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.