Way back 16 or so years ago, I bought a Hornady Lock N Load with a case feeder. From day one, that was a frustrating piece of machinery. If it wasn't jamming, failing to feed primers or spilling powder all over creation, it was breaking parts, lots of parts. The basic press was ok, but that case feeder was a challenge. What a Rube Goldberg marvel of incompetent engineering. Ugh. The priming system was so unreliable getting 100 straight runs was tough. Over the next 11 years I bought upgrades, did the tweaks, replaced parts, had all of my 15 base plates modified for the "new" ejector system that let me use Lee crimp dies in station 7, the works. Every time I went to use that press, I had to fix, adjust or just plain fiddle with it. Thinking it was changing over from large to small primers that was the source of some of my misery, I bought a new, state of the art version of the basic press only to experience the same issues. So, five years ago I sold both of them. Well, I donated one to a young Marine, the other I sold at a huge loss. I muddled on with my T-7 press. The output was slower, but it always worked flawlessly.
A year ago, I wanted to reload volume for my son's growing relationship with the 9mm auto. I thought about the old LNL and shuddered. I wanted to load pistol in volume, not rifle so I explored my options. I looked long and hard at the Dillon 550B. It looked like a solid bet but, the cost was like $600 just to get the press. I would still have to buy plates and conversions. I then saw an ad for an SDB in .357 and 45 ACP. It was less than $350 so I bought it. I then scrounged the internet until some nice shooter in AK sold me a 9mm conversion. I had to buy some replacement parts and Dillon supplied some warranty parts but, in a week, or so, I had that press up and running. Over the course of a year, I added .45 Colt, and some parts that were missing for .357 and .45 ACP. Since that time, I have loaded over 2,000 rounds in three calibers and have experienced zero spills, jams, failed primer feeds, zero! I have changed primer sizes twice, changed tool heads, you name it, I have used the heck out of that machine, and it ALWAYS works. It's like a Rockchucker, you pull that handle and it goes to town.
This is pain free reloading. Now, there's no case feeder and it only does straight walled cases, but that is exactly what I needed. Could I have gone with a 550B? Yes, but why? I can load 100 rounds of 3006 or 30-30 on the T7 in no time using standard dies. The SDB could maybe benefit from greater leverage on the .45 Colt cases, but for 9mm it is the bee's knees. I can't say enough about this little press. I love the dang thing. Hornady has a lot to learn about a smooth-running progressive machine.