I've been using a Rock Chucker and Mec products for 40 years with no complaints. I might load 10 boxes of shotshells every other year and usually sit down and load 300-400 pcs of 45, 44, 357, .270 and .223 every couple of years.
To those of you that have had different brands, who make the best progressive set up for the money - pistol/rifle setup... TIA
I bought a Dillon 550c about a year ago, and love it. It’s the best shooting investment that I’ve ever made. Taking my time, I can load 300-350 rounds of 45 ACP or 10mm an hour. Sure beats the hell out of my RCBS and Redding Single stage presses.
I have been using a single stage reloader for a few years now - various pistol and small rifle cartridges. I am rather particular about consistent weights of powder charges and weigh each charge with an electronic scale. Quite often I will need to adjust the powder charge by one or two tenths to get it right. How accurate are the powder throws using these progressive loaders? It just seems to me to be a real potential problem. I guess it would not matter much if a grain plus or minus did not matter? Please educate me, as I have had zero experience with progressive loaders. Thanks.
The powders that I use in 10mm and 45 ACP, A #7 and WST, meter +/- .1 grains on my Dillon. Moved from a scale to a Uniflow years ago for single stage reloading, I save the scale for rifle.
Gets my vote. I have used Dillon, it's a good product but Hornady has much better features and 5 stations. And you have to a 650 Dillon for five stations.
I have a Dillon 550b with different caliber conversion kits. I can get 400 rounds an hour very easy. I have Dillon 223 carbide dies and run carbide RCBS pistol dies. No issues.
I have been using a single stage reloader for a few years now - various pistol and small rifle cartridges. I am rather particular about consistent weights of powder charges and weigh each charge with an electronic scale. Quite often I will need to adjust the powder charge by one or two tenths to get it right. How accurate are the powder throws using these progressive loaders? It just seems to me to be a real potential problem. I guess it would not matter much if a grain plus or minus did not matter? Please educate me, as I have had zero experience with progressive loaders. Thanks.
It really depends on the powder. Ball powders measure very well while "Flaky" and extruded powders don't, although there are exceptions like Varget.
You have to experiment to find out how reliable a particular powder will be, I have very good results with Winchester 296, H335, and Varget in a Hornady L&L powder measure.
All that said I still measure "Max" loads individually.
I have a Dillon 550, a Dillon Square Deal B, and the Hornady Lock- n-Load progressives for metallic cartridges and MEC Grabbers in 12, 20, and 28 ga and a 9000 in 20 ga for shotshells.
I wouldn't be without a progressive for shotshells as I easily go through a thousand rounds of 12 and 20 ga shells a year with 28 ga not being far behind. I really need a progressive for 410 and 16 ga as punching out several hundred a year gets tedious. When I was actively competing I would go through as many as 15,000 rounds of just 12 ga so one needed a progressive to keep up. Powder drops are plenty close for real life use with all but a couple of powders and one of them, Alliant Steel, should be individually weighed anyways as steel shot reloading is a very precise discipline.
For the metallics, I have the Square Deal B for 38 Spl and 9mm Parabellum. I load a bucket full of brass at a time as it can be a little difficult to switch back and forth. It replaced a Lee 1000 that worked kind of well when the primers would drop from the tray. It felt and looked cheap but I put out a lot of 38 Spl rounds before I replaced it. Powder metering is good except with some bulky powders which I tend to not use in pistols. Everything else runs through it fine.
The 550 is used primarily for rifle and 45 ACP. I like it for pistol but rifle gets a bit tedious as one needs to lube cases in some manner if using as a progressive. I don't mind so much when punching out 308 or 30/06 but for some reason 223 is problematic and a case sticks now and then. For that reason I use my Lyman turret press for 223 except plinking ammo. As mentioned, some of the larger stick powders can be a pain but the short stick and spherical run fine.
My Hornady is an early model and there were some teething problems. I set it aside for a few years as it frustrated me. After reading of how others ironed out the issues I took it up again. I got it running well and use it for 40 S&W ammo. I like it now and have plans to expand to other pistol cartridges in time. I'll see how the inserts will work then. I don't have any powder drop issues as I run mostly ball powder in it. The flake powder I have used did just fine and would have no qualms using it again.
If loading a couple hundred rounds a year one might not need a progressive press, If loading a couple hundred or more a week, then a progressive may be needed.
Dillon for .223 and handgun, Hornady loack & load another fine press, and Mec makes a decent shotshell press.....so does RCBS and also Ponsness Warren.
I have all of them and don't use any of them anymore.....just the MEC 600 JR and the rockchucker.
The only progressive I really liked was the Dillon.....great machine.
I've been using a Rock Chucker and Mec products for 40 years with no complaints. I might load 10 boxes of shotshells every other year and usually sit down and load 300-400 pcs of 45, 44, 357, .270 and .223 every couple of years.
To those of you that have had different brands, who make the best progressive set up for the money - pistol/rifle setup... TIA
You want to shoot more? Get a progressive. I'll load more in a few hours than you're doing in two years. Zero savings, just ammo that fits and works better in your guns at a higher volume. I have Dillon and Hornady progressives. They all have a learning curve, no shortage of info to read up on. Shoot more! Have fun.
If you can't afford one of those Dillons, look into the Lee Loadmaster. That model has had a good reputation compared to their cheaper counterparts. Another thing going for them is that you can reload rifle too! The carbide dies have had consistently high reviews too.
Find one on sale. Watch videos. Unless you have a bit more discretionary income or looking for a competition sponsor, it might be intimidating going progressive press rifle AND pistol calibers.
PS: Just went back and re-read your post. With the infrequent use, you might want to check into a used press from a reliable/guaranteed source.
Seems most guys settle on Dillon or Hornady, but not both.
From reports the Hornady holds its own for precision rifle rounds.
I'm a Dillon 550 guy and wouldn't go out of my way to try the Hornady mainly because I've had Hornady reloading stuff, had issues and I didn't like their attitude when I've called for support.
I have a Lee Classic Cast for single stage, accurate rifle reloading (where I manually load, trickle charge each load by hand - all my varmint, target, and hunting stuff).
But my blue 550 is for everything else high volume.
I am sure there are other great options but if I am pulling the handle to just make a lot of great ammo (not precision stuff), 550 is what I'd choose, personally.
Dillon RL-550C Total Cost of Ownership One of the important factors to consider when purchasing a reloading setup is what your total spend will be once you get things setup for all of the calibers you plan to load. Here’s a quick summary of what you can expect to pay to get your RL-550C setup:
Price sheet won't copy and don't have space to download price sheet Go here and half way down the page
In addition to this, you’ll need other things like dies, powder, primers, and other tools. For complete lists of these supplies, please refer to the following articles:
Get a Dillon and never look back; buy once, cry once. I have two 550s and a RCBS Rock Chucker on my bench. One 550 is for .38,9mm and .45, the other for .223. Rock Chucker is for .17s. Ive even had Dillon presses I bought used, had breakage of a part, send it in, they fix it no questions asked. Tough to beat their customer service. There are progressive presses, and then there is Dillon.
Get a Dillon and never look back; buy once, cry once. I have two 550s and a RCBS Rock Chucker on my bench. One 550 is for .38,9mm and .45, the other for .223. Rock Chucker is for .17s. Ive even had Dillon presses I bought used, had breakage of a part, send it in, they fix it no questions asked. Tough to beat their customer service. There are progressive presses, and then there is Dillon.
Would you say with the price tag and someone wanting to get started, to buy a used one that might have an issue.....send in to be refurbished? Sounds like over 5 bills plus accessories. Most can't swing that $.
When I was shooting competitively I had over a half dozen progressives set up to assemble the various calibers, including Dillon 550 - 1050s Hornady and RCBS progressive presses. These tools were necessary to provide practice and match ammo in sufficient quantities. I still have several single stage pressed and a half dozen progressives.
Keep in mind that while progressive presses will crank out a lot of rounds quickly when everything is going well, all brands of progressive presses require set-up and adjustment and maintenance to keep them running smoothly, and that is time consuming as well.
Starting with a bucket of clean brass I can load 150-200 rounds per hour using a single stage press with no set up time at all, so I would ask the question whether progressive loading is a worthwhile investment to load only 250 rounds a year...at least in terms of time savings.
When properly adjusted, all the major progressive presses will produce ammo within acceptable tolerances for volume shooting.
The advantage of a new Dillon is that it's easier to sell down the road and get most of your money back if that is important.
When I needed them, I've never regretted the money I've spent on good quality tools.
I've been using a Rock Chucker and Mec products for 40 years with no complaints. I might load 10 boxes of shotshells every other year and usually sit down and load 300-400 pcs of 45, 44, 357, .270 and .223 every couple of years.
To those of you that have had different brands, who make the best progressive set up for the money - pistol/rifle setup... TIA
I was kind of where you are a few years ago. I did a lot of research and comparisons. I'd loaded on Dillons before, and done over 15 years of reloading on a RCBS Rockchucker. If you go on my weblog and use "progressive" as a keyword, you'll see the articles I wrote about it at the time.
I went with the Hornady LNL AP. It was cheaper than the Dillon getting in the door. It had 5 stations. It was much cheaper to add additional chamberings, and switchovers were easier than either the DIllon or the Lees.
I like the Hornady. It has its quirks. Given my experience with the Hornady, I'd say this: If I was cranking out a lot of the same chambering, I'd go with Dillon. I think their case and bullet feeders do a better job. However, for doing a quick batch of 500 9mm and then switching out to do 500 223 REM, I'll take the Hornady.
I couldn't say as I don't load for accuracy with my progressives Just high volume bangin ammo
I have not made any serious comparisons, but I've recently been working on my Ruger American Predator in 223 REM, trying to make it as accurate as possible. I had some blasting ammo that I'd built on the H LNL AP with mixed brass and pull-down bullets with an idea towards my Mini-14. As it turned out, when I got the RAR Predator to the farm to check function, all I had was that blasting ammo. Amazingly, the Predator was putting rounds into the target touching at 100 yards. When I got home, I tested the runout on the rounds and I couldn't find any that were above .002"
I'll still probably run my accuracy loads on the Rockchucker. Still, it goes to show you how well the Hornady LNL AP functions.
We need to stop calling these presses "progressive." How about SEQUENTIAL?
I've got a Dillon 650, it was buy once, cry once, I think I dumped a little over $1100 initially, for a number of plates, die plates, primer feeds, to load the guns I had at the time. The learning curve was steep but I've been happy for the 20 some years I've had the 650. I keep it clean and wet (lubed), but it's been SO versatile and reliable -- nothing has ever broken.
For pistols, I have carbide dies and charge/seat all in one whack. Takes me about four hours, with breaks, to crank out 500 rounds of A number one personalize ammo.
Regarding rifles, I will say that I am still not crazy about powder charging, especially for extruded powders, and when doing FL sizing, I don't charge as there's a lot of jolting and force involved. But there are other NS rifle loads where I can zoom through a year's ammo for a rifle in just one session.
So yeah, I have a Dillon 650 sequential press and would recommend it to anyone smart enough to read the manual.
Thanks Boogaloo, Shaman, Tedthorn and Dave Skinner for answering my question. I've learned something from all of your experiences.
Dave,
They take perfectly good words and keep changing the terms and language on us. What used to be called socialists or "Communists = Progressive "now. LOL!
Here's a couple more ideas: Reloading machines, or Semiautomatic Reloaders.??
I have a Dillon 550b with different caliber conversion kits. I can get 400 rounds an hour very easy. I have Dillon 223 carbide dies and run carbide RCBS pistol dies. No issues.
