dillon 550 for pistol. over all the best thing going. for rifle i still reload on a single stage press, the one i got in 73.
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Progressive press
- Thread starter jcwat
- Start date
Well....I was on my home from a trip and stumbled on a 5% sale on Dillon equipment and I made an impulse purchase on a new Dillon XL750 with case feeder and all the bits necessary for 2 calibers (9 and 45). I know, 5% isn't much, but usually this stuff isn't on sale so I jumped on it.
After having reloaded a decent batch of 45 and 9mm, I can say the Dillon is indeed a better press. I really was skeptical but after running it for a bit I can easily identify why it's better. As far as fit and finish and cosmetics, yea, it's better there as well. But a pretty press doesn't dictate the quality of the ammo, so that is of no concern to me.
To be 100% clear, if you are hand priming off the press and are not running a case feeder, then there's zero difference in the presses. In fact, the Hornady takes the win because of the easier, quicker and cheaper caliber changes.
If you are automating and using a case feeder and, in my case, a bullet feeder then the Dillon really starts to shine.
But, I did get a dud on the primer feed. Dillon determined I got one from a batch that went out with a misaligned primer feed. The misalignment can't be adjusted out in any way. No questions asked, they are sending me all the parts to completely replace my primer feed. So, I should be able to start trying to prime on the press after that. But, historically, I've never had a press that primes worth a poo so I may just stick with hand priming. We'll see.
1) The Dillon Case Feeder / Collator is hands down superior to the Hornady. It has an adjustable speed, preset deflector and a built in wiper. It just simply works. I haven't had a single jam or mis feed in either caliber. The Hornady will sometimes jam up and I had to build my own wiper to install on the inside. Dillon has thought of everything and it just works flawlessly.
2) The case feed tube and case feeding operation is 100% captured. The brass is never loose or free to jump around and fall off the press. The brass is captured in a channel and is positively and accurately shoved into the shell plate. The Hornady is all loose and a whole lot can go wrong between the dropping of the case and it making it into the shellplate. You get used to learning the timing and rhythm of the Hornday, but the Dillon is just spot on and requires no timing or learning of a rythm. You just operate the handle and it all works like it should.
3) The shell plate operates smoother and doesn't jostle the powder out of the cases. The Hornady, I modified the base plate that the shell plate rides on to help smooth that out, but never could get it perfect. The Dillon is silky smooth and doesn't spill powder all over the place.
Other than that, it's kinda all the same. The bar style powder dispenser works fine. I've not noticed anything unusual. I'm sure the typical advantages/disadvantages still apply between rotary and bar, but I'm using some fine grained shooters world clean shot and it's working great. I'm sure I'll learn over time which powders do and don't work. But, for now, it's working great and I have no complaints.
I like that the Hornady ejects primers thru a tube where you can capture them in a large container. I can deprime thousands without worrying about dumping spent primers. The Dillon has a little catcher on the press that looks to only hold a couple hundred. I don't know for certain as I've not done a big deprime session. But it is probably sufficient.
The Dillon also has bars and rods and stuff that get in the way of your view into the press and get in the way of your hands to get in to the press to remove cases. That kinda sucks but only affects setup. Once you have everything setup then you aren't messing around in there and that doesn't matter.
They are definitely different.
For me, the Dillon is going to be a much better machine because it'll be more reliable and I won't have to fuss around with little things going wrong. If I can just get the primer stuff resolved, it might really be awesome and I can stop hand priming. But I am not going to hold my breath. The Hornady priming system was horrible as well, so they are equal in that regard on my presses right now. Just have to see how the parts improve things.
After having reloaded a decent batch of 45 and 9mm, I can say the Dillon is indeed a better press. I really was skeptical but after running it for a bit I can easily identify why it's better. As far as fit and finish and cosmetics, yea, it's better there as well. But a pretty press doesn't dictate the quality of the ammo, so that is of no concern to me.
To be 100% clear, if you are hand priming off the press and are not running a case feeder, then there's zero difference in the presses. In fact, the Hornady takes the win because of the easier, quicker and cheaper caliber changes.
If you are automating and using a case feeder and, in my case, a bullet feeder then the Dillon really starts to shine.
But, I did get a dud on the primer feed. Dillon determined I got one from a batch that went out with a misaligned primer feed. The misalignment can't be adjusted out in any way. No questions asked, they are sending me all the parts to completely replace my primer feed. So, I should be able to start trying to prime on the press after that. But, historically, I've never had a press that primes worth a poo so I may just stick with hand priming. We'll see.
1) The Dillon Case Feeder / Collator is hands down superior to the Hornady. It has an adjustable speed, preset deflector and a built in wiper. It just simply works. I haven't had a single jam or mis feed in either caliber. The Hornady will sometimes jam up and I had to build my own wiper to install on the inside. Dillon has thought of everything and it just works flawlessly.
2) The case feed tube and case feeding operation is 100% captured. The brass is never loose or free to jump around and fall off the press. The brass is captured in a channel and is positively and accurately shoved into the shell plate. The Hornady is all loose and a whole lot can go wrong between the dropping of the case and it making it into the shellplate. You get used to learning the timing and rhythm of the Hornday, but the Dillon is just spot on and requires no timing or learning of a rythm. You just operate the handle and it all works like it should.
3) The shell plate operates smoother and doesn't jostle the powder out of the cases. The Hornady, I modified the base plate that the shell plate rides on to help smooth that out, but never could get it perfect. The Dillon is silky smooth and doesn't spill powder all over the place.
Other than that, it's kinda all the same. The bar style powder dispenser works fine. I've not noticed anything unusual. I'm sure the typical advantages/disadvantages still apply between rotary and bar, but I'm using some fine grained shooters world clean shot and it's working great. I'm sure I'll learn over time which powders do and don't work. But, for now, it's working great and I have no complaints.
I like that the Hornady ejects primers thru a tube where you can capture them in a large container. I can deprime thousands without worrying about dumping spent primers. The Dillon has a little catcher on the press that looks to only hold a couple hundred. I don't know for certain as I've not done a big deprime session. But it is probably sufficient.
The Dillon also has bars and rods and stuff that get in the way of your view into the press and get in the way of your hands to get in to the press to remove cases. That kinda sucks but only affects setup. Once you have everything setup then you aren't messing around in there and that doesn't matter.
They are definitely different.
For me, the Dillon is going to be a much better machine because it'll be more reliable and I won't have to fuss around with little things going wrong. If I can just get the primer stuff resolved, it might really be awesome and I can stop hand priming. But I am not going to hold my breath. The Hornady priming system was horrible as well, so they are equal in that regard on my presses right now. Just have to see how the parts improve things.
A final note on caliber changing. This is a biggie. Yes, you can certainly unscrew and screw in dies into the die holder on the Dillon, but that would be a real pain and wouldn't be worth it if changing often. I wouldn't want to have to start over every single time with setting up calibers. Having separate heads is the way to go, but is very expensive.
The Hornady wins hands down on caliber changing. So much so that I'll be keeping the Hornady on the bench for all of my smaller run calibers.
Actually changing calibers takes about the same amount of time between the 2 presses as long as you are using separate tool heads on the Dillon...which is the same as the Hornady Quick Change Bushings but at a significantly larger outlay of cash.
The Hornady wins hands down on caliber changing. So much so that I'll be keeping the Hornady on the bench for all of my smaller run calibers.
Actually changing calibers takes about the same amount of time between the 2 presses as long as you are using separate tool heads on the Dillon...which is the same as the Hornady Quick Change Bushings but at a significantly larger outlay of cash.
I've used the Dillon progressives since the RL450 days.. I currently own 3 550s and a new 750..the 750 is dedicated to 45 acp as that's what I shoot in BE matches.. It's a terrific loader.. IMHO an improvement over the 650.. my 550s handle other small primer pistol, 223 and 308 rifle.. for the 550 you can get CNC made tool heads all day for $23 each, so caliber changes aren't that bad.. Dillon has long had their no BS warranty for their loaders and it's for real.. they forced everyone else to follow..
Honestly never messed with the LNL so I can't comment there, but, Dillon works....
I can honestly say I've only called them for service maybe twice in 30 some odd years...
Honestly never messed with the LNL so I can't comment there, but, Dillon works....
I can honestly say I've only called them for service maybe twice in 30 some odd years...
BTW if you go with Dillon check out Titan reloading.. they are having their Dillon Daze days right now where they discount the loaders off Dillon's std, price.. the 550 is 40 off with their code and my 750 was $60 off...
Significantly larger outlay? Not sure how...all you need is a new toolhead. I'm sure the Hornady Quick Change bushings are comparable in price.
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Sure, I suppose you can just use 1 toolhead and swap out dies and powder chargers, but that's not how it's meant to done.
Prices to change 1 caliber for each press, as they are meant to be done.
Dillon:
$120 Quick Change Kit
$89 Caliber Conversion
$209 for a single caliber that allows quick changing and setup.
Hornady:
$17.00 3 Quick Change Bushings
$30.00 for a shellplate
$14.00 Powder Measure Meter Insert (this replaces the need for an entirely different powder measure)
$61.00 for a single caliber change over.
I may have missed a bit but this is all I can recall the hornady needing. You can also save money on the hornady by purchasing 10 packs of bushings for 47.99 which brings the per bushing price down even further.
I may not have everything here, but I'm pretty sure I have the major bits.
Again, a person could certainly use just a toolhead but that would defeat the purpose of "quick change". I'm only comparing quick change to quick change, as the presses are designed to be used. The Dillon's version of quick change is much more expensive.
Maybe we're talking about something other than the RL-550. The caliber conversion kits are only $49.95 and an additional toolhead is $26.95. Those are really all you need if you already have dies. The quick change kit is for folks looking for convenience. They come with a toolhead stand and separate powder measure.
You can pick up these items 2nd hand....typically $25-30 for a caliber conversion kit and $10 for toolheads.
I swap my powder measure around between toolheads, as it only takes 30 seconds or so. Similar to the Hornady system.
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