help picking a new press

[cfullgraf]

Love my 550. Love Dillon support.

I'd do the LNL as a second choice. (Does anybody have both?)

Yes, but my Dillons are not a 650, I have a BL550 and few SDB's. My Hornady L-N-L gets the bulk of the work.

 

[jmorris]

I have had two LNL's, one before EZ Ject and one after. Also have or had progressives from Lee, RCBS and one or more of all the Dillon's. The LNL wouldn't be on the bottom of the list, that is for sure.

Main problem I had with mine was due to the half index. With the Die, cartridge and bullet I was loading, it turned out that when I placed a bullet on top of the rifle case and raised the ram the bullet was already above the bottom of the die before it finished the 2nd half of the index. This caused the bullet to get knocked off. Only soultion was to put the bullet up into the die, raise the fame until it finished the index, then set the bullet in the case mouth and finish the stroke. Did that for 200 rounds before I switched over to a different press.

 

[cfullgraf]

Jo Jo, it's not that the Square Deal is a bad press, it's that it uses proprietary dies and will not do rifle. So, while having one as a dedicated 9MM press is not a bad thing, the caliber changes for other pistol caliber would be significantly higher as you'd have to buy the dedicated dies for each.

I have three SDB's. Two are dedicated to 45 ACP and 9x19 respectively. The third, I would switch between 38 Special WC and 380 ACP.

Besides dies and the shell plate, I got an extra tool head and powder measure to make the changes and adjustments easier and quicker. The cost for the parts was at or above half the cost of the whole press. Also, the change is not difficult but not plug and play like I can get on the BL550 or the L-N-L. So, I decided to dedicate each press to a single cartridge. (Actually, I bought the 45 ACP and 9x19 presses after making this decision).

My cartridge change is, just unbolt one press and set it on the storage stand on the shelf near by and bolt in the press set up for the next cartridge. EZ PZ with no adjustments.

You could reduce the cost of a cartridge change by buying the minimum parts needed but the offset is more time and more adjustments making quick, short runs less convenient.

Finally, I decided to move 38 Special loading to a different press as I cannot visually or mechanically check the powder drop on the SDB. The case is too tall and the press too small to see in the case conveniently. Also, the SDB is a 4 station press, no room for a powder check die and the design of the press does not permit relocating the powder measure to station #1. So, my third press will become dedicated to 380 ACP during the next reload cycle for that cartridge.

 

[JO JO]

just got the cabelas add for next week , they have the Hornady L N L going on sale for $389 plus I have a $20 off coupon
brings the thing down to $369 and I have $140 in cabelas club points that would take it down to $229 out the door with a 500 bullet rebate
at this price its starting to tip the scale in favor of the Hornady , I will need to make up my mind as the sale starts on the 10th

 

[jmorris]

Just get it and see what you think. It's not like you can't buy other presses down the road.

I did have to take a little more "hit" on my LNL's upon resale because you loose the "free" bullet value but if you're happy with it and keep it, it won't matter.

 

[cfullgraf]

I have had two LNL's, one before EZ Ject and one after. Also have or had progressives from Lee, RCBS and one or more of all the Dillon's. The LNL wouldn't be on the bottom of the list, that is for sure.

Main problem I had with mine was due to the half index. With the Die, cartridge and bullet I was loading, it turned out that when I placed a bullet on top of the rifle case and raised the ram the bullet was already above the bottom of the die before it finished the 2nd half of the index. This caused the bullet to get knocked off. Only soultion was to put the bullet up into the die, raise the fame until it finished the index, then set the bullet in the case mouth and finish the stroke. Did that for 200 rounds before I switched over to a different press.

An RCBS Gold Medal seater die would have solved that problem. You put the bullet in a window in the side of the die and it is held there until the case comes up and seats the bullet.

On the down side, they are not made for many cartridges and they are a bit pricey.

On the other hand, I've found the half index helps prevent spilling powder during the index of near full cartridges. The RCBS Pro2000 does a full index and slings powder terribly from near full cartridges. When I load 300 Blackout on the Pro2000, I'm constantly sweeping up some powder.

With the L-N-L's half index, the speed of the index does not have to be as quick and spillage is minimized or eliminated.

So, advantages and disadvantages exist with each press.