Why no love for the RCBS progressive? I'm getting ready to take the progressive plunge and I have been researching different models. It always seems like people are either Dillon or Hornady. I really like the idea of the primer strips with RCBS. What's wrong with RCBS? I can't find much info on it.
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First commenting on your first two replies. With this press you have a choice. Autoindexing or manual indexing. If you have a manual indexing Pro 2000 and you'd like to upgrade...its easy and fairly painless. Go to Midway or Grafs and order RCBS's
Autoindexing Conversion Kit. For a little over 100 dollars. Then you have the same press as a brand new auto-progressive.
As for "sharp" indexing, so is the Dillon 650. But there is a fix for both presses. I called RCBS about spilling powder during indexing, when I first got mine, and they sent me a spring that was way lighter and worked much better. I haven't spilled any powder using .45's, .40's, or 9mm's since. I'm betting RCBS has the new spring in the product nowadays...if not, rattle their cage and have the part in 4 days, free.
BTW the Hornady Bullet Feeder on the RCBS Pro 2000 Review Part 2 will be out in a few days. I'm more impressed with it than ever...for the price....and the simplicity...and the easily upgradable design.
As for the APS primer system we Pro 2000 owners (excepting the small segment who have no patience to learn a new, better way of doing things) love the primer strip system. Once you learn it....faster, safer, more convenient.
Why no love for the Pro 2000? It's not blue and doesn't say "Dillon" is the main thing. It's not as cheap as Hornady is the other thing. They don't use a case feeder is the last thing. RCBS, though they have the best customer relations in the business, they suck at marketing. It's as if the RCBS name ought to be enough...Dillon style. Dillon started the progressive market for amateur reloaders, and their entrenchment is old and deep. The RCBS name isn't enough...especially since RCBS's first attempts at Progressives sucked. The current product is excellent! It's every bit as good as the competition, with the one supposed deficiency, lack of a case feeder. For many that's the kicker. For me it was a plus.
You see, I change and load a lot of calibers way more often than a person who owns a Dillon 650 would want to go through their "change calibers" routine. Hornady's a little faster but they still have the complicated case feeders and tube-loaded primer systems. Caliber change speed is the real plus for the RCBS Pro 2000, that and the simplicity...never does anything "get out of sync" on a Pro 2000. Fewer parts...fewer things can go wrong.
HOWEVER the Pro 2000 can use a bullet feeder....and Hornady just released their new bullet feeder in the same spirit I like...
simple and few parts. I bought one. I'm currently reviewing its use on my Pro 2000. Using it, believe it or not, will not measurably increase the already fastest caliber changeovers in the market...and if one uses CCI primers already loaded in strips...its even faster.
Dillon 650's are really hard to beat if you load one or two pistol calibers and want to load 5000 round batches very fast...their primer system is their only weakness doing that, but most get by fine if they're careful. They are slow for caliber change unless you buy a powder measure for every caliber you load...and even then they are slow changers compared to a case feeder-less RCBS Pro 2000. You don't want to use a Dillon 650 without a case feeder...ugh. You won't even find a picture of one without its very much needed case feeder.
Though Dillon folks are the loudest, biggest group, and some have been using them for many years before Dillon even had any competition, they aren't the perfect products hyped...no more perfect than Hornday's or RCBS's. All three brands are equal, quality products, just different designs that fit different folks with different needs. Research well for
your own needs.