Lee Progressive Press

[mrblue]

I am starting to look at a progressive type press. I would love a dillon but that woudl require me buying all new dies and equipment. I got most of the lee dies i want, and for the money a lee seems more of a choice for me. Can anyone give me tips on which lee press would be best for me. I want to do rifle dies, 3006 being the biggest caliber and then doing pistol in 38, 40, 45 and 380. ANy tips for a new progressive loader

[Alvarez Kelly]

You can use all your Lee dies on a Dillon RL450 or RL550. You might want to look into both.

[wrongway]

I believe with a Lee 4 hole turret you can set up for 4 different cals and won't have to keep changing dies just make sure you use the right powder and amount for what you're loading

[Mike Kerr]

Alvarez Kelly gave you good advise. Check into both brands. I have been using Lee Dies in several calibers on Dillon 450's and 550's for many years and they work just fine. The Dillon presses are very reliable and relatively problem free. Back in the 90's I loaded on Lee Pro 1000's and 2 different Lee Load Master presses. The Lee's have their place in the reloading world but a Dillon will serve you very well with few hassles.

[Rushthezeppelin]

Not sure you can do 3006 on a Lee progressive without taking out the auto indexing and using a shellplate meant for a pistol caliber. I know that's the case with 308. The case is so tall that it hasn't cleared the dies before the shellplate tries to advance.

[Ubet]

I agree with Alvarez Kelly. I own a RL550B, but I don't own any Dillon dies. I already had RCBS, Hornady and Lee dies when I bought the Dillon Press. For the calibers I load on the Dillon I just use the dies I already owned and they work fine.

In the same fashion I use the dies I already owned in my single stage press for calibers I don't feel the need/desire to load on the progressive press.

[r1kk1]

45 acp and 30/06 is the same shellplate on the 550.

Don't know about the LM

r1kk1

[gunoil]

Ak, said it rite, u wanting to do rifle. Hell, a BL-550 is only 240$, you can make it a RL anytime ya want. You could call it a kit from dillon if ya want. And the 550 may be the best all round press ever. The dillon company even offers a case feed for it. And the BL will load your rifle first nite u get it. You can learn and grow at your pace. Lee wil each your lunch if your not qualified on it, dillon 550 will love ya and not eat your lunch since you are starting. Call dillon, ya may have to wait 15 mins or more. Google BL-550.

BL-550 a great start for budget.

http://i1113.photobucket.com/albums/k511/putt2012/null_zps8d4692c7.jpg

made ya a vid:
http://i1113.photobucket.com/albums/k511/putt2012/A6B698E1-7957-4864-8B1E-4F4021631400-5667-000004EB0CEC6ED0_zpsf2614e71.mp4

[xacex]

Loadmaster will do 3006, pro 1000 wont. As far as turret presses, the lee classic turret press will do 3006, the plain turret press that has the taller base wont. Don't even waste your time with that turret. It makes a mess with used primers, and has no catch system for them. I do case prep on the classic turret, and load on the loadmaster.

[JeffG]

I am starting to look at a progressive type press. I would love a dillon but that woudl require me buying all new dies and equipment. I got most of the lee dies i want, and for the money a lee seems more of a choice for me. Can anyone give me tips on which lee press would be best for me. I want to do rifle dies, 3006 being the biggest caliber and then doing pistol in 38, 40, 45 and 380. ANy tips for a new progressive loader

I have a Lee Cast Single Stage and a Loadmaster. I wanted the 'blue thing' but came upon a deal on a Loadmaster for $100 and didn't pass it up. I like it and it's working fine for me. The previous owner was loading .223 and .40 S&W. I am not loading any rifle on it, just 9mm and 45 LC. I am using a mix of dies for the 9mm, a Lyman M die, a Hornady case activated powder measure, Lee's resizing, seating and taper crimp dies. Also using Lee's case feeder. Like others have noted, if you are not mechanically inclined or are expecting it to start reload with perfection right out of the box, it won't be for you. Once I got mine adjusted right though, I haven't had to touch it, just keep it lubed well and wiped down.

I would point out though that I do not use their priming feature, opting to decap and cap on the single stage. You won't have to look far online to find horror stories about their priming setup and all the bad things that can happen from misalignment, etc. It works well for some and others have had bad experiences. There's people out there (www.mikesreloadingbench.com) using them that have gone to great lengths to fix these things. I've just decided I like the idea of doing them individually on the single stage where there's no chance of blowing up a tray full of primers and I have a good feel on each one.

I have no doubt I have less money tied on the Loadmaster than if I'd bought the Dillon. Last I looked, the base Loadmaster was on Midway for $159

[David2011]

Mrblue,

Go for the Dillon. I owned two 550s for a while until I decided to replace one with a 650. I purchased the one I kept new in 1991. It hasn't needed much attention but when a part starts to wear a call to Dillon had parts on the way promptly. Never a charge, not even for shipping. Sometimes they sent more parts than I thought I needed but they insisted. When you do need new dies, Dillon dies have some nice features, especially for cast boolit loaders. You can clean the seating die without removing the die from the toolhead and losing the adjustment.

I have 3 RCBS and 3 Dillon presses so don't think I'm too wrapped up in drinking the Kool-Aid. I just like stuff that works when I want it to.

David

[dudel]

You can use Lee dies with the RL550b. I do. Some of the Lee dies have short threaded sections. The trick here is to mount the lock die UNDER the toolhead. I only had to do that with a Lee 45 ACP die used for 45 GAP.

[mrblue]

So does anyone have a dillion to sell me than? LOL

[dudel]

So does anyone have a dillion to sell me than? LOL

Dillon and Brian Enos come to mind.....

[mrblue]

I meant a used one

[r1kk1]

Used go for close to new price. Hard to find a bargain especially since Dillon holds its value.

Mine is an old 550 and still kicks out ammo without a hitch.

Take care

r1kk1

[seagiant]

Hi,
The best deal in the reloading world IMO is the Dillon RL-450 in original configeration! You will however need to beat the bushes a little!

[typz2slo]

I have been loading on a Lee Classic Turret press and have had good luck with it. I want to step up to a progressive and looking at the Loadmaster. A friend of mine has a 550 and really likes it but it costs quite a bit more than the Lee. I know the Dillon is top of the line but I dont shoot enough to spend that much on a press.

[DaveInFloweryBranchGA]

One of the biggest points that stands out here is any brand of dies will fit on anyone's progressive press these days thanks to uniformity of thread sizing on the dies/presses. That said, you have the option of buying any brand of press you want.

Before you run out and buy a brand of press based on recommendations, I strongly advise you to do some research and find out what all brands of press have to offer.

I didn't when I bought my first progressive/turret press and bought what the majority recommended - a Dillon 550. Mine was defective (The frame I believe.) and I had primer problems from the start. Dillon sent me a bunch of parts for free, but the press never worked right. On top of that, I absolutely detested having a "progressive" press with manual advance when it had an operating handle on the right hand side. Why should I have to advance it manually? Finally, between those two issues, I sold it to a friend. He ended up sending the press frame back to Dillon and they replaced the frame. To this day, I'm not sure exactly what was wrong with that press, but something wasn't right. Either a casting defect or a machining defect I suspect. So even high priced presses can have problems.

That said, most any of the brands available now can be made to work quite well, depending on your level of mechanical aptitude. Some brands require more tuning and more maintenance (Lee). Some require very little maintenance/tuning once set up (RCBS). Some people have problems with changing from one brand of progressive to another, because it's different than what they're used to. Some people change and are happier with another brand.

I've went from Dillon (550 hated it) to a Hornady LnL (Loved it, but grew bored with it over the years) to an RCBS Pro 2000 auto advance. I've also loaded on a 650 and while it's a good press, it lacks features I find to be critical to me. I also have never cared for any tube fed primer system and have seen them give difficulty with every brand out there. Others have problems or can't make work the strip primer system my RCBS comes with.

The point of all this is you should go look and research the features each and every one of the presses in your price range has to offer, from the manufacturer's websites first, then ask questions about how the owners like the presses and the features you are interested in. You may find yourself with a totally different press than you originally were advised to buy.

[typz2slo]

Dave you hit the nail on the head for me. I just couldn't see spending that much money on a press that I had to advance by hand. That doesn't seem like any advantage over my classic turret press. I am between a loadmaster and a hornady. As of now the price of the lee is hard to beat.

[r1kk1]

Dave you hit the nail on the head for me. I just couldn't see spending that much money on a press that I had to advance by hand. That doesn't seem like any advantage over my classic turret press. I am between a loadmaster and a hornady. As of now the price of the lee is hard to beat.

The difference between turret and 550 is 550 does up to four things at one time, turret one. So when shellplate is full, each pull of the handle results in a loaded round. Not so with a turret.

http://ultimatereloader.com/tag/progressive-reloading-press/

Watch the LM videos carefully to see what he has done to solve priming issues. If I was down to the two choices you mentioned - LNL.

Take care

r1kk1

[garym1a2]

I have a loadmaster, pro1000, a classic cast turrent and several lee single stages.
You can use the loadmaster if mechancally well inclined. Just don't expect to get the primer system to work. Mine never did.

I tend to get the most use out of the classic cast turrent press and its primer system works.

For Rifles I do not think the 550B can be beat.

[TCStehle]

For me it's hard to beat the Lee Pro1000 for cranking out lots of small rifle and pistol rounds. I have two of them and reload 223/380/9mm/38/357/357sig/40s&w/44/45acp/45lc. I use a separate single stage Lee Reloader press with the Lee factory crimp dies. The extra crimping step is my final inspection point for each round before it goes in the ammo box.

For my larger rifle calibers 3006/6.5x55/3030/250savage where I don't necessarily need hundreds of rounds I use a Lee Turret press with the same 3 hole turrets the Pro1000 uses. Granted it's a slower process but for me the single shell holder system seems to provide a stouter more positive feel when full length sizing and priming.

There's no doubt Dillon makes great equipment but for me I got started on the Lee stuff 25 years ago and never wanted to "retool" so to speak.

[robertbank]

Here is something to ponder. Almost 90% of the shooters attending the IDPA US NAtionals use Dillon equipment to load on. Why? Because it works and if something breaks Dillon replaces the parts. My 550 has had the entire lower replaced for free and continues to soldier on. The case feeder is a blessing if you load a lot of handgun ammo. I do. For small lots of rifle I still use my Rockchucker. The latter is a newer version with a broken primer arm. I use my Dillon to prime my rifle cases.

Take Care

Bob

[DaveInFloweryBranchGA]

Robert, some comments in red in the quote.


Here is something to ponder. Almost 90% of the shooters attending the IDPA US NAtionals use Dillon equipment to load on. For me, what most other guys are doing is an absolute non-seller for me. Why? Because a lot of them don't reload like I do. Second, years past, 100% of the electronic technicians where I worked at swore up and down I was wrong about two electronic testers giving different results and causing tons of board failures of expensive advanced technology boards going through environmental testing. They disparaged me quite severely for quite a long time about the issue. Finally, the manufacturing manager got a test engineer involved - low and behold, 100% of those men were wrong, the testers were measuring differently and causing almost all of the failures, not the boards. Dillon was the leader in quality reloading equipment and service 30 or so years ago. But today, they are seeing stiff competition in both areas, from more than one manufacturer.

Why? Because it works And a lot of guys buy what the majority of people recommend because they are new to progressive reloading and don't tend to think independently trying something with features that might better fit them.and if something breaks Dillon replaces the parts. So does Hornady and RCBS. In fact, to be honest, I've found RCBS to have the best customer service these days.

My 550 has had the entire lower replaced for free and continues to soldier on. I worked my Hornady LnL (an early one) hard for a decade and a half, during a time when I was shooting the most number of calibers and reloading more quantity in many of those calibers than I ever had. After some fine tuning very early on and Hornady upgrading their primer system to a steel tubed version, I can't remember ever having to call for a failed part. I had extra case retaining springs and the first month, busted one of those, but after that, never damaged another as I got used to the machine. The RCBS Pro 2000 I currently own is known to last a nearly unbelievable number (excess of 1 million if I remember right from the guy over on The High Road whose had one forever) of cartridges before requiring a very specific part designed to wear. RCBS replaces those parts for free and gets them out quick.

The case feeder is a blessing if you load a lot of handgun ammo. I do. I do think Dillon has one of the better case feeders. The only drawback is you have to buy caliber conversions or parts of them to add a caliber. But that may be the nature of the beast with those.

For small lots of rifle I still use my Rockchucker. The latter is a newer version with a broken primer arm. Sell it and get a Lee Classic Cast single stage. I did my USA made Rock Chucker and am still glad I did. I use my Dillon to prime my rifle cases. I do the same with my progressives, but at this point, I pretty much load any volume of rifle cartridge progressively.



I know it sounds like I'm dogging Dillon here Bob, but I'm really not. They make good products, but they are no longer the only game in town these days. A man should really look at all the manufacturers and decides what features he wants before just going out and buying a specific brand.

BTW, I own, like and use many Dillon products as well. If the RCBS Pro 2000 wasn't available, I'd probably own a Dillon 650 now. But then, it still has features I don't like, such as that primer feeder system.

[seaboltm]

I use a Lee Load Master. I load many, many calibers. I can say for a fact that my Load Master will load 375 H&H, because I have done it, even with the very long 300 grain Nosler Accubonds. 30-06 and 308 use the same shellplate as 45ACP in the Load Master.

Now I will admit that I sometimes use a Lee Classic cast iron for resizing and simply seat bullets with the LM, but I have resized 375H&H with the LM, no problems.

[robertbank]

I agree Dave one should look around. For those with little experience looking around might not be of much use IF they are not sure of what they want. Of the three major suppliers of progressive presses, Dillon, RCBS and Hornady I doubt theor is much to choose between any of them. Some have features you may want that others don't which is nice as we do have choices. It seems to me if you intend to see yourself as a high volume reloader you might be interested in what those who shoot a lot use. Hence the reference to the US Nationals.

Take Care

Bob

[jmort]

You can't really go wrong with a Dillion, especially if volume is the goal. The Lock N Load is a good choice as well.

[Love Life]

IDPA has nothing to do with accuracy. If most of participants use Dillion, that is an endorsement for volume reloading which is not a bad thing. You commented that Savage dominates BPCR, but not if you count the winners/champions. Blanket comments fail to tell the whole story. You can't really go wrong with a Dillion, especially if volume is the goal. The Lock N Load is a good choice as well. If you are looking for accuracy, look somewhere else.

You may want to reference Mr. Tubb about loading accurate ammo on a Dillon. Depending on the powder used the dillon will load very accurate ammo.

I could care less what press someone uses, but lets not throw out provably false statements.

[jmort]

It does appear that some of the High Power competitors use Dillion. I have been lurking in BR forums.

[Moonman]

The competitive shooters that shoot ZILLIONS of rounds a year,

if using a Dillon to reload, it's probably NOT a 550 or a 650 press,

But the 1050 model, which is classified by Dillon as a commercial model

and comes with a 1 YEAR WARRANTY ONLY, not the no BS deal.

Ya pays ya money and ya makes ya choices. JMHO.

[robertbank]

IDPA has nothing to do with accuracy. If most of participants use Dillion, that is an endorsement for volume reloading which is not a bad thing. You commented that Savage dominates BPCR, but not if you count the winners/champions. Blanket comments fail to tell the whole story. You can't really go wrong with a Dillion, especially if volume is the goal. The Lock N Load is a good choice as well. If you are looking for accuracy, look somewhere else.

You obviously don't shoot IDPA. The whole scoring system is based upon accuracy then converted to time. I have no knowledge on what is accurate or not in th e sport of BPCR and never commented upon it.

I acknowledge the fact accuracy means different things to different people but for most a Dillon Progressive Press like the Honady and RCBS presses are quite capable of producing accurate ammunition. To suggest otherwise is just not correct.

Mooseman I agree those who shoot zillions of rounds per year likely use a 1050. Most of us who shoot IDPA and IPSC don't shoot zillions of rounds. I probably average 5K - 10K per year and do load for a friend of mine who shoots about the same. I use a 550. I would love to have a 1050 but just can't justify the purchase. Incidentally the 650 would likely be a better press for what I do but once you buy a press you kind of get married to the darn thing. I have six powder measures set up for various pistol calibers I load. Making the move to another press would just be an expensive headache I don't need.

Take Care

Bob

[r1kk1]

I would walk the line of whatever favorite discipline and note equipment used during national/state competitions. BPCR is for me, Black Powder Cartridge Rifle and I may have miss read a post where Savage is involved. Last time I checked it was Shiloh rifles. I guess tube guns are coming on strong in F class.

I've got my eye on a concentricity gauge and will have to do some experiments on the 550, COAX, Summit, Ultramag and Champion.

Take care

r1kk1

[jmort]

I was thinking of CBA. I been spending time on 6mm BR site and that was my point of reference, not High Power. And in IDPA accuracy at 60 feet is important. Apologize for clogging up this useful thread with bad info.

[geargnasher]

Here's some useful info for someone who is NOT a competitive shooter and doesn't have thousands of dollars in discretionary income to blow on equipment. I believe many of us, including the OP fall into this category:

Dillon ought to give their presses away for free, because the accessories that make them practical for volume reloading (case feeders and caliber components) and primer tube filling machines are VERY expensive. This is one area where Lee wins against everyone, hands down. 100 primers can be added in 20 seconds, and a case collator for the included automatic case feeder is $11.

Hornady isn't much different, although they "get" you with quick change bushings instead of expensive die plates. If one is looking to load multiple calibers, the cost of all the necessary gizmos outside of Lee can be quite prohibitive.

Lee is not near the quality of the other stuff, but it is affordable, depending on your definition. If I loaded 500 rounds of pistol ammunition per weekend, I don't believe I could afford NOT to own a Dillon or Hornady progressive press and all the gizmos. But, I no longer compete, and I might load 500 rounds per YEAR in any one caliber. That allows me to have a Lee press set up permanently in each pistol caliber, and the time savings of changing and setup more than offsets the cost of having them all on the benches.

Rifle stuff that won't go throught a Pro-1000 gets loaded on one of several Lee Classic Turret presses, in batches, because my volume needs are low and I believe it enables me to build higher quality ammunition.

Gear

[robertbank]

Gear for about $500 all in you can buy a Dillon 550 that will serve you a lifetime or more. Considerably less than "thousands' of dollars you quote. I think the Lee single stage is one of the best buys on the market. I have not heard that ever said about the Lee Progressives. One of our guys still runs a Lee Progressive and he spends more time making it run and trying to get consistent loads of powder charges from it than I think it is worth.

Over time I added extra powder measures for my 550 but that is for my own convenience nothing more. Now if you just load pistol a Dillon Square Deal is even less expensive. It isn't quite as versatile of a press for loading as it just loads pistol and for someone who shoots a only pistol it is a great press and light years better than the Lee Progressives. An older Dillon catalog quotes the 550 at $419.95 and the square deal at $365.95. I think Enos sells them for less than catalog but I am not sure. He doesn't ship to Canada. Dillon does.

I have a friend down in South Carolina who has the Hornady and loves his press. From what he says it runs flawlessly and has some features the Dillon doesn't have. Another friend down in Chilliwack used to run a RCBS and has since moved on to a 1050 - he shoots zillions. His only complaint that I ever heard from him was the primer system used by the press. Otherwise he seemed happy with it.

For anyone who shoots a lot of handgun rounds a progressive press is just so much faster than using a single stage. I don't shoot a lot of rifle so I load all my rifle on a single stage. It is slower but I have the time and my 550 is now set up with a case feeder and would be a pain to switch it back to do limited amounts of rifle. Guys who shoot a lot of 223 in their AR's that I know all use their progressive presses. It is just faster.

Shooting is not a cheap sport. Buying a quality press that will last a lifetime and more is not a bad move for anyone.


Take Care

Bob

[mrblue]

Great now Im rethinking a dilion for that Hornady. The only pro I see for the hornady is the 5 stations instead of the 4 that dillon offers. Meaning I could crimp on press.

[zomby woof]

I've been reloading on a Loadmaster for almost 25 years. It works for me in 9mm through 30.06. Do I wish I started on a Dillon that long ago? Maybe. However, the LM is a very versatile machine. It does everything I want it to.

[robertbank]

Great now Im rethinking a dilion for that Hornady. The only pro I see for the hornady is the 5 stations instead of the 4 that dillon offers. Meaning I could crimp on press.

With the Dillion you size, deprime and prime in Station 1, bell and fill the case with powder in 2, seat bullet in 3 and crimp in stage four for pistol.

Take Care

Bob

[r1kk1]

And the 650 is a five station press the 1050 and eight station affair.

I load .17 - 50 caliber sans bmg on the 550

Take care

r1kk1

[Love Life]

The Dillon will surprise you. Using ball powders it will load quality concentric ammunition that is very accurate.

Jmortimer is right in that if you just slap everything into the Dillon and start cranking the handle then your ammo will not be as good as the stuff you lovingly load on your single stage (at least rifle stuff).

I use a single stage for my long range stuff because I load it in 100 rd batches and I truly enjoy putting it together. To feed the varmint guns I use the Dillon. When loading 308 I use BLC-2 with 175 SMK and load those on the Dillon. That ammo will hold sub MOA way out there.

Summary: Presses are mechanical objects that will do what the user tells it to. Tell it to load awesome ammo and it will. Tell it to load garbage and it will.

Jmortimer- Your point was a good one and only need to be expanded upon. I apologize for my sharp retort earlier.

[jmort]

I appreciate your comment, but a little research revealed that Dillion progressives can produce exacting ammunition a la David Tubb as you noted. I completely underestimated what can be done on a Dillion Progressive. I bet you will see more BR shooters using the Summit as it gains in popularity. For me, I have a strong affinity for the 550 and the Summit, they make sense to me. Hopefully I will be able to add both to my bench. In the end my ignorance should have stayed my keyboard.

[Love Life]

If I make it down south in April I'll bring my Summit and you can give it a whirl. I am very impressed with the Summit, and it looks cool.

[jmort]

If you are driving, I have an extra cut propane tank you can have for smelting. The round bottom makes smelting a pleasure.