A comparison between Dillon 650 and Hornadly LNL AP from a guy who owns both

[oldbulletboy]

Hi, I am new to the forum. I know I am late to the party on this thread but I feel this latest experience I have had with Dillon Precision is defiantly noteworthy. I own a Dillon 550 that I got from my dad, who purchased it from the factory around the early 80s if I remember right. I have tried to estimate the amount of ammo produced on it (my friends have always come over and used it also) and I have estimated conservatively, probably between 350K and 425k rounds. That’s right, 350,000. Obviously, I come from a family of shooters. Over the years I have had the opportunity to load ammo on quite a few different machines, owned by friends, family you get the picture. I have found many valuable products and well-built machines of many manufacturers. All have their advantages and most work very well. Late last fall, the shell plate on my 550 began to rotate as it reached the upper limits of its travel, throwing the alignment of the cases to dies off. A call to the factory, and within a couple of days, I had a new crank and pin and the tool to install it and align the platform properly. Last week I over tightened the bolts on the primer housing (aluminum) while changing over from the large pistol to the small pistol and stripped it out completely. I had stripped one out prior to that and replaced it with a longer one but now it was finished. On Friday I called Dillon to order a new one. I explained that this was absolutely my fault and insisted on paying for the part, but they would hear none of it. A short argument later and they were sending me the material, no charge no more argument. This is why I recommend Dillon precision when anyone asks me about purchasing a reloading machine. The principals that Dillon founded there company on are obviously still alive and practiced daily. I recently purchased a XL650 but have not put it in service yet. Finally, this 30+ year old press is still worth more than the $179 (?) I believe my dad paid for it.

 

[longdayjake]

That is a great story. I think Hornady has been reading stories like this and has tried to emulate them. Every time I have needed something replaced on my machine hornady has always footed the bill. That said, I did have to get a couple things replaced on my dillon as well and my experience is the same.

 

[longdayjake]

Since posting this I have discovered that I have an older model 650 that only has the 1/2" sub plate. So, newer models may work better in some of the areas that I mentioned.