new to progressive. need help choosing press
- Thread starter hbhobby
- Start date
zanemoseley
New member
I agree with the majority, whatever you get make sure it has a 5th stage for a powder check. I load mainly .45acp bullseye loads and 4 grains of powder is awfully low down in the case, a double charge isn't even close to filling the case.
I have the Hornady LNL and have been happy with it so far. Most all progressive presses have quirks and thinks you have to watch out for, its the price of admission for fast reloading.
I have the Hornady LNL and have been happy with it so far. Most all progressive presses have quirks and thinks you have to watch out for, its the price of admission for fast reloading.
I'll throw one more thing out there for fast reloading. Out of all the presses out there the only ones that can combine case feed, bullet feed, powder check and seat then crimp in two separate stations are the Dillon 650 and 1050.
The 650 will do everything except pull the handle for you and load 100 rounds in under 4 min.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yl63cR9Y_Y0
As will the 1050 or as in the case of the far 1050 in this video it will even cycle the machine, all one has to do at that point is keep it full.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C-RxMulCqbQ
The 650 will do everything except pull the handle for you and load 100 rounds in under 4 min.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yl63cR9Y_Y0
As will the 1050 or as in the case of the far 1050 in this video it will even cycle the machine, all one has to do at that point is keep it full.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C-RxMulCqbQ
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I first started reloading with RCBS when I lived in Illinois. The press is a bit slow but it is reliable and I liked it. When I moved to Arizona, Dillon was the rage. It was touted as the best thing since sliced bread.
I bought the 550B and I have been very well pleased. Those folks take pride in producing a superior product and if something breaks, it likely will not cost you a thing to get it fixed.
That kind of attention to detail extends to every thing they sell. I took an old range bag over there that had some stitching coming out. I asked them if they knew a good place to have it repaired. They said sure, you want black or blue! Just pick out what you want.
They are genuinely nice people and they sell a good product. RCBS is still a good press but the Dillon is head and shoulders above it in my view.
Get a copy of the "Blue Press" and read some of the stories of people who have sent presses in for repair and received new ones in exchange.
I have never had a bad experience there.
I bought the 550B and I have been very well pleased. Those folks take pride in producing a superior product and if something breaks, it likely will not cost you a thing to get it fixed.
That kind of attention to detail extends to every thing they sell. I took an old range bag over there that had some stitching coming out. I asked them if they knew a good place to have it repaired. They said sure, you want black or blue! Just pick out what you want.
They are genuinely nice people and they sell a good product. RCBS is still a good press but the Dillon is head and shoulders above it in my view.
Get a copy of the "Blue Press" and read some of the stories of people who have sent presses in for repair and received new ones in exchange.
I have never had a bad experience there.
Just a note on the Dillon 1050 ...its considered a commercial machine by Dillon - so it does not have their "no BS warranty" like the 650.
Its not a bad machine ...one of my buddies has one / but for me, and I shoot at least 25,000 rds of handgun ammo a year...the 650 does all I need - and like others said it will easily load 1,000 rds an hour ...
Its not a bad machine ...one of my buddies has one / but for me, and I shoot at least 25,000 rds of handgun ammo a year...the 650 does all I need - and like others said it will easily load 1,000 rds an hour ...
I'm fond of my LNL AP, but I'm not going to try to sell it to anyone. One mistake I made was in assuming it made sense to load both pistol and rifle rounds on it. Didn't work out that way for me. I found I still needed a single stage for loading rifle rounds. One thing that might put someone off the Hornady progressive is having to buy multiple shellplates for different cartridges. The shellplates are about 40 bucks each in addition to the cost of the LNL bushings - loading a lot of different chamberings can add up on the Hornady system.
Carriertxv
New member
I can't see what it costs me to change calibers on my LNL more than a Dillion 650. Why can't you load rifle on the LNL?
Depends what round we are talking about but I had issues even with 308 with one of the LNL's I had.
Problem was with the way the LNL indexes, half on the way down and the other half on the way up.
So, you size a case on #1, prime it on "1.5", charge it on 2 then set the bullet on top of the case on the next down stroke, call it 2.5, then the bullet tip is already too high to enter the seat die as the press finishes the second half of the index to#3 and the bullet is knocked off the case.
What I wound up having to do was insert the bullet up into the seat die, then wait for the case to come around with the second half of the index and set it on top.
Yeah, that didn't last long.
All of the Dillon presses index at the bottom of the stroke, I guess except for the 550 and it indexes anywhere you want it to.
Carriertxv
New member
Jmorris after watching a couple of videos on ultimate reloader I see what you are talking about. The Dillion 650 loading 30-06 did a bit better than the LNL loading 308.
But to me even having to slide bullet into seating die would still be faster on my LNL than using my Rockchucker. I did notice that the 30-06 cases were sure shaky though when indexing.
But to me even having to slide bullet into seating die would still be faster on my LNL than using my Rockchucker. I did notice that the 30-06 cases were sure shaky though when indexing.
A tip for any new Dillon 450/550 owners.
Set up the shellplate loaded.
By that I mean put an empty case in each & every die station. Now slowly tighten the pivot bolt till you feel resistance. Now back off about 1/4 turn & tighten 1/16 (or less) of a turn while rotating the shellplate 360 degrees. If it "snags" on a particular stage back off a GBH. If it isn't darn near wobble free tighten a hair & repeat. Once you have it, lock the setting & go round one more time.
Repeat until dead nutz right.
There's a "sweet spot" & this is the way to find it so you don't have binding rotation or wiggling in the shellholder leading to problems in the sizing dies.
Set up the shellplate loaded.
By that I mean put an empty case in each & every die station. Now slowly tighten the pivot bolt till you feel resistance. Now back off about 1/4 turn & tighten 1/16 (or less) of a turn while rotating the shellplate 360 degrees. If it "snags" on a particular stage back off a GBH. If it isn't darn near wobble free tighten a hair & repeat. Once you have it, lock the setting & go round one more time.
Repeat until dead nutz right.
There's a "sweet spot" & this is the way to find it so you don't have binding rotation or wiggling in the shellholder leading to problems in the sizing dies.
The 550 is a bit different than the SD, 650 and 1050, in that the case does not sit in the shell plate but on he ram itself. On the 550 the shell plate only pulls the cases from the dies you could remove it completely and they would be shoved into the dies the same distance.
Not really, the shell holder's positioning (rotational) aligns the cases with thee die mouth & keeps them in that position as the ram is raised. It actually does both, sitting in the shellplate for alignment while resting on the base for thrust & vertical position.
But that has nothing to do with what I was talking about or the question I was answering about shell wiggle being excessive.
That IS caused by an excessive gap between the bottom part of the shell holder (the black plate atop the silver ram) & the shell holder (the rotating thingus with the cutout to position & retract the cases.
Ah, you are talking about the side to side play, the part that is not adjustable at all on the others or even single stage style shell holders. I have never had that problem with my 550, yet.
Some complain about shell plate wobble in the others causing a tilt of the shell plate itself and at that point the brass is not square with the dies, unlike the 550 where the shell plate itself doesn't push the brass into the dies.
Some complain about shell plate wobble in the others causing a tilt of the shell plate itself and at that point the brass is not square with the dies, unlike the 550 where the shell plate itself doesn't push the brass into the dies.
jmorris, thanks for answering the question on why the LNL AP is problematic for loading rifle rounds. That is exactly the problem I had with mine with .308. Hornady could easily fix the problem by making bullet feed dies for rifle cartridges like they do for handgun cartridges, but have chosen not to. Basically, if you want to load rifle cartridges with the LNL AP, Hornady wants to force you to buy their auto bullet feeder accessory (for .223/5.56mm) and, in addition to that, the caliber conversion kit if you wish to load .308. There doesn't seem to be any plan at all for other cartridges.
That being said, I love my LNL AP for loading handgun cartridges and am quite happy with it. I just use a single stage press for my rifle loading and that arrangement works for me.
That being said, I love my LNL AP for loading handgun cartridges and am quite happy with it. I just use a single stage press for my rifle loading and that arrangement works for me.