I am moving up to a progressive press and want some feedback from members about their preference, I have pretty much ruled out Lee from experience and am leaning towards a Hornady LnL AP. Most people seem to favor the Dillon 550b. I am trying to avoid hidden costs ie. conversion kits and want RELIABLE and safe primer feeding. Presently have a Lee turret press and it is a sound press but want more production with out playing with it. What is the best choice in your experience, looked for similar threads to avoid the wrath of S but couldn't find one. Thanks
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Upgrading to Progressive
- Thread starter Manomet
- Start date
Patriot
NES Member
I own a Dillon 550B and it is pretty reliable. I am not familiar with other presses as this is
the only press I have ever owned. I loaded up 700 rounds of .357 Mag ammo over the
weekend in three different bullet weights and two different powders and the only thing
I had to adjust was the powder drop and the seating die. You do need different conversion
kits for different calibers. I am changing over to load up some .32 H&R this evening and I
have to change the powder bar to the extra small, the dies which change in a NY minute as
I keep them in their own die holder, the conversion kit, and a different powder but that's it
since it is already set up for the round I want to load. The only adjustment I have to make is
to the powder bar since I don't have a setup for extra small powder just yet. (I do have one
for the small and large powder bar.) Out of the reloading of the 700 rounds this weekend I had
one incident with a difficult primer to remove which caused me to jam the primer bar. Took a
second to straighten out, but had no other incidents (except for my sore shoulder![[smile]](/xen/styles/default/xenforo/smilies.vb/001.gif "Smile [smile]")
).
the only press I have ever owned. I loaded up 700 rounds of .357 Mag ammo over the
weekend in three different bullet weights and two different powders and the only thing
I had to adjust was the powder drop and the seating die. You do need different conversion
kits for different calibers. I am changing over to load up some .32 H&R this evening and I
have to change the powder bar to the extra small, the dies which change in a NY minute as
I keep them in their own die holder, the conversion kit, and a different powder but that's it
since it is already set up for the round I want to load. The only adjustment I have to make is
to the powder bar since I don't have a setup for extra small powder just yet. (I do have one
for the small and large powder bar.) Out of the reloading of the 700 rounds this weekend I had
one incident with a difficult primer to remove which caused me to jam the primer bar. Took a
second to straighten out, but had no other incidents (except for my sore shoulder
).
I'm happy with my L-N-L.
Dillon makes good stuff too. I used to have a 550, and I currently have a Square Deal B that I use for loading .38 Special.
You're welcome to come over and check out my setup. PM me if you're interested.
Dillon makes good stuff too. I used to have a 550, and I currently have a Square Deal B that I use for loading .38 Special.
You're welcome to come over and check out my setup. PM me if you're interested.
TY43215
NES Member
I have 2 550s sitting side by side.
If I were starting over or all my tool heads were compatible , I would buy the XL650.
5 station progressive loader
Station 1) resize/deprime
Station 2) powder drop/flare
Station 3) powder check
Station 4) seat
Station 5) crimp
Mechanically indexed shellplate
Mechanically inserted cases, manually fed bullets. Casefeed tube to automatically insert cases. Capable of loading 500 to 800 rounds per hour Lifetime "No-B.S." Warranty
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boston_007
NES Member
I also have the dillon 550b and agree with RGS (for reasons above). The 550b is a fantastic press but mine doesn't like extruded powders. I end up going to the single stage and the RCBS Chargemaster for my accurate loads.
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Another LnL guy here. I think the two things you hear about with this press are the ejector wire and powder thru exander "problems". They can be a little tricky to set up but once you get them done- it's cake. 9mm is the most finicky since the cases are so small. I've used it for many thousands of .40S&W and .45ACP and now cranking thru a couple thousand 9mm. I don't have the case feeder but like scriv said- it's a true progressive which is real nice and the extra stage (compared to the D550B) is a big plus so you can use a powder checker WITH a separate seating/crimping die. They are very good with support as well. I broke a pin in my .223 sizing die once because I set it way too low and it mashed inside the case (yeah dumb huh?) and they fired out a new one- no questions.
I have mine set up like this:
1) size/deprime
1.5) prime
2) powder/expander
3) powder cop
4) seat
5) crimp
I have mine set up like this:
1) size/deprime
1.5) prime
2) powder/expander
3) powder cop
4) seat
5) crimp
650
i own a 650 with a casefeeder. and i would recommend it to anyone
that has a need for a large quantity of 2-3 calibers. I waould also
recommend you get the dillon dies, they come apart quickly for
cleaning, and the setting is not disturbed.
one caution with any progressive, a lot of things are happening at
the same time, if you suspect a problem, then you probably have
one, so STOP until you find it. Check everything, if you allow a
problem to continue you will find yourself disassembling more ammo
than you care to.
while we'r on that subject, get a press mounted bullet puller, a single
stage press is ideal, I have a Hornady and it does a great job of removing
the bullet, pour the powder back into the press and set the primed case
aside. you can reintroduce these cases at a later date with no problems.
Using a bullet puller hammer type IMHO is messy the bullet winds up
mixed in with the powder, secondly it takes a VERY long time to disassemble
any quantity of ammo. (don't ask me how i know this)
JimB
i own a 650 with a casefeeder. and i would recommend it to anyone
that has a need for a large quantity of 2-3 calibers. I waould also
recommend you get the dillon dies, they come apart quickly for
cleaning, and the setting is not disturbed.
one caution with any progressive, a lot of things are happening at
the same time, if you suspect a problem, then you probably have
one, so STOP until you find it. Check everything, if you allow a
problem to continue you will find yourself disassembling more ammo
than you care to.
while we'r on that subject, get a press mounted bullet puller, a single
stage press is ideal, I have a Hornady and it does a great job of removing
the bullet, pour the powder back into the press and set the primed case
aside. you can reintroduce these cases at a later date with no problems.
Using a bullet puller hammer type IMHO is messy the bullet winds up
mixed in with the powder, secondly it takes a VERY long time to disassemble
any quantity of ammo. (don't ask me how i know this)
JimB
I've had a 550b for years and upgraded to the 650 and the primer system is a PITA so I did the logical thing,I bought a second 650 easier to switch machines than priming syystems
Bought a 650, then sold two 550's
I've loaded a lot of ammo on a 550. Then I bought a second 550; one for large pistol primers and one for small and I loaded a lot more. Then I sold both of them after I bought a 650. I've loaded a lot of ammo on the 650. IMHO the 650 is a better loading press - in all aspects. It's faster, smoother, self indexing, and has a much better primer system. Like I said, I've loaded a lot on both presses. One 650 easily replaced two 550's. Changing over the primer system from small/large is easy and only takes 5 minutes. When I bought the 650 I intended to buy a complete large pistol primer system because I'd heard that it was slow to change over - I never needed to buy it.
Trust me: You will be happy with either Dillon. Obviously you are a serious reloader (or becoming one). The money you invest in a 650 will be paid back in a short time. Dillon loaders have proven over the years to be the best progressive machine - period. Every big name, high volume (read: action) shooter, uses a Dillon press. If there were a better machine, those guys would buy it.
The Dillon is not cheap, but you get what you pay for.
I've loaded a lot of ammo on a 550. Then I bought a second 550; one for large pistol primers and one for small and I loaded a lot more. Then I sold both of them after I bought a 650. I've loaded a lot of ammo on the 650. IMHO the 650 is a better loading press - in all aspects. It's faster, smoother, self indexing, and has a much better primer system. Like I said, I've loaded a lot on both presses. One 650 easily replaced two 550's. Changing over the primer system from small/large is easy and only takes 5 minutes. When I bought the 650 I intended to buy a complete large pistol primer system because I'd heard that it was slow to change over - I never needed to buy it.
Trust me: You will be happy with either Dillon. Obviously you are a serious reloader (or becoming one). The money you invest in a 650 will be paid back in a short time. Dillon loaders have proven over the years to be the best progressive machine - period. Every big name, high volume (read: action) shooter, uses a Dillon press. If there were a better machine, those guys would buy it.
The Dillon is not cheap, but you get what you pay for.
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xl650
i own a 650. the advantge over a 550 is the powder check station,
(LNL) has one as well. the caliber change is easy and quick. also its
a true progressive. the primer system is very simple. if you have a problem
where primers are not feeding, lets say one got stuck in the tube,
clear the jam, relaod the primer tube and cycle the system manually
until you see a primer, then kee[p goingm that simple.
JimB
i own a 650. the advantge over a 550 is the powder check station,
(LNL) has one as well. the caliber change is easy and quick. also its
a true progressive. the primer system is very simple. if you have a problem
where primers are not feeding, lets say one got stuck in the tube,
clear the jam, relaod the primer tube and cycle the system manually
until you see a primer, then kee[p goingm that simple.
JimB
That's true, and that's why I prefer the 550B. If I run into a problem, I don't want the plate to advance to the next station, I want to stop and pull out that one shell and fix the problem before advancing.
I've been using a Dillon 550B for about 15 years and I strongly recommend them. Caliber changeover isn't a big deal because I have all my dies mounted in toolheads and a line of toolhead stands from end to end on my bench. The 15 calibers I currently load on the Dillon 550B are .32 ACP, .380, 9mm, .38sp, .357mag, .357Max, .40 S&W, .45 ACP, .45LC, .30 M1, .30-30, .308, .30-06, 7.62x39 and 8mm Mauser. (sorry, no .22 centerfire)
I also have two powder measures, one with the small charge bar and the other with the large one. The only thing that slows me down is when I have to change over between primer sizes, but I usually plan my loading so that operation is kept to a minimum.
Also, proper planning can save you a lot of these tooling changeover manuvers because several shell plates are interchangeable with different calibers. Such as .45 ACP, .308, .30-06 and 8mm Mauser or .32 ACP and .30 M1 carbine.
