Progressive presses

1903Collector

1903Collector

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After 20 years I am finally giving in and getting a progressive press. I am thinking of two, the Dillon square deal and the Lee loadmaster. I have read a lot about the dillon on this board so I know it's a good machine but what about the Lee. Anyone have or are familiar with this press? I am shooting a lot more pistol ammo that I have in years past and with a single stage press, well you get the picture. Much of my stuff now is Lee and I have not had problems with any of it.
 
You are overlooking an excellent candidate: The Hornady Lock-N-Load. If you act quickly enough, you can still get in on the 1,000 free bullets deal.

As for the Dillon, you may want to look a tad higher - the 550. It uses all standard dies; the SDB does not.
 
Agreed, if you go with a Dillon, then just move up to the 550B.. Once you'll get started there's a chance that you'll want to get the upgrade for the Square deal...so I would just save the aggravation and get the 550B to start.
 
I would only think of buying the 550. On a scale of 1-10 the Lee is about a 3 and the 550 about a 7. The 650 is about an 8 and the 1050 is a 10.

As far as the LnL goes there has been a ton of discussion about it regarding problems:
http://www.brianenos.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=42740

http://www.brianenos.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=47377

Everyone will argue about spending the extra money for a Dillon but here is real world experience of people making the mistake and NOT buying a Dillon. They end up with one in the end after spending more money:
http://www.brianenos.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=45834

I started with a Lee Pro1000 and I hated it. I used it for about 3 weeks and when all my primers were jamming under the shellplate and I realized that when one goes off it will be ugly I simply put that press away and bought a 650.
 
Yes, I use a Lee resizing die in my 650 and a bunch of people use the Lee FCD. Now that I think of it, my primary tool heads for .40 and 9 have a mix of Lee, Dillon, and Redding dies. It is a standard 7/8"x14 thread for the dies. The SDB uses non-standard smaller thread.
 
I know one member here is quite happy with his LNL and I almost bought one 5 months ago. Why didn't I?

Because I found a NEVER-USED 550, complete with Dillon dies, strong mount, low primer sensor, primers and an unopened pound of 231 for $250. At that price, I'd have been a fool not to grab it.

So, now I have 2 550's on my bench; one for .45 ACP and the other for small primer calibers. Had I not found that deal, it would probably be a 550 and an LNL.
 
Lord knows no one has ever had a problem with a Dillon. That being said my LnL is in a box and I am still running my Square Deal B because I am too lazy to mount the LnL and clear space for it. I need another bench!
 
I swear PistolPete works for Dillon! [laugh]

Most of what was said in those threads is accurate. However with some tweaking it's been a great press. 9mm ejection is an issue but I've got mine doing well- it just takes some minor work on the wire. Larger calibers are like butter. Some dies don't work without some grinding.. I've choosen to use the Hornady dies... and fwiw- most will tell you to use Dillon dies on a Dillon as well. If you do .45ACP make sure to ask for the specific .45ACP shell holder- the other one doesn't hold the case well and that makes seating primers a PITA.

The one gripe I do have is not being able to use the powder thru expanders... I gave up on that... although others don't seem to have an issue it did. Adjusting it was torture.. and I didn't like the way it belled... it opened up the brass way to much IMO. This could be remedied with some work but I didn't.

However if you account for the value of the bullets.... it's an awesome price for good quality.

Disclaimer- I've never used a Dillon. Only a Rock Chucker.
 
I got the Hornady and had some problems at first. But I would have had problems with a Dillon too.

I rarely read instructions and perfer to just think that I'm smarter than who ever designed what ever I'm screwing up.
 
Lugnut said:
I swear PistolPete works for Dillon! [laugh]
Click to expand...

Is it really that obvious??? HAHA!!!

When you've used product "Y" and it is decent and then use product "X" and it is incredible then you tend to voice your opinion. I know many people won't spend the extra money for the Dillon but speaking from experience Dillon has been one of the best companies I've ever dealt with. Have I had problems with my 650? Absolutely!!! But nowhere near the problems I had with my Lee. Keep in mind I kept the Lee for only a few weeks ad decided it wasn't for me. The Dillon I've used for several years and I have had minor issues with it. However, a simple call to Dillon and all is fixed- Free of charge!!!

I now have a 1050 and am still learning on that press. It is def. more complex than the 650 but took less than an hour to unpackage and start making ammo.

I've heard good things about the LNL but seems that this press has some issues that Hornady should have resolved before sending it out. When you have a new item you shouldn't have to tweak it to get it to work as it should.
 
Lugnut said:
However if you account for the value of the bullets.... it's an awesome price for good quality.
Click to expand...

Yeah, but is anyone else insulted that Hornady thinks that people would believe one thousand 230 JHP .45 bullets are a "$245 retail value"? Seriously, are they magic bullets?
 
GTOShootr said:
Yeah, but is anyone else insulted that Hornady thinks that people would believe one thousand 230 JHP .45 bullets are a "$245 retail value"? Seriously, are they magic bullets?
Click to expand...

Retail sure.. but market is somewhere around $125 easy if not more. Take this away from a $350 retail press and it's a hellava deal at $225
 
I remember reading that something like 87% (% from memory) of the shooters at the USPSA nationals use a Dillon press. I think these people most likely shoot, the largest volume of center fire handgun rounds, year after year. That speaks louder to me then any argument made by any single press owner.

That said, there are very good reasons to buy a less capable press.
To name a few:

1) Price
2) Volume
3) Ease of use


Respectfully,

jkelly
 
Yes - Big Blue rules the USPSA market. Many shooters have more than one press.

FWIW, I think Montana Gold has the largest segment of the bullet market.
 
Jkelly, I think its higher than 87%.

Whatever you get, read the directions and enjoy it.

However, I'm actually thinking of selling my 650.

I figure now that Pete has the slick reloading gear to load up a whole season's worth of ammo for himself in a few minutes, I might as well get rid of my gear and have him take care of my stuff too. [rofl]
 
Last edited:
GTOShootr said:
Jkelly, I think its higher than 87%.

Whatever you get, read the directions and enjoy it.

However, I'm actually thinking of selling my 650.

I figure now that Pete has the slick reloading gear to load up a whole season's worth of ammo for himself in a few minutes, I might as well get rid of my gear and have him take care of my stuff too. [rofl]
Click to expand...

You're more than welcome to use my gear... With the 1050 and the K.I.S.S. bullet feeder you can crank out a ton of ammo in no time...

If you sell your 650 what would you use?
 
Scrivener said:
YOU, obviously!
Click to expand...

Ahhh Clear as day!!! I must have been having a blonde moment.

I don't understand how anyone can afford NOT to reload. I picked up an M&P and haven't loaded any ammo for it yet and picked up 150 rounds of .40 at the local shop for $41.
 
from the dark side

A 500 is not a progressive press. A friend has one and has primer problems
as well a powder spillage.

I have a Lee Pro 1000. It does cost less, but it is a progressive.

It automatically feeds cases into the shellholder, the only manual part
of this is putting on the bullet.

In the end you have a completed round. I use a single stage to facrory
crimp.


in the end it depends on how much shooting your gonna do. and how much
you want to invest. I'm guessing, but i think $600 will get you going
with a dillon 550.

JimB
 
I have a Hornady L-N-L AP and a Dillon 550. I use the 550 for .38 Special and the L-N-L for everything else - from .32 ACP to S&W 500. I like the L-N-L much more than the 550. Don't get me wrong, the 550 is a capable machine, but I load about 15 different calibers. The L-N-L is much easier to change over than the Dillon (I'm not going to spend the money for 15 toolheads).

If you're getting one press, I'd recommend the L-N-L.
 
I scoped out a Dillon 650 at Northeast today, a very well built machine so I am sure the 550 is the same, but for the amount that I will use it(< 1000rnds/Month) I am just having trouble spending that much plus all my dies are Lee now and I am still aprehensive about them working correctly with the dillon machine. Is that a legitimate concern?

The Loadmaster is appealing, price wise it's half the price of the Dillon and there won't be any question of the dies working with it. I had a Lee turret press years back and wasn't very satisfied with it, it would always screw up on the indexing and there powder meausres are not the greatest and I think that is what is holding me back from buying the Lee.

What to do, what to do.............[thinking]
 
19039&llector- you answered your own question in regards to the Lee. The powder measure is aweful and you're reluctant to buy another Lee. if you had a bad experience before why would you go back? i had a Lee Pro1000, actually i still have it and had such a bad experience with it. Yes, it was cheap but you get what you pay for. the priner system would always give me problems, the primers would jam under the shellplate which is really safe, the powder measur wouldnt allow you to get the exact charge you wanted because of the disks. plus, it would take forever to adjust because of this. with the Dillon a simple turn of a knob and you get the charge you want. As for your Lee dies they will work wit the dillon.
 
Does the Dillon use the same type of powder thru the expanding die like the Lee does and if so is the Dillon powder measure compatible with the Lee die? I am leaning towards the Dillon...Thanks to all for the input, as always invaluable..
 

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