54 replies to this topic

[Lurkin]

i have been doing alot of reading and i cant make up my mind on a good press, they all have thier pluses and minuses.

what do you use and why did you choose it?

whata your thoughts on the lee load master press? its cheap but i'm wondering if that reflects the strength of it?

[Steve RA]

Loadmaster is ok - whatever you do, don't get the "Pro" one !!!

[blueeyedme]

I have only owned Dillon so I can not speak to any other brands. My first press was an XL650 - which is an awesome press. I just moved up to a 1050 but have not even set it up yet. Long and the short of it, Dillon customer service ROCKS! ...and that makes all the difference in the world in my book.

[kellymc]

I used a loadmaster for 4 years and even defended them a few times. But things would have a lot better if I had gotten my 550b 4 years sooner

[The_Vigilante]

I used a Loadmaster for about 2 years before I graduated to Dillon. Press is strong but needs a lot of babying-always having to adjust this or that.

[lowflyer]

I have the RL550B set up with three quick-change calibers. It is by far the easiest to set up and run and least fussy of any press system I have tried. I have had mine for about 13 years and am still absolutely thrilled with it. My advice to anyone is to get the most press you can afford. It will pay for itself if you like to shoot.

[blaster113]

never had a Lee press. owned a RCBS single stage, a Dillon 550 and now a 650. I think the 550 has to be the most versatile and easy to use press around. changing the press around for different calibers is a snap. once you get it set up for a caliber, you hardly have to make adjustments. if you can load on a single stage you can load on a 550. caliber conversions are relatively cheap and you can load just about any rifle or handgun round on the press. well worth the money. I almost regret selling my 550. only upgraded to a 650 with casefeeder as I simply wanted more speed and 99% of my loading is .40/9mm/.38SC. the 650 is better for volume loading. use to average maybe 3-400 rnds/hr max with a 550, now I'm up to about 600 with my 650 and casefeeder. Dillon's customer service is unmatched too. they rebuilt my second hand 550 for free. only had to pay for shipping the press to Dillon.

[ScottyPotty]

I had a loadmaster. I highly recommend skipping it and gong with a dillon or LNL. I got so tired of the constant struggle to make it run. It will produce ammo, but it will run and then get out of adjustment fix it and then repeat this over and over. Once I got the Dillon set up it just plain runs and runs, no fuss, just ammo.

I went with the Dillon 650 because I could use the case feeder with rifle ammo. Otherwise I would have got the 550. My buddy has the LNL and he likes it just fine.

[Lurkin]

i'll look harder at the dillon presses, what about dies? you use dillon or other brands?

[ap38]

Look at Brian Enos.com. There is a section on "which Dillion is right for you". That might give you an idea what you are looking for.

[Pat Miles]

i'll look harder at the dillon presses, what about dies? you use dillon or other brands?

Given that dies for the Dillon are standard size, any good die or set of dies will fit.
What you will probably find is that most folks use a combination of dies. Maybe a U-die for sizing and decapping, a Redding Competition bullet seating die and then a Lee sizer/crimp die in the last station.
I have owned a Dillon Square Deal, 2 Dillon 550B's, 2 Dillon 650's and a Dillon SL-900. I can't imagine owning any other brand of press.
When you shop, make sure you understand that if you ever want to sell your Dillon you will be able to get 75%-85% of your original purchase price for it. I buy ANY Dillon press that I find for a good deal cause I know I can make money reselling it.
Pat

[Pat Miles]

i'll look harder at the dillon presses, what about dies? you use dillon or other brands?

Given that dies for the Dillon are standard size, any good die or set of dies will fit.
What you will probably find is that most folks use a combination of dies. Maybe a U-die for sizing and decapping, a Redding Competition bullet seating die and then a Lee sizer/crimp die in the last station.
I have owned a Dillon Square Deal, 2 Dillon 550B's, 2 Dillon 650's and a Dillon SL-900. I can't imagine owning any other brand of press.
When you shop, make sure you understand that if you ever want to sell your Dillon you will be able to get 75%-85% of your original purchase price for it. I buy ANY Dillon press that I find for a good deal cause I know I can make money reselling it.
Pat

[ScottyPotty]

i'll look harder at the dillon presses, what about dies? you use dillon or other brands?

I had some issues with lee dies and found by switching to a better die RCBS, Dillon or Redding my problems went away. IMHO its worth it to spend a little more on the dies.

[pbosik]

Get a Dillon, none better imho..

[sroe3]

I chose the Dillon Square Deal B because:
I only load straight wall pistol.
Dillon has the best reputation.
400 rds per hour is fast enough for the volume I shoot.
SDB is simple, progressive, auto indexing, and affordable.

[mlmiller1]

I had a loadmaster. I highly recommend skipping it and gong with a dillon or LNL. I got so tired of the constant struggle to make it run. It will produce ammo, but it will run and then get out of adjustment fix it and then repeat this over and over. Once I got the Dillon set up it just plain runs and runs, no fuss, just ammo.

I went with the Dillon 650 because I could use the case feeder with rifle ammo. Otherwise I would have got the 550. My buddy has the LNL and he likes it just fine.

I have had the exact same experience. I kept sending it back to Lee & nothing would be better. Finally the factory called me & told me how to fix it myself. I sort of felt disgusted that they had it returned to them three times & didn't fix it but called me to tell me how to do it. ??????? The "fix" they had didn't really do it, either.

I went to a used 550 a friend sold me. I loaded around 60,000 rds on it, sold it for what I paid for it & bought a 650. In the meantime, I found some guy that wanted the loadmaster & was willing to pay me shipping plus a few bucks to get it. He was sure he could fix it. I saw he had it for sale a few months later. I warned him. I now have two 650s to avoid changeovers as often, although they aren't particularly a problem. Some days I think about selling one of the 650s but probably will just keep them both. The dillon's almost always sell used for 75-80% of new price day in, day out. Most other presses don't resell that well. There is a reason for that.

MLM

[Canuck223]

Unless you expect to be walking away from shooting relatively soon, consider the money spent on your reloading equipment more of an investment than a cost.

Spend wisely, and buy the best you can afford. If needs be, save a little longer.

Compromises you make now on your equipment might save you money up front.
They will also cost you in terms of quality, time, and more cash for replacement later.

[nathandewalt]

I just upgraded from a pro 1000 to a 650. I was able to try both a 550 and 650 before buying and they are both great. I went with the 650 because it's reloads more per hr but takes longer to change over to another caliber. All I shoot is 40/9 so it works good for me. Wish I had done it a long time ago.
Definitely buy a good press to start and it will save you money time and frustration in the long run.

[frag316]

I had a loadmaster. I highly recommend skipping it and gong with a dillon or LNL. I got so tired of the constant struggle to make it run. It will produce ammo, but it will run and then get out of adjustment fix it and then repeat this over and over. Once I got the Dillon set up it just plain runs and runs, no fuss, just ammo.

I went with the Dillon 650 because I could use the case feeder with rifle ammo. Otherwise I would have got the 550. My buddy has the LNL and he likes it just fine.

+1

I started with a Lee Loadmaster. My biggest complaint is the fact a large number of important pieces (like most of the priming assembly) are plastic. They wear out way too quickly, so you always have to buy spares to keep from interrupting your loading.

I went to a Hornady LnL AP because I had a friend who has one and have never looked back. I have not had good luck using Lee or Dillon dies with it, so I recommend using Hornady's dies.

I also used a Lee Reloader, which was great until I tried to size and deprime an unlubed .500 S&W case. It snapped at the neck. I bought an RCBS Partner Press and love it. Works with my Lee rifle dies with no problems.

Asking a question like this is like getting into the debate between 9mm and .45 or 1911 vs. any autoloader. Everyone has opinions. If you have friends who have these presses, go check them out. We can all relate our experiences, but actually handling them is another thing.

[SuperD]

Look at Brian Enos.com. There is a section on "which Dillion is right for you". That might give you an idea what you are looking for.

+1
If you are going to load 1 caliber or load a large quantity of 1 caliber to have a surplus of loaded ammo before switching caliber a go with the 650 due to its faster rate.
If you want to switch between a quantity of different calibers and just load what you need go with he 550 due to the ease of caliber changes.

[FAZZ]

Dillon 650

[98sr20ve]

I have owned Load Master, Lee Classic Cast Turret, 550, LnL and a 650.

ONLY ONES I would buy again are the Lee CLASSIC Cast Turret(not the regular) and both the Dillons. Everything else was a HUGE waste of time.

[SPRSkip]

I have a 550 a 650 and a LNL. each one has its strengths but all in all the 650 is a great all around press. The 550 would be as good for most of the time if it had 5 stations.

[frag316]

I helped a friend set up a 650 he inherited from his uncle, and I was amazed at the large number of itty-bitty parts ™. While I liked the way the Dillon worked, that was its biggest flaw, in my not so humble opinion. I advised him to order a spare parts set immediately, in case something went wrong. That turned out to be prescient, as he had a problem with the auto index right after I left, which we traced to the little tomahawk-looking part under the shellplate. Luckily he had a spare, but it could have held him up for a week or so.

YMMV, as I've never heard from a Dillon owner who hated their press.

[brandrum]

I've only owned Dillon's so I can't really say. But what I can tell you though, is after dealing with their customer service it's the only press I would own. Besides that, my 650 runs like a sewing machine. So I don't see why I would ever own a different press anyways...Unless to upgrade to a 1050.

Edited by brandrum, 30 May 2012 - 02:35 PM.