going to get a new press?which one?

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cowadle

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I am going to streamline my reloading bench. i want a new progressive press. i have an old dillon square deal B,and an rcbs rock chucker. i would like to get a single progressive press to do both jobs. i have settled on the RL 550b/the 650 dillon/and the hornady LNL AP. I have to admit the Hornady Lock n Load looks pretty attractive right now. any input would be enjoyed.
 

technetium-99m

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Give the Hornady press a look over, my two have been very good quality, no complaints whatsoever. Hornady has also been fantastic, I bought one press used and it had parts missing. I called Hornady and they just sent me the parts I needed, very nice. Once you have 5 stations and auto indexing you won't know what you did without them.
 

1911user

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+1 for the 550B. Mine is not for sale. The LNL-AP might be for you, but the devil is definitely in the details....... It's not a Dillon 650 clone until they fix the powder-thru expander issue. They should just copy Dillon's powder through expanders and be done with it. For a "basic" progressive press, the 550B is tough to beat IMNSHO. Until you have a case feeder, the "manual" advance of a 550 does not slow anything down.
 

Hawgman

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About a year and a half ago I bought the L-N-L AP. Went through the whole, agonizing decision making process. For me, it's been the absolutely right choice. One thing that helped was watching some of the videos on you tube. You get a feel for how they operate. I hear about dillon's warranty. Can't comment on that. The hornady folks are great. Called them a couple times when setting up and they were very patient, totally knowledgeable. On a couple occations called them about a small part or two and they always sent 2 or 3 of things instead of just one. I don't know how dillon's warranty is better unless they just send you free presses when you call. With hornady you only need to buy the die bushing to change calibres (and dies of course). That'll run you about $15-$20. The dillon is considerably higher to do so. To me comparing the L-N-L AP to the dillon 550 isn't a true comparison. The 650 is a more accurate comparison....auto indexing, 5-station tool head set them out ahead of the 550. I didn't even want a progressive without auto indexing. In my mind a progressive is suppose to do that for you. Nor was I willing to pay the extra for the auto case feeder that comes on the 650. Who knows, If I ever want a dedicated single calibre set up I might go with a square deal b one day. I just don't see how you could go wrong with either dillon or hornady. I like the solid feel, versatility, lower calibre change out cost of the hornady.
 

Rolando

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LNL is good to go. I know Dillon has a great reputation for service but Hornady has been good to me. Good call center. The sent me some free parts I needed before they broke (shell plate springs). With the free bullet deal when you buy a press or dies it just sweetens the deal.

I don't know about Dillon because I don't have one but the LNL is working for me.

http://powderfunnels.com/

Check the website above for the solution to the powder through expander. I've heard a lot of complaints about Hornady's expanders not working and being expensive since they are caliber specific. I just got the one above and ran 200 rounds tonight. Worked great. Not expensive and made in the USA by a guy who engineered it himself after having issues with the Hornady product. I found it while searching for powder through expander info when I wanted to run 45 acp with Lee's FCD and a powder check die.
 

tul9033

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I've got the LNL (Ezject) w/ the case feeder. Loaded several thousand rounds so far and tech support has always sent any questionable parts free of charge. No real issues to speak of. Auto indexing was key for me.
I added a Dillon roller handle and a RCBS low primer alarm to mine. I got mine for $349 in October and 1000 free XTP bullets which I sold for $175.
One thing I hate is loading primer tubes! I sure wish that vibra prime was still available.
 

Profreedomokie

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I have the Dillon 650 and think it's worth the cost to have auto-indexing. I have a Sq Deal also. They both run great and Dillon has great support. I have a friend that bought a worn out Dillon years ago. He sent it to Dillon and they rebuilt it for free. I haven't owned any other progressive presses.
 

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