Looking for a progressive press

Looking for a progressive press for loading pistol ammo. I've had a troll around the net and found that Dillon are probably the right way to go.

Have a couple of questions for those that do load in progressive presses:

• Auto or Manual indexing
• is it worth paying the extra to be able to load rifle cases (I current load about 500-600 rounds/year on a single stage Lee at the moment)
• Which model? 550, 650, Square Deal - the 1050 is out of my price range
• What other brands are any good? Lee Pro 1000 or Hornady?

Any and all advice is appreciated.

550 is what I have. 650 if its within budget. All Dillon stuff is great stuff
Would be most likely most common brand amongst volume reloaders.

I have loaded .223, 9mm, 38, 38SC and 40 S&W on mine and still use it to load for my .45, my .223 and soon my new 6.5?

+1 for the 650 if the budget will extend to it.

I ended up picking a Dillon Square Deal from Serious Shooters in 9mm. My reasoning was for auto-indexing (essential for volume IMO), dedicated setup that I'm only shooting the one pistol calibre. I can walk up and be ready to go in a moment. But I then later picked up a Lee single stage for 223 rounds, which I do in small batches of 50 or so, nothing serious. So far have done @300 or so. I reckon if you're planning on bulk ammo in multiple calibres then get a 650 or similar. But bear in mind that costs a lot more so your $$ return on outlay will take longer.

The really like the SquareDeal, very easy to set up and run, I'll churn out 100 rounds in about 15 mins or so - I do 100 round runs as that's how many primers are held in the tube. I can't fathom running this in manual indexing though, would drive me mental.

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Originally Posted by mikee

550 is what I have. 650 if its within budget. All Dillon stuff is great stuff
Would be most likely most common brand amongst volume reloaders.

I have loaded .223, 9mm, 38, 38SC and 40 S&W on mine and still use it to load for my .45, my .223 and soon my new 6.5?

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How do you find the manual indexing? I guess once you get use to it, no problem........?

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Originally Posted by Uplandstalker

How do you find the manual indexing? I guess once you get use to it, no problem........?

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non issue, can do 400 .223 per hour once I get "in the groove"

I have had a very bad experience with a Lee Loadmaster, so dont go there. Our club loads 308W on a Dliion 650 does a great job and looks very well made runs well. We have a new Hornady progressive press but I havnt tried it yet, but it also looks well made.

If it's a set and forget setup, then go for a 650.
If you're going to be doing short runs or 200 or so and changing caliber, then go for a 550.
I run 2x 1050, 2x 650, 550 and SL900
The 1050s, 1 650 and the SL don't get touched
I batch load ammo.. Thousand 9mm in 1 sitting fills a ammo tin and lasts a little while.

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Originally Posted by Spanners

If it's a set and forget setup, then go for a 650.
If you're going to be doing short runs or 200 or so and changing caliber, then go for a 550.
I run 2x 1050, 2x 650, 550 and SL900
The 1050s, 1 650 and the SL don't get touched
I batch load ammo.. Thousand 9mm in 1 sitting fills a ammo tin and lasts a little while.

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I would love to see a photo of that reloading room-would be something to aspire to!!

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Originally Posted by res

I would love to see a photo of that reloading room-would be something to aspire to!!

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its on here somewhere and a video

Sent from my GT-S5360T using Tapatalk 2

Remind me in 2 wks and I'll take a pic

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Spanners

If it's a set and forget setup, then go for a 650.
If you're going to be doing short runs or 200 or so and changing caliber, then go for a 550.
I run 2x 1050, 2x 650, 550 and SL900
The 1050s, 1 650 and the SL don't get touched
I batch load ammo.. Thousand 9mm in 1 sitting fills a ammo tin and lasts a little while.

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That's some pretty serious stuff!

Uplandstalker

I currently run two Lee Loadmasters loading several pistol and rifle calibres, including 357mag, 44mag 25-20wcf, .222 and .223 without any issues.

I have run Dillon presses in the past and while Dillons are nice they are also very expensive and like all progressive presses are not without their own issues.

The Loadmasters are very cost effective but also have their issues too, as do all progressive presses, but once you have them dialled in they do run very well.

Changing calibres usually takes only minutes and I can easily load several hundred rounds an hour without much effort.

Change parts for Loadmasters are very cost effective too and some change parts will cover multiple calibres.

I've found the powder dispensers very accurate and easy to use, especially when emptying the powder out after a loading session

You can also get automatic case and projectile feeders if you want to go the whole hog.

Being mechanically minded and methodical will help with the set up and maintenance of any progressive press.

I've found over the years that a solid bench mount that eliminates all press movement when cycling will also eliminate most of the issues encountered with any loading press both single stage and progressive.

Here's some links to Lee Loadmasters and a video forum outlining small improvements that can be made to make the Loadmaster press run more reliably.

Master Distributor for Reloading products and parts

Lee Reloading Supplies | Reloading Equipment Lee Precision | Discount Reloading Supplies by Lee | Titan Reloading

loadmastervideos.com :: Index

loadmastervideos.com :: View Forum - Load Master forum

Let us know how you get on

Cheers
Pete

P38 has it right. I have a loadmaster too, and quite like it. I can load around 400 .223 per hour, and the loads shoot under MOA.

The thing I liked the best about the Lee, is that I had it shipped to my door from the states, with all dies, powder measure, priming gear etc., everything I needed to get loading for less than $400NZ.

I've loaded thousands of rounds on mine, without issue. If you can follow instructions, and have a bit of mechanical aptitude, the loadmaster is a good, cheap choice.

Has anyone brought a press that they are NOT happy with, and why?

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Originally Posted by Uplandstalker

Has anyone brought a press that they are NOT happy with, and why?

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Nope

Have sold a few that I should have kept :(

Cheers
Pete

Get yourself a Dillon 550B. Strength, easy of function and the no BS warranty makes it a winner.
I have two 550B and a 650.
I am much like Spanners, my 650 is set up for 38 super comp and does not get changed. I have a Mr Bullet Feeder on it and can easily pump out 1200 plus rounds an hour on it.
My older 550B (about 15 years old has loaded 150K of 38 super and is good as new still. Now load my 223 on it in batches of 1000 so leave it set up for small rifle.
My other 550B (scored off Trade Me) is set up for large rifle, currently 243, 308 & 2506. They all use the same shell plate so swapping calibres takes seconds.

@Simon
Just a quick Q, how do you keep the primers up to it at that rate? do you just use the tube and pick each primer up? or one of those tube loaders?

Wanting to do 223 in 200~300 bursts and 303 in 100 plus it almost seems the better bet is 2 x 550s instead of one 650, LOL.

Hi Beaker.
I have from memory, 10 small rifle pickup tubes and 5 large rifle pick up tubes. I picked up extra tubes with the 550B press I got off Trade me.
I load them by hand using a Dillon flip tray to get them up the right way, normally flipping 5-6 hundred small rifle primers at a time so it does not take too long.
Aiming to train my 2 year old son to fill them up for me but convincing him that the shiny end of the primer needs to go into the tube first is proving difficult.

I stupidly brought one of those frankford vibra prime things, thinking that it might speed things up - what a total waste of time.
I've got 2 tubes, and i find that after doing 200, its actually nice to have a bit of a change and load the tubes again :)
But of course always wanting a faster better way, so hence Q.

I think my 2 year old would get bored after doing 3, and then try and hit them with something :)

I use a 1050 for 223; as Spanners pointed out not a great press for frequent calibre changes. I have used a 650 and it seemed to work well. I have spent a great deal of time with both the Hornady LnL Ap and the 550. Of the two I prefer the Hornady, its just a bit more versatile and a bit quicker to load on. I have not had positive experiences with Lee mainly regarding the priming process.
In the US a few years back I used the RCBS Pro 2000. I would buy one if I could afford it, I thought the priming system was excellent, very nice to use.

Interesting, my club is setting up a Hornady as we speak but has used a 650 for a long time, I will take a closer look at it.