Buying a new Progressive

[omgb]

It is time to buy a new progressive. 6 years ago I sold my two Hornady Ammo Plants when I moved. Now, I wish I hadn't. I need to replace them with one, good, hassle free progressive for loading pistol ammo. Here's what I am considering the following:

Dillon SDB: Pros, its small, it is designed for pistol, it wont break the bank. Cons, it cant take a bullet feeder, it has only four stations and it uses proprietary dies which have a 26 week lead time right now.

Dillon 550C: Pros, it can load pistol or rifle, it uses standard dies, it is fast enough it can use a bullet feeder. Cons, it is just four stations, can't run a powder check with a bullet feeder.

Dillon XL750: Pros, it has 5 stations, takes upgrades, is auto advance, it's built to last. Cons, it is pricy at almost $1100, it has a case feeder which I'm not crazy about.

Hornady LNL: Pros, It is very affordable, its built solid, it can be upgraded. Cons, the priming system can be fiddly, it's large, the shell plates are pricy.

Lee Pro 6000: Pros, it's affordable, it has a good production rate, it is a fairly small foot print, it can load rifle calibers too. Cons, Lee stuff is very fragile, it may require a lot of "tuning"


So guys, what's your opinion? I'm not likely to load more than 300 pistol rounds a month. I've had negative experiences with all of these maker's products at one time or another...who hasn't? I can spend $1200 but don't really want to if I can avoid it.

[farmbif]

since you are already familiar with the lnl I would go with that. I saw one at buds last week for 549 online they might be less. I dont think the shell plates are much more expensive than Dillon, are they? unless you need one for not so common calibers that have been discontinued.

[Winger Ed.]

I got a new Hornady about 3 years ago and really like it.
I'm not too keen on the LNL feature.
It's a solution for a problem I don't have, but a little bit of JB weld fixed that.

However; I'm sure someone from the Dillon cult will steer you in their direction.....:bigsmyl2:

[Half Dog]

I’ve got a LnL. I can’t complain about it other than the number of die bushings I had to buy. The customer service has been great. I haven’t needed the progressive feature in quite a while but when I need it, I’ll have it.

[kungfustyle]

If you need two.....
I have inherited/bought a Dillon 550. I've worked with a Hornady LnL. Both are good machines... Get one of each. Sometimes you can get a deal on ebay or Facebook mkt place on the Dillon. I haven't seen many Hornady's on resale, that may tell you something. If you go the Dillon rout, you can leave one set up for small primer and one for large. Powder system is unreliable with the Dillon, smaller drops under 10 grains its pretty good, however, it sucks with 15g of H110 and forget Rifle loads I had almost a grain variance with H110. I solved this with the Lee Auto Drum Powder measure, if you want the secrets to it, PM me. It works like a dream. I want to get one for each of my toolheads and do away with the Dillon powder measure.

[45_Colt]

Since you are going to be loading pistol ammo, I'd go with the 550. They just work. Can take any industry standard dies, and placing a shell and boolit is not an issue. Easy: flip the star, place shell with right hand and a boolit with the left hand, run the lever down, back up and slight pressure at the top of the up stroke to seat a primer.

Next.

Way back I considered the SDB, but as you mention, proprietary dies and not so easy change over. Get the 550 and a light kit, no need for a powder check when you can see into the shell.

45_Colt

[bruce381]

I would get the 750 without all the do dads. I loaded on my 650 for years without the case feeder do not need it just fill the tube.
same for other crap NO strong mount, NO roller handle etc got up and running on stock machine added what i wanted over the years much cheaper this way.

Or go as 45 colt says get a 550 not a real progressive but works very well. Plus can always sell a dillion for what you paid for it.

[sukivel]

For what you describe…550c.

300 pistol rounds per month, why do you need a case or bullet feeder?


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[troyboy]

How many different cartridges? Dunno with 300 a month one caliber progressive would be quick but different calibers, Redding, Lee, Lyman, Rcbs turret? Believe you me, I'm no Dillon fan, but from a versatility standpoint the 550 looks intriguing.

[Finster101]

I have and love the Dillon 650, so I am fully in the 750 camp. You will not regret it.

[tew3006]

I have the dillion 550 and the hornady lnl. I love both of these presses! I've had to fiddle a little more with the hornady to make it run as smooth as I like, but once I got it dialed in I haven't had to touch it. I have it set up for 9mm and that's all I load on it. I load a few calibers on the dillion, it just seems easier to change calibers. I wouldn't have a problem with either one of them if I could only have one press.

[dverna]

300 rounds a month???

Less than an hour on a 550 if in one caliber. You will spend more time doing caliber changesif shooting more than 3 calibers.

[JimB..]

I liked having a SDB set up for a single caliber. I eventually sold it and now have a few 650’s. In between I had a LNL ammo plant which required fiddling, but the deal breaker was the constant noise from the bullet feeder so it went on down the road.

What calibers are you planning to load, I’ll let you know if I have a set of SDB dies. My buyer didn’t want them all.
If you’re not too far, I have a 650 that is excess to my needs. I hate to ship it though.

For value on Dillon I generally think 75% of new.

[nueces5]

For the number of shots he does per month, I would go for a 550 dillon

[megasupermagnum]

It is time to buy a new progressive. 6 years ago I sold my two Hornady Ammo Plants when I moved. Now, I wish I hadn't. I need to replace them with one, good, hassle free progressive for loading pistol ammo. Here's what I am considering the following:

Dillon SDB: Pros, its small, it is designed for pistol, it wont break the bank. Cons, it cant take a bullet feeder, it has only four stations and it uses proprietary dies which have a 26 week lead time right now.

Dillon 550C: Pros, it can load pistol or rifle, it uses standard dies, it is fast enough it can use a bullet feeder. Cons, it is just four stations, can't run a powder check with a bullet feeder.

Dillon XL750: Pros, it has 5 stations, takes upgrades, is auto advance, it's built to last. Cons, it is pricy at almost $1100, it has a case feeder which I'm not crazy about.

Hornady LNL: Pros, It is very affordable, its built solid, it can be upgraded. Cons, the priming system can be fiddly, it's large, the shell plates are pricy.

Lee Pro 6000: Pros, it's affordable, it has a good production rate, it is a fairly small foot print, it can load rifle calibers too. Cons, Lee stuff is very fragile, it may require a lot of "tuning"


So guys, what's your opinion? I'm not likely to load more than 300 pistol rounds a month. I've had negative experiences with all of these maker's products at one time or another...who hasn't? I can spend $1200 but don't really want to if I can avoid it.

I'm not a fan of the Dillon SDB at all. To be fair, I've never owned one, but there's a reason for that. They have so many drawbacks to other progressives I don't know why anyone messes around with them anymore. Maybe at one point they were cost effective? Today they cost ballpark similar to a 550. Actually a quick check shows the SDB costs MORE than a 550.

I think the Dillon 550 is a solid press, but it also seems outdated. With the stone simple primer tube, no auto indexing, no case feeder, no bullet feeder, just bare bones press, it is not fancy. The great thing is this old style press is time proven to work out of the box. While it's not fancy, nothing out there offers that turn-key ability like the Dillons. For $600 though, it doesn't come cheap.

I think the Dillon 750XL is probably the best press Dillon has going right now for the average guy. A good solid modern press that you can upgrade as needed. I see no reason to buy the ultra-expensive bullet feeder for 300 rounds a month. The case feeder can be super nice, but I'm not sure I'd spend for the electric hopper. This is the press I'd buy if I were to get a Dillon.

I don't know much about the Hornady LNL, but you do. I hear good things about them. For that price I'm not sure I'd buy them today. I swear they used to be much cheaper than Dillons.

I've had nothing but perfect luck with my Lee 6000. I haven't fiddled with the press at all, it just worked out of the box. The press itself is as solid as anything else out there, maybe more than most. I've not broken anything yet, but I suspect the main wear parts are going to be the auto-index clutch, and I can see myself breaking the case ejector which you have to pop off to change shell plates. Plastic parts are dirt cheap though. It's perfectly suited to doing 300 rounds a month trouble free.

It's really more a question of how much time you have. If you can spend 2-3 hours a month loading ammo, have you considered something like the Lee 4000? They currently cost the same as the 6000, but for your uses and concerns, I wonder if you may like the 4000's stupid simple priming system. It has the bulletproof 1000 frame/indexing, which I had and loved. Just a super simple all-manual press. You can use the case feeder or not, it comes with one though. It's definitely worth considering.

[rancher1913]

franklin arsenal finally released their new progressive and its worth look at, decent sale on them right now for the introduction. its a 10 station press so very versatile

[megasupermagnum]

franklin arsenal finally released their new progressive and its worth look at, decent sale on them right now for the introduction. its a 10 station press so very versatile

Wow, that's a nice looking press. That's a lot of money, but it's also making improvements in good areas, unlike Dillon which hasn't tried to do much of anything in about 30 years.

The ability to swage pockets, and trim brass on the same press, now that's one heck of a concept. Truly a press you can one and done even military 5.56 and 7.62 brass. And it comes already with a good case feeder for that price? Yeah, I'd pick this over any Dillon any day unless they turn out to be turds.

[poppy42]

300 pistol round a month! Get a Lee Classic turret, dies, powder measure and all the fixens! I crank out that many in one night! And do you almost have enough to buy another fire on with the money I have left over! I load 9x19, 9x18, 38 special, 357mag, 357 Max, 5.56, and 30-06 on my Lee turret with no issues what so ever. I don’t think I’ve got $1,000.00 in my set up. In fairness I’ve had it for quite a while and equipment has been added as needed. But still. 300 pistol rounds of one caliber a month is not a lot. I load that much for every caliber I shoot. I don’t feel that I load enough to warrant purchasing a Progressive! If I had to pick one it would probably be a Dillon but not one with proprietary dies. But that’s just me and my opinion for whatever it’s worth!

[Kenstone]

franklin arsenal finally released their new progressive and its worth look at, decent sale on them right now for the introduction. its a 10 station press so very versatile

It's actually Frankford Arsenal:
https://www.frankfordarsenal.com/reloading-tools/presses-and-tools/reloading-presses/x-10-progressive-press-with-case-feeder/1178469.html
.

[deces]

With my limited & short usage with the Pro 6k, I would say it's a less of a headache than my LnL was. First I was always crushing the round spring that captured the cases to the shell plate, I would also have problems with powder binding up the primer cute and damaging parts on the press. Lee really simplified this press for the market and it works.

[JimB..]

Wow, that's a nice looking press. That's a lot of money, but it's also making improvements in good areas, unlike Dillon which hasn't tried to do much of anything in about 30 years.

The ability to swage pockets, and trim brass on the same press, now that's one heck of a concept. Truly a press you can one and done even military 5.56 and 7.62 brass. And it comes already with a good case feeder for that price? Yeah, I'd pick this over any Dillon any day unless they turn out to be turds.

They’ve been promoting them for over a year, but I don’t believe that they’ve sold one yet. I like what I’ve seen, and FA makes some great products, but I’d want to see some in the real world before deciding that it’s the best thing on the market.

[Sig]

To start, I'd want a press with at least 5 stations. That rules out the SD & the 550. I don't know enough about Lee to have an opinion so I'll leave them out also. That really leaves the LNL & the 750. I went the LNL route when I decided on my first progressive. I now have 2 with case feeders & bullet feeders. I have the Hornady case feeder on one & a 3D printed one from the thread on CB https://castboolits.gunloads.com/showthread.php?354324-Making-that-Bullet-Collator. I have to say I like the one I printed better than the Hornady. Both work very well but the Hornady is loud. My bullet feeder/collators are also 3D printed from the thread and are flawless. I had some minor issues early on with Winchester primers but adding a little bevel to the shuttle fixed that. The biggest issue I have is crimped primer brass. When I miss a piece & go to prime, I generally crush the primer & debris from it sometimes jams up the shuttle or seater. Takes about 10 minute to clean it out & get back running. I've spent a little time with a Dillon 650 & it was a very good unit. At the time of my decision the Dillon was more costly to add calibers. I don't think you'd go wrong with either.

[rancher1913]

They’ve been promoting them for over a year, but I don’t believe that they’ve sold one yet. I like what I’ve seen, and FA makes some great products, but I’d want to see some in the real world before deciding that it’s the best thing on the market.

they have been beta testing them for a long while, several utubes of the influencer reloaders using them but they havent been available to the public until just now. now we just somebody to make a drive for it.

[jmorris]

I would scratch the SD of the list, it was a good deal when it came out, about half the cost of a 550. Today, it’s a more expensive press and not as versatile. You can only load rounds that Dillon makes the proprietary SD dies for. All the others in your list use standard 7/8-14 dies.

I’d rather have a 650 but from your list would pick the 550 or 750.

[Rich/WIS]

For 3-400 rounds a month why a progressive?

[Three44s]

For 3-400 rounds a month why a progressive?

That’s what I keep thinking.

Three44s

[rbuck351]

I haven't used a lot of different progressives. I bought a 550b about 25 years ago and have found it to be a very solid, not fiddly press that works with very few issues. The only issue I have had is a primer will pop out of the primer feeder maybe once in a thousand. 400+ rounds per hr are easy without pushing. Caliber changes take a few minutes. I like the manual indexing as it doesn't advance if you get a stoppage which can then be cleared without messing up anything else.

Never had an issue that needed warranty so I can't comment on customer support.

[megasupermagnum]

For 3-400 rounds a month why a progressive?

Some people don't have the time. Even loading in batches, you would be really cruising to load 400 rounds of handgun on a single stage in 4 hours. You could just load 100 here and there as you get time, but it's easier for some to just rip out their ammo one and done. A turret press might be an option, but with how cheap a Lee 4000 or 6000 progressive is, why bother anymore?

[deces]

Some people don't have the time. Even loading in batches, you would be really cruising to load 400 rounds of handgun on a single stage in 4 hours. You could just load 100 here and there as you get time, but it's easier for some to just rip out their ammo one and done. A turret press might be an option, but with how cheap a Lee 4000 or 6000 progressive is, why bother anymore?

I would like to inform people that the Lee Pro 4k is not really a press you want to get if you intend to load rifle rounds that are larger than .223. The Pro6k would suit that need just fine.

[JimB..]

they have been beta testing them for a long while, several utubes of the influencer reloaders using them but they havent been available to the public until just now. now we just somebody to make a drive for it.
Where is it for sale? I haven’t seen street price on them yet. I’m interested but will probably wait for the price drop after the early adopters and press collectors get theirs.

[ddeck22]

I have an LnL that I got from craigslist. It's very versatile and I have had no problems. I use it for everything except swaging. I've never had a problem with the priming system

If you check FB Marketplace and craigslist you will sometimes find deals. I paid $300 for mine 2 years ago, but it came with a bunch of extra things. I also found another last year from someone getting out of the game for even cheaper than that.

[jetinteriorguy]

[QUOTE=poppy42;5572665]300 pistol round a month! Get a Lee Classic turret, dies, powder measure and all the fixens! I crank out that many in one night! And do you almost have enough to buy another fire on with the money I have left over! I load 9x19, 9x18, 38 special, 357mag, 357 Max, 5.56, and 30-06 on my Lee turret with no issues what so ever. I don’t think I’ve got $1,000.00 in my set up. In fairness I’ve had it for quite a while and equipment has been added as needed. But still. 300 pistol rounds of one caliber a month is not a lot. I load that much for every caliber I shoot. I don’t feel that I load enough to warrant purchasing a Progressive! If I had to pick one it would probably be a Dillon but not one with proprietary dies. But that’s just me and my opinion for whatever it’s worth![/QUOTE
This is what I’d recommend, but within the list you provided I’d go Dillon 550. I have both of these and if I could only keep one it would be the Lee Classic Cast Turret, mainly because it’s economical especially for having multiple turrets already set up ready to go, and it’s the simplest most foolproof press I’ve ever had that will produce a pretty good amount of ammo in a short time. Literally it’s only drawback is that it takes four pulls of the handle to produce each round. The only improvements I’ve made were adding the roller handle, case ejector, and the strong mount all from Inline Fabrication. These improvements aren’t a necessity but I sure like them, the case ejector speeds things up enough to make it worth having, the roller handle eases the need for so many pumps of the handle, and the mount is very convenient for holding bins and just making things more sturdy.

[Rapier]

Which one can be used as a single stage press or as a progressive. can turn forward or backwards, uses standard dies, etc. I own two such models, a PW Metallic II and a 550B. The PW allows you to mount a 2nd powder throw for case filler when loading cast bullets.

[sukivel]

For 3-400 rounds a month why a progressive?

Easy now…he wants it is all that matters…


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[sukivel]

Which one can be used as a single stage press or as a progressive. can turn forward or backwards, uses standard dies, etc. I own two such models, a PW Metallic II and a 550B. The PW allows you to mount a 2nd powder throw for case filler when loading cast bullets.

A second powder throw for case filler…

Whoa, that just blew my mind.


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[Sig556r]

I vote 550, got 3 of 'em

[omgb]

Because, loading pistol ammo is boring. I want to be done with it and on to the range in an hour or so. Plus, I have a feeling my son will be hitting me up for 9mm too so my production just may double.

[omgb]

Can the 550C use a Hornady or RCBS measure?

[JimB..]

Because, loading pistol ammo is boring. I want to be done with it and on to the range in an hour or so. Plus, I have a feeling my son will be hitting me up for 9mm too so my production just may double.

just checked, only have SDB dies for 45lc and Super 38.

When it becomes easy to crank out inexpensive and good ammo, you’ll naturally make more of it. I tend to load up an ammo can or two at a time, you just get in a rhythm and with pistol rounds you almost never run out of powder (why you want a powder hopper alarm).

[megasupermagnum]

Which one can be used as a single stage press or as a progressive. can turn forward or backwards, uses standard dies, etc. I own two such models, a PW Metallic II and a 550B. The PW allows you to mount a 2nd powder throw for case filler when loading cast bullets.

The Metallic II is basically a turret press.

I see no reason why you couldn't do this with a Lee Pro 6000. It takes 3 seconds to pop the indexing rod out.

[rancher1913]

Where is it for sale? I haven’t seen street price on them yet. I’m interested but will probably wait for the price drop after the early adopters and press collectors get theirs.

https://www.midwayusa.com/product/1024875156

looks like they sold out already.

[JimB..]

https://www.midwayusa.com/product/1024875156

looks like they sold out already.

From the comments it seems that 50 presses were sent to testers/evaluators but that none have been sold yet. Still, midway wouldn’t be taking orders if they weren’t coming fairly soon.

[Kraschenbirn]

Why over-complicate things? For '300 rounds a month' and hassle-free', I think I'd look around for a clean Dillon RL 450 and get on with it. Btw, when I say 'RL 450', I refer to the original model from way back when, not the 'RL 450 jr.' marketed a few years ago as in 'intro-level' progressive. My 450 is over 40 years old and has reloaded between two and three hundred thousand rounds without a single major issue. (The occasional minor 'small parts' things have, without fail, been managed within a few days thru Dillon Customer Service.) Okay, the 450 has only four stations, doesn't auto-advance, and won't accept a case feeder. These days, I leave mine set up for 9x19 (I also have an SBD that I can 'quick change' between .45 ACP and .38/.357) and, after filling the powder reservoir and a few primer tubes, can crank out 300 rounds between cups of coffee.

Just my nickle's worth...

Bill

[deces]

$75 for a Frankford Arsenal Shellplate :coffeecom

[rancher1913]

From the comments it seems that 50 presses were sent to testers/evaluators but that none have been sold yet. Still, midway wouldn’t be taking orders if they weren’t coming fairly soon.

they had them for sale a week ago, in stock, so however many they released to the regular public went quick.

[rancher1913]

$75 for a Frankford Arsenal Shellplate :coffeecom

still cheeper than a dillon shell plate

[45_Colt]

still cheeper than a dillon shell plate

Which Dillon? Most are less in price.

45_Colt

[Apple Man]

I am getting back into pistol reloading after a long hiatus. Have one of the early 550s.

Dillion has excellent customer services, they sent me some parts back then and in retrospect it was "operator error":-?

[omgb]

I would buy the 38 super if the price is right.l

[truckjohn]

Yeah, 300+ rounds a month is definitely well into progressive territory.

After running a 3-station Lee Pro 1000 - my next progressive will have a powder check die station. No matter what I did or what powder I used, I would get periodic squibs with no powder in them. Then, I had to look inside each and every single round to make sure, and it ruined my enjoyment.

While nobody knows what the future will bring, Lee and Hornady have both discontinued lines, leaving customers hanging. My brother ended up with an older Hornady progressive and parts have been unobtanium for 10+ years.

[Kai]

Ahhh the can of worms question. I have a hornady lnl and a couple of dillon sdb presses. The lnl you are familiar with. I have had the sdb presses for about 25 years from when the cost was considerably less. Dies were accumulated over time to where I load 8 different cartridges on the sdb. 500rnds an hour is not difficult. It's a great compact press with a consistent accurate powder measure. The other thing with dillon is their no questions asked warranty. They will gladly send not only replacement parts but also extra parts at no cost. As a note on die availability. You mentioned a long wait time. A friend of mine ordered 44wcf dies and although he was told it would be several weeks the dies showed up in only a few days. Maybe he just got lucky.

[warren5421]

I have several SDB's all used the highest I paid was $200. I have sent 3 back for rebuild as they went through a flood and were rusted enough that they didn't work. Mr. Dillon ot the kids was running the company at the time. About to weeks and they came back new. I have a 550B that has worked from 1998 putting out enough ammo for 6 people shooting SASS for 10 years. It keep my .45-70 feed with 300-400 rounds a month with spikes to 1000 rounds. All I have used is Dillion except for my RCBS single stage press. You have to look at you picks and decide which one fits all your needs. I have been lucky as have not had any rounds loaded without powder. Flipped primers some times.

I like the SDB as it has a small foot print. I like the idea of living each set up for one round. .32 S&W Long, .32 H&R Mag, 9mm, .45 ACP.

[PHyrbird]

Traded for a Dillon 400 decades ago, got the 550 upgrade parts. It all works. Had lee, RCBS, Lyman, CH. Now have settled on: Dillon for high volume, not too many adjustments & tweaking to change cartridge + the dies change fast if you leave them in the head. (store in a square tupperware freezer container) CH for heavy work, swaging, stiff sizing, RCBS turret for rifle sizing, measure headspace w/ the Hornady LnL tool for a caliper. Have a Lyman 310 turret for small work. A Lee hand press to seat & crimp while watching TV. Dillon measure is way more accurate than most others, yeah there are a few flyers, but we don't need hot loads dropped instead of weighed. A Quinetics hand measure is more accurate than 9 of 10 other measures. (it's the slider action) And faster on a case tray. Also consider dropping 2 per case to hit target charge, statistically flyers will cancel. (VERIFIED) For the Mag pistol/rifle rounds my best measure is a digital measure, the Frankfort Arsenal is my choice. BUT it took 3 tries to get one that would level & have no drift of drops. With the FA you can fill a tray of 50 in about 15min, plus use XL or Google sheets to edit the load data in the app. One I might consider to add could be a Lyman or Redding turret, seems they have less "spring" in the head mechanism. The RCBS is OK but I think the others have less play. Note Lee warranty means you gotta pay half price for replacements, Dillon FREE, RCBS sometimes a pain, CH a lot of Discontinued, since Lyman joined the Corp they are not interested. I've little warranty experience w/Hornady, but twice they have replaced stuff no charge, I was out return shipping.

[Lloyd Smale]

ive owned 5 square deals with there short throw there as fast as a 650. lost them in a fire. today i have two lock and loads that i wish were burned in a fire and two 550s which in my opinion is the ideal press for 95 percent of shooters. no brainer if you ask me

[David2011]

At one time I had a Square Deal B and two 550s on the bench. Got my first 550 direct from Dillon in 1991. The 550s were set up for large primers on one and small on the other. It was convenient but not life changing. I had recently purchased an STI Edge in .40 for USPSA and was shooting enough per month that a 550 was taking a lot of time to keep up so I sold one and bought a 650. It will crank out 300 rounds in 20 minutes. The ammunition is very consistent and fully adequate for USPSA action shooting. I mostly use it for .40 and .223 and tend to load large batches to reduce the number of times I have to change caliber setups. Currently I have one each 550 and 650. The SDB was sold because I just didn’t use it. Compared to the 550 it just wasn’t as nice to use.

The 550 loads most of the rest of my pistol cartridges. There’s a way to change primer size very quickly. Several YouTube vids show how. I don’t know why some say that the 550 isn’t a true progressive. It gives a loaded round with every stroke of the lever. Advancing the shell plate manually is a non-event. I’ve loaded as small as .380 and as large as .45-70 on the 550. Powder metering with H4895 and IMR4895 is more consistent than with my RCBS Uniflow.

A friend who owns a Hornady Ammo Plant was using my Dillons after he moved for a while. He said that the Dillons ran much more smoothly than the AP. Incidentally, I load all of my rifle cartridges with which I might hunt on single stage presses as well as the big bore (.44/.45 Colt) pistol cartridges. I do all load development on a single stage. I have some personal limits. For runs of 60 rounds or less I always use a single stage unless a progressive is already set up for that exact load including the powder charge. My minimum for setting up a progressive is 100 rounds. It’s not worth the time for setup to load less than 100.

While I’ve never used a Lee progressive, I don’t want to based on what I’ve seen on this forum. I don’t want a Hornady based on my buddy’s input and he has excellent mechanical skills. The Dillons I have are completely satisfactory. As pricey as they are, Dillon’s pistol dies are worth every penny if you load bare lead wax lubed boolits because the seating die is so easy to clean.

[Lloyd Smale]

tell you another reson to buy dillon. i had a fire and lost all ny sqare deals and my first 55o.dillon claims a no bs lifetime warantee so back then i called them and they blew me a way. thet said they would send me a 550 or a square deal for free!!! i tpold them id gladly take a 550! it showed up 5 days later with a strong mount 6 die holders and 6 of the most common shell plates. now ive had good service from hornady and rcbs but i surley doubt they would go that far

[lesharris]

I have Dillon 650 and love it. Not made today. Buy used with die set and case feeder. Or Dillon 750. You will be happy.

[JimB..]

I would buy the 38 super if the price is right.l

Sorry to leave you hanging. Went into the container appropriately labeled and found only a SDB toolhead.

[GunsandCoffee]

The SDB is reliable, easy to use, and has a no-BS lifetime warranty.

For 300 pistol rounds a month, the SDB would be my choice.