Reloading Press Warranties

[Eljay]

we load 5 pistol caliber regularly and 5 others about twice a month .

When you get a serious press usually it's easier to change the workflow a bit. In my case my primary caliber is 9mm that I shoot a couple of thousand a month. But maybe once a year I'll switch over to, say, 38 Special and make a thousand rounds and I'm good. Or for 45 ACP I'll maybe make a couple of thousand before switching back but I'll do that twice a year. You get the idea. Big batches, less of a "load as you need it" approach.

The calibers I shoot really infrequently I've just left on the turret press - it really excels at popping in a different turret and replacing the 50 rounds of some obscure C&R caliber I just shot. I have a RCBS Chargemaster so I don't even have to set a powder measure or anything like that.

[jericho89]

.... and it is not uncommon to use a brick of primers in a week during winter .....

With a Dillon 650 you can easily run through a brick of primers in under 2 hours.

And unless they are all loading at once it is easy to look at the different components used in each caliber conversion, there are a lot of common parts for multiple calibers. That way you save money by not having to buy full conversion kits and just the parts that you need.

And as stated by ElJay when you reload on a press like the 650 you load a few thousand of each caliber then take the 15 minutes to change to a different caliber and start cranking on that caliber...

[desertjosh]

One other thing is that the caliber conversions for Dillon are WAY more expensive than Hornady. That and the actual time it takes vs the 1 min on my hornady made my decision.

[Lead Waster]

One other thing is that the caliber conversions for Dillon are WAY more expensive than Hornady. That and the actual time it takes vs the 1 min on my hornady made my decision.

Dude, you are not kidding!

My 1050 came setup for .223, but I wanted 9mm. The converstion kit was like $125. That's for shellplate, some case feeder parts, some tabs and the powder funnel (but I use the Mr. Bulletfeeder one so irrelevant) I actually had Dillon 9mm dies because my second 550b came with them (used).

I thought ... might be nice to get a spare toolhead to keep the dies in ...

WHAT! $200!!! So I used the same toolhead and popped off the .223 dies.


550b toolheads are $20-25, 650 toolheads are $25-$30. I mean yeah, the 1050 toolhead has other things sticking in it... but wow ....

550b caliber conversion = $45, 650 = $80, 1050 = $125.

Not sure about Hornady or Lee or RCBS.

Though I know with a single stage press ... caliber converstion kit = shell holder = $7.

[Lead Waster]

Oh, I have the 1050, though a 650 would have been just as good. The reason for the 1050 is that I'm a brass scrounger and USPSA shooter so I pick up a lot of random brass. A lot of it has crimped primers and my 550b (and presumably the 650 if you don't buy an aftermarkget on-press swager) comes to a stop if it hits a crimped pocket. Yes, you can get a feel for the swaged pocket and know that you need to remove that case and swage it, but if you have a 550 with a case feeder, it's really annoying to pluck the case out, since the 550 was not "born" casefeeder ready so it's a retrofit that ruins the accessibility of the first stage.

[ExtremeX]

RockChucker and Pro 2000 Auto Index owner here...

I cant speak for the others but RCBS has been great... really good CS and have taken care of items that I brought up to be my fault too...

[ar15barrels]

I had several Hornady parts break on my LNL. I called them up wanting them replaced under their lifetime warranty. The customer service lady said the warranty was good for the life of the part, and the fact that it broke meant that its life was over and therefor was no longer covered.

That's some awesome warranty right there.

[Eljay]

Oh, I have the 1050, though a 650 would have been just as good. The reason for the 1050 is that I'm a brass scrounger and USPSA shooter so I pick up a lot of random brass. A lot of it has crimped primers and my 550b (and presumably the 650 if you don't buy an aftermarkget on-press swager) comes to a stop if it hits a crimped pocket. Yes, you can get a feel for the swaged pocket and know that you need to remove that case and swage it, but if you have a 550 with a case feeder, it's really annoying to pluck the case out, since the 550 was not "born" casefeeder ready so it's a retrofit that ruins the accessibility of the first stage.

On my 650 for 9mm I just do it by feel, and the primer station the brass just pops out with a spring loaded doohicky. When I get low enough on .223 to get serious about it I'll add a swager and trim on press.

1050s are definitely not conversion friendly. The 650 it's manageable, especially if you do things like share a powder measure among your occasional calibers. I figure the first batch covers the cost of the conversion and then it's gravy after that.

For my turret press a turret is around $15 and that's all you need.

[nahpungnome]

My workflow is a bit weird I started with .45ACP, then recently started .357mag. I started with the Lee Classic cast, it's my workhorse press. I use it to size and deprime my .45 and .357.

I hand prime using the RCBS APS hand primer. I feel that priming by hand gives me a better feel for the pocket....when the primer goes in too easy, it's time to mark the case and toss it out next go round.

My LnL is setup for 45ACP, while I just single stage my .357s on my Lee. I have the LnL bushing on all of my dies and use Hornady dies. I also have my Lymans which are taper crimp dies for both calibers.

On my LnL I have a RCBS powder cop, which I highly recommend since it has saved me a couple of times .

Anyway, my LnL took a while to get setup to work perfectly...quite frustrating actually, but I did a lot of youtube searching and finally figured out my issues...my BIGGEST issue was my powder drop...I found it would work loose... Someone suggested putting a piece of paper, I use a piece of paper towel, under the bushing and no more problems.

I also use a RCBS powder through expander since the Hornady one didn't flare out my cases enough. Now the only issue I'll have is the retaining spring wearing out after a few thousand rounds, but that's an expected wear part. I have it mounted on an Inline Fabrication mount and I have their short arm and lighting kit.

I have a RCBS powder drop, 2 hand primers (one for small one for large primers), their APS strip loader, and other little things.

My warranty issue with my LnL had to do with a bushing if I remember correctly, I was on the phone for a little bit and they sent me a replacement part. The guy I spoke to didn't seem in a rush to get me off the phone and was very friendly.

I've emailed RCBS asking if I could purchase single APS strips since I would have 1 missing (twice), and they just send sent me them without hesitation.

I'd say Hornady and RCBS have excellent customer service based on my experience. Honestly, I would've gotten a Dillon 650 if Amazon had it for the regular price...the seller on there was charging $100 more than it should've been....Either way, I got my LnL for free since I had a bunch of Amazon points to use. I don't regret getting it at all... now that it's all setup and working as intended

[CSACANNONEER]

Buying anything based on it's warranty is pretty stupid. I won't buy something that I think is going to break and require warranty work. That said, Dillon will fix or replace just about anything they make even if you decide to use it as a boat anchor for a few years before you send it back to them.

[tonyjr]

1st - , it takes me around 1/2 hour to change calibers . Mounting powder throw on turret , checking powder drop 5 or 6 times, adjusting each die , hocking powder drop linkage after adjust each die , changing shell plates , then getting out the cartridge trays / boxes .
After reloading the dies are taken apart and put in sonic cleaner , put back in turret loosely . [ being I / we don't reload the same bullets and the OAL changes - each caliber change needs to be set up . Look up powder charge and OAL in book ] Then you have the shell holder tubes and bullet tubes . By the time I start to reload , I have already deprimed , tumbled , cleaned both primer hole / flash hole and reprimed . So no time lost filling / refilling primer tubes .

2nd - after a tray / box of cartridges , time to check powder drop . As for how many an hour - that varies with caliber . I / we may get 200 [ 25 ACP , 360 ACP , 9 MM ] but mostly around 100 [ 357 , 44 and 45 ACP ] I am really lucky to get 50 AE's an hour .

I bought my 1st reloading set up for more constant / accurate cartridges - cheaper was a bonus . How many an hour I could crank out did not even enter my mind . Speed wise - it is quicker to just buy .
What ever press you get - " don't watch clock when reloading . Checking powder drop , OAL and just looking at one or 2 reloads is important " .

Presses are not designed for speed - some where they decided cleaning your cases was not important , so you can knock out primer and install a new one no matter how dirty / much gunk is in case .

[Lead Waster]

Speaking of warranties ... my 1050 primer magazine detonated yesterday. I'm OK, the primer shield kept the blast in, but hte primer magazine is done for.

I called Dillon, told them my magazine blew up, CS guy asked me my name and since I was in their system, he had my info. As I was asking him what might have happened, he was entering an order to send me replacement parts. I also asked for a replacement slider for my casefeeder for my 550b, and he just tacked it to the order. At the end of the call he said "OK, parts should be shipped today".
And those are 1050 parts, and the 1050 officially has a one year warranty, he didn't even ask, just confirmed the busted parts and sent replacements, no charge.

[tonyjr]

Lead Waster
I had one primer get stuck in chute thing - wrecked it trying to clear .
I just bought another one .

I also had one blow up [ maybe static electricity ]
This was years ago [ Lee did send a free one and suggested I ground it - how do I ground plastic ? Loader and bench are grounded ] Since that happened I deprime , tumble and reprime off press . My problem was with other primer brands - now I only use CCI .

If anyone cares Lee did not cover the de-primer pins - after the rude guy , I just figured forget it . The pin was for my 50 AE die which I ordered from them .

After the primer problems and I started doing by hand , the pins did not matter any more .

Lee has upgraded primer stuff a few times , but to clean primer pocket , the primer needs to be gone , so no big deal repriming after tumble .

I know most people just want to crank out cartridges , but after a while they will start cleaning the cases and primer pockets and flash holes .

If you care , I use a frankford depriming gun . I use a Lee priming gun .

[jericho89]

If anyone cares Lee did not cover the de-primer pins - after the rude guy , I just figured forget it . The pin was for my 50 AE die which I ordered from them .

Lee does cover de-primer pins, but you have to send them in and they will replace them... They will also send you primer pins if you pay shipping. Had a few universal ones break, I ordered 12 of them for a few bucks in shipping and when they break I will send a bunch in rather than pay shipping for one at a time.

[nahpungnome]

I hate Lee depriming dies...once in a while you'll get an off center flash hole and the pin will just bend...Happened to me twice and just gave up on using Lee dies.

Ever since I switched to Hornady...no more bent pins. I've had a few times where my zip spindle would just go up the center of the die due to off center flash holes, but no damage to my pin.