Ok So I was looking a few weeks ago for first hand user reviews on the Hornady L-N-L and the Dillon 550B. No one had any first hand experance with detailed reviews I could find. I was thinking of selling one of my Dillon 550B's and getting the Hornady. Well I found a Great deal on a Hornady L-N-L AP and picked it up. I was able to keep both Dillons For my reviews I was loading 5.56 MIL once fired and 9mm I will post pics later.
So There are some differences in these two besides the color. i am not a Blue or red only fan just looking for the best bang fo r the buck! Keep in mind these are just my opinions I am not selling or working for these companies. Also niether press had the optional bullet or case feeders
#1 Auto Indexing. Hornady Has it Dillon Does NOT. This has its good and bads on both. This will also come into play when I talk about how I case prep. 5.56. With out case feeder I'd give the Nod to Dillon
+DILLON Without the Case or Bullet feeder on either machine
I can load just as fast on the Hornady as the Dillon. Even though the Dillon is not Auto indexing. Your hand is down there anyways you just flip it forward. Set up is easier IMHO on the Dillon and if you make a mistake just back it up or don't flip things forward (CAREFULL WITH THE POWDER DROPS!). With the LNL its always moving on you. Some people say the Hornady is better to feed the shells and bullets without the case feeder but I see no difference they clam you have to take your hand off the handle to load brass into the Dillon and its true but truth be told I see no difference in speed. No indexing to mess up is also nice.
+Hornady The Auto indexing is SMOOTH!!!!! Very nice and much smoother than my old PRO-7. It moves a half step on the top and bottom of the lever pull. I'm sure with the case feeder it would be faster, and would be much faster with the bullet feeder as well (DUH!). Double charges should be avoided easier with this machine.
#2 CASE FEEDERS: I don't have a case feeder on these machines so I can't say much about how they function. Do your research on things there are some great videos on You tube about mods. and even homemade bullet feeders.
+Hornady as it will feed Rifle and Pistol brass the Dillon will only feed Pistol
#3 Five Vs four Stations: Dillon has 4, Hornady has 5. On this please review how I have been reloading and prepping brass Well more is better as always I'm not gonna say its not nice having the 5th station.
+Hornady Its got five stations clearly its a plus. Since Hornady now has the expansion system for its powder drop I'm happy with it. Before that you basically had a 4 station press if you were loading cast boolits. But just buy the expansion system and all this is not a player. I put the RCBS Powder check (LOCK OUT STYLE) in the station after the Powder drop its nice having that bit of insurance.
Dillon While the fifth station is not there I don't feel its a huge loss. When I load 9mm I can see into the case and most of my loads if double charged will overflow. (Including 38/357). How I load my 5.56 an 30-06 makes this a void issue. HOWEVER it would be nice to have the fifth station to add a powder check to when loading 38/357 to check and make sure I got a full charge.
#4 Keeping your Brass where it belongs Dillon uses 3 pins Hornady uses a giant spring like thing.
+Hornady I like the springy thing its easy and fast to remove brass. This is however a kind of weak link. It is a lil fragile. Good news is ever time I have called Hornady for parts they send you a few free replacements. You also don't have to chase around 3 lil pins, and risk losing them (You never know).
+Dillon One nice thing about the Dillon’s system is you can mix and match the shell plates powder funnels and brass locator pins to load other rounds. I have 6 different conversion kits and all told this is enough if I mix and match to load all 13 rounds I reload for.
#5 Priming systems This is the biggest reason I am glad I kept the Dillon’s. The Primer arm is in the back of the Hornady. On the Dillon its right up front. Both are simple enough.
+Dillon I can see what is going on with the Dillon. I can see a primer actually coming outta the primer tube and going forward. I know that a primer is going into every round. Everything is right there in front of me if it is hanging up I know it.
Hornady Its in the back I can't see if a primer has been picked up. If your not watching and it gets hung up its harder to tell. It also is a lil harder to set up as the magazine tube must be positioned just right and is prone to move around after its set. The seating pin assy. and the outside tube of the primer magazine need to be left a lil loose. The seating pin if tightened at all (I ordered a new one and it does the same thing) will catch on the slide when the primer arm goes forward. I've cleaned it and dry lubed it, but I just DON'T trust it like I do the Dillon’s.
#6 Powder Drops: They both have highs and lows. They are both case activated. I'll have to give a slight nod to the Hornady
+Hornady This one will throw a larger range of powders. Its also super smooth and I actually use it on my Dillon. I have 3 of these all together . It does not rely on the press resetting it and that nice for how I load 5.56 and 30-06. Problem is the press doesn’t come with the smaller rotor required for pistols. I don't like setting it up as well when I am flaring cases for lead bullets. The PTX system is ok but the Dillon flaring system is better IMHO. I have 2 different styles of these powder drops as well.
+Dillon It works great with ball powder and comes with a baffle installed. Its quick to reset. I have 3 different style of these 6 drops all together. The older style you could actually use on different presses the new one used the press failsafe rod to reset. I like how these are adjusted better, both adjusting powder charge and setting flair are easier for me but I have also used them more. Just don't expect it to reload anything other than ball powder very well. It also comes with both small and large powder bars. I just wish it was a versatile as the Hornady.
#7 Spent Primers It's allot like your toilet you never think about it until it messes up.
+Hornady Spent primers go down a tube into a bucket pretty simple make sure the tube doesn’t get clogged not much to this. Its all self contained
Dillon Sometimes the Primers don't do into the cup mounted on the frame. Also the lil Claim shell catch it uses sometimes stay open. The biggest draw back to this system is sometimes primers will fall in front of the primer slide. Other than that they can just get every ware if the clamshells don't work right. Also sometimes the primers go off on there own for some reason
#8 Changing out calibers I'd give a slight nod to the Hornady. Both are just as fast as the other.
+Hornady Change outs are cheaper. You can pop out individual dies and change them out for what ever your needs. I don't like the O-Rings but that’s just me. Also check o
+Dillon Two pins, 2 bolts, and powder drop linkage and your done. Personally I like having everything together in one set up I find I misplace things if not.
#9 Dies I have Both Dillon and Hornady Dies in both calibers. I don't know what it is but I love the Dillon dies. I'm a big fan of RCBS Dies as well. I personally am not fond of the Hornady ND dies with the zip spindles. Both .223 Dies are Steel and 9mm are carbide. Clear Nod to Dillon.
+Dillon They seem more forgiving on the progressive machines. They don't require much lube compared to the Hornady dies. The 9MM carbide dies are much smoother. I have no complaints.
Hornady These just seem really tight. I have 2 sets of N.D. dies for .223 and both have the same problems. It seems to take more force to size on both the .223 and 9mm. On all both .223 and also my 30-06 dies the Zip spindle has broken or bent down by the end cap. I don't understand this I called Hornady and told them about this they said I have it set to low but I have never had any problems with my RCBS, Dillon, or Lee dies before. I'm a big boy and can read the set up instructions. I also know I am not the only one to have this problem as my friends also have the same problems and only with the Hornady dies. But we also are running crimped in primers on military brass. I have had no problems with the 9mm or 45 ones at all but as I said before they are not as smooth as my RCBS or Dillon Carbide dies. Every once in awhile I'll squirt a lil lube on one and it runs better. I never put any lube on my RCBS or Dillon Carbide dies. I love there seater dies though The sliding sleeve is really nice and a great idea!
#10 Customer Service Both get me the parts I need for free when something breaks and will talk me through anything but I think the people at Dillon are a cut above. I have called each 3 times for advice on machines and replacement parts. Nod to Dillon
+Dillon I CANNOT say enough about these people they are polite and patient. They don't even care when my 4 year old is in the background screaming. I feel like I am talking to a friend about anything and they have gone above and beyond getting my parts. I think I could cut this machine in half and they would repair it. I honestly can say without a doubt I know they would make it right no matter what I screw up.
+Hornady I get the parts quicker cause I live closer to the factory. They have made a few Smart A$$ comments in the past to me. I don't need that. I feel like its just a job to them. They will help you out though so don't worry about it. They have complained about having to send me the new zip spindles, but shut up when I told them I've never had this problem with my other dies.
#11 Care and ease of use Keeping your press up and running is an important part of you investment. Nod to the Dillon.
+Dillon Its manual indexing That’s pretty straight forward, less susceptible to messing up do to spilt powder and grime. No indexing to set. If you’re a beginner I’d definitely recommend it over the Hornady do to its simplicity.
+Hornady I love the grease zerks and I think it would some neglect to stop this thing.
#12 Design and Flexibility. Both are built like a brick sh^t house. But again nod to Dillon.
+Dillon I do things such as trim brass on the Dillon that I know would clog up the Hornady. It can also act as a single star or turret style press. I also feel this would be a better press to learn on. I have a single stage press (Actually a Hornady) but never use it any more. This press can do everything it could only better.
+Hornady You can add a case feeder that will feed rifle and pistol brass as well as a bullet feeder if you want to up grade a big plus . But its just not as simple to use for beginner’s. I wouldn’t expect it to handle the grime and trimmings that fall into it and still function as well as the Dillon.
So what’s the bottom line?
As of right now if I had to pick between the two set up exactly as they are I’d go with the Dillon. I’ll add more later as I use the Hornady more and will also post on how I have been prepping military brass. This plays a big role into why I don’t feel it is a huge deal not having 5 stations on the Dillon. I’m tired of typing so I’ll post that later! Any questions please ask!
I like the Dillon 550B over the Hornady L-N-L AP even though it only has 4 stations.
I have been loading a lot of Military Brass lately 30-06, 5.56, 9mm this means FL resizing, Trimming to length, removing primer crimp. A lot goes into this. I though at first I would be able to fly though this and that’s one big reason I wanted a Hornady AP. Well this is Not a fast process!!!!
#1I sort everything out by head stamp,
#2 run through the tumbler just to knock the heavy stuff off I use walnut media for this.
#3 I put 200-300 in a zip lock bag and spray just a few squirts of Dillon Case lube on the brass and mix around. The Dillon Dies do not seem to require as much lube as the hornady’s.
#4 On my Dillon 550B I use station number 1 for FL resizing and decapping. #2 is empty, #3 I use the Dillon Power Trimmer. I DON’T use the vacuum I don’t wanna listen to it I put a lil shield around it and the brass trimming fall in a very small area. Also my lil girls room is above the reloading room. I don’t want her to have to listen to all that. The trimmer is pretty quite I like to listen to the radio. As fast as you can pull the handle and set the brass in you can FL resize and trim. I really like it. I think If I did this on the Hornady it couldn’t take it.
#5 I use the Dillon Super Swag and remove primer crimps. This thing is sweet much better than the RCBS swagger. Also make sure you separate by head stamp prior to this.
#6 I was thinking about a gracey or Giraud case trimmer that does all three cuttings at once. But this has saved my marriage. I do all the chamfering by hand up in the living room this way I can talk to the wife! Also it doesn’t take long at all.
#7 Polish again in Corn cob media
#8 Reloading again!!!! Sometimes I will hand prime upstairs while hanging out with the family but at night I will prime on the press. Station 1 instead of the FL resizer I put the Hornady case activated powder drop, Station #2 is the Powder Cop, Station 3 Seater, station 4 Crimp.
Honestly if I was to do this on the Hornady I can’t see any advantage with out the case and bullet feeder. I’d just have an empty station. I doesn’t take long I usually do 300 a night no problem. Sure I could do it faster but I would have to ask my wife for half of my reloading stuff when I want to reload after the divorce