Thinking of a progressive

[deadctr]

Looking for opinions here.

I want to move up to a progressive press. Pistol loads only, primarily 9MM.

I've pretty much talked myself out of the Lee pro 1000.

Dillon...., their low end progressive, Square Deal B, seems to be good but I don't like need to use the proprietary dies.

Hornady L-N-L, seems to be the most attractive, can be added onto with feeders, almost modular in a way.

What say you?

[sprrdhawk44]

Dillon 650. Thank me later.

[Lethal rx7]

I bought a dillon 550 and wish i would have sooner. A dillon if you buy it for a reasonable amount you will never have a hard time selling it for close to or sometimes more than you bought it for.

[BucksCountyBob]

I have both a Hornady LNL (with auto case feeder) and a Dillon 550. The amount of force required to operate the Dillon is way less than that required to operate the LNL. On the other hand, the Dillon requires manual indexing, which I find mildly annoying.

I load my lower volume stuff like 38 special on the 550, while my high volume 9mm, as well as .223, gets done on the LNL. 30-06 gets done single stage on the RCBS Partner, which was originally purchased to swage NATO case primer pockets, but does an excellent job on 30-06 as long as you lube the cases.

In short, if you can get only one, I would recommend the Dillon. The ease of use and low amount of physical force required to operate, combined with the excellent customer service, outweighs the lack of auto-indexing, IMO.

I have way more money in my Hornady set up, and it works very well (I get around 400 rounds/hour in 9mm without rushing). I've had no issues with the LNL, and I've loaded thousands of rounds on it. But if you have the two side by side, as I do, the Dillon stands out as better engineered and better built, and the difference is felt when you pull the handle.

***Full Disclosure***
I also own a Lee Pro 1000 set up for 9mm. I loaded nearly 10k rounds on that before I retired it. It worked just fine for 9mm, and the only reason I replaced it was because it couldn't do .223 very well. It could do it, just not well. Having said that I would not recommend one, unless you were severely budget constrained. As far as why I have the Dillon, it was my dad's press, and at 95 he had no need for it, so he gave it to me. I point all this out so you don't think I bought all these presses because I could, or a large problem compelled me in one direction or another.

I hope this helps you make a decision, and feel free to ask me specific questions about my setup.

Regards,

BCB

[RockIsland]

How about this one?



Sorry, I only do shotgun shells.

[Fred762]

I bought a dillon 550 and wish i would have sooner. A dillon if you buy it for a reasonable amount you will never have a hard time selling it for close to or sometimes more than you bought it for.

I been using a Dilllon 550 for 30 years..tho took a break from loading for about 10 years, and resumed the hobby 2 years ago w the ammo "shortage". The company is good and has GREAT cust support. My old machine was packed away after a move and I got it out, lubed it up and went right back to loading. I have added a few newer accessories since 2013:
1. Dillon digital scale..much faster than the old RCBS beam type I began with in 1983!! It has auto shut off so as to NOT waste batts

2. Dillon primer pocket swadger..bolted to the bench to swadge out those pesky staked military primer pockets, etc

3. "Undersized" resizing die, titanium type, for 9mm cases(google it as I 4got where I bought it) ..to eliminate that little bulge I sometimes got above the extractor groove in 9mm cases

4. extra 550 die holder heads..so I could set up several calibers and leave them set up: 9mm, .38/.357, and .45 ....so all I have to do is slide out one setup and slide IN the next die set..only having to change powder amounts and bullet types..saves boo coo time You will also need a couple extra powder measures too.
5. I also bought a RCBS bullet puller die and collettes for .355 and .45 cal so i can easily pull bullets and NOT use that damn hammer thing..too much noise and arthritis! The puller die is set up in another Dillon tool head so I just have to slide her in and pull fast as heck.

6 magnifying glass to help these old eyes see into cases to look for fu king BERDAN primers!!

I still use the basic old Dillon 550..but Dillon supports all their stuff, even 30 yr old machines. Great company!!!
Since I am now finally retired, I have more time to fiddle w reloading..my process is finnicky ansd slow but fun:
1.separate cases, discarding all cracked and berdan cases
2.tumble all cases
3.deprime and resize about 200 or more at a sitting.....swadging and cleaning any primer pockets which have gunk or R too small..

4. take each batch of deprimed/resized cases and soak in water + dish soap for 24-36 hours, then rinse well and soak in vinegar or coca-cola for 3-5 hours.. I save the vinegar or coke to re-use several times.

5. rinse well and let cases dry in a kitchen collander, or a wire basket or on a towel for at least 24 hours. I get almost factory clean looking cases that way.
6. reprime each case using stage 1 of the Dillon ..I slide in each primer by hand and gently reprime each case..slow but I LOOK at each one and feel the seat depth.
7. After the whole batch is reprimed, I begin loading the batch by taking out the locator pin at stg 2 and sliding in a new case at stg 2 where the powder drop/mouth bell die is located.

8. progress as usual after that: place bullet at stg 3 and crimp mouth at stg 4..

My method is slower than necessary, but I get great clean ammo and..I AM retired ;-)..plus I have my own pistol range out in the back yard so I don't have far to go to shoot. LOL

[Svickstc]

I started on the Lee Pro 1000 and loaded thousand of rounds with it..did it take some quirky setup to get it to run super smooth...sure...

if you have the funds i say def jump over the lee pro 1000, however, dont let a lot of the internet talk fool you..its a cheap press, meaning a lot of newbies are going to pick it up with little or no exp hence a lot of bad comments.

Dillon makes great stuff

[DucatiRon]

If you got the money get a Dillon 650. If you don't get the Pro 1000.

The Lee is a good press once set up and comes with a case feeder. I have 6 of them currently. I finally wore my first one out at about 250k rounds of ammo. For the money and making plinking ammo you really can't go wrong.

[IronButt]

I bought a Dillon 650 about three years ago, along with extra die heads for my often used cartridges. Great setup!

[Noah_Zark]

Seriously, I have four Dillon Square Deal B presses (9mm, 40 S&W, 45 ACP, 45 Colt) and a 550 for everything else i want to load progressively. All bought used. Good machines, great customer service.

Noah