Hornady or Dillion

I don't own either of these machines and can't picture myself ever needing one though I do find this discussion very interesting and informative. You people with these machines are probably loading in a month what would last me all year.

Before I retired I worked as a production maintenance mechanic so I find machines of all types to be of interest. The one thing I've learned is no machine is fool proof or won't break down. Things wear out or move out of adjustment, it's just the way it is.

The one thing I like about working on my reloading equipment is that I don't have to haul a 80lb 3ph motor up 30' into a 30* below 0 freezer. Or crawl into a 120* oven to remove a jammed up broken mold.
 
I'm not going to try to tell you who makes a better press. They are both great presses and both companies have outstanding customer service. There are some advantages to the Hornady press, I wet tumble my brass. I use one bushing and my universal de-prime die to remove all primers prior to tumbling. With the Dillion you would need a separate tool head for this task. I also size all of my rifle before trimming, again separate tool head or one bushing? I also prime off press before sizing pistol and after processing for rifle, APS strips are my preferred. What works for me is what works for me, not for everybody.
 
wwmkwood, would have to agree especially with your last statement.

If we took 100 hand loaders and put them all in the same room with only a single stage press and any other tools they would need or want and give them all 500 of the same cartridge to load I doubt one would find any two people working the exact same way from start to finish.
 
I have no experience with Hornady`s Progressive Press`s, and without dought they are very good press`s. But over the last 10 or 12 years I have bought 3 ((( USED ))) Dillon press`s one 1050, and 2 SDB`s. And Dillon`s unbelievable Customer Service has helped me out in getting all 3 of them up and running properly at no charge to me. And I am dangerous with a screw driver. Since then I have had no problems what so ever with any of them. And all 3 work extremely well, even for a clutz like me. IMHO I think You would be hard pressed to beat a Dillon Progressive Reloading Press.
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I think I've changed my mind on which press I was going to get . I was going blue but It look's more and more that I'll go Red . The one hang up in my head is loading on the Hornady with out a bullet feeder . I don't like the idea of having to put the bullet up into the die in order for it to have room to be placed on the case . Who's pinched there fingers doing this ? Anyone ???
 
What bullets do you need to load? for pistol you just need the die and tubes "under $50.00" for .22 ad 30 cal you will need Rifle bullet feeder.
 
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To many bad reviews on the green. I think I'll stick with blue.
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Having also owned RCBS progressives I would advise against that. Once they have the issues ironed out of them and they have been around long enough that I might be able to find parts once RCBS discontinues them like all the other progressives they have quit making and no longer support, I would give it a second thought though.
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My search here didn't reveal any discussion of the Pro Chucker 7. Support for the machine will outlive me. Actually I don't expect a company to support something indefinitely. In any case, Dillon's mystique in that regard is at risk, if and when the company changes ownership.
 
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I'll be loading multiple pistol calibers but my concern is with rifle which I will also be loading multiple calibers ( 223 , 308 , 270 , 30-30 & 30-06 some day ) With out actually knowing maybe 223 will not have the bullet feed issue but those taller calibers like 270 and 30-06 will be an issue .

Does the bullet feeder die also seat the bullet ? or does it just set the bullet in place for the next station to seat ? I was thinking can I just drop the bullets one at a time manually into the bullet feeder die ?
 
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Dillon's mystique in that regard is at risk, when the company changes ownership.

Who said ownership will change? No announcement have made that ownership will change. I don't expect much changes. Dillon was 83 when he died. I suspect the business will stay in the family. I think Steve Dillon is the VP.
 
If you can afford it, Dillon. If price is an issue, the Hornady will probably be fine.
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Sigh! That's not entirely in context. The XL650 and Hornady LnL AP that are usually compared are about the same price, when similarly equipped. Dillon does have higher end models. I am not sure but have read that the Hornady is more friendly in bare bones configuration, no case feeder. My LnL works fine that way (but keeping my case feeder, thank you). I believe the 650 is more commonly used with a case feeder, probably because it is not as big a leap once you have sprung for the basic machine. Adding a case feeder to a Hornady is a bigger proposition, because the base machine is indeed cheaper.
 
DILLON!!!! Drink the BLUE koolaid! It tastes better!

I've been running two 550s for over 20 years. Great performance from quality machines.
 
I was true Blue until Dillon tech support could not solve the problem of destroyed 25-20 brass. The LNL AP has not ruined one yet in thousands loaded. Go Dillon if you want, I'll stick with a press that has a lot less 'slop' in it. Hint: which press has an aftermarket solution to eliminating tool head movement? It's not a red one.
 
Hint: which press has an aftermarket solution to eliminating tool head movement? It's not a red one.

I've heard this argument before. But what about that movement you get with the red press bushing mounts? What's the difference between movement in a tool head or the red presses' QD die mount? Even the Foster Coax has some slop built in. Does it matter? It seems like all presses have some slop in that area. I think the slop is intentional and designed in to help center the cartridge. The pressure at the end of the upstroke gradually reduces slop to no slop.
 
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Cannibul is one of the few people around who has both Hornady and Dillon.
Most of us pick a brand, learn its peculiarities, and stick with it. That makes it hard to get real comparison.

I can see where progressive loading of .25-20 would be tough and would not hold it against Dillon. But then I wouldn't TRY it on a Dillon, the old Rockchucker is all I need for oddballs like that.
 
DILLON!!!! Drink the BLUE koolaid! It tastes better!
I've been running two 550s for over 20 years. Great performance from quality machines.
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Do you have 550's or 550b's...there is a difference.
 
Do a little searching here and you will see a distinct pattern. It's going to P.O.some of the Hornady fans but there are considerably more threads concerning LnL problems then there are about Dillon problems.

I went through the same decision making process a few years back.....Let's just say I'm very happy with how my Dillon is performing. The whole process can be done with the press....no need to size and/or prime on anything other than the press itself.
 
I normally only load one or two hundred at a time so I can easily do that on just about anything.
When I started reloading again this year I knew I wouldn't be loading a bunch like some of you so I started looking for used presses. There are a lot of them available I will say. I did find a used RCBS JR3 and a Lee Pro 1000 for a fraction of the cost of a new one.
A Dillon or LNL AP would be nice to have but I just don't load enough to warrant the expense. Even used those two presses are fetching $400.00 or more. While between the two used presses I bought I can now load 4 calibers with an investment of less than $200.00 and that's including buying a scale and powder measure along with 2 books.

For someone looking to just get started I would suggest doing as I did and look for a used press, gain experience and then decide if this is something you really want to do and invest the time and money into.
 
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