Dillon vs Hornady

[nukeandjuke]

Each has its ups and downs. Hornady folks are reloaders themselves as a company. They have decent projectiles and brass. If you use their bullets,it works great. Use lead round nose...not so great in their bullet feeder. I find dillon as a machining company. They have fine machinin but i cant stand the spiling of the powder on the shell plate. Yeah yeah...i know about the ball and detent kits. But for the money i spent...they couldnt put that in out of the box? I love the hornady. I love the dillon. Someone who tells you one over the other doesn't have both. I love them equally.

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[MrElectric03]

I love my 1050, but unless you go through a lot of .223 and 9mm, just cross it off your list. That's all I use mine for. Unless I were a gozillionaire and could have l one in each caliber I wouldn't use it for anything else. It really is the best out there.

I tried the LNL before buying any presses and it was too finicky for me. The bulletfeeder is also not in the same ballpark as the mrbulletfeeder, which to be fair isn't a Dillon part but they do sell them now.

The 650 is my preferred press. Caliber changes are quick, swapping large to small or vice verse primers is easy, and you can reload most calibers on it. Just know that you don't need a conversion for every caliber, many parts cross over. It's not perfect, he priming system is the biggest drawback to me but once you get used to it it is manageable.

No matter what you will need a single stage to go along with a progressive. Rockchucker has always been good to me. Recently I went to a Forster coax but rockchucker is plenty good.

[ar15barrels]

I have a 1050 for 9mm, a 1050 for loading 223, a 650 for sizing/decapping/trimming and neck expanding 223 and then a pair of 550's for the rest of the centerfire rifle/pistol loading.

1050's are a pain to swap calibers.
If you can afford to leave one setup for a specific cartridge, there is nothing better, but don't delude yourself into thinking you can load a bunch of different calibers by resetting the press often.
A 650 is a great press for high volume loading when you don't require swaging of primer pockets.
A 550 is by-far the quickest press to switch between multiple cartridges.

[GW]

Dillon

The 1050 is a beautiful press if you load calibers where military brass is your source for once fired. The built in swager is worth it to me.

If I was in your shoes and money wasn't an issue, I'd get a 1050 to load the higher volume stuff like 9mm & 223 and a 550 for everything else.

Amen regarding the swaging capabilities of the 1050, but caliber changes are very expensive. As a fan of auto-indexing, I did a 1050 for .223 and .308 and 650's for everything else.

[Lead Waster]

you don't need more than two powder dispensers with a Dillon, one with a small bar one with a large. It is 2 screws to move the powder measure... and you should be adjusting or at least checking your drop every time you start a reloading session.

Some people actually buy several powder bars, and set each to throw a particular load of a particular powder. Then leave it with the dies when you swap calibers. So when you load X with Y powder, you swap in the matching powder bar.

[camaross400]

I own a 1050 and an LNL Ammo Plant. I see a huge difference between the Dillon and the Hornady. Once I got the LNL dialed in, it would run smoothly. However, the 1050 just worked. I am able to run hundreds of rounds without having to tweak anything on the 1050. I also purchased additional toolheads for the calibers I reload.

Also, I load 7.62x39 and 223 so the swage rod is a life saver. On the Hornady, I purchased the Hornady Primer Swage Tool which created an extra step in the reloading process.

I am so happy with the 1050 that I am actually selling my LNL as we speak.



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[damndave]

I have owned the following. Hornady LNL AP, Dillon 550, 650 and 1050.

I can go into the pros/cons about each in detail, but it all depends on the volume you plan to shoot.

If you shoot 1000+ rounds a month I can see a 1050 being good for you. Anything less I see the 650/550 being the one. the real advantage of the 1050 is the swaging.

[NYT]

dillon, there is no comparison.

i have a dillon 550b and 650 xl.

i have forster co-ax for 6.5 creedmoor.

[divingin]

I use the LNL AP without case/bullet feeders (32SWL, 38Spl, 45ACP.) For different calibers, I have a dedicated powder metering assembly for each, so there is just a 10 charge verify and go.) Different length cartridges get a different base unit for the measure. I haven't had much trouble with the priming system (though changing it is probably what takes the longest in a caliber change), nor have I had a problem with the measure backing out.

All my rifle stuff gets done on a single stage press.

[nullix34]

Oh boy! Red vs Blue.

Wait! Am I a Democrat if I bought blue?

Damn, I might have to get some red spray paint.

[CGZ]

I only have experience with the 650, given you have the dies, your looking at about $1,000 for the set up, that is the press, case feeder with all plates for it (about $40 each, small / large pistol / rifle). I also got some extra primer feed tubes and a Frankford arsenal filler for them. I had to buy the strong mount (~$50) to get it to work on my bench too.

After that caliber conversion kits will cost about $80 each but some are interchangeable. For example I use everything from the 38/357 conversion kit with the exception of the case feed adapter that connects to the tube, and the powder though expansion part.

http://thegunwiki.com/apps/calconversion/index.asp?machine_1=on&go=Choose+Machines

You can also get the quick change kit that comes with an extra tool head, holder and powder drop for about $120, though it doesn't come with an extra powder check system, witch isn't included from the start anyways and is about $60.

[randomBytes]

I have friends who don't complain (that I recall) about their LNL.
I started with a 550, but upgraded to 650 after a few years.
I mostly load 9mm and some .38 so caliber changes are trivial.
If I had more bench space I'd consider a 1050 for 9mm and 650 for others.

[nahpungnome]

I own a 1050 and an LNL Ammo Plant. I see a huge difference between the Dillon and the Hornady. Once I got the LNL dialed in, it would run smoothly. However, the 1050 just worked. I am able to run hundreds of rounds without having to tweak anything on the 1050. I also purchased additional toolheads for the calibers I reload.

Also, I load 7.62x39 and 223 so the swage rod is a life saver. On the Hornady, I purchased the Hornady Primer Swage Tool which created an extra step in the reloading process.

I am so happy with the 1050 that I am actually selling my LNL as we speak.



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Now that is a reloading area to be proud of.

[nahpungnome]

I only have experience with the LnL, and yes there's adjustments that you have to do every so often, but it isn't as bad as some people make it out to be.

Their CS is top notch, but I find that if you're reasonable, the person on the other end of the phone will be as well no matter which company.

If money isn't an issue, I'd say go Dillon. The reason I went with the Hornady was due to the fact that I don't shoot THAT much and it was less expensive than a comparable Dillon setup.

If I had more space though I'd jump into a 1050. Seems like a worthwhile investment if you shoot enough.

[ar15barrels]

Now that is a reloading area to be proud of.

My old reloading bench:



My new bench is longer to make room for a shotshell press and an arbor press.