Hornady or Dillion

[Pat C]

I thinking about getting a new progressive press not sure which one it's either going to be the Hornady AP or the Dillion 650 what's your thoughts?

[Doublehelix3216]

You are going to get a million back and forth answers here with folks favorites, and both groups (Hornady and Dillon) are fiercely loyal.

Both are great, but for my money, I'd go Blue (Dillon).

[Martys]

Like asking which is better "Fords or Chevys". Both will serve you well however Blue always trumphs red.

[ed308]

Both are good and have their pluses and minuses. I learned how to reload on a Dillon 650. The powder check system, Dillon's reputation for quality and their customer service is why I went with the 650.

Since I purchased my 650, I've had various single stage presses over the years. I eventually got rid of the other single stages presses for Hornady Iron press. Had a chance to use their customer service and it was excellent.

Take your pick. You'll probably like whatever press you decide to buy.

[rebs]

Both have their little quirks. Either one is a good press and both have equal customer service. How tight is your budget ? They are both able to make great reloads but you can save some money with the Hornady.

[kmw1954]

Kind of like asking a hormone enraged teen do you like blonds, Brunettes or Redheads. Personality doesn't count.

I like whichever one talks to me.

[Metal god]

I'll add to the conversation and Q & A because I'll be going progressive soon and have every intention on going blue .

When I bought my first press (single stage ) I asked what should I get . RCBS came up most then really a bunch of others with Hornady & Lee being the next most recommended . One of the things heard was that Hornady over time will discontinue things and stops supporting that discontinued product . It was a draw back I thought about but still bought the Hornady classic single stage . Mostly because of the quick change bushings and I'm glad I did .

How ever the thought of a company maybe stop supporting a product in 15years because they have something better out and for what ever reason no longer feel the need or unable to support the older product concerns me . I'm not even sure how accurate that is about Hornady . Heck maybe they did it once a long time ago and some never forget .

Either way it's pretty much why I'm not even considering getting the Hornady AP even though it's cheaper and likely will do everything I need it to do . There's a few other minor reasons but that's the deal breaker .

So is there any truth to that ? Is Hornady known to stop supporting there products they no longer sell ?

Maybe Dillon has done the same and I've not heard of it . My thinking is the 650 is what it is and will likely be sold and supported for the next 50 to 100 years . Do you think the Hornady AP is that good a design that it's gtg for the next 50+ years with no changes or rebuilding it which in turn will make the old model not worth selling anymore and soon after no longer supported ?

[jmorris]

I have had several LNL' and 650's. The 650 is the better machine in my opinion but the LNL works too. If you intend to have case feed, I wouldn't consider the LNL, if you intend to load cases into the shell plate manually the LNL is the machine for you.

[springer99]

I looked at both the AP LnL and Dillon 650 when I went with a progressive press from my Lee Classic Cast Turret about a year ago. I wasn't interested in the manually indexing 550. I believe that both presses work very well and each has it's pros and cons. Service and support from Hornady has been stellar, which Dillon also prides themselves on.

In the end I went with the LnL for only 3 reasons. One, it was much less expensive(especially with 500free bullets); Two, I really didn't need a case feeder option; and Three, I can get accessories and parts from a number of sources, unlike Dillon.

[drain smith]

just go blue no one likes red.

[higgite]

Everyone who is into cars knows red goes faster. On a more serious note, my press is green, but between the 2 you asked about, I'd go blue. All progressives have their quirks. And progressive presses do, too.

[ms6852]

Just go red and get a Forster Press.

[Pat C]

A couple of posts mentioned if you don't need a case feeder then get the Hornady, implying they don't make one but they do.

[jmorris]

I was not implying they didn't make one but it is not as good of a design as the Dillon.

The actual case feed, tube that holds the cases, device that feeds the cases from the tube into the shell plate comes from the factory all ready to go on the 650. Their optional "case feeder" is actually just a collator or case feed feeder. So set up is, drop it on the post, plug it in and flip the switch. This is why the Dillon press costs more but to add "case feed" costs less than the LNL.

The LNL press comes with nothing except to places to attach all the parts for case feed.

The optional case feed for it includes the collator and all the little bits and pieces to get them into the shell plate. How well they work depends a lot on how good you are at putting it together.

If you total up both machines with case feeders the price gap between the two is narrowed. The LNL's also don't hold their value the same as the Dillon presses if you ever go to sell them.

[BigJimP]

I'd go with Dillon 650.....in my opinion, the primer feed is better than the LNL....but they are both good presses.

[jojo4711]

I had the same dilemma 3 months ago and went blue. I dont regret it for one second and have had no issues. Loaded about 1000 rounds so far and only had one primer upside down, probably my fault. I didnt want to chance getting a Hornady and have problems, then kick myself for not getting the Dillon. Buy once, cry once.

[Pat C]

Ok, blue it is thanks everyone.

[Real Gun]

It's settled then, but I wanted to comment that I have the LnL AP, bought without intending to use a case feeder, which I grabbed later. It works fine.

I would love a chance to try a Dillon 650.

If I was starting over, this is what I would be looking at, considering 7 stations the most modern machine.
RCBS Pro Chucker 7

I would add the 88915 case feeder, which can be adapted to other brands of collators.

[Pat C]

To many bad reviews on the green. I think I'll stick with blue.

[ed308]

I've read a lot of negative reviews on the Rocker 7 station press, especially related to the priming system. When it comes to progressive presses, Dillon or Hornady seems to be the safe bets. But when it comes to single stage presses, they're all good no matter what color you buy. But the Foster's Coax may be the best of the singles.

[higgite]

To many bad reviews on the green. I think I'll stick with blue.

Good call, IMHO. Further to my other post, I bought green because of the APS priming system. And I’m glad I did. But, if I were buying a new progressive press today, since RCBS has abandoned the APS system and gone to primer tubes, I’d go blue.

[T. O'Heir]

If I had the money, I'd be going Dillon just because of the customer service. And the 100%, "We'll fix it if it breaks, no questions asked." warrantee.

[Beanie-Bean]

I've got presses from both companies.

The Hornady presses are pretty much AUX presses for my use: resizing/decapping on the SS, and decapping with the AP. No primer issues there for me!

The Dillons are my meat and potatoes production systems. RL550B has done the lion's share of my reloads, and I've only recently mounted my XL650 for 9x19 loads. The 550 does every other caliber I shoot.

I have experienced issues with both brands, and have received excellent customer support from both. Whether it was pawls on the Hornady LnL AP, primer shims for the 550, or the indexing ring on the 650, I have always had help. Dillon even helped me with one of their carbide sizing dies that was causing me some issues.

As an added note, there is a lot of great and helpful information out there from folks who have had issues which you may encounter. Their posts, along with their feedback have saved me a lot of heartache and have kept me shooting.

[mulespurs]

I vote Dillon 550. My son likes his 650, I like less comotion

[jmorris]

If I was starting over, this is what I would be looking at, considering 7 stations the most modern machine.
RCBS Pro Chucker 7

Having also owned RCBS progressives I would advise against that. Once they have the issues ironed out of them and they have been around long enough that I might be able to find parts once RCBS discontinues them like all the other progressives they have quit making and no longer support, I would give it a second thought though.

Once you get older "new" is not always the best thing, let the other guys deal with the teething pains.