Progressive press what to know? what to get?

If handguns are all your going to load on it a Dillon Square Deal B. If you think you may want to load quantities of anything in a rifle caliber a 550c.
Get a Dillon and be done with it. But there are other options I’m sure you will hear about.

When I considered a progressive press, I wanted a minimum of 5 stations so I could:
Deprime/size
Powder/expand
Lock Out die/powder check
Seat
Crimp
I also opted for a case feeder so I didn’t have to play with both cases and bullets. My first progressive was a Hornady Lock N Load mostly because they had a free bullet special and I couldn’t get bullets at the time. The press does well, it’s not without it’s quirks as are all presses. My other choice was A Dillon 650 also fits the requirements. Either of those would serve you well.
Good luck.

Dillon

Dillon, you won't regret it.

Hornady L-N-L with a case feeder. Really liking mine these days. Had a Lee and never could the priming system to work correctly. I got so frustrated I took it to the Lee factory to get fixed, it still tipped primers. I like Lee dies though. Good luck.

I have a xl650. Over the years all sorts of little upgrades here and there.

I can setup and run a session of 2500-3500 rounds in an afternoon if needed. Pre pandemic wife and I shot about 2500 a month.

Whichever one you get, and in sure availability will be difficult, you will get all the support and recommendations you need for the must haves once you decide.

I started with a Lee Classic Turret press. After 4 years or so and 13k of 9mm I wanted to move up to a real progressive.

I chose the Dillon 750 and have not regretted it one bit. The warranty, reputation and reliability all sold me.

I didn’t go down the Dillon case feeder ramp. My volume does not justify right now. I did go with the DAA Mini Case Feeder with an extra set of tubes and had a collator 3D printed (before DAA released theirs).

Like my wife told me about purchasing a new press, “Go big, or go home!”

She is a smart lady.

TEXASJD said:

I'm not new to reloading but new to loading for handguns. I have been thinking about getting a progressive press for handgun rounds and don't know much about them, what would be a good one to start with?

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So how many different handgun calibers do you want to load for and how many rounds do you want to load for each at a time? Is money an issue? Is time an issue?
This will help you to decide which press that would work the best for you.

TEXASJD you will hear all day long from the crowd that blue is the only way to no for a progressive no matter if you are loading 100 cases per year or 10,000 cases per year. I am not going to rehash the Quality or SC of Dillon if get played to death in every thread of this type and I do not disagree with any of that but despite what blue owners will tell you there are others that work just as well, make just as accurate ammunition and serve their owners just fine for much less money.

Honestly I reload about 2k 9mm, 2k 45acp and about 1k 380 per year on a very lowly and much maligned Lee Pro1000 I also load a couple hundred 38Spl on this. I purchased the press used and in fairly new condition by another disgruntled owner 5 years ago. I was complete and came with 38/357 dies, Auto Disk powder measure and case feeder. I paid $98.00 including shipping for it. I have since added shell plates and dies for the 9mm, 380 and 45acp. Shell plates bought used on ebay for a fraction of new and the dies were also bought used from ebay and a couple members of these forums. Also purchased a second shell plate carrier. All total I have just over $300.00 invest and am able to load 4 different pistol calibers.

This works for me because of the rate and volume I do. I may only use this press 6-8 times a year and the rest of the year it sits idle. But it sure has made my life much easier than trying to load all this on a single stage or turret press. I just do not shoot enough for me to justify to myself on spending $1000.00+ on a press and tooling to have it sit unused 8/9 months every year.

I have owned progressives from Lee, RCBS, Hornady and Dillon. They all will work and load functional ammunition. Right now I only have 8 progressive reloading presses (not counting shotshell) and they are all Dillon.

There are a lot of blanks to fill in, when making a choice but it is rarely a bad decision so start with one that checks off the most boxes vs buying a bunch working your way up to one you can live with.

Dillon

Read and enjoy.

http://www.comrace.ca/cmfiles/dillonLeeHornadyComparison.pdf

thewelshm

lordpaxman gave the best advice. Pay attention to the number of stations on the press. My advice is you want a powder check die on a progressive press. It's not about if you get a bad charge but when. And it will happen.

I started out with a Dillon 550b but after a few squib loads I sold it and moved on to a 650.

I've used everything from the Yugo to the Rolls of presses. I'd recommend the Dillon. My volume is down as I age and most of my work now is on single stages.

Ok so to start with understand your only as efficient as the material you use.

1. Us only federal or Winchester primmers
(Cci and Remington suck)

2. Ball powders only! No flake no stick
(Powder should flow like water, I have not seen a measure for automated loading that handled the task reliably)

3. Clean brass means clean press
(Dry tumble brass as carbon from firing will not allow brass to stick in carbide dies)

(Wet tumble only after brass is processed and ready to load) you will hate life if you don't
4. Actually clean and lubricate the press monthly

(This means you understand the press and the operations performed)
5. Have enough primmer tubes to hold 1000 primers.

I would recommend a dillon 750 and casefeeder

Get the progressive press whose color best matches the decor in your reloading room. It will serve you well.

I have a Hornady L-N-L, RCBS Pro2000, Dillon BL550, a couple Dillon SDBs, and a Dillon SL900 (shotshell). All work well but I like different presses for different cartridges and tasks.

There is lots of information on the web, good and bad. Look at it all and draw your own conclusion on what “kool-aid” to drink.

J.D.R said:

Ok so to start with understand your only as efficient as the material you use.

1. Us only federal or Winchester primmers
(Cci and Remington suck)

2. Ball powders only! No flake no stick
(Powder should flow like water, I have not seen a measure for automated loading that handled the task reliably)

3. Clean brass means clean press
(Dry tumble brass as carbon from firing will not allow brass to stick in carbide dies)

(Wet tumble only after brass is processed and ready to load) you will hate life if you don't
4. Actually clean and lubricate the press monthly

(This means you understand the press and the operations performed)
5. Have enough primmer tubes to hold 1000 primers.

I would recommend a dillon 750 and casefeeder

Click to expand...

Just a different perspective. During a shortage reducing what you allow yourself to use may leave you not shooting instead of working up a load for a new combination of sourced materials.

#1 i have loaded with 10's of thousands of cci primers to no ill effect. Remington primers are labeled differently but I've used them with 100% success as well.

#2 I'm a handgun reloader. I've had great success with bullseye, power pistol, h110 unique, sport pistol, titegroup, WST, 231, trail boss. That is my current range of powders and as the shortage eases I'll be adding BE86. All through a dillon powder drop and a powder check on the 750. The worst variance i get is 2 tenths of a grain on unique. It has caused me no issue and my accuracy is spot on. 9mm,380,44mag,45acp.

#3 i only wet tumble. Pins, dawn, lemishine, hot water. Dry in a dehydrator. All my pistol loading i use a spritz of hornady one shot and the press runs smooth as can be.... unless it's sellier and bellot... then it's two or three spritz of case lube. Love life.

#4 as needed. Agree more in the beginning as you learn what needs what. Mine gets a full detail after about 7000 rounds or at caliber swap, whichever comes first.

#5 agree.. I've only got enough for 800 at the moment but it would be nice to have more. Not an issue these days as primers have become problematic to get regularly.

Dillon 550. No regrets.

The replies seem overwhelmingly Dillon. I feel I should add Dillon.
My 550 has served me well nearly 30 years. Were I starting over now, I would get a 750.

If you reload for more than one handgun caliber frequently give the Dillon 550 a serious look. I shoot a lot of 45ACP and 9MM. A Dillon 550 with an additional tool head specific to the caliber makes life a whole lot easier. I can change back and forth from 45ACP loads and 9MM loads in about ten minutes. Caliber changes are plug and play with a 550.

The 550 is not necessarily a mid range Dillon press. It fills a specific need. Especially when it comes to quick caliber change overs.

I've been quite happy with my Hornady LNL AP. It has its quirks, but I'm sure any progressive press does.

I went that route because I wanted the ability to quickly swap out dies without having to change out an entire tool head, or re-thread dies. It comes in handy when I want to briefly drop in a press-mounted bullet puller for a few minutes, among other things.

DILLON