The Great Debate: Which Progressive Press?

[Gary H]

At a minimum, get a press where:

#1 You receive great customer service.
#2 You can seat and crimp in different stations.
#3 Primer feed is reliable.


As far as which press to buy, I suspect that few of us have real experience on more than one company's presses.

 

[Ktulu]

Best answer yet Gary. Nice!

 

[Valkman]

Your right, I still had the cost direct from Dillon recorded in my notes. However, you didn't include the cost for the toolhead & powder die which cost $18.89 for the 550 & $21.79 for the 650.

LOL that's because nothing was said about them!

If you want a complete caliber set-up with conv. kit, toolhead, stand, powder measure and dies it runs $150 for pistol from Enos.

 

[racenutz]

LOL that's because nothing was said about them!

I guess you really like adjusting dies every time you switch calibers:banghead:

From http://www.brianenos.com/pages/dillonfaqs.html

Changing calibers on an RL 550B requires:

* Dies (either Dillon's or other brand), and a
* Caliber Conversion Kit, (Shellplate, Locator buttons, Powder Funnel)
THEN, either a
* Deluxe Quick-Change Kit, (inc. Powder Measure/Powder Die)
OR, instead of a Deluxe Quick-Change Kit, a
* Toolhead and Powder Die (without Powder Measure)

Changing calibers on an XL 650 requires:

* Dies (either Dillon's or other brand), and a
* Caliber Conversion Kit, (Shellplate, Locator buttons, Powder Funnel, and Casefeed adapters)
THEN EITHER A
* Deluxe Quick-Change Kit, (inc. Powder Measure/Powder Die)
OR, instead of a Deluxe Quick-Change Kit, a
* Toolhead and Powder Die (without Powder Mesure)

If you want a complete caliber set-up with conv. kit, toolhead, stand, powder measure and dies it runs $150 for pistol from Enos.

Complete caliber conversions run $102.90 for the 550 ($32.95 for the caliber conversion, $69.95 for the Deluxe Quick Change Kit) & $129.44 for the 650 ($56.49 for the caliber conversion, $72.95 for the Deluxe Quick Change Kit). I don't know where you came up with the $150 figure but it sure wasn't from Brian Enos' website.

 

[racenutz]

My LnL AP manual says that all Hornady reloading tools are warrantied against manufacturing defects and workmanship for the life of the product, excluding components subject to wear. I've never had to deal with Hornady customer service before, but I've talked with people who have, and never have I heard anyone paint so grim a picture of it as you have.

I might have overstated my feelings toward Hornady; however, I feel that the removal for any & all references to a warranty in regards to the LNL AP speaks volumes about the attitude of the company. Now this is just conjecture on my part but I think Hornady started their "No Risk" warranty in direct response to Dillon's in order to sway perspective customers to their press which has "just as good a warranty" as their competitor. The company then rethought their policy & decided that it didn't make good business sense in the long run.

There's no doubt that the Dillon warranty is the best in the industry, but frankly I'd rather not pay for a warranty that freely refurbishes a rusty stripped downed press but off of eBay (and you do pay for it). That's just silly.

Yes, you do pay for the warranty as well as the Dillon name. However after looking at the closest apples to apples comparison it's really not that much a difference & I will gladly spend a few extra bucks just in case it's my press that is destroyed in house fire.

 

[racenutz]

I appreciate all of your responses. They have made me really sit down & think what I want & need from a progressive press.

at a minimum, get a press where:

#1 You receive great customer service.
#2 You can seat and crimp in different stations.
#3 Primer feed is reliable.

For my money those criteria are going to be best met by Dillon. Now I just have to decide between the 550 or the 650

 

[Valkman]

Complete caliber conversions run $102.90 for the 550 ($32.95 for the caliber conversion, $69.95 for the Deluxe Quick Change Kit) & $129.44 for the 650 ($56.49 for the caliber conversion, $72.95 for the Deluxe Quick Change Kit). I don't know where you came up with the $150 figure but it sure wasn't from Brian Enos' website.

No, it was from Brian himself. $102.90 plus the cost of the dies equals what? About $150.

I guess you really like adjusting dies every time you switch calibers

First the issue was caliber conversions but now we're talking about complete changeovers. Ah. Well, my complete caliber changeover for .38SPL.357 was about $150 from Brian. I don't see what's so complicated here.

 

[racenutz]

No, it was from Brian himself. $102.90 plus the cost of the dies equals what? About $150.

I guess at 4am I missed the "with dies" part. Sorry you are correct, the price for a complete changeover is indeed $149.85 for the 550.

don't see what's so complicated here.

In trying to do an "apples to apples" comparison you misunderstood what I was calling a "Caliber conversion" as Dillon markets a product called this where Hornady doesn't. The closest part respectively for the LNL AP is the shell plate which costs $25.19 (from MidwayUSA).

In the end it really doesn't matter. I don't feel like arguing semantics & I've already decided upon a Dillon press.

 

[Valkman]

I don't feel too well with knee surgery yesterday and being on pain pills, so I apologize for being "short". One thing I don't do is get on forums to argue, only to learn and help someone else if I can. You'll be happy if you buy from Brian, he's a good guy.

 

[racenutz]

Cortland, I think I've figured out why the Dillon warranty means so much to me. Over last winter the water heater in the apartment about my garage burst, ruining the ceiling above when my reloading bench now sits. Luckily when this happen I didn’t have anything more complicated then a vise-grips in the area but everything was doused with water. If I had had a press in that area in would have been ruined.

 

[243_shooter]

If your loading 2000k+ rounds a month, stepping up to a progressive is gonna make you a happy guy! (I can't imagne loading 2k rounds of pistol ammo single stage)..

I've loaded gobs on my 550, and I couldn't be happier. The thing that really slows me down is loading primer tubes, buy a couple extra of each. Once I get in the groove I hate to stop to load the primer tube

It's a snap changing calibers on the 550. The powder measure is both accurate, and easy to adjust. Be sure to buy the correct charge bar for it though (they make 3 sizes basically sm, med, lrg). If I use the correct bar for the charge I'm trying to throw it will be on they money all day long.

I get extremely consistent ammo with it. When loading both 357 and 243 ammo I get more consistent velocity from the dillon then when I use my rockchucker and weigh every charge (no joke). I suspect that has to do with loading the powder by volume not weight but haven't experimented enough to find out (yet).

People are quite fanatical about their Dillon's. I don't think it's "snobbery" I think it's because they are a damn good tool, with top notch customer support.

Leo

 

[SteelEye]

I used a Pro2000 for 2 years. I was never able to load more then 100 rounds of anything without a primer mishap. Upside down, sideways and many jams, some requiring a complete dismantling of the press. RCBS sent me 2 entire shell assemblies but it never worked right. The last time I sent it in, it sat on someone's desk for 5 weeks until I called about it. When I discovered that I called Brian Enos and ordered a 550b. I have loaded about 2500 rounds of 45 ACP and 45 AR on the 550b. Had a sticky primer bar which was fixed with a wipe down of One-Shot. No primer issues at all. The Pro2000 is hiding somewhere in my closet.

One of the things I like about the Dillon is I can load 6 rounds of a particular load, remeasure and reset bullet depth and not get the primers out of sync. Could never do this with the RCBS because of the APS strips, or at least, I could never figure out how to do that. The Dillon seems crude next to the RCBS but the Dillon requires less user pressure. In other words, I find the Dillon to be a faster running and smoother press then the RCBS.

You must remember that presses, like anything, appeal to people much in the way a car might. We are fortunate to live in a society that offers many choices.

Good luck in your search.

 

[HankB]

I use a Dillon SDB to load pistol ammo - mostly .45 ACP - and am happy with it. The SDB's speed is pretty much limited by the user's dexterity - at a comfortable pace, I can load a box of 50 in about six minutes, for a cycle rate of 500 per hour. But add in time loading priming tubes, periodically checking powder, etc., and the sustained rate is probably half that.

Others no doubt can go faster, but when I'm dealing with ammo, well, I like to watch what I'm doing. And it's still MUCH faster than a single stage press.

If I had it to do all over again, I'd get the 650.

Why not a 550? Well, as good a press as the 550 is, it has what I consider a major shortcoming - it doesn't automatically index the shells. (Many 550 users don't mind this, so I guess it's just a matter of individual preference.)

 

[racenutz]

If your loading 2000k+ rounds a month, stepping up to a progressive is gonna make you a happy guy! (I can't imagne loading 2k rounds of pistol ammo single stage)..

It's not easy. I can get about 200 rounds an hour loaded using 4 single stage presses in an assembly line fashion but I'm completely knackered when I'm done.