Progressive reloading press

DriftingOkie

DriftingOkie

New member
I have been looking at the progressive reloading presses lately. It will be mostly used to reload 9mm.
There is a big difference in prices of these presses. The Hornady runs around $400, RCBS $550, Dillon $430, And Lee $160.
Was wondering if any of you all used them? And what brand do you use?
 
I use a loadmaster... there is a difference... the loadmaster is finicky and you have to be patient with it. I still haven't gotten it to run 100% on rifle cases, but I can churn out 9mm on it.

Depending on your budget I'd recommend Dillon 550 or a Hornady LnL..

If you don't mind patience and a little tinkering on figuring out how it works then the loadmaster isn't a bad choice.

I will say that if you get a load master make sure you ream crimped pockets or it will drive you crazy with tipped primers. (either that or prime off the press)
 
Originally Posted By: DriftingOkieI have been looking at the progressive reloading presses lately. It will be mostly used to reload 9mm.
There is a big difference in prices of these presses. The Hornady runs around $400, RCBS $550, Dillon $430, And Lee $160.
Was wondering if any of you all used them? And what brand do you use?

Drifting,
Not sure that Lee you mentioned belongs in that group. I just gave a 3 month old Lee away and it doesn't EVEN compare to the others you listed. Personally I like any of the others.
 
I just went through the same process. I did alot of research on them. It ended up between the Hornady and the Dillon. I have friends with both, so I tried both. And both performed extremely well. No problems or flaws with either. As stated above the Dillon 550 is not a Progressive, but it is real real close since you have to move the shell plate by hand, which really is no big deal once you have your reloading cadence worked out.

I went with the Hornady for a few reasons. First was price, it costs less. However it has more features for less price. That was the icing on the cake. It has one extra station that you can elect to use or not use. I elect to use it. I will not load on a progressive without a powder check die. And I also like to crimp in a different step. If you want to do that then you can not do that on a Dillon, but you can on the Hornady. I also like the feature on the Hornady with the easy change dies. It is fast and much simpler than the Dillon. Both are great presses, but IMO the Hornady is the best of the two.

You can get some better features on the Dillon 650. But then the price difference between the Dillon and Hornady is very big. I look for Dillon to have a price decrease after SHOT this year. I would almost bet on it. Hornady is getting way too much of their business. Heck most places can not even keep the Hornady press in stock. Hornady also has a free bulet program ifyou buy a press also, but that runs out soon(if not already). But I would not allow a free bullet program to sway my purchase.

The Lee was not even in contention for me. And the RCBS is also a great press. But I had no way to try one, and they do cost more. Tom.
 
I have a hornady lnl and love it. The self indexing was a big plus over the dillon. Very sturdy press. The lnl is fast and accurate. I have used a dillon and it was ok, I just liked the hornady better.
 
Originally Posted By: DriftingOkieI have been looking at the progressive reloading presses lately. It will be mostly used to reload 9mm.
There is a big difference in prices of these presses. The Hornady runs around $400, RCBS $550, Dillon $430, And Lee $160.
Was wondering if any of you all used them? And what brand do you use?
You don't say which Dillon you are looking at.
If you are going to load 9mm only, or 9mm and some other handgun cartridges, you might want to look at Dillon's SDB. It can not reload rifle shells and it can not use regular dies. I have one of the SDB's and reload 38spl, 357, 40 S&W and 45 auto. The SDB is a progressive. Every time you pull the handle it spits out a round. No indexing by hand.
If you want to use your press for rifle also, don't get the SDB.
I don't own one, but I have a couple friends who use the 550 and are very pleased with them.
HTH
 
I have had a Dillon 550 for over 10 years and couldn't be happier. It works great for handgun and rifle calibers. I tried several different presses before deciding on the Dillon. Even after 10+ years, it still throws very accurate and consistent powder charges.
 
I can't speak for the RCBS or Lee (I wouldn't put lee in comparison to the other 3) However I have owned a Dillion XL650 it was a good press no doubt about it. Changing over to different calibers was not overly complicated but cost $$. I sold it a while ago.
Thought about getting another progressive as I was going through lots of hornet and 221. I was thinking 550B this time around. I read a few reviews and talked to a couple people and they mentioned the Hornady LnL. Looking at it and the price I figured why not? Give it a try.
It came last week and I set it up. Setup is SIMPLE way easier then the Dillion. The lock and load lets me change calibers in minutes. No need to buy extra die holders etc.
A couple things I liked better on the Dillion was the bullet tray and the roller handle.

I know time doesn't mean much but it took me 21 minutes last night to do 100rds of 221 Fireball. This is going slow and taking my time to make sure everything is right. Also still in the process of getting the rhythm down.

Without price affecting my decision (meaning if I could have a fully setup 650 or the Hornady) I would take the Hornady without a second thought. The free bullets don't matter much as they don't offer any that I need.

In a nutshell the Hornady is a XL650 at bare 550B price.
 
Originally Posted By: sharkathmiOriginally Posted By: DriftingOkieI have been looking at the progressive reloading presses lately. It will be mostly used to reload 9mm.
There is a big difference in prices of these presses. The Hornady runs around $400, RCBS $550, Dillon $430, And Lee $160.
Was wondering if any of you all used them? And what brand do you use?
You don't say which Dillon you are looking at.
If you are going to load 9mm only, or 9mm and some other handgun cartridges, you might want to look at Dillon's SDB. It can not reload rifle shells and it can not use regular dies. I have one of the SDB's and reload 38spl, 357, 40 S&W and 45 auto. The SDB is a progressive. Every time you pull the handle it spits out a round. No indexing by hand.
If you want to use your press for rifle also, don't get the SDB.
I don't own one, but I have a couple friends who use the 550 and are very pleased with them.
HTH +1 on this the Square deal is a great press for handgun. I've had mine for 20 plus years and it still runs smooth.
 
If all you want to load is 9 mm the SDB from Dillon is a great little press. It ONLY loads pistol ammo. My wife and I loaded over 100k rounds on ours before we traded it for a 1050.
 
Never played with the Hornady but own a Dillon XL650 with case feed and love it.. My 2 boys and myself running AR's I need to be able to punch ammo out quick. 220 rounds in 15 min is about as quick as I can go with the 650. RR
 


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