.223 on a Progressive?
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FrogFire7
Well-Known Member
I use a Hornady lnl progressive. A lot of people complain about Hornady stuff for some reason but mine hasn't given me any trouble.
One think I do recommend is that is you are losing for precision, weight your powder charges individually and dump them into the casings. Unless you have an extremely precise and repeatable powder thrower.
One think I do recommend is that is you are losing for precision, weight your powder charges individually and dump them into the casings. Unless you have an extremely precise and repeatable powder thrower.
I have been happy with my Dillon 550c. Really speeds the process up. Usually work the load up on a single stage.
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I throw powder now for .223, RCBS Uniflow and Micrometer adjustment. With ball powders it has been very accurate. However, it's the brass prep I want to speed up more than anything. I looked at the Dillon CP2000, but I'm not sure I want to spend that money yet.
FrogFire7
Well-Known Member
I hear you. I have a buddy that went from Hornady LNL progressive to a Dillon. Said it was way better but I have a hard time separating "I paid a lot of money for this" from it actually being a big improvement. It may well be, but again I have had no complaints with mine. Maybe the change over to other calibers, etc might be where some improvement comes from? Possibly the physical station to station transition is smoother? I guess that is one minor complaint- it can be a bit abrupt and spill powder if you go fast?
The brass prep is WAY faster on a progressive- I do LOVE that about it. And if you could rig your powder throw to the press, or eve just above it and use the funnel, you would vastly improve your load speed, for sure.
I've had a couple cartridges over the years that I do sizing/priming on the progressive and then charge and seat on the single stage. Still a big improvement time wise since you can basically feed and crank as fast as you can go on the progressive for prep and priming.
I'm not a benchrest shooter and still learning on the longer range stuff. There are guys on here who would probably cringe at how I do it but for my stage of advancement, this loading practice certainly isn't my limiting factor.
del2les
Well-Known Member
Dillon. I've been using them since the 80's, and I cannot begin to count the numbers of 222, 223, 308, 30-06, 9mm, 38Sp, 357, 45ACP's and others they have loaded.
Croomrider
Member
I have a Dillon 650 with case feeder. When I was loading quite a bit of 223 I would have one tool head set up for sizing and de-priming and would do that followed by tumbling the brass. Then I had another tool head set up to prime, dispense powder, and seat bullets. If you're not shooting much past a few hundred yards or typically use ball powder, there's no reason not to do it on the progressive. This procedure worked great for shooting NRA highpower matches and practice ammo. However, I did weigh powder for the 600 yard stages.
First I think that you may need to double your spending budget.
If you are going to load with a progressive get a good too great one especially for loading rifle with small necks. Also get one with a Stage that confirms powder load.
We have a RCBS PRO 2000 and mainly loaded 9mm and .45. I wish it had an extra stage like the new ones.
The reason for a Progressive for us is for pistol reloading. Jill and I would shoot several Thousand 9mm & .45 ACP a month. It was then economically better to reload than to buy factory loads
.
You get what you pay for. Remember "CRY ONCE" or something like that.
You need to factor in the costs $$$ of the (Very Good) Progressive with Plates/Dies/Extras and then how much you are shooting and are you going to use the Progressive for several cartridges.
I can load a lot of 223 with my rock chucker single stage in no time at all. We load all our cartridges for competition whether to shoot paper, steel, or animals.
If you are just loading for a lot of "Plinking" it is much easier/cheaper to buy bulk .223/5.56 Ammo
We got specials a few years ago from LAX Ammo with Factory NEW or Re-Manufactured .223 in HPBT Match, V MAX, PSP (Pointed Soft Point), FMJ.. A lot cheaper to buy than to load.
AND THEY SHOT GREAT!
We have several LAX Ammo Boxes of 500 each .223 for plinking and varmint Hunting and also 9mm, .45ACP when didn't have the time to reload 500-1,000 for a weekend.
We use our Lapua Brass, H-4895 and 65 gr SGK for Yotes and Hogs. Getting <1/3" MOA with our RRA AR Yote rifle. This is for surgical shooting.
Also recently got into shooting the .223 at 1K, Thanks to Nez (Bamban on LRH) so have to hand load single stage.
Check out what you want to do, how much are you shooting and then the cost of a Progressive to purchasing Bulk Loaded Ammo.
If you wanted to discuss further send us a PM.
Thanks
Len & Jill
If you are going to load with a progressive get a good too great one especially for loading rifle with small necks. Also get one with a Stage that confirms powder load.
We have a RCBS PRO 2000 and mainly loaded 9mm and .45. I wish it had an extra stage like the new ones.
The reason for a Progressive for us is for pistol reloading. Jill and I would shoot several Thousand 9mm & .45 ACP a month. It was then economically better to reload than to buy factory loads
.
You get what you pay for. Remember "CRY ONCE" or something like that.
You need to factor in the costs $$$ of the (Very Good) Progressive with Plates/Dies/Extras and then how much you are shooting and are you going to use the Progressive for several cartridges.
I can load a lot of 223 with my rock chucker single stage in no time at all. We load all our cartridges for competition whether to shoot paper, steel, or animals.
If you are just loading for a lot of "Plinking" it is much easier/cheaper to buy bulk .223/5.56 Ammo
We got specials a few years ago from LAX Ammo with Factory NEW or Re-Manufactured .223 in HPBT Match, V MAX, PSP (Pointed Soft Point), FMJ.. A lot cheaper to buy than to load.
AND THEY SHOT GREAT!
We have several LAX Ammo Boxes of 500 each .223 for plinking and varmint Hunting and also 9mm, .45ACP when didn't have the time to reload 500-1,000 for a weekend.
We use our Lapua Brass, H-4895 and 65 gr SGK for Yotes and Hogs. Getting <1/3" MOA with our RRA AR Yote rifle. This is for surgical shooting.
Also recently got into shooting the .223 at 1K, Thanks to Nez (Bamban on LRH) so have to hand load single stage.
Check out what you want to do, how much are you shooting and then the cost of a Progressive to purchasing Bulk Loaded Ammo.
If you wanted to discuss further send us a PM.
Thanks
Len & Jill
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sea2summit
Well-Known Member
550. Since the 650 got released you can get a 550 for peanuts.
$1000 was just for the press.
Yes and then you need all the extras. Die Plates, Dies, Powder Drop if it didn't come with a good one. It should have a primer already and the depending on how may stations it has you should get a Powder Checker to make sure that you got a full case of powder. If you get a "Short" load you may end up with a "Squib" in the barrel and the next cartridge would be a disaster. Especially with an AR or semi auto. The loader has to be "Timed" so everything works at the same time. Don't look at the cost so much as what it can do. "BUY ONCE CRY ONCE"
At the time we bought a RCBS PRO 2000. Worked great for pistol loading. In hind sight wish we put another $1K into the Blue -Dillon with more options. Our Pro 2000 still works great once set up. Can really crank out the loaded cartridges. The "BLUE" Dillon has many extra features for loading both pistol and rifle.
Really figur out how much you are going to shoot and then compare to the cost $$$ of the Press and then costs of accessories, and you will need accessories. Make sure if you already have Dies that they will work in the new Press.
Try to get as much info from everyone that you can talk to that actually has several different Progressives.
Knowledge is Power and Power is good when you go to purchase something. Don't make the mistakes like many before you. Try to do it right first and if it costs more-spend more or wait until you have the funds for it. Progressives are a whole new animal compared to a single stage.
Wish someone talked to me before we purchased a Progressive. In fact a lot of things would have helped me out. I learned by trial and fire.
I would have done some things differently, but back then some options were still not available.
Coyote brings up several good points, especially about a spot for a powder checker, I have had several rounds slip through the reloading process without powder. A Dillon 650 or 750 has 5 stations so you'd have a spot for a powder checker. If you load military brass for the 223 a swaging and a trimming station would also be nice. I have looked hard at the Dillon 1050 and the 1100 but it looks like a major pain to do a caliber change on them.
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