Looking For New Progressive Press

C

cregeorgia

Inactive
Hello, I am a gun collector/avid hunter. Currently, I have quite a collection of firearms and a decent amount of ammo. I am searching to find a progressive press that would produce consistent rounds at a fair pace (500 Rounds per hour). Time is a somewhat limited factor so the ability to produce 1000-1500 rounds per sitting as quickly as possible is what I’m searching for. I have narrowed it down to the Hornady Lock-N-Load AP Progressive Press. I also considered the Dillion 650 and 1050, however it appeared that the Hornady Lock-N-Load would work with a larger number of calibers easier (switches are faster) and much cheaper than the dillions. The ideal scenario the press will be used to produce 1,000-2,000 rounds of a specific caliber before being switched to another caliber. The calibers I own that I would like the option to use in the press are 9mm, .45acp, .38 spc, .357 mag, .44 mag, .223/5.56, 5.7x28mm, .308 win. Any recommendations as to which press would work well or suggestions as some others to explore would be greatly appreciated. Also, if anyone could give me an estimate on what it would cost to change calibers on the Lock-N-Load would be very helpful. Thank you
 
For the volume that you are looking at reloading in one sitting ( 1000-1500 rounds) I recommend the Dillion 650XL.

They are exceptionally well made, run very well once they are set up, and the warranty is bulletproof.

The cost is not overwhelming, check out the Dillion website.
 
I think you had best look at the Dillion 1050. I have a Hornady LNL which I like a lot and I don't have case or bullet feeders.
However for the amount that you want to load in the time that you want its going to cost you a fair chunk of change no matter which brand you choose.
There are many that have been able to get the LNL to run with case and bullet feeders but not as reliable as the 1050. l suggest you do a search for JMORRIS as he will be able to tell you what you will need.
 
LNL works good for bulk loading, but stay away from the bullet feeder never could get mine to work good enough. Brass feeder works great after you get it set up correctly. I burn a bunch of 223 thru mine, can't meet your total rounds per hour with my LNL but not to far behind. Hornady service and warranty have been great for me.
 
Suggestion
Get more brass, make longer runs. At 1000-1500 from a big progressive, you will be making too many changeovers.

Prepare to be looking at a second machine next year.
 
Here is some advice from a person who has a LNL and a Dillon 550, and a couple of single stage presses and has been reloading for 25 years for what it is worth, just my opinion. If you are new to reloading get a good reloading manual first like the latest Lyman manual and read it. It will have good basic information to get you started.

The Dillon 550 or the LNL will allow you to load a considerable amount of ammunition in a reasonable amount of time. Both presses are fairly simple to set up properly, get running efficiently, and maintain. The more complex presses require more knowledge and adjustment to get them running smoothly especially when you add a bullet feeder and a case feeder. They are more complex to change calibers on and adjust also.

If you think you will load 1000-1500 rounds in a sitting (an hour two hours three hours?) you may be underestimating the physical effort and concentration this requires. Take a 10 lb dumbbell and do 1500 curls with your right hand without stopping within one hour. You may be surprised at how hard it is to do, and the arm cramps it will generate. Pulling the handle on a progressive press while watching all the operations will require similar effort but will be a bit more complicated and a bit more physically taxing.

If you screw up with the dumbbell you may drop it on your foot, screw up with the reloading press and you can turn a good firearm into a grenade.

It helps a great deal if you know some one who currently reloads and can go see and run their press a bit.

Just my two cents others will have a different opinion and different advice.
 
I have the LNL and love it. But mine is without a bullet or case feeder and I could not load the volume you are talking about. With case feeder you could go much faster but I still don't think it is that fast. It seems like if I try to go really fast with any press I start to cause problems that slow me back down to a reasonable pace. Anyway, my Hornady is a great press but I doubt you could run it that fast.


Mike
 
I have the LNL AP and love it. I am not in a big hurry when I reload, I am caareful and take my time. Reloading is not the place to make a mistake. Start out slow and cautious, concentrate on the reloading process. I bought a progressive press because of shoulder and arm problems and I wanted a finished bullet for each pull of the handle, not for speed. But I am retired and have a lot of time.
 
If you have your act together, just about any progressive will easily allow you to reload 400 rounds an hour.
I regularly can do that with a Dillon Square Deal that sells for a fraction of what you are considering.
But as others have said, trying to do thousands in one setting is something else.
That's not to say it can't be done, but you might want to spread that out some, like over a weekend.
If you do go ahead with that plan, you won't need gym time for awhile.
 
Time is a somewhat limited factor so the ability to produce 1000-1500 rounds per sitting as quickly as possible is what I’m searching for. I have narrowed it down to the Hornady Lock-N-Load AP Progressive Press. I also considered the Dillion 650 and 1050,
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I have yet to see an LNL that can keep up with a decked out 650 or 1050. Remember if you have an issue that makes you stop, that zero in production speed kills your average.

We know you want to load 1000-1500 rounds per session of eight different calibers. How often or how many rounds per week/month do you intend to load?
 
Dillon 650XL...best firearms related decision I ever made. Even if the 1050 was the same price, I would still get a 650.

The Lifetime warranty alone makes the 650XL the best value in a progressive press.
 
The ideal scenario the press will be used to produce 1,000-2,000 rounds of a specific caliber before being switched to another caliber. The calibers I own that I would like the option to use in the press are 9mm, .45acp, .38 spc, .357 mag, .44 mag, .223/5.56, 5.7x28mm, .308 win. Any recommendations as to which press would work well or suggestions as some others to explore would be greatly appreciated. Also, if anyone could give me an estimate on what it would cost to change calibers on the Lock-N-Load would be very helpful. Thank you
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You have presented this question as though money is not a factor; therefore I feel talking about change over kits would be a waste of time.

I started with Rock Chucker and Piggy Back 1& 11s. The PB attachment would not load anything taller than the 223 Remington; meaning I had at least 5 shell plates for the PB attachment, if I started over and the 'NEW' press that was not RCBS I would be required to purchase new shell plates. The up side was the change over cost; shell plates and tool holders.

F. Guffey
 
There are a number of reasons a 1050 is a better press than the 650 but price and the warranty are not two of them. If the op goes to load 1000, 233 or 308 rounds with crimped pockets, he will have 1000 reasons why it's better before he could even get started loading on a 650.
 
Not that hard to avoid mil rifle brass with crimped pockets. In addition, there are plenty of places that will process mil brass for .10/piece (or less) if you end up with some. I got a 5 gallon bucket of processed .308 LC brass for $200 last year. So, for me, no reason to go to the 1050. :)
 
there are plenty of places that will process mil brass for .10/piece
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I agree and one can buy loaded 308 for $0.53/ea and avoid reloading altogether.

That said, if you paid someone .10/ea to process 18,000 cases, you could have paid for a 1050. Not to mention long after that brass has exceeded its service life your "free" 1050 will still be working and worth well over $1000.
 
Hard to make a bad decision on those two. Though I would suggest the 650, I have very few problems with mine, namely due to my own mistakes.
A few notes, the manufacturers claim XYZ rounds per hour. As stated before thats in a perfect world, you will not be loading that many an hour. You WILL however increase your reloading speed ten (or more) fold. And as stated before sitting down and trying to jam out 1000 or more rounds in one sitting is a heck of a grind. Ive reloaded ~800 9mm in one day, that wasnt to bad but I wouldnt want to do more than that in one sitting, it gets slower and harder with rifle rounds.
What I do is leave the caliber in the press and pop into the garage for an hour or two after work and bang out a few hundred at a time. In no time youll have a couple thousand rounds.

Dont forget, your gonna have to feed thisbmachine alot of powder and primers!:D
 
Dillon XL650,
4,500 to 5,000 a DAY is a REAL WORK OUT!
No matter what the propaganda says, pulling that handle 600 times in an hour, for hours on end is a WORK OUT!

If you intend ANY quality control at all,
Then there are the stops to check the powder thrower to make sure it's keeping adjustment,
You have to feed the case feeder, the bullet tray or feeder, the primer tube needs fed every 100 rounds or so...
There are cartridge over all length checks...

Dillon is reliable, but it doesn't operate or feed itself,
And only an IDIOT cranks 1,000 or more rounds before QC checks to make sure a die didn't come loose, primers hung up and stopped feeding, crud got into the seating die and your length is all messed up, the crimp die stopped working about 30 rounds in, or the crimp die started buckling shoulders about 30 rounds in and you ruined 970 cases & wasted 970 primers...
(All of which I've seen done on a smaller scale, that's why I mention it)

Dillon powder check die is good, but not flawless or fool proof.
Mine has found steel cleaning pins stuck in magnum cases so they are pretty sensitive, but by no means foolproof...
 
Dillon is reliable, but it doesn't operate or feed itself,
And only an IDIOT cranks 1,000 or more rounds before QC checks to make sure a die didn't come loose...
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I must be an IDIOT. On my Dillon's that operate and feed themselves, they load 1000 rounds in just over 51 minutes. I know the dies don't come loose the same way I know a connecting rod in an engine I build won't come loose, no need to check every 1000 revolutions (thank god).

Have some powder bars (and powder check mandrels) that have not been adjusted in more than a decade. Before every session they are still where I set them all those years ago.

I do however understand that there are machines that are much more prone to malfunction. I can't say I have ever not known if I had a primer problem with a 650, LNL, Pro 2000 or any press where you feel every primer going into the pocket (or more importantly not going in) and never had a 650 stop feeding primers, the only "problem" you hear about them is that they always feed primers, even in the absence of a case to seat them into.
 
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