spencerhut
Member
I see the same thing happen time and again when a person new to reloading goes and asks what should be a perfectly reasonable question, "What type of press should I get?"
First out of the box are usually the Dillon guys, next is usually the Lee guys followed by the Hornady, and rarely RCBS, Redding etc. To be perfectly frank, the Dillon folks are sort of a gang/mob on the various gun boards I frequent. I mean if you are silly enough to suggest that there are some other progressive reloading presses out there that work as good or better than a Dillon, let the beating begin. I don't think this is the right thing to do and I think it is downright unfair to the newbies that come to us for advice.
Every person that is shopping for a press should ask lots of questions sure, but it's far more important for a person to actually try out a press in person if at all possible. I'm lucky, my uncle (that raised me) was reloading and working on guns since I was a baby. I've been able to hang out with him and his friends my entire almost 40 year life. I've got to see and play with a lot of presses, including Dillon than you very much. All that playing around and listening to old wise men talk kept beating into my brain the good, bad and ugly about all of these companies.
Dillon:
Great customer service, we all pay for the guy that runs his press over with a bull dozer though.
Nickel and dime you to death on everything.
Powder measure is iffy at best.
Caliber changes are expensive and time consuming
Primer size changes are a pain - this why you see people with two 550/650 so often.
Lee:
Progressive presses are tinkerer joys that can work wonderfully.
Single stage presses are as good as anyones and much less expensive.
Most Lee products are really great values.
Customer service may not be that great, but they will do the right thing most of the time.
Hornady:
Customer service can be iffy at times, luck of the draw. You may get a good one.
Very good progressive, as good or better than a Dillon 550/650. Certainly faster than a Pro2000 until the primer tubes are empty.
The LNL bushing system should be a standard on all presses.
RCBS:
Very good customer service.
The Pro2000 Progressive press is built like a tank and kind of slow to use. 350-450 rounds per hour max. Die plate, priming system and powder system are a snap to use and setup. No auto indexing. No case feeder. No bullet feeder. No primer tubes to load. Safest priming system of all the presses.
Powder measure - solid reliable repeatable. Get the baffle that RCBS should include as standard.
Determine what calibers you plan on loading. Figure out how much it will cost to setup each caliber on the press(s) you have in mind.
Figure out what accessories you need. These little things can really add up. Tumbler, scale, little plastic bins, primer tubes (500 rds per hr is impossible if you have to stop and load a tube every few minutes)
How many rounds will you shoot on average in a month? Maybe a single stage will load enough for you to use in a reasonable amount of time.
How much time do you want to spend reloading? Is your time really valuable? Maybe you should just buy factory ammo or get a Dillon 1050 and really crank out the ammo.
Have you reloaded before? If not get a single stage and learn on it first. You may get away with learning on a progressive. But why take a chance? A mistake reloading will harm your pride and if it's a really big mistake could kill you! Everyone needs (or wishes they had) at least one single stage anyway.
Now go and try as many different presses as you can. Anyone can be (and thousands of people are) perfectly happy with ANY color of press. Take your time choosing since nearly all reloading presses are lifetime purchases. These things don't generally wear out (not even a Lee) when used by your average shooter. And if it makes you feel any better, all of these companies are run by good folks providing us all with high quality tools.
First out of the box are usually the Dillon guys, next is usually the Lee guys followed by the Hornady, and rarely RCBS, Redding etc. To be perfectly frank, the Dillon folks are sort of a gang/mob on the various gun boards I frequent. I mean if you are silly enough to suggest that there are some other progressive reloading presses out there that work as good or better than a Dillon, let the beating begin. I don't think this is the right thing to do and I think it is downright unfair to the newbies that come to us for advice.
Every person that is shopping for a press should ask lots of questions sure, but it's far more important for a person to actually try out a press in person if at all possible. I'm lucky, my uncle (that raised me) was reloading and working on guns since I was a baby. I've been able to hang out with him and his friends my entire almost 40 year life. I've got to see and play with a lot of presses, including Dillon than you very much. All that playing around and listening to old wise men talk kept beating into my brain the good, bad and ugly about all of these companies.
Dillon:
Great customer service, we all pay for the guy that runs his press over with a bull dozer though.
Nickel and dime you to death on everything.
Powder measure is iffy at best.
Caliber changes are expensive and time consuming
Primer size changes are a pain - this why you see people with two 550/650 so often.
Lee:
Progressive presses are tinkerer joys that can work wonderfully.
Single stage presses are as good as anyones and much less expensive.
Most Lee products are really great values.
Customer service may not be that great, but they will do the right thing most of the time.
Hornady:
Customer service can be iffy at times, luck of the draw. You may get a good one.
Very good progressive, as good or better than a Dillon 550/650. Certainly faster than a Pro2000 until the primer tubes are empty.
The LNL bushing system should be a standard on all presses.
RCBS:
Very good customer service.
The Pro2000 Progressive press is built like a tank and kind of slow to use. 350-450 rounds per hour max. Die plate, priming system and powder system are a snap to use and setup. No auto indexing. No case feeder. No bullet feeder. No primer tubes to load. Safest priming system of all the presses.
Powder measure - solid reliable repeatable. Get the baffle that RCBS should include as standard.
Determine what calibers you plan on loading. Figure out how much it will cost to setup each caliber on the press(s) you have in mind.
Figure out what accessories you need. These little things can really add up. Tumbler, scale, little plastic bins, primer tubes (500 rds per hr is impossible if you have to stop and load a tube every few minutes)
How many rounds will you shoot on average in a month? Maybe a single stage will load enough for you to use in a reasonable amount of time.
How much time do you want to spend reloading? Is your time really valuable? Maybe you should just buy factory ammo or get a Dillon 1050 and really crank out the ammo.
Have you reloaded before? If not get a single stage and learn on it first. You may get away with learning on a progressive. But why take a chance? A mistake reloading will harm your pride and if it's a really big mistake could kill you! Everyone needs (or wishes they had) at least one single stage anyway.
Now go and try as many different presses as you can. Anyone can be (and thousands of people are) perfectly happy with ANY color of press. Take your time choosing since nearly all reloading presses are lifetime purchases. These things don't generally wear out (not even a Lee) when used by your average shooter. And if it makes you feel any better, all of these companies are run by good folks providing us all with high quality tools.
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" Cant we all just get along" LMAO
