Single Stage press or Progressive press

[NoNOS67]

So, no one is going to critisize the Dillon spammer?

Can you read? Last time I checked $500 was not enough to buy the xl650. Stupid recommendation.

Here we go...

[Bill Steele]

Now I know the "Red vs Blue" threads can get quite heated but let's keep it civil OK....

...Can you read? Last time I checked $500 was not enough to buy the xl650. Stupid recommendation.

I am really confused.

[Colt562]

I am really confused.

We all are, Im still wondering why this thread is still going. The OP needs a reloading setup for 500. I posted a list already and so have other people.

[Ad0nis]

Where's the confusion?

The OP has a $500 budget, xl650 costs more than $500. If he would have said RL550, or SDB I would not have said anything. But xl650 with a $500 budget for everything (scales, calipers, case prep)??? So what is it, the Dillon sheep are allowed to "thread crap" here, but those who would make real recommendations cannot?

[Ad0nis]

basically he drinks the red kool-aid and will not even look at or think about the nice blue kool-aid.

You don't know me so do not project motives on me. If Dillon puts out a better product then I would have bought it. I nearly dropped 1,200 on an xl650 fully loaded w/ three full caliber kits. I am glad I waited and read up on the LnL before making the mistake of buying Dillon. They do make a good bench swager and I will probably pick that one up later on, but the presses, forget about it.

[zomie]

I have both a Lee Pro 1000 and a Lee Turret ... if I had it to do over again I would just stick with the turret. It will load everything and very well.

http://www.amazon.com/Lee-Precision-Classic-Turret-Press/dp/B003BWTF1E/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1351156277&sr=8-1&keywords=lee+classic+turret+press+kit

You can get the rest separately. The lee pro 1000 requires quite a bit of tweaking constantly. The primer area gets jammed up. I just loaded 130 - 357s and took out 2 cases tonight. I know with my turret had I done the same everything would have came out perfect and I would have only saved a minor bit of time.

I am loading 223, 300 blk, 6.5 grendel, and 7.62x54r on mine. It just requires a swap of a die plate and I am off to the races. The die plates are only $10, and that is all that you need for a quick caliber change.

The moral of the story is if you are going progressive spend the dough, but to start out a lee classic turret it will be a life time press and allow you to manually load anything fairly rapidly.

[ar15barrels]

I nearly dropped 1,200 on an xl650 fully loaded w/ three full caliber kits. I am glad I waited and read up on the LnL before making the mistake of buying Dillon. They do make a good bench swager and I will probably pick that one up later on, but the presses, forget about it.

Other than the price, tell us exactly what is wrong with a dillon 650 setup.
Other than money spent, what mistakes would you have made if you HAD purchased the dillon setup you speak of above?

[problemchild]

Other than the price, tell us exactly what is wrong with a dillon 650 setup.
Other than money spent, what mistakes would you have made if you HAD purchased the dillon setup you speak of above?

Trust me the LNL isnt cheaper by much, maybe 50 dollars once you buy everything. Also the LNL isnt fool-proof either. Plenty of problems with the LNL.

Primer feeder is fussy as hell and any spec of dirt will cause it to fail.
If shell feeder is pushed too fast it will jam shell into plate wrong.
No removable toolheads, fresh dies need to be inserted for caliber change
Locking dies just suck, I would much rather have a removable toolhead.
No low/high AUDIBLE powder alarm.
No AUDIBLE primer alarm.
Half-cock shell plate is fine for pistol but SUCKS BIG TIME for RIFLE
Half-cock shell plate system knocks rifle bullets off top of brass requiring you to hold and --->>GUIDE<<--- bullet into brass neck SLOWLY when cocking handle which tremendously slows down the reloading process!!!
Slow loading rifle rounds, I can do near 1200/hr on my 650 or 20/min.

Since all I load is rifle the LNL is a BIG FAIL in my books. Having to hold the bullet into the die and carefully guide the round and brass together while looking at it blows chunks!
Also Honrnady CS is NOT equal to Dillon CS not even close!

[Wrangler John]

The novice reloader should never start with a progressive press. The single stage or even turret press, such as the Redding T-7, will suffice to develop the skill and consistency before attempting any auto-progressive. Once embarked on reloading the novice may find that a progressive isn't necessary as the single stage is productive enough to meet his or her needs. I base this opinion on fifty years of loading experience, for what it's worth .

I currently have several presses on hand, RCBS Rock Chucker for hydraulic case forming, Redding T-7 Turret for 90% of reloading rifle and pistol, RCBS 2000 Auto-Progressive, Hornady LnL Progressive, both of which sit idle until I run a batch of several thousands of varmint hunting loads. The Hornady is a nightmare to keep running, the RCBS has the best priming system. A progressive press is not efficient to work up small batches of experimental loads that is something best relegated to a single stage. The advanced handloader may need both, with the single stage press predominate.

Do yourself a favor and start with something simple, spending your money on the best quality powder measure, beam type scale (avoid the electronic stuff it's problematic) and a good dial caliper. Purchase a case trimmer (I use the Hornady trimmer as it uses the same Hornady shell holder to retain the cases in the press. The Hornady shell holder fits any standard press, RCBS, Hornady, Lyman, etc.).

After you become proficient with manufacturing good quality loads and reloads, then entertain an auto-progressive.

[Horton Fenty]

There's no reason a novice reloader can't start with a progressive. Any adult individual can, with a bit of self reflection, determine if they are capable of starting out on a progressive. People that have an almost ocd attention to detail, and who have experience in a field that crosses over to something like reloading will have no problems.

It's not like progressive are a new thing either. If the choice is made to start with a progressive your not jumping in to uncharted territory. With the amount of information available on the internet you can do a lot of research on specific models before you buy, and become well aware of known issues your likely to encounter. Working up small batches of loads is not an issue with a progressive. You simple weight your charges by hand and funnel them in one at a time.

[problemchild]

I have always wanted a t7. How do you like it?

The novice reloader should never start with a progressive press. The single stage or even turret press, such as the Redding T-7, will suffice to develop the skill and consistency before attempting any auto-progressive. Once embarked on reloading the novice may find that a progressive isn't necessary as the single stage is productive enough to meet his or her needs. I base this opinion on fifty years of loading experience, for what it's worth .

I currently have several presses on hand, RCBS Rock Chucker for hydraulic case forming, Redding T-7 Turret for 90% of reloading rifle and pistol, RCBS 2000 Auto-Progressive, Hornady LnL Progressive, both of which sit idle until I run a batch of several thousands of varmint hunting loads. The Hornady is a nightmare to keep running, the RCBS has the best priming system. A progressive press is not efficient to work up small batches of experimental loads that is something best relegated to a single stage. The advanced handloader may need both, with the single stage press predominate.

Do yourself a favor and start with something simple, spending your money on the best quality powder measure, beam type scale (avoid the electronic stuff it's problematic) and a good dial caliper. Purchase a case trimmer (I use the Hornady trimmer as it uses the same Hornady shell holder to retain the cases in the press. The Hornady shell holder fits any standard press, RCBS, Hornady, Lyman, etc.).

After you become proficient with manufacturing good quality loads and reloads, then entertain an auto-progressive.

[ar15barrels]

Trust me the LNL isnt cheaper by much, maybe 50 dollars once you buy everything. Also the LNL isnt fool-proof either. Plenty of problems with the LNL.

I have worked on both the LNL and 650's and I have 650's that I use.
I was not asking about the shortcomings of the LNL.
I wanted adonis to specifically address the shortcomings of the 650 that are NOT price related.

[BLR81]

Do you really need the very best for 700 rounds of 40 S&W per month. Certainly, your not going to be able to afford a top Dillion plus all the other reloading supplies for that price range.

And, I don't like the idea of loading in a progressive, without a top quality powder measure, scale, dies and calipers.

700 rds per month does not have to be loaded in one sitting. And, if your not going to be cleaning out the primer pocket, 40's can be loaded in 3 steps (resize/deprime/reprime, flare/powder, & seat/crimp).

My recommendation, buy the LNL Classic SS Kit. I got mine for $230 and it's eligible for the same 500 free bullets as the Progressive kit. The 40 dies are eligible for 100 free bullets. But most importantly, the powder measure, dies, die lock nuts, LNL sleeves, and everything in the kit except the press works with the LNL Progessive Press.

So you get the Powder Measure, digital scale, powder trickler, one sorting tray, loading manual, press and dies for around $250 and you get 600 S&W 155gr XTP's worth around $180. You'll still have money left over for powder & primers. Plus you'll still have money to add more calibers.

And, when spending 1 1/2 to 2 hrs per week reloading becomes too much hassle. You can save up your money for a LNL progressive press and sell the classic SS press on Ebay or here. Everything that you need for the SS press, works with the Progressive except for the primer loader.

[ar15barrels]

Do you really need the very best for 700 rounds of 40 S&W per month.

Need vs. Want is not something that really matters here and the answer to that question is different for every individual.

You might as well just ask if he really needs to fire 700 rounds each month.
It would certainly be much cheaper to just fire 100 rounds each month...

[Kappy]

Need vs. Want is not something that really matters here and the answer to that question is different for every individual.

You might as well just ask if he really needs to fire 700 rounds each month.
It would certainly be much cheaper to just fire 100 rounds each month...

To some degree, you're right, but I've never held my pistol rounds to the exacting standards I do my rifle rounds. In addition, the difference between a Dillon and a Lee, for me, is a balance between speed and cost.

So if I'm doing fewer rounds, I don't really need a Dillon. I can get the job done for far less. But trust me... If I was shooting 1,000 rounds every Sunday, I'd need to load on a Dillon if only because I won't need to fiddle with it as much.


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