Progressive presses

[Mousehouse]

1hole got me thinking about progressive presses again when I was looking at going to a turret press for a third press.

I use to have a Dillon 650 years ago but sold it because it was collecting dust and I got burned out on shooting and everything related to it.

I am wanting to look at all of my options and would love some feedback on what people of this board are using. Pros and cons on the progressive reloaders you are using and why you decided on that brand.

Dillon
Hornady
Lee
RCBS
etc.

I am liking the Hornady at the moment. But Dillon has the 750.

Comments, thoughts?

[XDROB]

I like the Hornady. Because that w ad d the only press available. It was one week after Sandy Hook and the reloading section looked like the bread aisle before a winter storm. Luckily I grabed it before another guy who stopped to talk to his wife. I do not have any experience with any other presses. But I'm totally satisfied with the LnL progressive Hornady. It has done well for me. I load for pistol only. Any problems I have had and most of them were my fault. Hornady has taken care of me. Even when I told them it was my fault. There was no hesitation to send me what I needed.

Sent from my SM-N975U using Tapatalk

[Winger Ed.]

Nobody makes a bad one that I know of.
There's good reason why Dillon has almost a cult following.

I recently got a Hornady after being out of shooting much in the last several years and replaced a Hornady ProJector I'd had.

I really really like the new AP. The LNL feature is the solution for a problem I don't have,
and is their competition for removable shell plates.

There's a guide rod thing for the primer station that was a little goofy, and slips out at the top,
but a drop of JB weld settled it right down.
The new powder station, a 5th die hole, and being able to take cases in & out at any station makes up for it.
For quality and price, it's hard to beat. I'd buy it again, or recommend it.

[JeepHammer]

Since you owned a 650 you know the difference between manual index and auto index.

I think the question for me would be who had issues with what.

I still own a Lee 'Turret' (tool head) which allow for ultra fast caliber changes, and seriously speed up loading.
I still partner these in manual mode with my self indexing progressive presses to bend brass back into shape, tear down rounds that aren't quite right, no 'Mystery Rounds' on the bench... Ever.

I also had two Lee Loadmasters, one of which I beat off the bench with a hammer, the other is in the recycle bin, no amount of tinkering & tuning would make them run for very long, and the amount of quality culls they produced made them somewhere between useless and dangerous.

I don't care much about brand or 'color', what works simply works.
Dillion works out of the box. (Or they make it right)
With some tuning they work quite well.
Something better comes along I'd be glad to recommend it.

[Mousehouse]

I still have a use the first press my father and I bought when I was 10. 42 years and thousands of rounds of ammo loaded on a single stage Pacific. Still works great and I still use it from time to time. I am leaning towards trying the Hornady AP setup this time.

I noticed Dillon doesn't sell a 650 anymore. What did they change or add to the 750?

[rbt5050]

I like Dillon first and Hornady second. I had all most all these press in my life time, and it is in how much you want to spend
the Dillon 750 looks like they changed the prime system , I sold my 650 because of the priming system. I was all set to buy the 750 then some one offered be a good price on a 1050 so that is what I have now.
I also have a lock a load that I like. the only problem I had was with the primer rod falling out. once I got it adjusted right It works find.
so I would go with Dillon first ,Hornady second.

[dverna]

Three important questions:

How much will you reload.
How many calibers will you want to load in quantity
How much time do you want to spend reloading.

IMHO, there is only one choice - Dillon - you just need to answer the three questions above to pick the machine(s) that suits you.

Cost is a secondary consideration. A cheap press that is slow and/or troublesome is no bargain if you are not interested in tinkering.

I have downsized and down to four metallic progressives. Two of each 550's and 1050's. I reload to shoot not the other way around. Speed and quality are my criteria YMMV. I do not get my jollies doing it. It is a chore to be completed as efficiently as possible.

You will get both the right and wrong advice/answers with the question you asked. Do you want advice from someone who shoots 3000 rounds a year in 8 calibers or 20,000 rounds a year in 4 calibers? Someone who loves reloading for 20 hours a week, or hates it and reloads 10 hours a month? The right answer for one is the wrong answer for another.

[Budzilla 19]

Dillon, still got my Dad’s old 450, one 550B, 2- SDB’s, but still have my RockChucker!!! Other than single stage, bench is all blue!!! Just my opinion cause it may not work for you in your situation. Good luck.



Oh, I forgot, I just added a new MEC single stage press. So far, so good.

[Petrol & Powder]

DILLON

I actually prefer the Dillon 550 because I like the manual index. I've used the 650 and the 1050 and despite the added features of those fine presses, the 550 is my choice. I keep threatening to get another 550 so that I can have one press set up for small primer and the other set for large, but I seldom have to load large primer cases and just load them in batches when I do load them.

Not only is the Dillon an outstanding machine but their service is second to none. The service alone is more than enough reason to go with the Dillon.

A friend had a Lee progressive that he used for years, it was total JUNK. Lee may have improve things but it doesn't matter, I wouldn't even consider a Lee progressive.
The Hornady has a little more open distribution network than the Dillon and frankly, that's their claim to fame.

The Dillon 1050 is essentially a commercial reloading machine and is suited for competition shooters that require massive amounts of ammo. It's overkill for most users.
The 650 (and now 750) adds auto index, more stations and a lot of bells and whistles but it costs a lot. It also requires that you dedicate to the toolhead for that press.

The 550 is the middle ground between the SDB with its proprietary dies and the 650 with all the bells and whistles.

There are some fine turret presses out there and they have their place but I don't consider a standard turret press to be a true progressive press.

[Kevin Rohrer]

This is the most-asked question on this site. A Search will yield lots and lots of answers.

[Green Frog]

Or you could just get a Star Universal... the new owner of the company is assembling and restoring them and there is no more well made progressive press in the world! Just sayin'...

Froggie

[M-Tecs]

Personally I am a Dillon fan. I love my 1050's, really like my 650's and I sold my 550's when the 650's came out. I never really liked the 550's due to the manual indexing. Three friends went with the Hornady AP and two have since sold them and went with the Dillon 650's. I do not know of anyone that owns a current RCBS progressive. Some of the past RCBS offerings lost them future customers.

[oldhenry]

I have a Dillon 550B & a 550C: one setup for small primers & the other for Large. I prefer manual advance (about 10 years ago I finally ceased having nightmares about auto advance...…. those nightmares were brought about by a Green Machine).
I have a Redding Ultra Mag that I now use only for de-priming since I'm now a handgun shooter only. I have a Lyman AA that I acquired for sentimental reasons: can't remember using it last.

Everyone likes something different. I have friends that have Dillon 650s & love them. I don't know anyone that has a Hornady progressive so I can't comment there

If I decide to add another progressive, it'd be another 550.

[Walter Laich]

as a cowboy shooter I shoot pistols loads
the SDB is fine for me. I have dedicated tool heads for each caliber and can change out shell plates in less than a minute--I actually timed myself since I have no life to speak of

I grew up with single stage presses but when it was time to buy my own press the SDB was the one I went with--now have 4 so I must be happy

[Dale53]

The best all around progressive press is the Dillon 550B. I have loaded well over 100,000 rounds of both match pistol and match rifle on mine. Dillon's NBS warranty is JUST THAT. I can recommend this without reservation! I have no personal connection with Dillon. Just a VERY satisfied customer!

Dale53

[Rcmaveric]

I am using the Lee Loadmaster and it works pretty well for me.

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[375supermag]

Hi...
My son and I currently run two Hornady LnLs, one set up with small primer and the other set up for large primer. We have been cranking out ammunition by the thousands of rounds with no real problems. We also have a Dillon 550 that I am in the process of acquiring die sets so we can transition our large primer revolver loading over to the Dillon.
We still each have a RockChucker that we use at least weekly for load development and small batch loading.

At this point, I believe that Hornady makes a very good quality progressive press that functions very well.
I will need to run the Dillon for a while before I am ready to pronounce it the superior machine.

I did not buy it because I was displeased with the LnLs. I just got a good deal at an auction and I wanted to try a Dillon progressive press.

[tinsnips]

I have a Dillion 550 and a Hornaday LNL for pistols. I like both of them they work just fine unless I to something wrong. I use a coax for my rifle loads it works great also.

[Zingger]

I have owned my Dillon 550B for 2 years and they have been happy ones. I bought it via an online classified and was skeptical about the blue machine. It has since proved itself and loads a majority of the pistol rounds shot around here. I like the manual index, the auto would spook me a bit. If I had it to do again, I would do exactly the same. Dillon has been awesome to work with as well!

[DocSavage]

I load everything on my 650s except 45/70 and 40/65 any and all problems were corrected by Dillon with a phone call.