Which press is under rated.

[tonyz]

I have two dillions the SDB and the 550. I am looking to find another progressive with auto index. So Which brands/ press are under rated.

TonyZ

[Sixgun Symphony]

I like the Turrent press from Lee.

[Tommy gunn]

I gotta say that Lee is underrated.

Lee has some very innovative designs.

[sigman69]

I think Lee is....but I think Dillon is pretty much the standard in progressives....one question...does anyone have a hornady progressive? you never hear anything about them...good or bad...


John

[tonyz]

I am looking into the hornady Lock-N-Load auto progressive.
It looks like a very sturdy press. I have heard that most of the bugs have been worked out of it. I wish I could say the same for my Dillons.

TonyZ

[lochaber]

Whats wrong with your Dillons?

Loch

[Sisco]

Another vote for the Lee Turrent as most underrated.

[tonyz]

Whats wrong with my Dillons

Other then they have both been totaly rebuilt more then once, and it seems I am calling Dillon every month for another failed part. The primmer sytem can be a pain on both of them, "nothing" they work great. I would have to say that I favor my SDB much more then my 550.

TonyZ

[snuffy]

I'd have to agree about the lee turret being under rated. Before getting my present dillon 650, I used a lee turret for all my handgun and some rifle loading,(.223, .308). I probably went through 10,000 rounds in a little over a year. It worked as advertised, only failure was the square follower for the auto index. They include an extra one in the kit, so it was a quick fix.

I sold it to my shootin buddy, it's still going strong. It's no comparison to the dillon, but is much faster than my co-ax. One improvement that I made right away is the pro upgrade to the auto disk powder measure.



I had 7 turrets set up for all the calibers I loaded on it. Change-over was quick, the longest part was transferring the powder measure from one turret to another and getting the powder set.

[Oldphart]

I'll toss in another vote for the Lee Turret press. If I had to load large volumes of ammo I might go for a Dillon, but for what I do (200-300 rounds a month) the lee works fine. I found a way to make their Perfect Powder Measure fit on top of the turret and then customized a RCBS primer feed setup to work on my 3-holer. If I'm loading for a handgun it all works pretty slick. The rifle loads are too long for the auto-indexing mechanism though.

[RobW]

I use a Lee turret without the auto index. I just don't get comfortable with progressives (no matter what brand). I like to SEE every step in the reloading process.

The reloading is not the big deal, cleaning and inspecting the cases take the most time.

[Ala Dan]

My vote goes to the old R.C.B.S. Jr series; great press
with very little investment.

Best Wishes,
Ala Dan, N.R.A. Life Member

[racenutz]

...customized a RCBS primer feed setup to work on my 3-holer.

Oldphart, how did you do this, do you have and pics or instructions? That's the one thing that I don’t like about the Lee turret press. I'm Mr. Fumble finger & picking up each primer individually is a real pain.

As for the most underrated I'd say the Lee Classic Cast.

[VAdoublegunner]

I'll throw in for the Hornady LNL AP. I've had one for about a year now and have never once had a primer feed problem or other technical problems at all, save for kinking the cartridge retaining spring a time or two. I think the earlier models with plastic primer feed parts had quite a few problems but not so with the more recent all metal version.

The powder measure system is simple and reliable, it's extremely easy to dump and change powder types, the LNL bushings make changes to different dies a snap (particularly if not changing primer sizes). Shell plate changes are also very simple when you need to do it. I found I can even use the 45 Colt shell plate for 44 mag, and since the case length is about the same no change to the powder drop length is necessary.....takes just a couple of minutes to change over.

I leave this press set up for large primers and have loaded about 7500 rounds since getting it. I could not be more pleased. I leave my old Hornady Pro-Jector set up for small primer work and am giving serious thought to replacing it soon with another LNL AP I like the design so much. Most of the cowboy shooters swear by Dillon so I'm kind of an outcast using Horndays. They apparently do still have a few bugs to work out with the auto case feeder, so I'll wait a while to add one of those. And some folks complain about the case ejector wire getting in the way of Lee Factory Crimp Dies at station 5 -- it does do that if you want to use it full length rather than just crimp. In most cases, that's not an insurmountable problem.

I've used the Dillons and think they are a fine machine -- I might even say superior to the old Pro-Jector, which I bought new really cheap. But I never felt particularly driven to buy a Dillon. I think the LNL AP just kicked Dillon's rear with the next generation of machine advances. It's easier to use, easier to set up, easier to change over, and much, much, much easier to keep clean for smooth running (and you dedicated Dillon users *know* what I'm talking about, admit it, you do).

[BD1]

IMHO, The Hornady is everything the Dillon 650 is, and a better value. I have a very old Pro-Jector set up for .45 acp. If I clean it once a year it provides the 8,000- 10,000 rounds I use with no trouble at all. I bought it used for $200 with 10 shell plates. It took me an afternoon to get it set up, (with a few update modifications), and it's been putting out the ammo ever since. The primer fed spring broke last year so I called Hornady. I had two new ones, and a replacement for all of the other little springs, in 48 hours. I think the charge was $2.50 for the shipping. I've used a 650, and I know a lot of folks who swear by Dillon, but if I buy another progressive it will probably be a Lock & Load. BD

[Lucky Joe]

I have to echo BD1. I have a Pro-Jector, it is smooth, fast and STRONG. Every time I use it I have to

[Bruce Layne]

I've been very happy with my little Lee Pro-1000. I bought it, largely because it was the least expensive progressive when I was starting out in 1995, when saving money was my primary motivation. I've since discovered that reloading is a fun, interesting and very educational hobby in its own right.

The Pro-1000 is the full progressive version of the Lee Turret Press.

If I was starting out now, I'd buy the Lee Loadmaster progressive. It's beefier than the Pro-1000, and has five stations instead of three so I can use the Lee factory crimp die as the final stage of the process to ensure more accurate and more reliable ammo. The complete Loadmaster with a set of pistol dies, factory calibrated, and drop shipped directly from Lee has been selling for $175 on eBay. This is a new press, not reconditioned.

I've reloaded a lot of 10 mm ammo on my Pro-1000. I had to fiddle a bit with the primer feed at first, but it's been trouble free since then. People report the same sort of primer issues with the Loadmaster.

I have to admit, there aren't a lot of people bad mouthing the quality of the Dillon presses. Most Dillon customers have a near fanatical devotion to them. I always assumed it was because of the hot gun-toting chicks in the Dillon catalog, The Blue Press. If you were having mechanical trouble with two different Dillon presses, I'm not sure you'll like the Lee presses either. Lee Precision does have good customer support and service, but Dillon is known for these as well. The difference is, you really pay for them up front with Dillon.

[JNewell]

RCBS Partner. Cheap, strong, durable, compact and light. Hard to get all that into one package, and the price is right.

[crazylegs]

I think the guy is asking about underated "progressives".
Crazylegs

[JNewell]

Well, the Partner would be very underrated as a progressive... Sorry, I hate it when folks do that.

[crazylegs]

JNewell, I think we all have this thing about our press. That's funny.
crazylegs

[ArmaLube]

You only live once (maybe )!

Go First Class and get a Dillon Super 1050. $1,399.95! Start saving for it now. Since you already have Dillons, you know how good they are.

http://dillonprecision.com/template/...&cookieClean=1

This press is well engineered and supported. Cast iron frame is very desirable. Chances are the company will still be around in the future.

Not quite a good, but still cool: XL 650.

Instruction manuals are available here: http://www.dillonhelp.com/helpindex/...ex/manuals.htm

[robctwo]

I've got the LocknLoad progressive. Bought it in March of this year. I'm just over 9,000 rounds. 7,000 9mm and 2,000 .40. I went with Hornady after learning to reload on my friend's Lee Loadmaster. The Hornady is a better machine. I got the automatic case feeder. Primer feed and powder are great. Automatic case ejector doesn't work for me at all, and has been removed because I'm using Lee factory crimp die in station 5. Hand ejecting and hand feeding the bullets is fine.

I'm all set up to load some rifle rounds. As mentioned, if I want to load one at a time I can. Many of the guys in my club use Dillons. I've never seen one in the flesh so have no opinion. I'm glad I went with progressive with the pistol rounds.

[Smaug]

Since you already have what is considered the creme of the crop for progressives, why don't you get an underrated single stage and see how smooth and solid a press can really be? Look into the Lee Classic Cast press. I bet your rifle ammo's consistency will improve overnight. I bet you will marvel at how damn good that press is for $60, I know I did.

I also have a Lee Turret press, but you wouldn't be interested in that if you already have Dillon progressives.

[grunewaj]

I vote for the Hornady LnL AP. I just don't think enough is said about this quality machine. I've had mine for about three years and had no problems with it. It's sturdy and reliable. As BD1 said, it's pretty much equal to the Dillon XL650, only less expensive. Auto indexing is great for pistol loading!