I rate my L-n-L progressive.
Here's a Lee/Dillon/Hornady comparison
http://www.comrace.ca/cmfiles/dillon...Comparison.pdf
I rate my L-n-L progressive.
Here's a Lee/Dillon/Hornady comparison
http://www.comrace.ca/cmfiles/dillon...Comparison.pdf
Very interesting comparison, I'm a newb to reloading and the guy at the local shop tried to sell me a Dillon 650. I didn't have that kind of money to invest and went with the lowest price progressive I could find...a Lee Pro 1000 after seeing how relatively simple it was to operate and set up. I'm looking up prices/specs on Hornady equipment right now...I don't need the cream of the crop but would like something a bit sturdier.
I thought you were very kind in your analysis of the lee case feeder (most worthless piece of junk I've ever seen...I can hand-place cases faster than that after fixing all of the misfeeds/jams).
That's a very informative article. Thanks for posting it.
I admit to having mixed feelings about progressives.
I teach reloading, and I insist that my students start with single stage presses to insure that they have a better idea of each operation involved, and then move up when they have done a few thousand rounds and have a better idea of all the operations and a realistic estimate of the volume they are going to be loading. With everything happening at once on a progressive, I think it's too much to expect most newbys to be able to digest all the information presented and safely operate the machine. Many do, and have no real problems, but I prefer to to proceed methodically through each step and make sure it is completely understood before moving on to the next one. I think it makes for safer and more careful loaders. The more testing and working up of loads a person is going to do, the less sense it makes to automate, but when you have to crank out thousands of the same load at a time, a progressive is the only way to go.
I do like Lee priming systems and have been using an AutoPrime2 for the last 20years. Other priming systems are a royal PITA. I wonder if the Lee system can be retrofit on other progressives?
After 35 years of reloading, I finally went from my trusty old Rock Chucker (still in use for FL sizing) to an RCBS Turret press this last winter when my loading volume went above 1000 rounds per month. Why a turret? Most of my loading (80%) these days is cast boolits in rifle cases, and their long cases don't go well in progressives, but the turret effectively tripled my loading speed. I have toyed with the idea of getting a Dillon for handgun rounds, but for the couple thousand of them I load in a year, the volume does not (for me) justify the money for a progressive. If I were into competition, doing a lot of one specific load, I would get one in a minute. I have used Dillons before and liked them a lot. It sounds like the Hornady unit is a really good one, too. But working up loads for new moulds, new powders, or new guns is a slow process anyway, and resetting the powder measure every 10 or 20 or 50 rounds is a lot easier if it's not mounted on a press. The turret is for me a workable compromise that upped my volume without sacrificing the versatility I need.
"Stand your ground.
Do not fire unless fired upon.
But if they mean to have a war let it begin here."
- Capt. Parker, Lexington Militia, April 19, 1775
Read your comment regarding priming systems. The system used on the Dillon 550 couldn't be easier to operate and use. How are they a PITA? Pull handle up case is re-sized. Push handle forward and primer is seated.
Take Care
Bob
Virtus Junxit, Mors Non Separabit
What I don't like about Dillon's primer system is the lack of feel, but that's the problem I have with all progressives. It is easy to use, but not so easy to fill. I like to seat primers by feel and I like to think that the greater degree of control makes for more consistant ammo. (This may be illusion, I will admit. Also, priming as a separate step doesn't save me any time, but I have come to trust it.) When it's time to refill, Lee's AP, AP2, and their progressive version are the fastest and easiest to fill priming tools I have seen and used. RCBS's APS isn't bad, but you still have to fill the strips and that is tedious. I hate filling tubes with primers - I just don't trust them. I have tried just about every kind of priming tool I could lay my hands on over the years, and Lee's AP2 ram unit mounted on their little Reloader press gives the best feel of anything I have tried, equal to the bench mounted one-at-a-time units, and more convenient with its ease of refilling. I am not now a fan of hand priming tools, arthritis in my hands makes them too painful to use, but I started out with a Lee AP tool and liked it a lot way back when. RCBS makes a similar one, and both give you great feel.
"Stand your ground.
Do not fire unless fired upon.
But if they mean to have a war let it begin here."
- Capt. Parker, Lexington Militia, April 19, 1775
Here is a link to my full review published for the m1911.org e-zine.
http://ezine.m1911.org/HornadyLNL.htm
Opinions please.
From my cold dead hands.
If it ain't a Colt it is a copy.
That is a well thought out, logical, and factual review. The photography is excellent, too. I enjoyed the three-way comparison, but to go into the same depth with all of them that you did with the Hornady, it would have approached novella length. The grease fittings and the Lock-n-Load bushings are two of the biggest plusses, though as I mentioned, I am not fond of the primer tube system.
"Stand your ground.
Do not fire unless fired upon.
But if they mean to have a war let it begin here."
- Capt. Parker, Lexington Militia, April 19, 1775
The new priming system is much improved over the old one for the L-N-L.
I cannot take credit for the 3 way comparison of the Dillon, Lee, and Hornady I posted the link to earlier in my Hornady thread.
Thank you very much for the kind words, I really do dig my red presses!
From my cold dead hands.
If it ain't a Colt it is a copy.
BP | Bronze Point | IMR | Improved Military Rifle | PTD | Pointed |
BR | Bench Rest | M | Magnum | RN | Round Nose |
BT | Boat Tail | PL | Power-Lokt | SP | Soft Point |
C | Compressed Charge | PR | Primer | SPCL | Soft Point "Core-Lokt" |
HP | Hollow Point | PSPCL | Pointed Soft Point "Core Lokt" | C.O.L. | Cartridge Overall Length |
PSP | Pointed Soft Point | Spz | Spitzer Point | SBT | Spitzer Boat Tail |
LRN | Lead Round Nose | LWC | Lead Wad Cutter | LSWC | Lead Semi Wad Cutter |
GC | Gas Check |