I just converted and loaded 400+ 40S&W on my 550 this week. It worked fine.

 

[rockquarry]

I've had four progressives in the last twenty-five years and finally discovered I never really needed any of them, but I wanted them. I never used them for rifle ammo, even .223, and probably shoot only around 10,000 rounds of handgun ammo a year. Simple without gadgetry and slow, my 1960s Texan Turret press that I've used for over forty years works fine for my needs.

 

[Miracle Man]

I'm sorry I can't help you on progressive presses because I'm still using a Lee turret press. I'm posting to ask you if you contacted RCBS about purchasing the shell plate you're looking for? I'm thinking they will have them.

I have not contacted RCBS. And for the life of me I don't have an answer as to why, haha.

Thanks, I'll try it.

 

[Miracle Man]

I have owned and used Dillon SDB and RL550 progressive presses. The SDB's worked well but die changes were a pain, so I ended up with 3 or 4 of them. I finally sold them all off and went with a RL550C. It works well but does take some fiddling and attention to detail, like they all do. Spare parts are all over the place as Dillon has made the same product, more or less, for years. I just converted and loaded 400+ 40S&W on my 550 this week. It worked fine.

I'm considering Dillon. I've heard a lot of good and a lot of bad about Dillon through the years. But that's with everything. I'll probably look for a month before I buy one.

 

[Miracle Man]

I've had four progressives in the last twenty-five years and finally discovered I never really needed any of them, but I wanted them. I never used them for rifle ammo, even .223, and probably shoot only around 10,000 rounds of handgun ammo a year. Simple without gadgetry and slow, my 1960s Texan Turret press that I've used for over forty years works fine for my needs.

Oh me too. I load the majority of my rifle ammo with an old Lee O press. I have ran some .223 plinker ammo on the 4X4 but that's all.

But my old press for pistol is just getting a little wonky. The shell plates won't set down on the priming ram for one example. I have to manually place the primer post in place before I fully lower ram.

Everything has just worked loose over all the years.

 

[tominboise]

Yeah, today I loaded 37 357 mag loads to use up some primers I had laying around, and used my Lee Turret press to do so. Not worth setting up the Dillon for a short run like that.

 

[austintexas]

presses

I started on an old Herters single stage, went to a Rockchucker (still have), to a used Star progressive, to a Dillon Square deal when they were $138, to a used Dillion 550, to a used Dillion 650. I'm down to 3 Square Deals (one large primer and One small primer and one odd ball, 223, I believe it came out of Lackland AFB, Bought used at a gunshow. and my old Rockchucker. I like my Rockchucker and Dillions, but If I didn't have a bunch to reload I would go with a upscale Turret. If Buying used get a Dillion, No BS warranty.
SWCA 892

 

[Huskerguy]

You specifically asked about the Hornady LNL AP press. I have one and it works very well. I have had it for several years, the usual timing issues but when I purchased some timing tools to make set up more precise, things really improved. I also have an older Pacific single stage.

My reloading buddy, 3.5 hours away has a Dillon 650 and two SDB's, one of which he wants to give me but I don't have the need or room right now. I have changed everything over on the 650 from large pistol to .223 and if you are good at following direction, it isn't a big deal. As stated above, the SDB is a pain with the proprietary dies. I also don't like how it is so hard to see down into the case after powder charging.

Frankly, and this is only my opinion from my experiences with these two Dillon Presses - I am not sold that they are as superior as some think. Perhaps I am not comparing apples to apples.

Likely, if I had to start all over again I would go with the 550. I can use my current dies and it has adequate number of stations. I also could be happy with my single stage alone. I can make so much ammo so quickly, I can't shoot it fast enough and my press sits. I am 68 and maybe I need things that take a little more of my idle time!

 

[Classic29]

Still using my RCBS Piggyback 2 purchased when Gander Mt was mail order. I’ve bugged them a few times over the years for parts, usually those plastic clutches for the shell plate rotator. Thought about upgrading a few times but it still works.

 

[dmar]

I’ve owned a Hornady LnL progressive since around 2007 and have been very happy with the machine. It’s very easy to swap calibers and switch between large and small primers. I have the case feeder for is, and it works well. There’s a fair amount of tweaking involved when you change up cartridge sizes, in terms of getting the cases to feed smoothly from the case feeder into the shell plate. Otherwise, it’s a pretty smooth operation. I really like the powder measure on the Hornady, very easy to set up and to adjust. I have a universal powder funnel instead of the caliber specific Hornady powder funnels, which I did not like. With the universal powder funnels, it runs/adjusts belling great. I believe the company that I bought the universal funnel from is out of business, but I’m sure there’s another manufacturer out there. I keep powder measure lowers set up for each caliber that I reload.

I also run a Dillon 650XL, and that’s a nice machine as well. Runs very consistent. I don’t care for the Dillon primer feed as much as the Hornady design, but it is less finicky than the Hornady primer feed. I believe Dillon changed the primer feed design on the new 750s. Overall, I’d say the Dillon is a little less finicky, in other words you don’t have to tweak it as much for it to run smoothly. That said, the Hornady is a good machine, and a little more versatile.

So, both have their pros and cons, it’s all what you get used to using. I started on a Lee Turret, and it was a great little press, but I could never go back to the tedious, time consuming operation of that machine. I like the progressive loaders!

Where are you in Ohio? If you’re close, you’re welcome to come over to try both machines. PM me if you’re interested.

 

[Ivan the Butcher]

In 1984 I bought a Dillon 450 that has been up graded to a 550b. I did a batch of 300 Blackout this last winter.

When I first bought it I did two batches of 9mm at 5000 rounds each, That fed my full auto for about a year, but that was my standard size batch for 9mm. I did one 20,000 round batch of 223 and still have about 3000 left. When I did Cowboy Action I did 45 Colt in 4000-5000 round batches and 38 Special in 2000 round batches. I do 45 ACP in 5000 round batches too. Some cartridges it is easier to get the quantities of brass to do large batches.

With the tool head changes, Cartridge changes can be as quick as 30 seconds. But if you need to change primer size add 10 to15 minutes. Powder drops change in a minute, but it can take 5 to 20 minutes to adjust to a new load. I used 6.7 gr WW231 in 45 Colt, then empties the powder and used with Clays for 44-40 (4.4 grains in the same setting)

Shell plates are very interchangeable: 45 Colt, 45 S&W Scofield, 44 Mag, Special & Russian and 44-40 all use the same plate. (along with 454 and 460 S&W) 40 S&W, 10mm, 357 Sig, 7.62x39 Russian, and several old military cartridges use the same plate. I used 380, 9mm, 223, 300 BO all on the same plate. They don't sell it that way, you have to order the parts the way you want! But it really works. I have 19 shell plates, I had them all except 45 Auto Rim and 8mm Lebel. But they invented some new cartridges, That I don't load, YET! I have about 40 of the powder funnels.

Coming up on 40 years, and still under the NO B.S. Warranty! (yes parts do break, but Dillon makes it good.)

Ivan

 

[310Pilot]

I have a Hornady Pro-jector, the "grandfather" of the Lock-n-load AP. It is about 40 years old, and just keeps on running. Yes, it needs periodic adjustment, but all mechanical items will. It is built like a tank, but with the finesse of a Swiss watch. Hornady has always been very helpful with support on the few occasions I have needed it. The new Hornady presses feature a lot of improvements, and I have been tempted to get one, but my old one is still working like gangbusters. I'll probably get one sometime, but keep my old faithful as a dedicated press for a single caliber, probably 45 ACP. The Hornady progressive is probably the best bang for the buck available.

 

[balin]

I started with a Dillon 550 years ago and am more then happy. I usually load up a couple thousand rounds of a caliber then move to the next one. I like spending more time shooting then I do reloading

 

[Miracle Man]

Thanks for all the info fellas.

 

[tlawler]

I'm considering Dillon. I've heard a lot of good and a lot of bad about Dillon through the years. But that's with everything. I'll probably look for a month before I buy one.

We’d be interested to hear about the “lot of bad” you’ve heard about Dillon.

I’m relatively new to reloading, I only got started around 2018. I started with a Lee Classic Turret and used that for a couple of years. Then after trying out a friends Dillon RL550B, I was sold. I found a used one locally on armslist that came with a ton of accessories. I’ve loaded over 20K rounds on the Dillon since I got it and it has performed flawlessly. Dillon support and warranty are exceptional. I’m very happy with my Dillon and don’t think you can go wrong if you go that route.

 

[Nightowl]

I started with a Herter's single stage press, went to an RCBS Jr. just because, and then to a Dillon 450. Sold it to a friend and bought a 550B about 30 years ago. I don't keep track but usually load over 10K a year, so it has been busy. I have had to replace a couple of small parts and Dillon has shipped them at no charge and quickly. I broke the tips off of two shell plates, the first due to my own carelessness, but Dillon replaced both at no charge!!
I bought an aftermarket roller handle here on the forum, which I really like as my hand was getting sore from the round knob on the original.
The Dillon is compact, efficient and easy to use. They also have videos on set up and maintenance that help a great deal, even to experienced users of the machine. Yes, I'm a Dillon fan!

 

[Rlg#17]

Dillon is the way to go. I currently have both a 450 set up for large primer and a 650 set up for small primer.

I started in the early 70’s with a Rockchucker and still have it. Customer service from the has been superb to say the least. They just rebuilt it two years ago for nada, zip, zero dollars. Idk why they haven’t responded back to you.

I quickly went to the 450, also in the 70’s for volume reloading. I just sent that back and had it rebuilt completely about two years ago. Again, nada zero, zip charged. They replaced the priming and powder systems completely as there were no parts available for the originals that were on it. The 450 is now relegated to large pistol, high volume reloading, we just don’t shoot that much of it. Mostly 41 and 44 mag, 45 acp.

The 650 does all of the small primer stuff and it gets used a lot! I don’t sit down in front of it unless I’m ready to load 5,000 rounds of a caliber on it. Last year, in 9mm alone I had loaded 25,000 rounds for the season. I thought we were done with matches and we came home and the wife asked how much ammo we had loaded. She wanted to do another the following weekend. An hour or so and I had what we needed. We usually use 1,000 or so 9’s each match, she shoots 10 divisions and I shoot 4-6.

We each shoot a couple hundred rounds every day in season, it’s just what we do.

I also, would like you to specify the “lot of bad” you’ve heard about them? Such generalizations of unqualified statements contain no substance in my opinion. More like cousin Eddie’s ex brother in law doan likke cus he broken it….

A Dillon, well maintained will outlast you and several generations. If you bubba it, it won’t. I have owned most brands, star, Hornady, Redding etc. got rid of all them. The only better one was a shotgun reloader, a Spolar out of kommiefornia! That unit with the hydraulic drive on it was just a beast on shotgun shells. It produced any caliber/gauge shotgun shell better then factory quality.

If I was you, and you are serious about it I would look to order soon. I checked on just the dies last week and they are saying 44 weeks out for delivery time. I didn’t check on how long for a press though. FYI, Scheels will occasionally have them in stock when no one else has them and they do ship.

Regard’s from the Bluegrass, Rick Gibbs

 

[glenwolde]

I too am a long-time Dillon user with a 450 I got in the early 80's that I converted to a 550 frame. Hard to beat a 550. I'd note though that the 550 is manually indexed so it may not be a fair comparison to auto-indexed presses like the Hornady. The upside is it reduces complexity. I still use the 450's manual primer feed as sometimes I find simple is best.