Hornady vs. Dillon

[Trakker]

which one...???
I prefer to have a powder check.
I plan on reloading a lot so i want something like a 650 and higher.

[TMC]

Dillon is the only way to go. A 1050 with a KISS bullet feeder can load almost 2000 per hour if you can keep the primer tube filled.

[nobs11]

Pretty happy with the Hornady Lock n Load AP with case feeder.

If you are shooting multiple calibers, Hornady is way cheaper. Just change the shell plate and quick change dies and off you go. No messing with tool heads. The newer Lock n Load have improved shell plates and other fixes. The very early LnL APs had a few kinks that have been fixed.

I just loaded 500 rounds of 223 in a pretty short amount of time.

If you buy before the end of the year, you get 1000 free bullets. Hell of a deal. If money is no object, get the best Dillon that you can buy.

I trim with a Dillon 1200 in a single stage press.

KISS bullet feeders are not currently being sold due to some legal issues.

[Blue]

I say go with the Dillon.

[ar15barrels]

[Toolbox X]

Dillon. Period.

[sammy]

Randall, what is that slinkey looking thing going to the bottle thing in the left reloading setup?

[bruceflinch]

Randall, what is that slinkey looking thing going to the bottle thing in the left reloading setup?

Looks like a trimmer, w/ a vacuum hose.

Randall, you showoff!

I have two 650's myself. Couldn't consider anything else.

[rudedude916]

Nice setup, Randall.

[Trakker]

The Dillon website shows the Super 1050 for $1540.
Does this include the case feeder? This is a $300 option for the Hornady.

[GW]

Go with Dillon

1050 is only for the mega-reloaders Caliber change kits are $$$
RL 650 will do everything you need

[Waldog]

Your question usually ignites a firestorm of of "Blue verses Red verses etc." What you are not going to find is very many people that have actually loaded on BOTH DILLON AND HORNADY. I have loaded on both. Here is my perspective:

Consider the Hornady Lock and Load Progressive. It’s cheaper than the Dillon and has several features that, IMHO are better than Dillon.

The Dillon has been on the market a long time and have great customer service, as a result, Dillon users are dedicated to their blue presses. The Dillon's are EXCEPTIONAL presses and do an exceptional job in reloading. The competition to the Dillon is the Hornady Lock and Load Auto Progressive. Because most of the Dillon users are so satisfied I was swamped with comments like, "The Hornady L-n-L is Junk!" I asked if they had ever loaded on the L-n-L and 99.9% said no. When I did find someone that had experience with both presses, most liked the L-n-L and many had sold their Dillon's and bought the L-n-L.

IMHO the Dillon has one major shortcoming and, most Dillon owners will agree if they are honest. The Dillon powder measure is sorely lacking in ease of use and adjustability. It meters ball type powder very well but flake type powder less so. And, extruded stick type powder is VERY troublesome and not all that accurate. To be fair, extruded powder is difficult in all powder measures. But, the L-n-L powder measure handles all types of powder MUCH better than the Dillon. Also, it is a pain to swap out the Dillon powder measure to another die plate. As a result, many owners have several powder measures on separate die plates for changing calibers. This significantly drives UP the COST.

Also, the Dillon gets filthy as the old primers are caught in a cup after they fall thru the bottom of the shell plate. Ash and carbon from the spent primers finds it's way into the priming system. This debris causes "flipped" or "skipped" primers. The DILLON primer system works well provided it is kept CLEAN. The Hornady L-N-L spent primers are dropped thru a plastic tube and into the trash or bottle or whatever you want to use. The point is, the dirt off the spent primers does not foul the workings of the press. As a result, the L-N-L IS MUCH CLEANER TO USE THAN THE DILLON.

I think you stated you wanted a powder check system. The Dillon Square Deal and 550 has 4 die stations. You need 5 station to have a powder check. The L-N-L has 5 stations. The Dillon 650 has 5 stations but, costs significantly more.

How the presses index is an issue for some people. In reading the web about "KABOOMS" (Blowing up a gun!!). the VAST MAJORITY of kabooms I have read about were directly traced back to a manually indexing press. This is not the fault of the press but operator error. If you get distracted while reloading, you can easily double charge a case. IMHO, that is less of a problem with auto-indexing presses. The Hornady L-N-L, Dillon 650 and, Dillon Square Deal auto index. The MOST POPULAR Dillon press, the 550 is a manually indexing press. Some people prefer manual, some people prefer auto.

Next, the L-N-L uses a really slick bushing system for mounting loading dies to the press. It makes changing calipers and SNAP. After a die is adjusted for whatever you are loading you can remove the die from the press with an 1/8 turn and insert a different die. Each die has it's own bushing. The Dillon uses a die plate. The Dillon die plate costs more than L-N-L bushings. Another neat feature with the Hornady is that you can buy a bushing conversion setup and use the same bushings on your RCBS, Lyman or other single stage press and the L-N-L!

Additionally, the L-N-L seems to be built like a tank! The ram is about 2"+ in diameter and the basic press is similar in construction to the RCBS Rockchucker. I would say that a side-by-side comparison to the either the Dillon 550 OR 650, the L-N-L is at least as sturdily built. And, In some areas I think the L-N-L is better built. i.e., The massive ram, powder measure, and primer system. The head/top of the press is solid except for where the dies are inserted. The Dillon has a large cutout that is needed for their die plates. By just looking, it would seem the L-N-L would be stronger. But, of course, that may not be the case.
There is one piece that can get damaged on the L-N-L. There is a coil spring that holds the cases in the shell holder that can get crushed if you improperly change shell holders. That's the bad news. The good news is that they are only about $2-3 and they won't get crushed if you change shell plates correctly. The other good news is that this spring is the primary reason that while loading you can easily remove a case at any station. With the Dillon you have to remove pins in order to take a shell out of a shell plate.

You can load anything on both the Dillon and L-N-L from .25 ACP to 500 N.E. Realistically, I would say that people with progressive loaders mostly load pistol ammo about 99% of the time. After using the L-N-L for while I feel confident that my Grandkids will be using when I'm gone.

In summary, the Hornady L-N-L has all the features of the Dillon 650 but is much cheaper. Changing calipers is faster and cheaper. The powder measure on the L-N-L is VASTLY SUPERIOR TO THE DILLON, at least in my opinion. I bought the L-N-L and am very satisfied. A shooting buddy of mine is a long time, dedicated Dillon user. He has three! After giving me a ration of "stuff" about my choice, he came over and used my L-N-L and sheepishly said, "That's a very nice setup!!"

[Darklyte27]

LEE!!! best bang for the buck!!

[jandmtv]

Waldog, nice write up, but you forgot to mention the price difference between the Hornady case feeder and the Dillon case feeder!


Dillon Automatic Case Feeder $199.95
Hornady Automatic Case Feeder $422.59


Anyone buying a progressive press like a XL650 or a LNL auto is going to want a case feeder, and the price difference above shows you that the Hornady might not be such a bargain after all!

[freakshow10mm]

The Hornady is cheaper than a 650 when you take into account the $150-200 or so bullets you get free.

The Hornady needs tweaking to run 9mm correctly. The Dillon just does it out of the box.

I've loaded on Dillon equipment commercially for a while. Used a 550, 650, and a few 1050s running all the time. I got out of the ammo business for the most part and load on a 550. I load everything from .223 to 375 H&H Mag on a Dillon progressive.

I never used a powder check on any press. It isn't needed. Use your eyeballs. If you need a powder check, you shouldn't be handloading.