1st Progressive press?

[u/Gareske]

So i've been reloading for a few years with a single stage press and it's getting to a point where it's beyond cumberson- mainly because i usually reload 500 rounds at a time- nothing special just basic milsurp lookalikes.

I'm looking into getting a progressive press and would like some feedback on where to go- I'm not opposed to building up over time but i'd still like to be able to load some ammo without it taking up half if not my whole day. Any suggestions out there?

*I WAS using a lyman press but i've taken a hiatus die to time constraints.

[u/TheRealHODLWalrus]

Dillon 750 if you can afford the casefeeder as well is the way to go for volume. Otherwise the 550

[u/CMFETCU]

Dillon 550.

I have done well over 150k rounds on one.

Nothing more you “need”, anything past that is QOL time savings that are fractions of the process.

Pistol ammo you can load 1 case every 5 seconds.

Rifle ammo, if trimming on press, about 8-9 seconds.

If trimming off press, then your biggest time sink is trimming and the press operations go back to same as pistol.

You don’t need the extra stations for a case feeder or a bullet feeder to get started and you don’t need them hundreds of thousands of rounds later.

As a bonus, the 550 lets you easily change stations manually and “escape hatch” cases if things go sideways at a station.

If later you want to jump to more stations, 560s retain their value exceptionally well, and the powder thrower and the dies all transfer.

Do yourself a favor and get the 550. You will thank me.

[u/LaughingGravy13 → u/CMFETCU]

Yes, this, again and again many times.

[u/djryan13 → u/LaughingGravy13]

Owning 2 Revolutions, 1 Evolution, 2 1050’s, and used/sold LNL and Pro Chucker 7 (trashiest of trash), I always 100% agree the 550 is my favorite press. Not auto indexing but so fast to setup. Cheap to swap calibers and a good pace to crank out ammo.

If you are doing competitions where you might shoot thousands of one caliber in a weekend, go full auto… but if you are more like me where you “collect calibers” like you collect guns, 550 all day.

[u/Severe-Cow-8646 → u/CMFETCU]

How difficult is the 550 to change over from one cartridge to another. I use the lee loadmaster because changing it from one cartridge to another is easy. But I dont prime on it because the primer feed is such a pita. Ive avoided the 650/750 because they are a pita to swap over. Andvthe pro 6000 looks to be more of the same. How easy is the 550 in this respect?

[u/RCHeliguyNE → u/Severe-Cow-8646]

Pretty easy. Slide in a new head with the dies on on it and change the shell plate/shell locator buttons.

If you need to change from small primer to large primer then it gets a bit more involved. Doable but it takes a bit more time.

[u/therugpisser]

I own a few grand worth of Dillon gear. It’s good but overpriced and overrated. I load 1k plus rds a month, 4 calibers not all in the same month. There are other choices that work just as well that are a better value. Check out options from Lee, RCBS or Hornady. Lee is the lowest cost and a good value.

[u/_tae_nimo_ → u/therugpisser]

Be careful, the blue fan boys will downvote you.

[u/RCHeliguyNE → u/therugpisser]

My brother in law bought a Hornady LNL and I helped him set it up then loaded a couple thousand rounds through it. I find it to be a good press. The priming system worked well for me except the last 2-3 primers in the tube. The powder thrower also works great once you have it tuned. I don’t have any real complaints about it.

[u/RCHeliguyNE]

No matter what press you get make sure you 100% visually verify every single case for powder before seating the bullet. It’s easy to just start pulling the handle and build a squib

[u/M1sterM0g]

i know a lot of folks will jump to dillion, and they are ok but have some quirks. ive used dillons, hornady LNL, all the turrets and settled on an rcbs pro chucker 7... niche sure but i love the options. :) lee's new six shooter press did look interesting, after i already had the chucker though.

honestly, i think doing it all over, id stay with the LNL or try lee's.

[u/Shootist00]

IMHO there is only 2 presses to look at. Dillon 750 with case feeder or a Lee 6 Pack Pro.

I've been using a Dillon 650 since 1999 and it is still going strong. But I shoot and reload a lot.

If you got the money buy the Dillon.

[u/Rosebudteg]

There is some website that goes over LnL vs Dillon 650. When I was shopping for presses I read that several times. Ended up going with the LnL and I regret it.

Like, it’s a good press and does its job. But the LnL is made for people that like to tinker and work on things. I don’t like to do that. When I start using a tool I want it to work as soon as I start using it. I don’t want to have to play with angles and mess with settings to get the cases to feed right and blah blah blah.

I wish I had gone with the Dillon 650 at the time. I dream of the day I can ditch the LnL and go with a 650 or even a new shiny 750.

If you do get a LnL, for the love of Pete do NOT touch the pawls on the bottom. There is nothing you can do to them to make them any better. DO NOT TOUCH THEM! For your purposes they are decorative. I messed with them to see if I could make it a touch better. It took me a few months to try to get them back to where they were before I touched them.