Buying a new progressive reloader

[RockyRandy]

I'm wanting to speed up my reloading time but still want competition accuracy. I will be reloading 22 and 6.5 creedmoor with it. I have narrowed it down to Dillon 550 or Hornady Lock and load AP. Would like to hear your opinion and why you like it.

 

[Hairtrigger]

I have used Hornady since the early 1980s
Every once in a while I hear how great the blue ones are and I will find a deal on a Dillon and purchase it only to sell it shortly after, the 550 is not a true progressive press and you must manually index it which makes it possible to put a double charge of powder in a case which can be an extremely bad thing

In my group of reloading buddies the Hornady guys are the ones that Are frugal, the dillon guys are the ones that just throw money at Things

I guess the bottom line is I would buy the same brand as your friends are already using

If you are not currently reloading I would start with a single stage press

 

[TennJed]

Agree with the above. The expense of changing calibers on the Dillon is very high while on Hornady low, shellplates are around $30.00. I reload many different calibers so this was a major consideration for me. Also the Hornady has 5 stations so this allows for separate seat crimp as well as a powder checker. The powder drop has optional parts to slightly flare handgun case mouths which saves a station. And manually indexing would drive me insane. Once everything is set up I can safely crank out 100 rounds in around 20 minutes.

 

[Frog4aday]

Dillon 550C gets my vote
1) Quality materials, properly built, & lifetime, no BS warranty. And parts are READILY AVAILABLE, easy to find & buy. Customer support & service is good, too.
2) Manual indexing means you are in control, which is a plus when being precise. If you are cranking out 1000s of pistol rounds for IPSC or IDPA, the automatic indexing could be a benefit, but not when assembling rifle rounds; you want CONTROL, and manual indexing provides that. We all have our preferences. I prefer to manually index, which means the 550C is what I like best. Maybe it's from years of loading shotgun shells on MEC presses? Don't know. It just feels more natural & controlled to me that things don't move until I want them to move.

Both machines have pros & cons. It almost comes down to, "Do you like red or blue"?

One pro I've heard for the Hornady is the power measure does better with stick (extruded) powders vs the Dillon. Both are fine w/ball powders & acceptable w/flake powders. So if you are looking to use stick (extruded) powders, maybe Hornaday gets the nod for the better powder dispenser?

 

[338 dude]

I'm wanting to speed up my reloading time but still want competition accuracy. I will be reloading 22 and 6.5 creedmoor with it. I have narrowed it down to Dillon 550 or Hornady Lock and load AP. Would like to hear your opinion and why you like it.

Dillon

 

[44-40]

I would use the Dillion 550, for accurate progressive loader for rifle ...it is what I use. And I have both 2 Hornadys and 2 Dillions, but for serious work the Dillion, Example 9mm pistol in Hornady press, with a Dillion powder measure, cause Dillon has a good pistol powder measure and a bad rifle powder measure.
The 308 or Creedmoor, Sized off the progressive on a single stage press, and cleaned . Run through the Dillion 550 press with a Hornaday powder measure, the old ones were better than the new ones...Shot 17,000 match grade cartridges loaded on a Dillon out to 1400 yds with 308, and Varget. Also if in tbe same bolt gun just neck size the case usually for 3 times then in the Dillion skip the FL resize. I just buff the carbon off the necks and shoulder with a silicon carbide fine grey deburring wheel...no further cleaning. Run them over a chronograph they will have single digit S/D, and be accurate, enough to hit eggs at 1000 yds...no need to weigh the power out for every change down to the exact grain, but check about 1 in 20, or 30, off the press. Add powder, pound on the measure container to settle it, with your hand, throw and discard the first two and check the third , should be on. Rhythm is the key, every stroke and index preformed the same.
No need clean primer pockets or brass, no annealing. Lapua Brass load and shoot, up to 40 times before replacing, with minimal sizing. Always trim back the brass, as the case grows longer, no need for meticulously measuring, and weighing everything...you already checked at the beginning. Time to load, get it done. Field time is more important, trigger time, and you observing conditions, nature, all natural, and a mind set to control the shot. All you need is a range finder, your mat, a bag of reloaded, no do shiny cartridges, with bullets that your barrel loves. Quit messing around changing the load, to the next new bullet or powder, your barrel has spoken, this one is good. Run the **** out of it, hot or cold, wind, rain, or snow, 8000 rds per barrel before changing barrels, with 308 Win...same load. Don't concern your self with barrel temperature, cleaning,...you only quit when the hot barrel heat waves obscured the target...especially when your on a pop can 1000 yds. ..even to 1400 yds. If you can see it, you can hit it...mind set...always expect to hit the target, no matter how small or how far away...you can do that with cartridges loaded on a progressive Dillion 550...I'm not the only one.

 

[Hydra6]

I have multiple Dillon 550s and they serve me well. Bought first one new and picked up two more cheap from estate sales. Leave one set up for 223, have one set up for 308 family and large primer pocket (plus 45ACP) and one set up for 9mm.

 

[vavaroutsos]

There are pros and cons to each. I have the Hornady LNL AP.

Changing cartridges is fundamentally different. Hornady uses quick change bushings that stay on each die. You change the dies one at a time. There can be some small variance in the heights between positions in the press (can be corrected with some machine work), however this isn't an issue if you always use the dies in the same position.

The Dillon uses quick change heads that all the dies are screwed into. You leave them setup and pull the whole head out with all the dies and insert a different head that is already setup with dies. This includes the whole powder measure, so you need a powder measure for each cartridge if you want to quick change.

I think the Hornady powder measure is better than Dillon. You can quick change powder inserts that are setup for different loads. Hornady also make micrometer powder inserts that are handy when you want to use one insert for multiple loads and accuracy isn't as important. You may still have to make minor adjustments to the powder measure if you are using one of the expander inserts if you don't have enough stations.

Priming system change between large and small is pretty quick on the Hornady. I'm not sure on the Dillon. Dillon comes with an low primer alarm.

Case retention on the Hornady uses a spring. The Dillon uses brass tack things matched with the shell plate. Probably personal preference.

Dillon comes with a roller handle. Hornady comes with a ball handle. You can buy a roller handle from 3rd parties. I prefer a roller handle.

I think the Dillon setup for automatic case feeding is better. It comes with the basic parts needed (less the feeder). With the Hornady, you have to buy their feeder as it comes with a bunch or parts that are missing from the press in order to feed cases.

That being said, the RL550C is a lower end model from Dillon. It only holds four dies as opposed to five on the LNL AP (which really isn't enough if auto feeding bullets). It's also manual indexing (which is a pain, especially if you're manually feeding cases). Between these two, I would pick the Hornady LNL AP. If you have more budget for a higher end Dillon, the choice might be different.

 

[ATH]

I have the Hornady, went that way given the large number of chamberings I reload and the higher cost to switch on Dillon. If you really want to be competitive on accuracy you need to weigh charges not throw, so you won't be doing that on a progressive anyways. You could set it up to dump the weighed powder through a die but at that point you're not gaining much over just doing it on a single stage. I do reload my bulk 223 on the progressive, and it is reasonably accurate, but I don't pretend I'm not giving up something.

 

[RockyRandy]

Thanks guys for responding back, From what I'm reading maybe my choice on the Dillon 550 is the wrong choice to begin with and maybe I should be buying the XL750 for $250 more and not look back because of more dies. I have also heard the you can put a hornady funnel on the Dillon to dispense powder by hand to get the accuracy I want but I have to agree with 44-40 on there are a lot other factors out the that make a bigger difference then .2 grains of powder.

 

[Hydra6]

I recently picked up a Dillon 650 (very similar to 750) with a ton of accessories from another estate sale. It is on the bench next to my 550s. The "new to me" 650 has ALL the bells and whistles - bullet feeder, case feeder. It is a pain in the *** and I have been using Dillon reloading machines for decades. That is a lot of pieces and parts to get aligned just right. I am setting up the 650 to load 223 and doubt the multiple other cartridge conversions will ever get used. If you are high volume pistol competitor, etc. - then yes get the Dillon 650/750. I prefer the Dillon 550 (and yes I have to manually index after each round - builds thumb strength) for rifle. Do you need to load 65 Creedmoor hundreds of cartridges per sitting? How much brass do you keep on hand? I crank out 100+ 65Creedmoor quickly using the Dillon powder drop and Staball 65 powder.

 

[RockyRandy]

So help my out here, What is Manually indexing? I don't know what this means.

 

[Hydra6]

So help my out here, What is Manually indexing? I don't know what this means.

On the Dillon 550. there is a "star" above the shell plate. You pull the handle down then back up and 4 operations take place (4 positions) then you take your thumb and rotate the "star" such that the cases are rotated one position forward. Repeat process. I am sure there are YouTube videos.

It is the way the 550 has always been. It eliminates a lot of linkages, adjustments, etc. It is slower (how fast do you need to go?). It facilitates using multiple calibers on one press as fewer things to adjust.

Those that need more speed and do not like the manual index move to the Dillon 750 (previously 650) or even the 1000 series (commercial or very high volume).

 

[Laelkhunter]

So help my out here, What is Manually indexing? I don't know what this means.

You have to manually rotate the shellholder assembly to the next position to continue reloading. With the Dillon, you insert an empty case at about 4 o'clock position and place a bullet by hand on the case that is at 10 o'clock position on the shell plate. Lower the handle which raises the shellplate to resize/deprime one case, charges the next case, and seats the bullet on the case at the 10 o'clock position. You then reach to the shellplate and manually index (rotate) the shellholder plate to the next position, which leaves the spot open for the next empty case at 5 0'clock. Some of the other presses advances the shellplate when you raise tthe handle. I have loaded thousands and thousands pistol rounds on my Dillon 550. Dillon comes with a lifetime warranty. If you break something, you call them and they ship you the needed part FREE.