Dillon/RCBS/Hornady Comparison?

Thegman · February 3, 2001, 05:30 PM

I'm looking at buying one of the following reloaders: Dillon 550 or 650, RCBS 2000 or Hornady LNL AP (the Hornady is a distant third right now).

How do the powder measure units on these three reloaders compare (e.g. accuracy, consistency, ease of use, etc.)? Thanks in advance.

WESHOOT2 · February 4, 2001, 07:51 AM

Frankly, a total no-brainer.

If you can afford it, the Dillon XL650 will provide the highest satisfaction (and greatest production rate) of those you mentioned.

Steve Smith · February 4, 2001, 12:38 PM

I personally liked the manual indexing with the Dillon 550B, but either will be great. My powder measure is very very accurate.

Thegman · February 4, 2001, 01:03 PM

Thanks for the info guys. Weshoot - I guess I should have titled this a little more clearly - perhaps "powder measure comparison".

I agree with you insofar as the 650 being the best overall, of the bunch I listed, but I'm curious as to how the Dillon charge bar type powder measure compares with the RCBS and Hornady powder measurers (is there such a word as "measurers"?).

I'm sure you have experience with both types, what are your experiences with each?

Thanks.

Guy B. Meredith · February 4, 2001, 11:56 PM

I don't know how well the other powder measures function, but my Hornady is typically within the scale's margin of error thoughout a 300 to 400 round session. I usually set the AP up, load a few rounds less the bullet to introduce normal vibration and measure about the 6th to 10 round. After it has been adjusted I normally find no variance when I measure at the standard 100 round intervals.

The RCBS 2000 powder measure appears to be based on the Hornady with an alteration in the return spring position which is well thought out.

By the way, with an RCBS lock-out die and a Lyman expander insert (max $50) the Hornady has most of the features of the Dillon 650 for the price of a 550B and couple of dies. With the AP you have 5 stations and auto indexing. With the RCBS die you have powder check. With the Lyman expander insert in the powder drop you have separate seating and crimping dies as well as powder check. Without the RCBS powder check the Lyman insert is not needed for separate seating and crimp stations. Would be nice to have a case drop, but what the hey. I put the extra money into bullets and powder.

Hornady doesn't make you feel like you have to buy endless accessories to get the job done. You don't.

I load 100 rounds at a fairly easy rate in 12 to 15 minutes, take a break from the tedium of production to reload the primer tubes and get a cup of coffee.

Chris McDermott · February 5, 2001, 12:36 AM

The RCBS 2000 comes with their UniFlow measure. It's a decent generic powder measure. Mine has a variation of +/-0.1 grain most of the time with Titegroup powder (a small grained powder). Not as good as the Redding 10x I use when I do single stage loading, I trust it more than my scale, but okay for the 45 ACP, 41 Magnum and 44 Special I load on it.

Never used a Dillon, but I've heard people complain about using large grained rifle powder's (IMR's etc) in it's sliding bar style powder measure.

Nice thing about the RCBS 2000 is it comes with everything you need except for the 7/16" wrench to change the primer punch. All of the Allen wrenches; bullet, empty case and loaded round trays; the plastic APS primer strips and primer strip loader came with the press. All I needed to do was add dies, cases bullets powder and primers to start re-loading.

I believe Hornady has licensed the Uni-Flow design from RCBS, and RCBS licensed the case actuated linkage design to work the powder measure from Hornady. Still trying to figure out how to adapt my Rededing 10X to the linkage design.

dick w. holliday · February 5, 2001, 12:47 AM

you are correct rcbs has licenced the linkage from hornady and they will sell it to you for your uniflow for about 60.00. i called them the other day and was inquiring about using it on my rcbs piggyback. lady told me to send part of my piggyback linkage (To prove i have one) and they would sell to me for 29.95 postpaid. i'm also going to use it on my old rcbs 4X4..Dick

Thegman · February 5, 2001, 12:47 AM

Guy,

I have a question for you about your Hornady. What make dies can you use in your LNL? I asked Midway and was told that the only dies that were long enough were RCBS and (of course) Hornady. Is that what you've found? This is one of the reasons the Hornady is at the end of my list.

Thanks

Guy B. Meredith · February 5, 2001, 02:15 AM

Thegman,

I am not aware of any problems with die lengths. Might be best to ask Hornady. I have not paid much attnetion to Lee dies, but I believe there have been comments about their requiring special setup for use in presses other than Lee.

As it stands, I am using RCBS dies, but may pick up some Hornady as I have been seeing some very good comments on them recently. The only other dies that look interesting are Redding; I have seen no remarks about their performance in Hornady presses.

proximo · February 7, 2001, 12:18 AM

Dillon has re-designed their powder measure so that it works better with extruded powders than before. I use it to load .223 with Varget, a short grain extruded powder, and it works well. I still get a little powder bridging but polishing the inside of the powder funnel and keeping it clean has eliminated most of them.

The manual indexing on the Dillon 550B may be a bit slower than the XL650, but I very much prefer manual indexing. When something screws up, its really trivial to sort it out and get back on track when using a manual indexing press.

renaissance7697 · February 7, 2001, 07:06 AM

I use a RCBS Piggyback!
With VARIOUS Die Sets (LEE,RCBS,Lyman)

I want to:
1. Use my RCBS Powder Checker Die - -
AND
2. Seat the Bullet - and
3. CRIMP
In SEPARATE stages.

Can this be done (on the 5 station Piggyback)?

Currently I:
station 1 > Deprime and Size
2 > Bell (Flare the case) and RE-Prime
3 > Load Powder Charge
4 > CHECK Powder Charge
5 > Seat Bullet AND re-prime

Please respond via e-mail AS WELL as Post reply

houndawg · February 7, 2001, 06:08 PM

Rennaissance,

I'm not familiar with how the other powder measures work but I know you can use a Lee Auto Disk with a Lee expanding die. that way you can mount your measure on top of the expanding die and open up the station you would normally use for powder. Then move your check die and seating die over and throw in a crimping die.

Rob

arnie · February 9, 2001, 02:01 AM

Renaissance- I would like to do that on my Piggyback press too, but I don't know how you could. I wish they made a six position press.

twin Sigs · April 21, 2001, 10:50 PM

so,
which one?

WESHOOT2 · April 22, 2001, 09:45 AM

Thegman,

The measure binds up with W296.

But so does my Hornady powder measure LOL.

February 4, 2001, 07:51 AM	#2
WESHOOT2 Senior Member Join Date: February 20, 1999 Location: home on the range; Vermont (Caspian country) Posts: 14,324	Frankly, a total no-brainer. If you can afford it, the Dillon XL650 will provide the highest satisfaction (and greatest production rate) of those you mentioned. __________________ . "all my ammo is mostly retired factory ammo"

February 5, 2001, 12:47 AM	#7
dick w. holliday Senior Member Join Date: January 13, 2001 Location: NC Posts: 589	RCBS linkage you are correct rcbs has licenced the linkage from hornady and they will sell it to you for your uniflow for about 60.00. i called them the other day and was inquiring about using it on my rcbs piggyback. lady told me to send part of my piggyback linkage (To prove i have one) and they would sell to me for 29.95 postpaid. i'm also going to use it on my old rcbs 4X4..Dick

February 7, 2001, 07:06 AM	#11
renaissance7697 Senior Member Join Date: January 14, 2001 Location: Alexandria, VA Posts: 203	Can I ? If so; How? I use a RCBS Piggyback! With VARIOUS Die Sets (LEE,RCBS,Lyman) I want to: 1. Use my RCBS Powder Checker Die - - AND 2. Seat the Bullet - and 3. CRIMP In SEPARATE stages. Can this be done (on the 5 station Piggyback)? Currently I: station 1 > Deprime and Size 2 > Bell (Flare the case) and RE-Prime 3 > Load Powder Charge 4 > CHECK Powder Charge 5 > Seat Bullet AND re-prime Please respond via e-mail AS WELL as Post reply __________________ An Armed Society, Is a Polite Society.

April 22, 2001, 09:45 AM	#15
WESHOOT2 Senior Member Join Date: February 20, 1999 Location: home on the range; Vermont (Caspian country) Posts: 14,324	Thegman, The measure binds up with W296. But so does my Hornady powder measure LOL. __________________ . "all my ammo is mostly retired factory ammo"

February 3, 2001, 05:30 PM	#1
Thegman Member Join Date: November 5, 2000 Posts: 22	I'm looking at buying one of the following reloaders: Dillon 550 or 650, RCBS 2000 or Hornady LNL AP (the Hornady is a distant third right now). How do the powder measure units on these three reloaders compare (e.g. accuracy, consistency, ease of use, etc.)? Thanks in advance.

February 4, 2001, 12:38 PM	#3
Steve Smith Senior Member Join Date: December 9, 1999 Posts: 4,131	I personally liked the manual indexing with the Dillon 550B, but either will be great. My powder measure is very very accurate.

February 4, 2001, 01:03 PM	#4
Thegman Member Join Date: November 5, 2000 Posts: 22	Thanks for the info guys. Weshoot - I guess I should have titled this a little more clearly - perhaps "powder measure comparison". I agree with you insofar as the 650 being the best overall, of the bunch I listed, but I'm curious as to how the Dillon charge bar type powder measure compares with the RCBS and Hornady powder measurers (is there such a word as "measurers"?). I'm sure you have experience with both types, what are your experiences with each? Thanks.

February 4, 2001, 11:56 PM	#5
Guy B. Meredith Senior Member Join Date: August 29, 1999 Location: Salem, Oregon Posts: 1,581	I don't know how well the other powder measures function, but my Hornady is typically within the scale's margin of error thoughout a 300 to 400 round session. I usually set the AP up, load a few rounds less the bullet to introduce normal vibration and measure about the 6th to 10 round. After it has been adjusted I normally find no variance when I measure at the standard 100 round intervals. The RCBS 2000 powder measure appears to be based on the Hornady with an alteration in the return spring position which is well thought out. By the way, with an RCBS lock-out die and a Lyman expander insert (max $50) the Hornady has most of the features of the Dillon 650 for the price of a 550B and couple of dies. With the AP you have 5 stations and auto indexing. With the RCBS die you have powder check. With the Lyman expander insert in the powder drop you have separate seating and crimping dies as well as powder check. Without the RCBS powder check the Lyman insert is not needed for separate seating and crimp stations. Would be nice to have a case drop, but what the hey. I put the extra money into bullets and powder. Hornady doesn't make you feel like you have to buy endless accessories to get the job done. You don't. I load 100 rounds at a fairly easy rate in 12 to 15 minutes, take a break from the tedium of production to reload the primer tubes and get a cup of coffee.

February 5, 2001, 12:36 AM	#6
Chris McDermott Senior Member Join Date: March 30, 2000 Posts: 245	The RCBS 2000 comes with their UniFlow measure. It's a decent generic powder measure. Mine has a variation of +/-0.1 grain most of the time with Titegroup powder (a small grained powder). Not as good as the Redding 10x I use when I do single stage loading, I trust it more than my scale, but okay for the 45 ACP, 41 Magnum and 44 Special I load on it. Never used a Dillon, but I've heard people complain about using large grained rifle powder's (IMR's etc) in it's sliding bar style powder measure. Nice thing about the RCBS 2000 is it comes with everything you need except for the 7/16" wrench to change the primer punch. All of the Allen wrenches; bullet, empty case and loaded round trays; the plastic APS primer strips and primer strip loader came with the press. All I needed to do was add dies, cases bullets powder and primers to start re-loading. I believe Hornady has licensed the Uni-Flow design from RCBS, and RCBS licensed the case actuated linkage design to work the powder measure from Hornady. Still trying to figure out how to adapt my Rededing 10X to the linkage design.

February 5, 2001, 02:15 AM	#9
Guy B. Meredith Senior Member Join Date: August 29, 1999 Location: Salem, Oregon Posts: 1,581	Thegman, I am not aware of any problems with die lengths. Might be best to ask Hornady. I have not paid much attnetion to Lee dies, but I believe there have been comments about their requiring special setup for use in presses other than Lee. As it stands, I am using RCBS dies, but may pick up some Hornady as I have been seeing some very good comments on them recently. The only other dies that look interesting are Redding; I have seen no remarks about their performance in Hornady presses.

February 7, 2001, 12:18 AM	#10
proximo Junior member Join Date: May 11, 2000 Posts: 191	Dillon has re-designed their powder measure so that it works better with extruded powders than before. I use it to load .223 with Varget, a short grain extruded powder, and it works well. I still get a little powder bridging but polishing the inside of the powder funnel and keeping it clean has eliminated most of them. The manual indexing on the Dillon 550B may be a bit slower than the XL650, but I very much prefer manual indexing. When something screws up, its really trivial to sort it out and get back on track when using a manual indexing press.

February 7, 2001, 06:08 PM	#12
houndawg Senior Member Join Date: February 8, 2000 Location: Illinois Posts: 479	Rennaissance, I'm not familiar with how the other powder measures work but I know you can use a Lee Auto Disk with a Lee expanding die. that way you can mount your measure on top of the expanding die and open up the station you would normally use for powder. Then move your check die and seating die over and throw in a crimping die. Rob

February 9, 2001, 02:01 AM	#13
arnie Member Join Date: January 9, 2000 Location: mankato, mn usa Posts: 65	Renaissance- I would like to do that on my Piggyback press too, but I don't know how you could. I wish they made a six position press.

April 21, 2001, 10:50 PM	#14
twin Sigs Junior member Join Date: April 10, 2001 Posts: 205	so, which one?