Which Reloading Press To Buy?

[Rosshooting]

Any suggestions witch reloading press to buy? I have a limit not over $250 for the kit! Thanks!

[Rmack]

Watch the classifed adds. I picked up my Dillon SDB two years ago for $200.00 off of the USPSA web site. Over 30,000 rounds and still going.

Robbie

[zhunter]

Powerman

I am not sure about the prices on the Dillon Presses, but ya want a Dillon for sure. Best thing to do it to cal Brian, he will steer ya in the right direction.

And......

It is ALWAYS more expensive to correct a mistake than to spend more and do it right the first time. Dillon 650xl is a GREAT press. Just keep savin' and wait.

Here is brian's contact info and some info on the presses he sells.

Brian Enos Dillon Reloading Info

Toll-free: 1 877 219-5598 9-5 M-F AZ-time

[R/T Performance]

I bought my square deal b new from Brian this spring 300 shipped(will come with one set of dies.But you will also need calipers and a scale.

Life time no B.S. warranty does most pistol calibers auto index.Very dependable and fast.

Just costs a little more to go first class

Edited December 5, 2005 by R/T Performance

[scorch]

Started out with a pro 1000 and then a "upgraded" to a Load Master and HATED it, pain in the a$$. Sold it and got a dillion 550. best press I owned, got two now. great press can load 100 rounds of 40 cal. in about 8 minutes with a relaxed pace.

GET A DILLION! good company great people

Edited December 5, 2005 by scorch

[XRe]

+1 to the 550. It has all the features you need to load high quality ammo quickly, plus it has the ability to effectively operate as a single stage press, which is handy as you're learning how to reload.

I used to own a 650. I now own a 550, which will be my "versatile" press. Eventually, I plan on owning a 1050 to load my primary caliber...

Oh - also - I highly recommend the 550, ordered through Brian, with his "as it should be" upgrade (because, it really does make the press "as it should be"). That aluminum roller handle makes all the difference in the world for me!

Edited December 5, 2005 by XRe

[PistolPete]

My suggestion on buying a press if your budget is $250 would be to either watch the classified here and Ebay to buy a Dillon 550 if you can find one. You def. want a Dillon and NOTHING else. The SQB would prob. work in your budget but would be extremely slow.

Like Scorch, I did the Lee Progressive 1000 press and hated it. Actually, I still have it chambered in .40 if you're interested. I'll take $40 shipped for it if you want. I only loaded about 100 rounds on it. The primer feed system was tricky as was the powder measure. But, for the money it def. works it's just more difficult than a Dillon.

I bought the Lee to save some money and ended up still buying a 650. Thousands of rounds later I still love the Dillon. I can load about 700 good rounds an hour consistantly.

Pete

[AlamoShooter]

My suggestion on buying a press if your budget is $250 would be to either watch the classified here and Ebay to buy a Dillon 550 if you can find one. You def. want a Dillon and NOTHING else. The SQB would prob. work in your budget but would be extremely slow.

Like Scorch, I did the Lee Progressive 1000 press and hated it. Actually, I still have it chambered in .40 if you're interested. I'll take $40 shipped for it if you want. I only loaded about 100 rounds on it. The primer feed system was tricky as was the powder measure. But, for the money it def. works it's just more difficult than a Dillon.

I bought the Lee to save some money and ended up still buying a 650. Thousands of rounds later I still love the Dillon. I can load about 700 good rounds an hour consistantly.

Pete

I used a Lee 1000 for a year or more Buy the one from Pete he is offering a gift at $40.00

You may not Hate it but you will certainly not waste $150 or $200 to find out and after a year you will rase you budget to get a 550 or 650.

I went to a 550for about three years and have ben useing a 650 for about 9 years. it has maybe 100,000 rounds on it and it is "fantastic"! loading can be part of the fun of shooting. the press is a tool, a cheep tool is no bargain, you just have to buy a cheep one twice.

Edited December 6, 2005 by AlamoShooter

[Derek45]

Save your money and get a DILLON !

[jkrispies]

Like a lot of others, I'm doing the Lee Pro 1000 thing right now, and I'm wishing that I had the Dillon 550. On the plus side with the Lee, I don't have a lot of money and it gave me a progressive that I can actually afford. On the minus side, it is a pain in the... well, that's been beaten to death already, now, hasn't it?

First of all, what will you ULITIMATELY reload, and what's the volume you plan on doing? If it's pistol only for the rest of your life and a fair amount (1000ish a month) then the SDB would be the way to go for your price range. If you plan on eventually doing rifle calibers, though, the SDB won't cut it in the long run and you'd be better off saving your money until you can afford the 550 or something similar.

Now, if you're not planning on reloading that much (say, 100 a week at tops), then I'd recommend getting a used single stage such as an RCBS Rockchucker and learning the skill. Once you know what you're doing and decide to load on a larger scale, you can use your knowledge/experience to decide which progressive is best for your needs.

If nothing else, buy a good reloading book first (I'd recommend the Lyman Reloading Manual) and read it thoroughly before buying anything. There's lots of nickle and dime costs that may surprise you if you haven't studied up enough. Within your starting budget, you'll also NEED a scale, calipers, loading blocks, additional manuals to confirm your "recipes," etc. And then, of course, there's the brass, powder, primer, and bullets! If you're totally set on $250, then the $40 Lee Pro 1000 may be your best/only choice.

J

Edited December 6, 2005 by jkrispies

[PistolPete]

Powerman-

One other question... Does the $250 cover just the press or does that $250 include misc. items like a Powder scale, tumbler, etc? When I first got into reloading I spent a ton of money. I bought the Dillon 650 with case feeder, strong mounts, roller handle, then a Dillon Digital powder scale etc. etc. When I tallied up what I spent I debated about getting the press or just buying another gun. The gun was actually a bit cheaper. The initial investment in reloading can be expensive, but it doesn't have to be, but the rewards and future savings are worth every penny. Just ask yourself how long you plan on shooting for and if it is longer than a year then the press will pay for itself 10 times over.

Pete

[Azone41]

Your not going to find very many people around here that won't recommend Dillon. I have two 550s and wouldn't trade them for anything (Maybe a 1050). They turn out match quality ammo at a rate of 500 an hour without killing yourself. Your budget is not reasonable unless you are going to buy a single stage press. I look back 10 years ago when I got my first 550 and I remember thinking how expensive that press was, still I bought it and to this day think boy that was one of the best investments I ever made. It has paid for itself 100s of times over (150,000 rnds and still the same press). Save more money and get a Dillon. If you are shooting matches (IPSC/IDPA) im sure someone out at the range reloads and might let you come over and try out their press to see how it works. I do it all the time for new shooters I won't load for them but will let them use my press to load some ammo to make sure they want to start reloading. If you ever use a Dillon you WON'T buy anything else. Hope this helps

[Canuck-IL]

Upgrading from a Lee Turret press (that got old around 250 rounds per week) last spring, I tried a friend's 550 extensively and studied the prices, construction and history of issues with Dillon, RCBS and Hornady. Decided on the Hornady L'n'L prgressive for superior engineering and 650 performance at 550 prices. Only downside I can see is the resale won't be as good BUT, I bought it to load, not sell. And the progressive's auto-rotation pretty much eliminates concerns about double charges (on each stroke, the indexer has been engaged prior to the case touching the powder drop).

Totally sastisfied with the press, especially the primer feed which they modified about 3 years ago. Service parts (discolored powder tube from leaving powder too long, 1 spring I over stretched) have been sent free and promptly. Auto-indexing is flawless right out of the box. In about 2 months they're introducing a powder thru expander drop to free up another station for a powder check....great deal at $299 from Midway, Cabela's or several others...caliber changes a little cheaper than Dillon and the quick release die bushings are nice when you load 3 calibers.

I feel it's superior to the Dillon and has a case feeder available.

/Bryan

[PistolPete]

I feel it's superior to the Dillon and has a case feeder available.

/Bryan

Superior to the Dillon????

You may have just opened up a can of worms. LOL

[Canuck-IL]

Yep, I realize that but hoped that since it's been beat to death on so many boards that no one would consider it worth pursuing again. Basically, I feel the Hornady is a lot of value for a great price and the engineering is top-notch. It's at least as worthy of consideration altho its history in the marketplace is shorter.

/Bryan

[zhunter]

I feel it's superior to the Dillon and has a case feeder available.

/Bryan

That's just Blasphemy (sp?)

[cdfcapt]

Save and get the Dillion it will save you in the long run. Look on ebay for a package deal when someone gets out of reloading, worked for me and you won't have to waist your money on discovering you want a Dillion.

[bgary]

I loaded for 10 years on a Hornady. It is well-engineered, and certainly durable, and once you get the indexing pawls adjusted (!) it can be reliable.

All my friends kept telling me how much better the Dillon was, and I didn't believe them at first. Sure, some things about the Hornady annoyed me, like.... the lack of a case feeder, and the relative lack of economical accessories (at the time, primer tubes were nearly 10 bucks *each*) But, as much as I wanted a Dillon, I kept telling myself I couldn't justify replacing the Hornady until it broke.

It never did break... so, about 5 years ago I bought a 650 anyway. Having loaded on both, I can confidently assert that the Dillon is the better tool for the job. I'd never go back.

Bruce

[mike g]

Being an "old" shooter, I have one of the 1st. Dillon 650's ever made and an even older 550. I would recomend the Dillon's for LOTs of reasons---but you can't BEAT the NO BULL service!!! (EVEN if you are not the original owner).I do use the EGW(lee).001 under size die in 9mm.,38 Super, and 40 s&w.for the 1st. stage. Ive loaded 1000's & 1000's of rounds. I would say the 550 should be your 1st. choise if you are going to load different calibers. The sq.deal is fine if you are just loading one caliber and have small hands?. mike g

[TONY BARONE]

I have a 450 that i brought to Dillon's to get converted to a 550. They charged me such an embarrassingly low price to do it that i had to buy something else before i left the store. Their products and customer service are the best in the business.

[Rocket35]

Dillon SDB- I love mine. I have had a 550 and 650. I think for the money there is no better than a SDB!

[blackdragon]

Dillon!!!!!!

Ivan

[BSeevers]

Get a Dillon or wish you had. We can argue SVI vs STI or Colt vs Springfield but Dillon rules

The $100-200 difference is saved in ammo costs in a few thousand rds

[gino_aki]

I won't go so far as to say muh Hornady Lock N load is better than a Dillon, but it sure is a lot less complicated. I got a SDB in a "Buy my gun and I'll throw in all this stuff too..." deal and couldn't make hide nor hair of it and gave it away to a friend who was coming back to shooting IPSC. The L N L is foolproof enough to let muh son load on it when I'm not home. All the other club members load on Dillon stuff though, but they consider me the club's oddball anyway, so....

[jkrispies]

I won't go so far as to say muh Hornady Lock N load is better than a Dillon, but it sure is a lot less complicated. I got a SDB in a "Buy my gun and I'll throw in all this stuff too..." deal and couldn't make hide nor hair of it and gave it away to a friend who was coming back to shooting IPSC. The L N L is foolproof enough to let muh son load on it when I'm not home. All the other club members load on Dillon stuff though, but they consider me the club's oddball anyway, so....

I've never heard a bad thing about a NEWER LnL with the updated priming system-- that says something! I'm just surprised that I don't hear more about the RCBS Pro 2000. Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm going to go load on my Dillon!