Hornady progressive press experiences? VS Dillon?

[asm_]

http://www.comrace.ca/cmfiles/dillon...Comparison.pdf

That was a good read. It gave very objective comparison for Lee vs Dillon 650 vs Hornady AP.

I only wish he would also compare the RCBS he has on his bench. For reasons unknown to me, RCBS seems be trailing behind on their progressive press market share.

B

[Bill Steele]

BAHAHA... My opinion is.. without the Hand indexing the 550B, it could be related, that the a Turret is also a progressive, since you could turn the turret after each pull resulting in the ammo slowly being formed with each hand index.

Yes, the 550b is much more elegant than a Turret, but adding bullet & case feeders to the 550b pulling the handle on the press, will not result in completed ammo, which the same applies to a turret press with Bullet and Case feeders.

It is my opinion that a progressive press.. you pull ammo and poof ammo falls out. I also think this was a reason why Hornady Labeled their Progressive press as "AP" for Auto-Progressive taking a direct marketing swipe at the Dillon's 550b.

And this was my 2 cents..

Dude, you are missing the one salient point. With a progressive you get one round per ram stroke. With a turret you have multiple ram strokes per round produced.

It isn't a matter of one's opinion, it is a matter of fact.

But whatever, it is a free country, belief is wide open.

[asm_]

Fine, let's call the 550 a manual progressive and move on.

I think OP's intention was to compare Hornady's AP to a comparable Dillon, which will put 550 out of this discussion.

B

[Bill Steele]

Fine, let's call the 550 a manual progressive and move on.

I think OP's intention was to compare Hornady's AP to a comparable Dillon, which will put 550 out of this discussion.

B

Spoken like a true sage with years of experience.

I think it is time to turn this forum over to the next generation.

Good luck, have fun.

[saki302]

Thanks for the tips

Someone told me the Dillon presses only work with Dillon dies- is that true?

The 650 is looking pretty good now

-Dave

[ExtremeX]

I only wish he would also compare the RCBS he has on his bench. For reasons unknown to me, RCBS seems be trailing behind on their progressive press market share.

B

I’ve noticed some of the same... the RCBS Pro 2000 progressive press isn’t in the lime light most of the time when progressive presses come up for discussion… I’m guessing price has something to do with it as it is more expensive than the Hornady AP or the lack of a case feeder option which some people may or may not want.

I have a Pro 2000 Auto Index press and it’s a fantastic unit. I love loading ammo on it, it’s a sturdy press, reliable, problem free and easy to setup for caliber switches. I also got mine on sale for a very good price.

I considered the Hornady when I was doing my shopping and decided on the RCBS kit. I much like the APS priming system, I buy my CCI primers with the strips when available for convenience and load my own strips.

I also like that station 3 on the press is fixed for the powder measure. I use the same powder for each cartridge (W231) so as I change from 9mm, 38 Special, 357 Mag, .45 ACP the dies come off with the quick change plate but the powder measure stays… Easy to load a batch of each caliber with minimal work and without having to spend the additional capital on a powder measure for each die plate. If you want to move the powder measure to station 2 you can do so as well… I’ve done this in the past for my rifle loading where I want to use a powder check die, competition seater, and separate crimp die…

I guess if you want a case feeder the 650 or Hornady would be a better choice. Hand feeding my brass gives me a final opportunity to QC the brass so It wasn’t a big deal to me.

I am tempted to buy a 650 or 1050 down the road, with all the bells and whistles, I also hear many people say the 650 was designed with the case feeder in mind, so if you want to manually feed brass I think the Pro 2000 is a better option, cheaper too.

[MKE]

Bill is correct in stating the Dillon 550B is most certainly a progressive press. Perhaps gemoose23 meant that the 550 isn't an auto-index press.

Disappointingly, the Super 1050 doesn't have the Dillon 'No-BS' warranty like their other presses.

[MrElectric03]

Thanks for the tips

Someone told me the Dillon presses only work with Dillon dies- is that true?

The 650 is looking pretty good now

-Dave

Not true. Most all dies are the same thread. I've heard some old lee dies don't work we'll with some presses due to the height in relation to the threads but with the exception of those and the quick change dies most all of them work.