Buying a new Progressive

[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/sho...ullet-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.