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Solo 1000 is such a fast powder, it doesn't seem ideal for a round that seems as temperamental as .40S&W. I can see it for light .45ACP or .38 Special Wadcutter loads at 650-750fps. Tried AA N100?

I am a big advocate of the Hornady L-N-L. If I had the money to waste, I would buy a Lee Progressive with the case and bullet feeds just for the challenge. I have looked at the Dillons and found that only the 1050 was for me. The others, IMNSHO, just aren't as "nice," for me, as the Hornady. However, I have not read one single opinion on the RCBS progressive. Has any one ever used one? Just curious.

I got the Dillon DVD for my 1050, and it was really great. Not only did it show each step, but if you watched, you would see how the ram should be positioned for different set-up operations. Wish they had keyed those things in better, but at least I picked up a couple of solutions to problems I was having. I think for what they charge for a press, a DVD should be included. Alternatively, they should do like Hornady and Lee and post some videos on their site. Buy the DVD, watch it a couple of times, take some notes in your manual about what you see on the screen, and then go set-up your press and have fun.

1) Take barrel out of gun. Resize case. Does it drop in barrel freely? Is so, you are sizing enough. 2) You can take the rounds that don't drop free in your barrel, mark them with Sharpie or something and insert them and twist them around. That will tell you where the problem is. 3) Just my opinion, but if I can see a bulge and, particularly, if I can feel a bulge, that case is scrapped. 4) Crimp separate from bullet seating and use just enough taper crimp to eliminate the case mouth flare/belling. If you were mistakenly using a seater die that roll crimps, you could be inducing a bulge near the case mouth. 5) Check your crimped round to see that it drops free into your barrel.

It was a Win NT case. I can't think of any chemical or physical reaction that would make AA5 unsafe in a .40 and not in a 9 or .41AE. Does make me leery of the powder though. There was no set back in any test loads, so unless that particular case had very thin walls, I just can't see set-back, but then I did not expressly test that particular case. Here is a comparison picture if it loads:

I have been working up various lead bullet loads in my EAA Witness Match .40. So far, looking only at accuracy at 25 yards, AA5 has been the best powder with 155gn L-SWC and 175bn L-SWC. While at the range, I loaded my first round of 6.1gn of AA5. Bullets was an NBC 175gn L-SWC with a COL of 1.1770. I have fired rounds up to 6.9gn AA5 without any signs of pressure or bulges. The EAA barrel definitely supports the cartridge. Any way, that first round KBd on me. The base plate of the magazine sheared off the body of the magazine and the front of the rubber grip panels tore loose from the frame. No damage to me. Went home and looked things over. Man, was my gun dirty. Except for the damage to the plastic base plate of the magazine and the front of the grips no longer having a "ledge" to lock the front of the grips to the frame, everything else looks completely undamaged. I used a brass brush to remove the remaining forward section of the case from the barrel. Cleaned up the barrel and it looks perfect. I would have said that it was almost impossible for me to overcharge a round since I was dispensing with my ChargeMaster, but, if I am not to blame, then I would to consider that either .40 S&W cases can separate at random or that AA5 and the .40S&W have some mystical Mojo that can KaBoom at random intervals. Broke down the remaining 9 cases and they all had 6.0-6.1 gn of AA5 in them. I ordered another RCBS Lock-Out die that day.

If you need to adjust the die a little further down, remove the Lee lock ring, remove the o-ring, turn the lock ring upside down and screw it all the way up the die body. This has worked for me.

The Super 1050. Otherwise, you would be better off with the Hornady. If I had to buy a Dillon and didn't want a 1050 (strange thought), I would get the 650. I just don't want a progressive with less than 5 stations. The 550 is for people who want to control every operation, so not having auto-indexing keeps them in control. The SDB locks you into just that single caliber or yo will have to buy relatively expensive caliber conversions with proprietary dies that won't work on any other press.

1) Always start at the starting load. It is called that for a reason. 2) Always prepare one or two inert dummy rounds (no powder or primer) while setting up your dies and seating the bullet. This way you can establish the longest COL that will fit in your magazine and feed and chamber in your gun. 3) For any new load/bullet, only prepare about 20 to test at the range. 4) Max in the the manual may not be max in your gun. Always start with the starting load and work up.

Let's face it, the problem is probably a combination of slightly high primers (they can be flush or slightly below and not be fully seated) and the use of a hard primer (small rifle primers). Unless the primers worked perfectly in old cases, you might need a heavier main spring to really "pop" 'em. If this is only with virgin brass, the problem could be tight primer pockets keeping the primers from seating all the way. The 1050 has about the BEST primer seating system out there and it should seat the primers to the same depth every time.

It doesn't matter what shape the bullet is, the determination of COL is based on your gun and your barrel. First, disassembly your gun so you have the barrel sitting at the bench with you. Now, make up two "dummy" rounds (not powder or primer). After you resize the two cases, drop them into the barrel. They should chamber freely. Next, expand and slightly bell the case mouths. Your bullet should be able to sit on the case with the case mouth belled sufficiently to not touch the bullet. Screw in the seating die—turn the seating stem all the way up. Place a case in the shell holder and raise the ram. Screw in the die until it just contacts the case, and raise the die up 2 full turns. Pushing up on the die (pull seater stem up), turn the lock nut down to lock the die in position. Lower case, place bullet on case, raise ram, turn down the seating stem until you contact the bullet. Lower the ram and turn the seating stem down 2 or 3 full turns. Raise the ram and seat the bullet. Adjust the seating stem until the COL (OAL) is less than 1.17" (but more than 1.145"). In general, a good first estimate is a COL of 1.14 or seating the bullet to about 1/2 of the upper driving band. In most cases, it is actually where you think it looks right. However, let's go slow and just work it out. So, you have a bullet seated for a COL of, let's say, 1.150". Now, if you have a taper crimp die, install it in your press. If you only have a seater/crimp die, then raise the seater stem back all the way up and out of the way. Place the case with the seated bullet in the shell holder and raise the ram to the top. Now, screw the taper crimp or seater/crimp die down until it just touched the case. Lower the ram a little and turn the crimping die down 1/4 turn. Raise the ram and crimp the case. Lower the ram and inspect the case. Is the case mouth still flared/belled? If so, you need a bit more crimp. If you want to crimp by caliper, then adjust until the case mouth is .382" or, visibly, until you see just a hint of flare at the case mouth (yes, your eyes make excellent calipers and can see a slight case flare easily). Now, apply a little marker to the dummy round around the case mouth and along the shoulder of the bullet. Drop the dummy round in the barrel. The COL at this point should be a little too long to chamber. If round doesn't fully chamber determine where the hand up is. If you have marked the dummy round, all you need to do is lightly rotate it so the hung up area is "scraped." If you didn't mark it, you will need to apply a little pressure to more fully chamber the round and then rotate it. Either way, you should get a mark that shows where the hang-up is. If it is the case mouth, then you just a touch more "crimp to remove the case flare. If it is the bullet, then you need a touch more eating depth. Make small adjustments to the seating depth until both dummy rounds chamber in you barrel freely. Now, re-assembly your gun. Do the dummy rounds fit your magazine? If not, slowly increase the seating depth until the dummy rounds feed freely into your magazine. Now, insert the magazine into your gun, pull the slide back and let go (DO NOT try to ease the slide forward but let 'er rip). If the dummy did not chamber, pull the slide back and look at the dummy round. If the COL is too long for you gun, there will be a flattened area on the bullet, If the case isn't flared enough, the case mouth could catch on the feed ramp and you will see a shiny mark on the case. Either seat the bullet a little deeper or remove all the case flare (case mouth at 0.379-0.380"). You will discover the COL and amount of flare that works best in your pistol. You will also have two dummy rounds that will allow you quickly set your dies back to the same settings when you load this bullet again. There is no single COL that is correct for a given bullet. It all depends on your gun and magazine. In general, you want the longest COL that functions in your gun to minimize pressure. The COL in reloading manuals is generally a recommended minimum (do not seat deeper). In almost all cases, loads are worked up using minimum COLs so pressure will reach maximum sooner. It would not do for them to use the maximum COL and then have handloaders seat deeper and have pressures go through the roof. I can tell you that in general, the lighter the bullet, the COL will be shorter just because the bullets are shorter. You will probably find that a COL of about 1.130" will be good, but it all depends on the bullet and your gun.

I am confused. I looked at this "powderfunnel.com" and all I see is a case flaring tool, without any case expansion. I can do that with Lee's Universal Case Expanding Die for less than $15. I can say that I never had a problem with the PTXs. They properly expanded the case and gave the case sufficient flare/bell to properly seat lead bullets. If I wanted to, I could turn it down just a little more to increase the flare, but I never had any problem adjusting to get "just-enough" flare.

As a 1911 made by a reputable company, I expect it to be worth the money. I LIKE adjustabe sights (at my age, I like red dot sights even more. If you like it and can afford it and can't find a gun for less money with the same or more features, buy it.

If I had the money, I would like to buy a LoadMaster just to play with. From comments on this and other forums, it seems almost like a kit, where you save money by having to do some work yourself to get 'er running right. There are certainly enough videos and such and I wouldn't doubt if there was a user group and forum just for this one press. I could never give up my 1050s, as I really like and use the six stations available for operator options, but that press just seems like a challenge. Being retired, I can enjoy a good challenge.

Bullet Weight Powder Weight Velocity Start/Max cast L-RN 225 Green Dot 4.8 725 Start cast L-RN 225 Green Dot 5.8 845 Max cast L-RN 225 Clays 3.6 683 Start cast L-RN 225 Clays 4.3 818 Max cast L-RN 225 Red Dot 4.3 705 Start cast L-RN 225 Red Dot 4.5 747 Start cast L-RN 225 Red Dot 5.1 861 Max cast L-RN 225 Red Dot 5.3 835 Max

First of all, I have used the Hornady L-N-L, the Dillon XL650, and the Dillon 1050. I currently have two RL1050s and one Super1050. Of these, if I was going out to buy my first progressive press, I would make the same decision I made over 20 years ago—I bought the Hornady. The 650 I used did NOT have a case feeder (a $200 option). I had to take my hand of the press handle, reach down to get an empty case with my right hand, and reach to the back of the unit to insert the case. This was extremely uncomfortable. Needless to say, my friend got tired of it quickly and bought a case feeder. I found my Hornady to be much more ergonomic. The only failing of the Hornady (up to the current model) was that the loaded case ejection systems never worked for me. I found placing an empty case and placing a bullet to be seated easy with my left hand. The bullet seating station is right in front of you so you have to work NOT to see the powder level in the case prior to seating the bullets. Ejecting the loaded round was just a flick of the finger as i went to insert an empty case. A case feeder was never even on my "like to get" list. It just wasn't that important. I hear about the Lees being finicky and fussy with plastic parts that can break easily. I like the ideas of the Lee case and bullet feeders and the price is certainly great. Any way, for me, the XL650 had no benefits over the Hornady, and caliber conversions cost more and takes longer

I don't quite understand. You have a resizing die, an expander die, and a bullet seating die. You resize the case. This makes the case mouth too small to seat a lead bullet without swaging it down. Since cases have different wall thicknesses, you can't make a sizing die that will produce the correct case ID. This function is down by the expander die. So, you use a case expansion die to open up the case mouth to be .001-.002" smaller than the bullet diameter (the resized case was probably 0.005" or smaller than the bullet diameter). Example: I want to seat a 0.451" jacketed bullet. If all I do is flare the case mouth of a case that has been sized down to 0.447" and seat the bullet, the bullet will be forced to either expand the case ID to bullet diameter. This will be done by expanding the thinnest section of the case and you will have an unevenly bulged case that, if it chambers, will be cocked and not accurate. With the proper case expansion die, you don't even need to bell the case mouth for a jacketed bullet. This is what you do with rifle cases. Now, you have a lead bullet. It will also be seated cocked and bulge the case if the case isn't properly expanded, but (being much softer than the brass) it will be swaged down in diameter. Now you have a bullet that is cocked and is no longer large enough to fit the barrel. You will have gas cutting and leading. Thus, the case expansion step needs to increase (i.e., expand) the case ID to be 0.001-0.002" smaller than the bullet diameter. In .45 we generally use 0.452" bullets, so you need an expander that will set the case ID at 0.450-0.451. This will produce a round with good bullet grip.

1) Never tighten the magazine shield cap (knurled silver nut at top of the primer feed body/shield. Over tightening it will cause the plastic tip at the bottom of the primer magazine tube to twist and not let primers drop freely. 2) The shellplate needs to be just right in terms of tightness. Too tight and you will notice the drag and it may not index properly. Too loose, and you will noticed rough, forceful indexing and your bullet seating will be inconsistent. 3) Make sure the black rubber slide roll pin sleeve is not missing or cracked. 4) Never short stroke. All the way and all the down without jerking or being too fast and forceful. Consistency. 5) Never tighten the tool head until it is all the way down and indexed into the shellplate 6) When you have to put take off or reinstall the slide actuating lever, lower the toolhead to about the mid position and everything will line up for ease of installation/removal. Always use the cotter pin on the bracket pivot pin to remove the slide actuating lever assembly 7) have spare of the plastic tips for the primer pick-up tubes and the primer magazine tubes. 8) Should have been above as #2: Be sure the primer magazine tube is all the down and the plastic tip is not damaged in any way. 9) Be sue there is clearance between the primer shield and the powder measure. 10) Install the Dillon Powder Check Die or the RCBS Lock-out die at station 6. I find that I can just barely see into the case at station 7 as I place the bullet on the case. Trying to observe the powder level in station 6 is ridiculous for me—need to stand up, bend over the press, and use a light. Much easier to observe at station 7 and have an active powder check die at 6. 11) I haven't done it yet, but get the ergonomic bullet tray. It is over-priced, but can be worth it for ease of grabbing bullets for seating. 12) If you are mechanically inclined, you might take a small pistol feed plate and make the slots slightly larger so .40S&W feeds a bit better.

Well! What can I say. I have never gotten leading from any Precision bullet. I have gotten moly-kote in the barrel. Never hurt accuracy or function. I just soak my barrel in Hoppe's #9 or Acetone/MEK/mineral spirits every few 1000 rounds or when I feel like it. I think some times that they are putting too thick a coating on. If this was true for you, a high velocity load might just strip the coating off in the barrel if the bullet can't grip the rifling. However, that would also cause extremely bad accuracy and keyholing. There would have to be something that is cutting through the Moly-Kote even to get any lead to contact the barrel, much less deposit lead. You did start with a clean barrel? If you are getting leading, I recommend an Outer's Foul-Out III or some copper Chore-Boy on a brass brush to get rid of the lead—much "safer" than vinegar and peroxide (you do have a stainless barrel, right?).

Never seen any flaws in any L-N-L I have seen. Then again, I'm not a perfectionist and would only be concerned about casting flaws if it affected alignment and strength, and the strength of all the presses is way more than needed. My L-N-L paint (powder coating?) has survived various degreaser sprays and other liquids and shows no bubbling or other flaws.

The Hornady powder-through expansion powder funnels takes care of case expansion and case mouth flaring and I see NO benefit to "powderfunnels.com." All I see is a case mouth belling/flare and not a case expander. I want an expander that will expand the case to .001" smaller than bullet diameter and the powderfunnel doesn't look like there is any expander section. If you want to separate case expansion/case mouth belling from powder charging, get the Hornady expander die or the RCBS, if Redding doesn't have them, and use the Hornady universal case mouth flare insert.

As a person who loves the Hornady L-N-L, I would have to ask why you want to go from a 650 to a Hornady. The advantages of the Hornady, to me, was that all case and bullet handling was done with my left hand and the seating station is right under my eyes so I can see the powder level in the case, along with less expensive and faster caliber conversion. I like to use an RCBS Lock-Out die in station 3, unless I use an expander die in station 2 and powder charging in station 3. If you have the case feeder for the 650, then that eliminates the hassle of feeding the empty case with the right hand to the station at the right rear of the press. That just leaves the benefit of being easily able to see the powder level prior to bullet seating. My L-N-L did not come with any way to determine the number of primers remaining and the only problem I ever had was that I discovered I was out of primers because the very last primer just would not feed into the primer slide. I have been told that the Hornady now comes with a plastic rod. If it didn't, I would get one of Dillon's plastic rods. As far as I know, Hornady does not have a primer warning like Dillon. If I had the 650 with a case feeder that worked, I would be happy and not consider the Hornady, unless you need the speed and lower cost of caliber conversion on the Hornady. Where I would go is to the 1050 (but that caliber conversion and time of conversion is even more expensive).

The seating die works great, except... The weight of the sliding sleeve and the seating stem will cause the hole that the "C" clip sits in to elongate until finally when the sleeve slides down it will keep sliding down and fall out. You will then contact Hornady and get a new die body. For my .38 Special Wadcutter loading, I found that the Lee seater produced slightly more accurate ammunition then the Hornady die, which was noticeably more accurate then the RCBS or old Redding seating dies. This of course does not mean that the same holds for other dies or other calibers. However, to get the best accuracy with a S&W Model 52 takes very careful loading practices. My die choices now are the Lee 4 die set if I was to buy new dies and the Redding Profile Crimp die for any roll-crimp needs. The Profile Crimp Die is just plain fantastic. Yes, Grasshopper, the seating and crimp should be two separate steps. Likewise, many times I also use the Hornady or RCBS expander die separate from the powder-charging step.

As I tell people who can't decide between Hornady and Dillon, after we discuss the price difference and the cost of caliber changeover. When they tell that they aren't that sensitive to price and they just want the best, I tell them to either get a Super 1050 or buy the Hornady and paint it blue. If someone has a chance to look at various presses and try them out, I say to pay particular attention to the primer feed and seating. That is the one "problem" area that ALL progressives have. Of the presses I have tried, the Hornady is almost as good as the 1050 and is better than the 650 I worked with. I just don't see the point to the 550, the SDB, or the Lee Pro 1000. I want 5 stations and auto-indexing, at a minimum, before I put down my hard-earned cash. I hear people complain about case feeding with the .40S&W. The problem is with the case. It is too big for the small pistol feed plate and too short for the large pistol feed plate. It is the same with the sloppy fit in the .40/10mm/.45ACP ammunition boxes. It needs its own parts and not the "close enough in general" accessories it is stuck with.