Progressive Press Debate

[rebelracer79]

I am wanting to step up to a progressive press, but torn betweem Hornady LNL and a Dillon RL550B. Just wanting a no thrills progressive. Here are some of the things I'm looking for in a press, I may be forgetting somthing, feel free to make suggestions if you think somthing would be better for me.

Cost is an issue, looking to go for value, not cheapness

Has to be almost idiot proof, come with good clear instructions and be as simple mechanically as possibly.

Needs to be able to change calibers easily, mostly be loading .223, but also .45 acp, 9mm, and dabble in .308 a little.

From what little I know about progressives I think bot options would fit my bill, but would like some more specific info on them from people who have actually used both.

Thanks
Kyle

 

[Honeybee]

The reason I sold my 550 is because it did not do rifle calibers.
the 550, at least mine was only for pistol calibers.

 

[rebelracer79]

the 550b is supposed to do rifles and pistols

 

[Woodcutter]

I own a Dillon RL550B and really like it. I have not used a Hornady Lock-N-Load AP, so I cannot give you any first-hand experience with it. The 550B is a manual indexing press whereas the Lock-N-Load is a fully auto indexing press. The 550B has 4 stations, the L-N-L has 5 stations. Midway USA has the L-N-L on sale right now for $415. Dillon's site has them for $430. I love my Dillon, but I wish it had 5 stations instead of 4.

Honeybee, Dillon sells RL-550B conversion kits for dozens of rifle calibers, from the tiny 218 Bee up through the 375 H&H mangnum, 458 Winchester Magnum, and Remington Ultra Mags. So yes, you can load rifle calibers on a RL-550B. If you had the older RL550 model, maybe it could not do rifle calibers, but I do not know.

 

[1911user]

I've used both. Both will load most rifle or pistol calibers. Not sure what honeybee had, but the RL550 has always loaded rifle calibers.

If starting over with general utility in mind, either the 550B or the LNL-AP (latest version only; with ez-ject system) should work fine. I'd give a slight edge to the LNL-AP if you'll maybe want a casefeeder in the future. I've used a previous version of the LNL-AP and had some case ejection issues, especially in 9mm, but my understanding is the EZ-ject solved that issue. It was not available a few years ago.

I have a used RL550B setup with plenty of accessories and expect it to serve well for many years. One advantage to the 550 is it has been in production since 1985 and used pieces/accessories can sometimes be found for nice prices.

If I had to buy everything new again at current new prices, it would be a tough choice. I might let the used market decide which press to go with, but that requires understanding both systems very well so you can spot the really good deal.

Don't sweat the 4 vs. 5 station difference. Dillon expands the case neck and drops powder in the same station for loading pistol. Unless Hornady has changed, and they may have, the LNL-AP expands in one station and drops powder in a second station. Both allow separate seating and crimping stations.

 

[Woodcutter]

1911user,
Thanks for the comparison of the 550 vs the L-N-L, especially about the 4 vs 5 station differences. Since the Hornady uses separate stations for expanding the cases and drops the powder in two separate stations, it sounds like these two are equivalent in this respect. The reason why I wish I had a 5th station is so I could use my RCBS powder check die in a station between the powder drop station and the bullet seating station to add one more QC check to help avoid a double charge.

 

[technetium-99m]

The Hornady expands and drops in the same station, it has an extra hole for you to use.

The case feeder for the Hornady takes some trial and error to get set up. The biggest pain is loading 40S&W, little too small for the large parts, little too big for the small parts.

I did away with my powder cop years ago, just give each case a look see and all is well. Also, a double charge is far more likely to happen on a manually indexing press like the 550 than on an auto like the LNL or the 650. You would have to put in some special effort to double charge on an auto indexing press.

At this point, if I had it all over to do again I'd go big and get a 1050.

 

[Blitzfike]

I have never used the Lock 'n Load, but have a few friends who love them. I have two RL-550Bs, one with a casefeeder and one without. The casefeed system on the 550B won't hankle rifle cases.
The Hornady case feed system will. I think the best comparison to the Lock 'n Load is the Dillon 650. I have loaded rifle cases on my 550 for years, but on the larger cases like 300 win mag, I usually
resize them on a single stage press (Rock Chucker) and then run them through the Dillon. I may buy a Lock n' Load at some point to try the other case feed system. I miss being able to dump cases
in the hopper and commence loading, especially with 223 as I do a couple of thousand at a time when I load. I have become spoiled by the case feeder on pistol cases. I have conversions for the
case feeder for 32acp, 380, 9mm, 40, 10mm, 38/357, 41 mag, 44 mag, 45acp and 45 colt. There are a few glitches in the case feed process, but if you are paying attention, they are easy to correct.
Blitzfike

 

[alank2]

Hi Kyle,

First let me state that I am a 550 user and have read a lot of threads about the LNL, but I've never operated the LNL.

Has to be almost idiot proof, come with good clear instructions and be as simple mechanically as possibly.

Your description here absolutely describes the 550. I can't imagine anything on it being simplier than it is. Simple is king with the 550.

Needs to be able to change calibers easily, mostly be loading .223, but also .45 acp, 9mm, and dabble in .308 a little.

550 cartridge changes are very simple. I read about people who buy two 550's and leave one setup for small and one setup for large primers, but I honestly don't know why they'd do this. I can change out the primer system in 3 minutes without any adjustments. Perhaps these people leave their tube full of primers and don't want them spilling when changing it. I never leave primers in the machine so it is no bother to me. Other than that you have a shellplate and the the die assembly, both easy and quick to change.

The 550 probably handles more cartridges than other progressive. I think the list is just under 200 rifle and pistol carts!

Do some Internet searching comparing the two.

From my reading the 550 gets bashed primarily because it doesn't have true automatic indexing. Having operated one, I really don't think this really slows me down when reloading (I can do 500 RPH and still keep a good eye on everything), but it does get bashed for double charge risk. That would be cycling the press twice and possibly double charging a round. Using a load with at least 50% case fill will result in a very obvious overflowed case which lets you see the mistake. See my signature for a product I designed that watches your press actions and also reports any operational inconsistency. That is really the only thing I ever see the 550 bashed for.

The LNL had some early design issues ejecting rounds properly (notably 9mm), but I think Hornady has fixes for it. I do read about more mechanical type of issues with the LNL, but again, I've never run one myself.

In short, I know the 550 would address the needs you describe. The LNL may also, and it gives an extra station (for a powder cop, etc., type die). If you are thinking casefeeder (runs of 1K or longer) I'd go with the LNL for sure (or Dillon 650).

Checkout the brianenos.com site, he has a which Dillon page that has tons of useful info on it.

Good luck!!

Alan

 

[Fyrtwuck]

Forget the 550 and get a 650 with the automatic casefeeder and auto-indexing. READ the instructions and you will have very few problems. If you're wanting speed and quality, there it is. I wish I had known about the 650 30 years ago when I was using a single stage press.