Best Progressive Reloader

[JeffVN]

I have a Dillion 550 as does my brother. Were I doing it over again, I'd consider the 650 to get the auto indexing, but feel no need to step up in price to anything above that. I load between 200-300 rounds of .45acp an hour with what I have and don't shoot much more then that in a month. My brother also uses his for reloading his F-Class .284 ammo, so I konw its capable of mking accurate ammo.

JeffVN

[mo]

I've been loading with a Dillon 550 for about 15 years. Works great, and fast on changing calibers.

[CentreHit]

Hi Mortgage man,

I've just updated to the Hornady Lock-N-Load Automatic Press and I LOVE it!

My previous one was the Hornady Progressive (I used it for some 16 years) - had some issues with the primer feed on it at times so that was annoying. Upgraded the powder throw system to a 'case activated' version and that saved a lot of spilt powder. The only thing to break on it was a small roll pin that holds the rotating rod on the shell holder, pretty minor for all of those years I think.

So, the new version L-N-L A.P. is great - Hornady have addressed all the so called 'issues' I used to experience on the older version and changed/updated the design somewhat - so that is good. I load 357SIG, .308Win and 44Mag on it - just great. I have found I can actually load quite a bit faster with the new press than the old version and the process is very smooth.

Cannot comment on the Dillan though.

Cheers.

Originally Posted by Mortgage Man

I have been doing alot of research on the different progressive reloaders out there and I was wondering what you guys thought was your favorite? I did a search on here but didn't turn up much in results on this particular subject. I am leaning towards a Dillon because I have read alot of good things about them. I have also heard good things about the Hornady too though. What have you guys found to be the pros and cons of each? Thanks in advance for your help. I am going to do a poll for those that may want to vote and because they are fun sometimes.

[mo]

I've done a few test on the range with my Dillon 550. I really didn't think that using the auto powder dispenser could produce as accurate round as hand weighing each powder charge. Conclusion out of the 3 rifles I tested group sizes stayed the same. Best powders to use are ball powders or short cut powders. The long grained powders do not work well in the auto powder measures so I didn't test any of them .

[Viggen]

I have been using Dillon 550's for the past nine years for various pistol calibers and 223. Great for pistol, OK for rifle.
With the standard setup you are not going to get a real consistent powder charge. Can't say why but after years of using them that's just the way things are. The rifle ammo can be accurate enough for things like High Power or or 3-Gun - staying under 500 or 600 yards with big targets but it's not near the qulity of ammo made on a single stage. As for Tubbs and the 550 - he is a great shooter and can maybe run looser on certain things than most folks because of his great ability.
And with the 550 I still do resize and deprime on a single-stage, then case prep.
For bigger medium calibers I would stay with the single stage instead of a Dillon. A friend loading 7-08 on the 550 ran into problems with the shellplate bending or tearing out.

[bwaites]

Having read a lot of Tubbs articles over the years, I find it hard to believe that he uses a porgressive for his competition loads. Maybe he does, but his attention to detail doesn't seem to jive with using a progressive for competitive shooting.

I, too, am looking at progressives and this thread has been very helpful!

Bill

[B23]

I have a 550B my dad has a new Hornady LNL AP. Bang for the buck, in my opinion, easily goes to the Hornady LNL. The powder measurer is better on the LNL and it auto indexes where as the 550 does not.

I don't think you can even compare the 550 to the LNL AP cause the LNL is more like the Dillion 650 but for less money and you get 1000 free bullets with the Hornady LNL AP.

You can't go wrong with either press but for the money, I think, the Hornady is the better choice.