I find myself shooting a lot of 223 latley and loading them on a single stage press takes forever so Im kicking around getting some kind of a progressive press. Any reason I cant get as high quality load as on a sigle stage?

Can get some info on who make a good one, pro's and con's ext..?

No not with the right setup, I personally am inclined towards a Dillon 550-650 which ever you prefer. They are fast reliable and in my experience very repeatable,options galore, lifetime warranty, easily converted to the next caliber,and the price ain't to bad either.

I like the 550. To DOUBLE the output of a Dillon 550B, have a friend plant the bullet on top of the powdered/primed case. No bull, you will get 1000 loaded rounds in an hour. I started with five full primer tubes and loaded them at the midway point.

Have done this 3x now....45 ACP, 9mm, & 223.

Not a blur of speed on our end, same method as normal, but my job is pulling the handle and inserting the next brass case.

The Dillon 550 is the way to go, very user friendly.

Here is something to consider: Ball powders work best in Dillon powder measures, with small stick powders a distant second.

Powders like H322 and benchmark are OK. Powders that are not ok are like Varget, 4350, etc.


The powder selection could be of major consideration in your choice to go progressive or not.

Double up the spring on the powder hopper return bar on the Dillon, seems to work rather well with stick type powders like H4895 and small stick Benchmark.

I have a 650 and it works. Spendy up front but pretty much bomb-proof in the long run. I've had it over ten years and am still on original parts with nothing busted.

I also use a Dillion 650XL and I am very happy with its performance reloading 9x19 NATO & 5.56x45 NATO.

If you go with a progressive press get one that auto indexes, it is one less thing to forget to do and eliminates the chances of a double powder charge.
With the latest improvements and the 1000 free bullets you should check out Hornady. Great machine with equally good service and support.

Another deciding factor, price what a caliber change will cost you. But ALL of it....powder measure, tool head, caliber conversion (not dies), etc.

I looked at the Hornady, but the cost would be greater overall. The free bullets are limited to a small selection (none that I shot), so I passed on it.

I've also been considering the 550 for keeping my 223 fed. I seem to burn up the ammo at ten times the rate I can make it on the single stage...

The 550 was considered the bees knees back when I was shooting IPSC and those guys were loading hundreds of thousands of rounds with no issues.