Tired of my Single Stage...........what next?

[dverna]

Soundguy, Dillon pistol dies can be quickly disassembled to clean out lube and debris without having to reset them. Maybe not much of an advantage for PC or jacketed bullets but I use lube so I prefer them. I bought mine when they were $20 IIRC more than regular dies and I was sold after my first set so all my pistol dies are Dillons. I only load 9mm, .38, .40 and a bit of .45 ACP so not a huge investment for the ease of use for a lifetime.

The quality of ammunition is not the selling feature of Dillon presses. It is their reliability and production rate.

I do not get anal about pistol ammunition. Clean primer pockets or case length are not concerns. I have never trimmed a pistol case. Productivity trumps "quality" with pistol ammunition. If the ammunition chambers, ejects and delivers decent groups it has enough "quality". KISS

BTW, look at the link below. The Army Marksmanship Unit cannot recommend equipment but a picture if worth a thousand words. I own or have owned every press pictured. My "anal" rifle ammunition comes off a Co-Ax...the red thing at the front of the first bench,

https://www.ssusa.org/content/gettin...smanship-unit/

[Soundguy]

I'm not one of those people where resetting a die scares them I load lots of different bullets sometimes for the same cartridge so every time I do a run I may be doing a different projectile so therefore I'm resetting the seating die in the crimp die anyway it takes a few seconds each it's not like it's a big deal. One day I may run some 95 grain 38 special for cowboy loads and the next day I may be running some 158 grain semi-wad cutters in the next day I may be running round nose or hollow points again it takes seconds to set up a die I know some people it scares them however. And I'm obviously not directing that at you. If Dylan dies were only $20 more than Lee dies I'd for sure be buying them but heck RCBS dies are almost twice of what a Lee die is and Dylan is more expensive than them so it's a game changer when you reload about 100 or 120 different calibers.

[AnthonyB]

Unlike Don, with whom I agree on almost everything, I like to reload. I still do most of my loading on an RCBS single stage.

This thread has drifted considerably, much to my surprise.😀

But when it comes to progressive loading, Dillon is the way to go. The sheer enjoyment of a piece of equipment that works as it should is enough for me to justify the cost. Again, not applicable to the OP and his question at all. As another poster commented, my kids are grown and I am not on a budget (Ramen noodles are still inexpensive).
Tony

[Soundguy]

For me it's not even a cost issue it's a quality comparison issue of the finished product and then it cost analysis. For instance if I take my $200 Rock Island arms M200 revolver to the range it shoots okay however if I take my $4,500 Manurhin mr73 to the range it feels a whole lot better better Clockwork all around so in that case money is getting a quality return when it comes to reloading the ammo that gets cranked out of all the different colored press seems to be exactly the same so it seems to be no reason to pay for unusable , unquantifiable quality for me anyway.

[AnthonyB]

For me it's not even a cost issue it's a quality comparison issue of the finished product and then it cost analysis. For instance if I take my $200 Rock Island arms M200 revolver to the range it shoots okay however if I take my $4,500 Manurhin mr73 to the range it feels a whole lot better better Clockwork all around so in that case money is getting a quality return when it comes to reloading the ammo that gets cranked out of all the different colored press seems to be exactly the same so it seems to be no reason to pay for unusable , unquantifiable quality for me anyway.

So you load ammo for your $4500 Manhurin with a Lee Whack A Mole loader?
Tony

[Soundguy]

I didn't mention a lee hammer style loader..however, I have plenty of times made ammo on a single stage press for $$$$+ firearms.

That's a perfect example of paying a little more to get a return on investment in that cost analysis... Spend more than the hammer kit to get a press kit... Costs more..but overcomes some shortcomings. At that point.. Looking at a simple 38/357 straight wall, rimmed cartridge that doesn't grow? I fail to see a Dillon making a better individual piece of ammo than a set of Lee dies in a lee single stage press. I'd wager you could take a hand full of identical primers, cases and projectiles.. And then make a single example on an rcbs, a lee, a hornady, a lyman, and a Dillon press...then in a blind ( or double blind ) comparison... I doubt they could be told apart without specialized forensic microscopic analysis of the seater plug and interior of the resize die body.
I'll go you one better... Let's go straight cost analysis... The guy using a ballanced beam scale instead of a powder thrower likely has made the ammo closest to the desired target spec...after all.. Individual weighed charges can be adjusted a kernel or flake or stick at a time... A cavity dropper in comparison is like marking with chalk and cutting with a chainsaw.

Thank you for illustrating my point for me. Bravo!

[derek45]

To the Dillon cult.. why is it that the only times I have ever heard of primer detonations it's always in dillon tubes?
.

Because you can't fix "stupid"

The design is a good one, but teenagers and Marines can break an anvil with a feather

[derek45]

So $550 for the press, $100 for the powder check, and $290 for the case feeder I can have 1000 cases an hour which I don't really need right now.

OR I can do what I did and take the other $628 I saved an put it towards something else...

no

the XL750 is about $699

LOL

Think about the money you saved every time your LEE coughs and sputters.

If you like to tinker, troubleshoot, look for flipped primers, and clear jams, try the LEE

When you're time is more valuable, or you want to see your name at the top of the scoresheet, then it's time to buy a Dillon.

USPSA/IPSC nationals a few years ago...

[AnthonyB]

That's a perfect example of paying a little more to get a return on investment in that cost analysis... Spend more than the hammer kit to get a press kit... Costs more..but overcomes some shortcomings.

Thank you for illustrating my point for me. Bravo!

And thanks to you as well, sir. Can you follow the logic trail?
Tony

[lawdog941]

Wow, this got "heated." OP already decided, and yet the Reds/Blues are still competing. To each their own.

[AnthonyB]

Lawdog, no heat on my end at all.
Tony

[dverna]

Wow, this got "heated." OP already decided, and yet the Reds/Blues are still competing. To each their own.

No...not heated at all...just the facts...some folks post opinions and that is ok too

The OP has made his choice and that is fine.

I disagree with Soundguy. He keeps clinging to the quality mantra to justify using inexpensive equipment when it is irrelevant in discussing which progressive press to invest in. It works for him...but others may benefit from a more complete presentation of facts.

We can agree to disagree and still be civil.

[Stopsign32v]

no

the XL750 is about $699

LOL

I'm truly sorry I disappointed you by being too poor to spend twice the amount of money I did. But I really do appreciate the constructive belittling.

[derek45]

I'm truly sorry I disappointed you by being too poor to spend twice the amount of money I did. But I really do appreciate the constructive belittling.

I'm trying to help you, I have no interest in "belittling" you.


What's cheaper?

buying something that doesn't work well, and then buying something better.....or just "buy once, cry once" ?

I was once in your shoes,....I tried to go cheap with a LEE Pro1000

It was an exercise in frustration.

My Dillon 650 is like an old trusted reliable rifle, it brings a smile to my face every time I use it.

Buy what you want, but I've never heard anyone, at any match, saying they sold that *** Dillon, and went to another brand.

[Soundguy]

Remember guys..once you buy the expensive car...you have to 100% stick to your guns that it was the best and only choice. :0

[Soundguy]

As for the competition guys..they just need mass quantities of average consumer grade level ammo..thats why Dillon is at the top..not because it is making finer quality ammo..its because it's maki g satisfactory mass quantity ammo.

Last hog hunt I went on..i fired 1 time... I didn't need quantity. :0

[downzero]

To the Dillon cult.. why is it that the only times I have ever heard of primer detonations it's always in dillon tubes?

PS.. I own and reload on just about every type of gear made in the last 80 years.. there are even a very few pieces of blue laying around.. though most of it is red and green.

I don't know how I'd comment on what you've heard of or the credibility of those allegations, but I wear safety glasses when I deal with primers for that reason and to date, two decades, many crooked primers and crimped primer pockets missed, I haven't had anything like that happen. I have plenty of red and some green in my reloading room as well, but I see no need to even consider any other brand of progressive press. As to how other people have had that happen or if that has even ever happened, color me skeptical it was the equipment after my own, very positive, experience.

Lee is an impressive company, making nicely machined parts in the United States for significantly less than their competitors that is not garbage. Just as one would be a fool to think Dillons are crap because someone on the internet said their primer tube blew up, a reloader would be similarly foolish to suggest that Lee doesn't make good stuff. Lee makes great stuff. I have even used Lee dies in my Dillon press. Saying Dillon makes the best metallic cartridge reloading machines does not change that at all.

[Lefty Red]

OP, good job with getting a press. I would suggest, and I don’t anyone else has, is get a swaggering setup for your 9mms. I hate reloading 9mm, seems like the specs are all over the place these last two years and most are crimped. I usually run them through my APP, once’s for depriming and the other time for swaggering the primer pocket. Then it’s cleaning the brass, light spritz of lube, and then priming on the bench primer set up. Now they are ready for my progressive.

And don’t worry, I never made it to the national levels in competition shooting so I wasn’t forced to get a Dillon either. LOL. I just found one at a great price. Now I want to sell it cause it’s just I have no use for it due to my speed or need of reloading these days.

Enjoy the kids! I applaud you for wanting to and making the effort to help your wife and be their first your kids. It’s a hard balance, family and kids and our hobbies. The world needs more guys like you, putting their family first. Makes better families, that in turn make better kids, and they grow up to be better adults.

[45_Colt]

To the Dillon cult.. why is it that the only times I have ever heard of primer detonations it's always in dillon tubes?

Not a Dillon cult-ee, but right here on cast boolits:

https://castboolits.gunloads.com/sho...ve-you-had-one

Four pages of various light-em-ups, with the hand primer unit likely being the worst...

45_Colt

[45_Colt]

OP, good job with getting a press. I would suggest, and I don’t anyone else has, is get a swaggering setup for your 9mms. I hate reloading 9mm, seems like the specs are all over the place these last two years and most are crimped. I usually run them through my APP, once’s for depriming and the other time for swaggering the primer pocket.

This made me chuckle, couldn't figure out what you really meant when the OP needed to swagger over to the press. No ill intent intended, I just saw this as humor. Figured it was an auto-correct or such.

Good idea about swaging the 9mm primer pockets. Being that there is a ton of military 9mm brass out there. I don't reload 9, but have run into a lot of .223 that has crimped primer pockets.

45_Colt.