Help finding a progressive press...

[rkittine]

I have three Star Progressive Pistol Reloading Presses and just read that there is a company that has purchased the rights, old inventory and drawings and will be both rebuilding Stars and supplying parts for them. Unfortunately they say they will not be building new ones. I love them.

Bob

 

[Sniper338]

Cost me about $9.50 a box of 50 to reload 9mm, 40, 45, 357 sig.... still a savings.... plus its me time and relaxing time... not always about money..

Are you amortizing the cost of the press and accessories into the equation also ? I work at a range so brass is free and I still can't beat $ 10/box when I add in the cost of the press over 10K rounds.

Im not counting the cost of the press... thats irrelevant to me... i have a few things i reload that save over $100 a box of 20... that pays for stuff 5 fold quickly... 338 lapua for instance.. $120 a box for factory ammo..so you may give up some here and make some there..... id still reload even when it cost me more thanto buy it just for the enjoyment..

 

[Yetiman]

Are you amortizing the cost of the press and accessories into the equation also ? I work at a range so brass is free and I still can't beat $ 10/box when I add in the cost of the press over 10K rounds.
[/quote]

With a Dillon you can sell the press and accessories even ten or twenty years down the road and get 80% or more of your investment back.

I bought a 550B used 19 years ago with 6 caliber change over kits, and loaded a ton of 9mm , 44 mag and especially 45acp with it.
This summer I bought an as new never assembled 550B at an estate sale for $130 and sold my old press with the basic setup for $5 less than the amount I had into my original press plus accessories.

I sold it locally (not on ee bay), and helped the new owner get set up and running, so some time was involved, but I made a good friend out of it too.

 

[amlevin]

If you want a good reliable press, go with a Dillon. Either 550 with manual advance or the 650 that does it all. I know a lot of people who have tried to save a few bucks by getting the Hornady LnL and now have a Dillon 650 on their bench.

By the time you outfit the Hornady with all it's 'goodies" you'll have the same amount of money invested.

Call Brian Enos and he'll help you outfit a 550 or 650 so you have only what you need. If you want to add later just purchase the extra's later.

I have a Dillon 650 with case feeder, extra tool heads (with powder measures pre-set), and have produced over 100k rounds in the last 10 years with it. Only two small parts failed (a spring and the shuttle that pushes cases into the shell holder) in all that time and all that use. Replacement parts were received in three days by USPS at NO COST, with no questions.

Best thing about the Dillon presses is that when you decide you don't want to hand load anymore you can recover a far greater percentage of your investment and in very short order. People snap them up because of the "No BS Warranty" There are even stories of some sending their "swap meet purchases" in for "factory overhaul" and received back a brand new press. Only cost to them was the shipping to Dillon.

 

[bsekf]

PM incoming.

Bill

 

[rtpnc]

I have a Hornady LnL press and a Forster Co-ax.

If you're planning on using the progressive press for pistol rounds, then go for it. It is a good press and there are lots of good things to like about it, price and functionality being among the top. However, if you're thinking about using it for long range precision rifle ammo, then I would advise you against it. A progressive press cannot do precision long range ammo. Believe me, I tried. tried and tried again.

Joe

What were your expectations and how far did you go with trying to use the LnL AP for 'precision' loads? (different meanings for different people and guns).
Obviously, I wouldn't expect Varget to measure well with Hornady's PM (which is IMO > Dillon's), but what about with 8208XBR, for example?

I'm about to head down this path (loading semi-precision, bolt gun .308) and want to use the LnL AP until/unless I see the point at which it no longer makes sense to do so..

 

[seymour fish]

H4895 meters well enough out of a 550b to achieve 2 1/4" groups at 550 yd with m1a, just FYI

 

[Iowa Fox]

Are you amortizing the cost of the press and accessories into the equation also ? I work at a range so brass is free and I still can't beat $ 10/box when I add in the cost of the press over 10K rounds.

With a Dillon you can sell the press and accessories even ten or twenty years down the road and get 80% or more of your investment back.

I bought a 550B used 19 years ago with 6 caliber change over kits, and loaded a ton of 9mm , 44 mag and especially 45acp with it.
This summer I bought an as new never assembled 550B at an estate sale for $130 and sold my old press with the basic setup for $5 less than the amount I had into my original press plus accessories.

I sold it locally (not on ee bay), and helped the new owner get set up and running, so some time was involved, but I made a good friend out of it too.
[/quote]

Heck of a find at that estate sale.

 

[michaelnel]

The Dillon 550 is a good choice, Hornady Lock n Load is a slightly better choice

Haha! The H L&L is the worst designed and executed piece of machinery I have ever had the misfortune to own. I am thoroughly delighted with the Dillon RL550B I replaced it with.

 

[Danattherock]

The more research you do, the more likely you will end up with a Dillon 550 or 650. I got a 550 two years ago and couldn't be happier. I load 9 mm, 40, 10 mm, and 223 on mine. Very accurate powder drops, showing within a tenth of a grain if not spot on when weighed to confirm.

The 550 is great if loading several calibers, changes are very quick and easy. If loading a high volume of one caliber, for example shooting several hundred 45's each weekend, I would get a 650. If you want to load several calibers, the ease of use and versatility of a 550 is great.

I can load 250 rounds an hour on mine. Others claim more, but I count loading primer tubes, actual reloading on machine, and such in my time. Literally, the time I walk into garage to time I walk out, 250 rounds an hour. That's enough for me.

With regards to precision rifle rounds not being capable on a Dillon 550, that's hogwash. Granted, depends on what level of precision you are talking about. My buddy is using his 550 to make sub MOA 77 SMK loads (with Varget no less) for his AR-15 in 3 gun events. He travels the country doing this stuff. This has him shooting at 400-600 yards, and he rarely misses. I'm still using my Rock Chucker for target stuff, and will continue to use that and my RCBS 1500 Chargemaster. I enjoy the process and my accuracy demands are a bit higher than his. But sub MOA on a progressive press is entirely doable.



Dan

 

[71firebird400]

I'm one of the weird guys who used to have a Dillon 650 but now have a LNL AP and like it more. Reasons for liking it more-

Simpler priming system, doesn't spit out a primer on each stroke of the press when there's no case in the station. I've found the Hornady system to be much simpler and less problematic.

Indexing half a step at a time. Way less powder spillage, especially when I'm shoving 24 grains of H110 into a 44 Mag case which nearly fills it up.

Powder measure is infinitely better. Far smoother operation and much more accurate charges as confirmed by my A&D FX-120i. Any serious reloader with a Dillon will have multiple toolheads with a powder measure on each one; one setup for each of his common calibers. Ever wonder why that is? Cause it's a pain to adjust! The Hornady is identical to the RCBS uniflow and far easier to adjust and tune in my experience.

 

[amlevin]

Any serious reloader with a Dillon will have multiple toolheads with a powder measure on each one; one setup for each of his common calibers. Ever wonder why that is? Cause it's a pain to adjust!

Some of us "serious reloaders" just have extra powder bars for our Dillon Powder Measures, even if we do have powder measures for each tool head. Want to change the charge weight because you are using a different bullet in the same caliber, just swap the powder bar that you've previously adjusted for the desired weight.

As for adjusting the Dillon powder measure, make it easy on yourself. Remove the rod that resets it each time, then just cycle by hand while catching powder charge in a small pill bottle. Once adjusted it doesn't need any tweaking, just add more powder when the alarm goes off.

For those that want to, Dillon does offer an adapter that allows one to use the powder measure of their choice. I've seen no reason to change from the Dillon myself.

 

[Danattherock]

Had me too. That comment about Dillon powder measures makes no sense. The reason folks have different toolheads with powder measures, dies all set up, etc is obvious. It is how a Dillon works. I can switch from loading 9 mm to 223 in 5 minutes. That's the beauty of it. I have only had my Dillon 550 two years, but I haven't had to adjust my dies or powder measure since setting them up. I check powder charges it drops and case measurements against a dummy round often. Just the type A in me, but nothing has changed after 4000-5000 rounds.



Dan

 

[michaelnel]

The only problem I have had with my Dillon powder measure was when metering extremely fine ball powders like WW 296 for my .44 Magnums. The clearance between the powder bar was excessive, and the very fine powder would get in between the powder bar and the body of the measure, causing it to feel "gummy" and sluggish.

Dillon Support hand-selected a powder bar with a tighter fit to a new measure, and sent me a new measure with tight fitting powder bar free of charge. They didn't even want the old one back. The new measure and bar cured the problem 100%.

 

[Steve3]

I like zipollini's suggestion. Thanks Zip!. Freedom Munitions looks like a major operation. And if you can catch some sales then things will be even better. Do the math. Most of the guys I know tell me to start with a Dillon 550. But I like Zip's suggestion for now.

 

[rtpnc]

The Dillon 550 is a good choice, Hornady Lock n Load is a slightly better choice

Haha! The H L&L is the worst designed and executed piece of machinery I have ever had the misfortune to own. I am thoroughly delighted with the Dillon RL550B I replaced it with.

^ This adds little. 'Haha!,' really?
Others have had different experiences, have shown the LnL AP to produce lower runout ammo for rifle rounds, and let's not get started on the powder measure. I guess some had better examples of the box (entirely possible) or worked through the quirks (which Dillon has as well)?

What exactly did you have issues with? Did you try to resolve with Hornady? Was this a pre ez-ject model? Hornady makes quite a few ongoing 'silent' improvements over time. Mine's happily chugging along, and I'd never trade it for a 550.

 

[rtpnc]

Any serious reloader with a Dillon will have multiple toolheads with a powder measure on each one; one setup for each of his common calibers. Ever wonder why that is? Cause it's a pain to adjust!

Some of us "serious reloaders" just have extra powder bars for our Dillon Powder Measures, even if we do have powder measures for each tool head. Want to change the charge weight because you are using a different bullet in the same caliber, just swap the powder bar that you've previously adjusted for the desired weight.

As for adjusting the Dillon powder measure, make it easy on yourself. Remove the rod that resets it each time, then just cycle by hand while catching powder charge in a small pill bottle. Once adjusted it doesn't need any tweaking, just add more powder when the alarm goes off.

For those that want to, Dillon does offer an adapter that allows one to use the powder measure of their choice. I've seen no reason to change from the Dillon myself.

The same 'problem' can be solved with simply a pair of Hornady LnL PMs, a few low-dollar inserts, or my favorite - a micrometer insert (I do keep one PM for pistol powder, and one for rifle, however - just easier overall, usually not needing to swap out case activators for what I load for, and different drums..). UniqueTek also makes a micrometer type insert for the Dillon PMs, although I don't know anyone running one locally. I do know at least one person that's switched his several Dillons over to LnL PMs, but - whatever works.

 

[jimbires]

there is a LNL for sale here . I have a LNL , I really like it . I only do my pistol ammo on it . I do have the brass feeder attachment .

http://forum.accurateshooter.com/index.php?topic=3863128.0

 

[Sniper338]

there is a LNL for sale here . I have a LNL , I really like it . I only do my pistol ammo on it . I do have the brass feeder attachment .

http://forum.accurateshooter.com/index.php?topic=3863128.0

i find deals like that usually end up with missing parts and a pain in the ass to end up getting set up... lol

 

[rtpnc]

there is a LNL for sale here . I have a LNL , I really like it . I only do my pistol ammo on it . I do have the brass feeder attachment .

http://forum.accurateshooter.com/index.php?topic=3863128.0

i find deals like that usually end up with missing parts and a pain in the *** to end up getting set up... lol

I'd be careful on it, as well - not saying they're not there, but from the pics, I'm not seeing the second primer shuttle, primer seater, powder measures/linkages, etc. For the price, you can occasionally get one new on sale for ~$340 (e.g. Black Friday), so the only real 'net' is a pair of shell plates, which can be had on sale for ~$22 when Midway runs their occasional 'pretend clearance sales.'

At the very least, I'd go to the user manual available online for the full parts list, and ensure everything's there..and offer less $.