Thinking progressive.

[oldhickory]

For some time now I've been thinking about getting a progressive, or "one pull" press. I was pretty much set on the Lee Load master, but all of the sudden a Hornady Lock and Load has become available locally for $75.00 with 2 shell plates.
Before I commit to either, I would like to get some opinions on both from any of you guys who have used them.

The Hornady looks to be a well built machine, but lacks some of the things that the Lee will do, also I've only ever been disapointed with one Lee product in all the years I've been using them, (the "perfect" powder measure was a major disapointment).

In short...Who's used either/or and what do you think of them? I've been looking hard at the Lee, but the Hornady seems too good of a deal to pass-up.

[Lloyd Smale]

go with the horndy or a dillon
For some time now I've been thinking about getting a progressive, or "one pull" press. I was pretty much set on the Lee Load master, but all of the sudden a Hornady Lock and Load has become available locally for $75.00 with 2 shell plates.
Before I commit to either, I would like to get some opinions on both from any of you guys who have used them.

The Hornady looks to be a well built machine, but lacks some of the things that the Lee will do, also I've only ever been disapointed with one Lee product in all the years I've been using them, (the "perfect" powder measure was a major disapointment).

In short...Who's used either/or and what do you think of them? I've been looking hard at the Lee, but the Hornady seems too good of a deal to pass-up.

[BD]

If you decide against the Hornady, I'd buy it in a heartbeat for $75.

BD

[Heavy lead]

75 bucks? This is an awesome press. 75 bucks is a steal! If you don't like it, I'll double your money for your trouble.

[billyb]

bought a lee load master ,the lee book stated that it is the reloader for those that like to tinker,constantly having to adjust the thing. Used it for a year or so gave up and bought a dillon 650,added a case feeder,i like the 650. the load master is in a box,one day soon i am going to find all the accessorys and offer to sell the stuff i have left to some one that likes the thing. havent tried the hornady,read a review in handloader comparing the dillon and the hornady IIRC the article said both were good machines. Bill

[Heavy lead]

The only progressive I have is the Hornady LNL. I wouldn't buy anything else, that's how well I like it. Not saying there is not one better, just saying there is nothing I could change on the Hornady to make me like it better.

[Calamity Jake]

about a year age I sold a LN for a widow of a good friend and shooter, it had 7 shell plates
and 25 LN bushings. I got $700 for it.

You better get that one at $75.

I use a dillon 550 my self.

[oldhickory]

I've heard nothing but good things about the Hornady, and nothing but frustration regarding the Lee...The Hornady it is!

[zdogk9]

You don't buy that Hornady, you'll be on your death bed regretting it, you be waking up in the middle of the night in a cold sweat wondering "what did I do?!". You'll walk down the street people will look at you funny and whisper when your back's turned. Sounds like a heck of a good deal, I'd be on it like ugly and fat on Rosie.

[oldhickory]

You don't buy that Hornady, you'll be on your death bed regretting it, you be waking up in the middle of the night in a cold sweat wondering "what did I do?!". You'll walk down the street people will look at you funny and whisper when your back's turned. Sounds like a heck of a good deal, I'd be on it like ugly and fat on Rosie.

Talked to the fellow today, he's boxing it tonight and I'll have it tomorrow.

[legend]

you got a great buy!
dillon 550 is a great press when you are ready to move onward.

[JDFuchs]

If he has a few more Hordany's at $75.00 Ill take one and give you something for your time.

I have a used Hordany a modle or two before there current one. I'm happy with it, but another would be great!

[Old Ironsights]

No such thing as a "Thinking Progressive"...

Say what?... This ain't the Political Sub?

Never mind. ;)

[Heavy lead]

OIS,
Maybe we should call them democratic presses, or socially progressive presses, and yeah you'd have to load only green bullets on them, maybe melted, heat treated solid waste materials.:roll:

[Old Ironsights]

Enviornmentally sustainable hazardous waste/metal rapid recycling centers?

[Bret4207]

For $75.00 I can only say one thing- BUY IT NOW!!!!!!!!!! I'm thinking of getting one too.

[GrizzLeeBear]

...a Hornady Lock and Load has become available locally for $75.00 with 2 shell plates....

If I were you, I would not be so bold about posting such crimes on internet message boards.

THIEF! :mrgreen:

You got a SAWEEEET deal. :drinks:

[bigbird1]

you got a great buy!
dillon 550 is a great press when you are ready to move onward.

not to stir the pot, but the hornady is better that a 550, the 550 in not even a Progressive, the hornady is more evenly matched with the 650 dillon, in fact the 650 and hornady lock n load are about a tie, so if you want to move up you would have to go to the next dillon (1050). for 75.00 you did great and will never regret it, I have a lock and load and love it. but I'm sure the blue people will have something to say :mrgreen:

[DLCTEX]

I have a Lee Loadmaster I like, but a LAL at $75 leaves no doubt as to which way to go. DALE

[Dale53]

I REALLY like my two Dillon 550B's. However, the PRESENT Hornady progressive press is really liked by the people that have them. From all things I've heard from people who should know, they are equal to the Dillon 550B. I can load 400-500 per hour on the Dillon. It does not have auto-advance, but it is so user friendly that does not seem to make much difference in production (your hand is already there to place the bullet, so no time is lost).

Some machines, with great specifications are just not user friendly. It is sometimes difficult to quantify that. The Dillon IS user friendly. That is why, when I added my second one this year, I decided to go with Dillon.

However, if I hadn't had a store of die heads for the Dillon, I would definitely have looked at the Hornady. My satisfaction level with the Dillon and their great service policies would have made it quite difficult to "abandon ship".

Dale53

[DaveInFloweryBranchGA]

I agree with Bigbird,

I've owned a 550B and now own a LnL. Bigbird is right, the LnL is the equivalent of a 650, not a 550 and is as fast as a 650. To upgrade from it, one would need to go to a 1050. It's the only press not made by Dillon that the KISS bullet feeder is made for. There's a reason for that.

Regards,

Dave

[dromia]

I agree with Bigbird,

I've owned a 550B and now own a LnL. Bigbird is right, the LnL is the equivalent of a 650, not a 550 and is as fast as a 650. To upgrade from it, one would need to go to a 1050. It's the only press not made by Dillon that the KISS bullet feeder is made for. There's a reason for that.

Regards,

Dave


I concur, I'm a very satisfied Hornady L-n-L user and can recommend this press highly. I'm sure that Dillon is a good product too but the L-n-L just costs less, and in your case Oldhickory a lot less :-D, so for me its a no brainer - Hornady.

[oldhickory]

If I were you, I would not be so bold about posting such crimes on internet message boards.

THIEF! :mrgreen:

You got a SAWEEEET deal. :drinks:

I'm just giving him what he said he wanted for it. :drinks:

[oldhickory]

I REALLY like my two Dillon 550B's. However, the PRESENT Hornady progressive press is really liked by the people that have them. From all things I've heard from people who should know, they are equal to the Dillon 550B. I can load 400-500 per hour on the Dillon. It does not have auto-advance, but it is so user friendly that does not seem to make much difference in production (your hand is already there to place the bullet, so no time is lost).

Some machines, with great specifications are just not user friendly. It is sometimes difficult to quantify that. The Dillon IS user friendly. That is why, when I added my second one this year, I decided to go with Dillon.

However, if I hadn't had a store of die heads for the Dillon, I would definitely have looked at the Hornady. My satisfaction level with the Dillon and their great service policies would have made it quite difficult to "abandon ship".

Dale53

I have Dillon's Blue Press magazine delivered from time to time, but the thing that steered me away from Dillon was all the add-ons. Seems like you never stop buying acessorys for them.

[870TC]

If I had to choose between the Lee or the Hornady..... I would pick a Dillon 550, No question. I've loaded many thousands of rounds a year on mine and no problems.

[bigbird1]

If I had to choose between the Lee or the Hornady..... I would pick a Dillon 550, No question. I've loaded many thousands of rounds a year on mine and no problems.

What???

[Dale53]

Oldhickory;

I have Dillon's Blue Press magazine delivered from time to time, but the thing that steered me away from Dillon was all the add-ons. Seems like you never stop buying acessorys for them.

Yeah, I hate cars for the same reason - all of those tires, gasoline, oil, etc:mrgreen:

Actually, I have very few "Add-ons" on my two Dillon 550's. One that I can call to mind is the tool and tool rack. I only need one, of course, but they are heaven sent. Previous to the tool rack I would invariably have to dig through a box of allen wrenches to find the one I needed (pain in the tuckus). However, the bolt on rack with tools (ALL of the allen wrenches and the die wrench is ALWAYS there and never in the way).

I have no desire for a case feeder (I switch between too many calibers to make that practical for me) so really there is little else (I do have extra powder measures on a few of the most used tool heads - saves set up time).

The fact that they are the most used Progressive (all right, "semi-progressive") Press out there is the reason for all of the accessories available. You sure don't have to buy them if you don't need them.

Dale53

[Hunter]

That is a great deal on a great press. Here is a link to an article I wrote on the Hornady L-N-L AP
http://ezine.m1911.org/HornadyLNL_frame.htm
I won't get in the whole blue vs red thing.

[imashooter2]

I would not have walked away from a LNL for $75. It might not be there when you get back!

[dromia]

Good article Hunter, thanks for the link.

[Hunter]

You are welcome dromia.
For that price I would of bought the press on the spot. I paid $20 for a Hornady Pro-7 (from a friend) that was about 25 years old and she still works great but there is all the differance in the world between that press and the L-N-L.

[Lloyd Smale]

I think the hornady is a good press and would never use the word good decribing a lee progressive. Ive used all of the dillons and have used the hornady too. You have to keep in mind a few things when deciding. First is brand loyalty. Dillon guys like dillons and hornady guys like hornadys. Why? because most have never loaded on both and if they have they never given the other a long enough run to really get the feel for it. I think more then anything its just getting familar with them. Ive loaded for many years on a dillon and find some of the ergonomics of the hornady not quite right. But im sure if i loaded on a hornady id say the same about a dillon. Another thing is your taking advice from guys who maybe have loaded 5000 rounds on there presses. Ive got dillons that have probably close to a million rounds loaded on them. i think if you weed through all the responses to these dillon vs hornady posts youd find that most of the loaders that do very high production loading favor the dillons. That been said the deal hornady has on the lock and load right now with the free bullets is awful temping. Id like to set one up in 500 linebaugh as you cant set up a 650 for that round. you can get a lock and load with a case feeder and free bullets for about the same price as a 650 without a case feeder. By the way if your pricing either of these you HAVE to take into consideration a case feeder. There both awkward without them. I can load faster on a 550 then i can with a 650 with no case feeder.

[Bret4207]

That case feeder adds some bucks for sure, but they sure look like they make things faster.

[TNsailorman]

I recently bought an older Dillon 450. I have been loading pistol for several years on a 550 but I loaded rifle on a RCBS Rockchucker. I am in the process of changing my rifles over to the 450. I like the solid head of the 450 a lot better for the rifles than the changeable heads of the 550. I also have upgraded the 450 primer system to the 550 style and added the auto ejection like the 550. I now have to great pair of machines to load just about everything. I am keeping the RCBS to load for black powder cartridges. I am a happy reloader. James

[Fixxah]

Hornady LNL all the way. Plus I got 1K free bullets. It's a steal and you'd be foolish not to jump on it.

[azduke]

I'm thinking about getting an RCBS progressive.Anyone have any comments on the RCBS.Planning on using it for both smokeless and black powder cartridges.Does anyone know if RCBS has a blackpowder measure or should I go with the Lee M55

[Lloyd Smale]

that free bullet deal is a hell of a deal. If a guy is smart enough to stock up on his rifle bullets instead of wasting it on handgun bullets your just going to blast into the dirt it makes that deal worth about 200 bucks!
Hornady LNL all the way. Plus I got 1K free bullets. It's a steal and you'd be foolish not to jump on it.

[jmorris]

that free bullet deal is a hell of a deal. If a guy is smart enough to stock up on his rifle bullets instead of wasting it on handgun bullets your just going to blast into the dirt it makes that deal worth about 200 bucks!

Thats what I did when I bought my LNL, makes it a good deal. It's not equal to my 650's, but a good deal none the less.

[Springfield]

I have 3 Dillons and no Hornady, but I wouldn't buy it just for the bullets anymore than I would buy a gun because of a free offer. I am gong to have the loader for YEARS after all those free bullets are gone.

[Paul Tummers]

For that money I certainly would buy the Hornady, add a case-feeder and a bullet-feeder and you are making ammo almost as fast as you can shoot it.
I do have a Dillon 650 myself, and a RCBS PRO 2000, upgraded to progressive, and I think, the RCBS is way better than the Dillon.

[Shiloh]

The Dillon 550 has loaded 10's of thousands of round for me and is still good to go for many many more. A very user friendly machine that when kept maintained and adjusted, loads ammo quickly and flawlessly. On top of that is Dillon's no B.S. guarantee and technical troubleshooting instructions.

They are a phone call away 1-800 762-3845. They have replaced parts that I damaged from a cross county move at no charge when I told them that it was my fault.

Shiloh

[Down South]

Hornady LNL is supposed to be a great press. I would like to have one myself. I’m surely not throwing rocks at my Dillon 550 though. The Dillon is a great machine and built to last for years. When I was researching progressives it came down to a decision between the LNL and the 550. I don’t remember all of the deciding factors now but the 550 won.

[Hardcast416taylor]

I`ve had 2 Hornady Pro-7 LNL presses. Both had a timing adjustment problem. The manual with them isn`t real clear on how to adjust the timing. I finally sent 1 back to the factory after doing everything but praying on the floor to it! I sold the other one to an eager buyer for almost what I paid for it new. I explained about the timing, but I don`t think he heard me. I do like the press, once I took off the auto prime assembly and the case kicker assemblies it works great and is safe now that the auto prime do-hickey is gone. :neutral:

[MtGun44]

Started with a D450 in the early 80s, updated it to the 550 primer and
powder systems. I added a 550B about 15 yrs ago and kept the 450+ as
a .38 Super only machine. I finally sold the 450+ a few years back and added a
second Dillon 550B so I don't have to change primer systems. These are
really good machines and when I am just turning out quantities of ammo,
they do a great job. I heartily recommend the Dillon 550B.

For piddling around loading 50 or 100 of something the Redding T-7 turret
is a wonderful machine, too.

Bill

[mike in co]

i still do some small lots on commom calibers on the dillon, just use my beam scale instead of the dillon powder measure.