Hornady lock-n-load AP press

[Lars]

So I'm looking at moving into the progressive press and have started looking at the Hornady, as it is quite a bit cheaper than the Dillion and seems pretty good. I love their dies but wanted to hear from anyone that has one or has used one. Any feed back will help.

[Lurch]

I just went through this myself and went with a Dillon. The Reloading Zone has both side by side so you can compare.

[Lars]

I just went through this myself and went with a Dillon. The Reloading Zone has both side by side so you can compare.

What where the major factors of going with the Dillon over the Hornady?

[Great-Kazoo]

What where the major factors of going with the Dillon over the Hornady?

It depends which dillon vs the L-n-L, you were looking at. The 1050 is out of most folks price range when it comes to "getting in to the progressive" press game. The 650 is a versatile unit, while the 550 is nice, but not set up for pistol & rifle case feeders.
As for the Hornady or any progressive. What do you want to use it for? You loading 500 rounds a weekend or year.

You're in broomfield. If you feel like taking a drive up north EH, and would like to road test all the dillons (except the SDB) in one place drop by.
I had a L-n-L as my first "progressive" nice unit. Unfortunately at the time my interactions with Hornady's CS soured me on their product. Not to say they have bad CS, just didn't work for me.

[Lurch]

What where the major factors of going with the Dillon over the H. nady?

Mainly it was the way the Dillon is built. Dillon is just more robust then the LNL. Everyone says Dillons CS is hands down better then Hornadys. Plus I found a smoking deal on craigslist which sealed the deal but I was going Dillon before then.

[68Charger]

One thing I see is Dillon is way more money for caliber conversions... it's only a bit more expensive for the 1st caliber- but unless I'm missing something, each caliber you add will greatly increase the gap. I would do at least 4 calibers, probably 6

I don't own either yet, still on a single stage... but have been looking at both.

Looking at even used Dillons, I wouldn't see the point in paying the premium unless I was burning through more than 1K rounds per month...

[KS63]

A person doesn't NEED to buy a complete quick change conversion and powder measure for the Dillon. You need a corresponding shell plate and dies for the most part. But not having the complete quick change assemblies adds a lot of time to your set up. I also think there's pride of ownership too.

[68Charger]

I also think there's pride of ownership too.

Yeah, I see that a lot- I'm not the type to buy something to impress others. I just want it to work.

[Great-Kazoo]

Yeah, I see that a lot- I'm not the type to buy something to impress others. I just want it to work.

You get what you pay for. 1 Tool head with your dies, powder drop all using hornady Lock Rings will do the trick. IMO once one starts using any progressive press, they eventually figure out what works best for them. I could get away with the lock rings, and did for a short time. That's till i was able to afford (or barter) for more tool heads.
If one has been working with a single stage. Utilizing a single tool head should not be an issue. Time consuming, yes. YMMV

[Jamnanc]

I started off with a 450b I got from Craigslist, it has a fixed toolhead. I Combined that with a lee auto disk and had to go with lee 4 die sets to enable the powder charge. I also purchased a lee universal rifle charging die. With only a case plate change and about twenty minutes, I could switch calibers. I havent used the hornady, so I can't knock it, but I broke a priming part "stripped the aluminum body", and when I told Dillon that I purchased it used and broke it through ignorance, they sent me a new part and won my loyalty. Ymmv.

[KS63]

I just went through this myself and went with a Dillon. The Reloading Zone has both side by side so you can compare.
Lars, this is a good suggestion. Mike (the owner) is very helpful and, like Lurch said, he has. Dillon 550, 650 w/case feeder and a Hornady LNL next to each other ready to demo. I'm biased towards Dillon, but once you fiddle with these presses, I think you'll find why Dillon is so beloved. If not, head up to GK's place and sample them. I'm by Parker with a 550 if you'd like to try it. Good luck in your search!

[XC700116]

I've got a dillon 650 and a single stage, I load all my precision ammo (most of what I shoot) on the single stage, but when I want to crank out a bunch of blaster ammo for the the AR's or pistols I get to work with the Dillon. IMO that's a big progressive's place, high volume ammo. I load for 9 calibers but I only have setups for 4 of them for the Dillon as the others I just don't need it for.

So when you're shopping, keep in mind your practical uses for it, and what you will and won't load on the machine long term.

[Lars]

All great info guys. I'm looking to load mainly my .223, .22-250, and 6.5 and a few other smaller calibers with the progressive, but will probably stick with the single stage for my .300 and other large calibers. I Don't shoot 1000's of rounds but when I sit down to load my varmint calibers I like to load around 500 of each and I sometimes will load three or four different calibers over the coarse of a day or two, so that is where the Hornady as a little more appeal with the quicker change on the dies. If time frees up some time between work and my business I may have to hit a few of you up to check out your setups.

[Lurch]

You maybe better with a turret press. Doing that many caliber changes on a Dillon will take a while unless you have tool heads setup for each. You will crank out 500 rounds faster then you can change caliber.

[Rucker61]

I have the Lee Classic Turret set up for four different calibers. I can load over 200 rounds per hour, during my evening teleconferences. Since I have multiple calls each night, what was otherwise dead time gets put to good use. Each Lee disc has its own set of dies and powder dispenser set changing between calibers takes about 15 seconds and cost about$40, not including dies.

[zimagold]

I asked a similar question here last spring and ended up with the Hornady LNL w/ case feeder. I was between the LNL and a Dillon 650, the LNL came available used first. I kinda wish I would have held out for the 650, but I have had no real issues with the LNL. I have used both and feel the 650 is built a little better.

I originally planned on running about 6 calibers with 9 different loads. In the end, I just run 9mm and 223 with 2 loads for each. The rest is back on my single stage.

The progressive introduces too much error and takes too much setup time for my preference in everything but my bulk loads. I have dedicated dies sets, powder measures, and run only small primers for my 4 bulk loads to cut down on change over time. A Dillon 1050 would be my ideal setup, as its design reduces seating depth error, but I prefer to rent with payment in beer instead of own.

[Lars]

Well the debate is settled. For Christmas my dad ordered me the Dillon 650 with the case feeder, dies for 22-250,.243, 6.5 creedmoor, .270 weatherby, and .300 Weatherby. He also ordered the magnum charge bar and the caliber conversion plates. I will order tool heads and a set of .223 dies as cash flow allows, but dad got me pretty hooked up to get started. Thanks for the input guys, now to learn this thing and get it setup.

[Great-Kazoo]

Well the debate is settled. For Christmas my dad ordered me the Dillon 650 with the case feeder, dies for 22-250,.243, 6.5 creedmoor, .270 weatherby, and .300 Weatherby. He also ordered the magnum charge bar and the caliber conversion plates. I will order tool heads and a set of .223 dies as cash flow allows, but dad got me pretty hooked up to get started. Thanks for the input guys, now to learn this thing and get it setup.

Set up is easier than it looks. When in doubt ask, browse a few YouTube videos, dillons web site. Nice Christmas present.

[KS63]

Well the debate is settled. For Christmas my dad ordered me the Dillon 650 with the case feeder, dies for 22-250,.243, 6.5 creedmoor, .270 weatherby, and .300 Weatherby. He also ordered the magnum charge bar and the caliber conversion plates. I will order tool heads and a set of .223 dies as cash flow allows, but dad got me pretty hooked up to get started. Thanks for the input guys, now to learn this thing and get it setup.
Dang! What an awesome Christmas present. Your Dad must really want you out of the house...j/k
Enjoy your new Baby!

[Lars]

Dang! What an awesome Christmas present. Your Dad must really want you out of the house...j/k
Enjoy your new Baby!

I moved out of dads house about 12 years ago when I turned 18, but I do all of his reloading for him and he knows the my little girl wants to start shooting a bunch more so the single stage isn't going to keep up with her.