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griz · February 5, 2005, 03:59 PM

I'm always hesitant about these kind of questions because answers sometimes sounds like an endorsment of one over the other when most people have only used one. When I was shopping I looked at the Dillon, Hornady, and RCBS. All three looked like fine quality presses, and I doubt you would ever wear one out. Mostly because of the cost of caliber swaps, I choose the RCBS. The Hornady was a very close second on that issue. I've never used any progressive other than the RCBS, so I'll not claim it as better or worse than the others.

It is manual indexing and has no grease fittings. Maintence for me consist of occasionally wiping off the grunge and oiling the pivot points a couple times a year. Nothing has broken in the 4 or 5 years I've had it. I do plan to order some spares (springs and pins) so I can keep reloading if one falls into a black hole after I drop it.

I buy a die plate for each caliber, which speeds up switching. A complete caliber change consists of: Switching the die plate, shell plate, and the primer punch if switching primer sizes. Set the powder measure and you are done. If loading rifle rounds, you have to switch a spacer in the measure to account for the longer cases. A complete caliber change takes 5 or 10 minutes, and most of that is verifing the powder measure setting. Thoose settings have always been repeatable for me, but I always check. Rifle loading presents no problems at all. It is no different than pistol loading.

I like the press. The primer system is safe and reliable. The strip loader is included, and they probably load faster than the tubes. CCI primers are avalible pre-loaded into the strips, and the closest thing I have to a complaint is I wish Federal primers were also available so loaded. The only other thing I can think of is I didn't consider the manual index a disadvantage, but that's personal preference.

February 5, 2005, 03:59 PM	#3
griz Senior Member Join Date: July 31, 2000 Location: Middle Peninsula, VA Posts: 1,588	I'm always hesitant about these kind of questions because answers sometimes sounds like an endorsment of one over the other when most people have only used one. When I was shopping I looked at the Dillon, Hornady, and RCBS. All three looked like fine quality presses, and I doubt you would ever wear one out. Mostly because of the cost of caliber swaps, I choose the RCBS. The Hornady was a very close second on that issue. I've never used any progressive other than the RCBS, so I'll not claim it as better or worse than the others. It is manual indexing and has no grease fittings. Maintence for me consist of occasionally wiping off the grunge and oiling the pivot points a couple times a year. Nothing has broken in the 4 or 5 years I've had it. I do plan to order some spares (springs and pins) so I can keep reloading if one falls into a black hole after I drop it. I buy a die plate for each caliber, which speeds up switching. A complete caliber change consists of: Switching the die plate, shell plate, and the primer punch if switching primer sizes. Set the powder measure and you are done. If loading rifle rounds, you have to switch a spacer in the measure to account for the longer cases. A complete caliber change takes 5 or 10 minutes, and most of that is verifing the powder measure setting. Thoose settings have always been repeatable for me, but I always check. Rifle loading presents no problems at all. It is no different than pistol loading. I like the press. The primer system is safe and reliable. The strip loader is included, and they probably load faster than the tubes. CCI primers are avalible pre-loaded into the strips, and the closest thing I have to a complaint is I wish Federal primers were also available so loaded. The only other thing I can think of is I didn't consider the manual index a disadvantage, but that's personal preference.