Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Handguns Contemplating a Progressive Reloader

Interesting, I've never had any issues using Redding or RCBS dies in Dillon tool heads.

I bought a Dillion Square Deal B about 25 years ago.

Mike Dillion himself put it together for me. What a GREAT guy he was. I'm glad I knew him.

It's been a GREAT machine.

But, as others have said, I think that I would go with a 550 or 650 and leaning towards the 650.

I've NEVER had an issue with the SDB. But, tooling is a little more expensive. Especially if you already have other dies. Plus you can use them (550/650) for rifle cartridges too.

Both are great presses. The speed difference is a matter of batch size and how often you switch load setups - it takes longer on the 650. Starting from a switch, the 650 won't pass the 550 until several hundred rounds are loaded. The 550 will be running while the 650 is still being setup.

If your batch sizes are less than 500 rounds you won't gain much from the 650.

Not to throw a wrench in the works but I had a Dillon 650 for awhile and sold it after I got a hornady lock n load. The hornady is way easier and cheaper to change calibers, just as quick and easier to use in my opinion. The guy I sold the 650 to used it for a year. Then used my hornady and switched to. Most of the guys that use a 650 never used a lock n load.

I've been very happy with my Square Deal B. Bought it used a couple of decades ago with 5 sets of dies. You do have to replace the plastic parts occasionally, think I've done that once and the prior owner might have once also.

Honestly that information is a bit dated. Over the years most die makers have made their dies a little bit longer and for most dies it's just not an issue anymore. But way back when Moby Dick as a minnow, you'd see guys using Dillon presses with whatever dies, and the lock rings for the dies were on the bottom rather than the top because the dies had to be seated so low you ran out of threads on the top. And it worked just fine, but it was just a slight annoyance.

Still, I tended to leave my tool heads fully set up, so I just bought dedicated dies for my Dillons.

I mostly gave up reloading because I just don't have the time. I sold all of my Dillon's except for the SDB. The reason I kept it is because it's faster than a 550, and it hardly takes up any bench space at all...wonderful little press...but mine is packed away and I'm not sure if I'll even use it ever again.

I have had mine about the same length f time.It's been back to Dillion twice for a rebuild free of charge except for shipping to them.. Probably have run about 30,000 rounds thru it. Not so much anymore.
I think I paid about $50 for each tool head equipped with a specific set of dies back then, I load .357/38,.45 and 9mmm. I have a tool head for 44 mag,but you really have to size the 44 mag brass first in another press or you wills crew the ram /handle up doing it on the SDB.

Since you bring a .223 into the mix,the SDB won't work for you

You intrigue me. You're the first guy to mention the Hornady. However, when I see a progressive in the stores, it's always a Hornady LNL. Somebody must be buying them. What's the scoop?

Dang! Now that's too funny.

I just checked the web. They've got the Hornady LNL AP for $449 and they're throwing in 500 bullets and a stool.

That might be too good a deal to pass up.

I have two Loadmaster's. There's a learning curve with them for sure. I've produced a couple of thousand rounds with the first one, used a lot of foul language in the process,

Now that I understand them they work just fine.

I have one dedicated for 223 and one for pistol ammo which I haven't even used yet...lol.

Dan

I don't have a progressive press but over the years I've never heard one Dillon owner say I wished I would have bought xxxxx instead. The most often complaint on other presses was conversion kits for presses. By the time the owners got them going they had the price of a real progressive press invested.

So, if you knew the information was dated and knew that dies other than Dillon's worked with the Dillon presses now, then why did you present it as if it was still an issue for the OP to consider making it appear that he would have to buy exclusive dies?

Dude...third post, this thread:

There are a bunch of YouTube videos on the LocknLoad.

My apologies, Mister Edwards. You are quite right.

I'm not myself lately. I've been pulling 12 hour days at work. The shaman's tarp is not quite shacked at the moment.

So what do you think: a LNL AP for $449, and they throw in 500 bullets and a stool. Is it a good deal?

Probably.

http://www.dillonprecision.com/xl650_8_1_23803.html

I didn't check to see how much you have to deck out the above Dillon to get it to where you can reliably produce ammo in the fashion you wish or if or how much more it needs to be comparable to the LocknLoad you mention.

Again, the Lee Turret Press or Classic Turret will produce ammo at the rate you wish and it will not cost nearly so much for setup. Your only expense for other calibers will be dies and shellholders.

I have had a LocknLoad for probably five or six years. Unfortunately, it is still packed up in the original packaging and setting behind me where I type this as opposed to bolted to my reloading bench. Almost everybody I've read about who has tried the LocknLoad likes it and from what one reads and sees on YouTube vids, it seems comparable to Dillon with possibly some savings initially and on down the road in setting up new calibers.

There is no doubt about the Dillon Products. They are quality, PROVEN reloading machines. I have never owned one but am confident that you would love your Dillon. You are looking at a lot of money though. The 550 would save you some but requires more motion of the operator. If I were going Dillon I'd almost certainly go with the higher-dollar 650.

Of the rest of current progressives, the RCBS seems to have its problems and few adherents. Lee is always listed at the bottom and is not well liked, especially the Loadmaster. I have owned a Pro1000 Lee and it did suck and I do not still own it. The Pro1000 and Loadmaster are the cheapest way to go but you most assuredly will have problems. Somebody mentioned having gotten 2000 rounds done with their Loadmaster...Once you get it set up, you'd probably do a couple thousand rounds in a couple of days on the Dillon if you were enjoying yourself.

If I were you I'd do more research and see exactly how much I'd save with the Hornady. I got a great buy on mine and had already seen all the videos. If I wasn't saving much, I'd probably go Dillon-this is all predicated on whether you REALLY want and need a progressive. Going with either of the two Lee Turret presses with the auto index feature will save you a ton of money and be much simpler to learn. The speed of manufacturing ammo comes with experience and secondly, with not having to change calibers or loads. The biggest problem with the Lee's will be getting the powder measures set right and for that you're gonna want Lee's Reloading Manual.

Here's the comparison as I see it. Mind you this is not an informed fellow speaking. I'm the newbie asking the questions. I had some time to research more overnight

1) Dillon and Hornady make products of similar overall quality.
2) The service from both companies seems to be superlative.
3) Both systems have their quirks. I've definitely ruled out the Lee offerings. However, between Dillon and Hornady I hear good reports.
4) I can get a Dillon 550c for under $500 with the ability to reload 9mm. I can get the Hornady AP LNL for $449.
5) Adding the next chambering to the mix, the Hornady is about 2/3 the cost of the Dillon per chambering, and the Hornady is easier to change over.
6) Presently, I can order the LNL and get 500 bullets (about $140 value) and a free stool ($150 value) for the $449 price. If you buy into those values those reduce the $449 down to $159.


Bottom line: I think I'm going to order the Hornady LNL today at that price and if I don't like it, put it up on the classified and keep the stool and bullets.

I don't own a Dillon, but from what I understand the Hornady is more comparable to the Dillon 650 which is a big step up from the 550.

I would have to disagree here. With the Dillon, you can buy a separate tool head for each cartridge/die set. That way, you leave the dies set up and don't have to re-set them up each time you change calibers. You simply pull two pins and swap the tool heads out.

If you bought the quick change set up for each caliber, the powder measure stays with the tool head and you don't even have to adjust the powder. I have a quick change set up for each cartridge I load for on the Dillon.

Then, you swap the shell plate and locater pins. If you're going from large to small primer, you change that bar and a tube.

It takes about 1-2 minutes to swap between cartridge setups. Can't get much faster than that.

Edited to add that the Hornady seems to have a "quick" change setup for each die. So, swap outs appear to be easier than I first thought.

I don't understand the whole quick change thing. On my RCBS Ammomaster, once I set the dies the first time, and use the locking nuts that come with the dies, changing calibers can't take more than 15min if that. I've never timed it. While 15 min is certainly a lot longer than the minute or two that a Dillon apparently takes; it really doesn't seem excessive to me..... It seems to me that the whole cartridge change over speed is a little blown out of proportion. For what it's worth, that's my opinion.