That is one thing I keep going back and forth on. The Lee Turret press is probably more that adequate for my needs. It would just be nice to have something faster. I am hoping one day to get back to shooting at least once a week again but who knows when that will happen. I keep changing my mind on sticking with what I have or getting a progressive press. Mid South has the LNL on sale for 390. Is that a good price?
Debating Progressive Press Purchase
- Thread starter Ryegye
- Start date
- Status
Load Master
Member
Are you really looking or did you post just to stir the pot?
Yeah, there are a lot of brand loyal people and I agree to a point that most any of the presses can be made to run good ammo with little issues. I've worked with most colors, red, green, blue and the other red. Between the two you mentioned, I like the priming system better on the Lee Load Master and ease of caliber change over and lower cost. As you can probably tell from my Avatar I'm a bigger Lee fan. If you would like to see my Lee Load Master running .223 Rem, see my Youtube video below. I hope the best whichever press you end up going with.
thomas15
Member
Here is the thing ryeguy. Handloading for most of us and I'm sure this includes you, is a hobby/pastime. We do not make our living at the handloading bench.
Most hobbies are strictly for enjoyment. Some enjoy using tools that work better than just good enough, some want speed some want a challenge, some want low cost value and others want reliability.
Most of us do not want a challenge when it comes to a progressive press because we are expecting to make a lot of ammo quickly not spend hours on end trying to get our press to run smoothly. So if your looking for speed and reliability forget the Lee Load Master because unless you are extremely lucky expect a rather lengthy learning curve and tweek quotient.
Other than that, buy the best you can afford.
Most hobbies are strictly for enjoyment. Some enjoy using tools that work better than just good enough, some want speed some want a challenge, some want low cost value and others want reliability.
Most of us do not want a challenge when it comes to a progressive press because we are expecting to make a lot of ammo quickly not spend hours on end trying to get our press to run smoothly. So if your looking for speed and reliability forget the Lee Load Master because unless you are extremely lucky expect a rather lengthy learning curve and tweek quotient.
Other than that, buy the best you can afford.
Dudedog
Contributing Member
I like my LNL, Auto index, five stations. Still use my Lee 3 hole turret for some stuff but the LNL sure is nice when I want to load a bunch.
I would suggest a powder check or lockout die. Wish I would have bought the powder check die to begin with.
I deprime, then clean cases and prime off press. I can use my Lee hand primer to prime case while watching football etc., one less thing to deal with when loading.
I know they make primer tube fillers but would comment for doing it by hand filling primer tubes was a pain, and I really didn't like having extra filled ones laying around.
Also those pictures of primer tube Kabooms don't look like fun.
I purchased the Hornady manual bullet feeder for 9mm, happy with it money well spent IMO.
I went with the LNL over a Dillon 550 becaus eof the extra station and auto index, when I looked a 650 was quite a bit more $
I would suggest a powder check or lockout die. Wish I would have bought the powder check die to begin with.
I deprime, then clean cases and prime off press. I can use my Lee hand primer to prime case while watching football etc., one less thing to deal with when loading.
I know they make primer tube fillers but would comment for doing it by hand filling primer tubes was a pain, and I really didn't like having extra filled ones laying around.
Also those pictures of primer tube Kabooms don't look like fun.
I purchased the Hornady manual bullet feeder for 9mm, happy with it money well spent IMO.
I went with the LNL over a Dillon 550 becaus eof the extra station and auto index, when I looked a 650 was quite a bit more $
bbqreloader
Member
390 is pretty good. I know I bought mine from Jet.com around July 4th and got it for around 370 or so.
entropy
Member
Dudedog
Contributing Member
If you order the LNL press order a couple extra retainer springs, you will need them sooner or later.
double bogey
Member
I have a Dillon 650. That would be my preference. Between the 2 in your original post, go with the lnl. Down the road you will be better off.
All of the progressives each have deficiencies, like I don't like how the 650 handles unused primers.
All of the progressives each have deficiencies, like I don't like how the 650 handles unused primers.
jmorris
Member
- Joined
- Sep 30, 2005
- Messages
- 24,241
Depends on what's important to you.
I will say that if you want case feed, get the Dillon. If you would rather hand feed them into the shell plate, get the LNL.
The Dillon comes from the factory with the actual case feed (a tube to hold a number of cases and all of the devices to take cases from the tube and insert them into the shell plate) already setup. What they sell as an add on "case feed" is really just a collator or case feed, feeder, it just keeps the tube full. However, if you were wanting to put them into the shell plate one at a time by hand, you can forget it on the 650, it is case fed from the start.
The LNL comes with no part of the case feed with the base machine. This is why the base machine costs less than the 650 but the "case feeder" costs more, as it is the collator and all of the other parts to shuttle the case from one place to the next.
The fact that it is also user installed has the end result and function reviews that vary, can depend on who put it together but none are generally as good as the 650, pertaining to case feed function.
Elkins45
Member
I bought a LnL a year ago and could not be happier. Everything works exactly as it is supposed to and it is super reliable.
I don't have a case or bullet feeder. I do both by hand.
I don't have a case or bullet feeder. I do both by hand.
wally
Member
That looks to be pretty far from a standard LoadMaster, bullet feeder, case feeder and extra brackets to hold it all together. Editing out the "hiccup" would be lying.
To anyone looking to buy a press right now, if you don't already have primers and possibly powder (depending on how willing you are to use what you can get as opposed to what you prefer) on hand, you may be sorely disappointed or forced to buy in such small quantities that the cost savings become minimal. Ordering online, the HazMat shipping fees eat you up unless you buy quantities near the maximum amount that can be shipped on a single HazMat fee.
jmorris
Member
- Joined
- Sep 30, 2005
- Messages
- 24,241
I never said it was out of the box stock. Only mentioned the unedited part because the video Load Master posted in #27 has a malfunction around 2:19 and the camera was stopped for an unknown amount of time to clear the malfunction before resuming again, could have been half a second, could have been a minute and a half, we just don't know. I don't think it's lying, he is just showing you what he wants you to see. Same thing I am doing, but with a full 100 round video with "normal" for the machine issues included.
This is a much more stock 650 although it has a GSI toolhead/bullet feeder on it again unedited for the entire 100 rounds and malfunctions/fixes shown.
Even by PM'ing people who claim to have "flawless" LNL ammo plants, I have yet to have anyone post a video of them running through a tube of primers with one that has bullet and brass feeders. Generally find edited ones or ones with 10 minutes of talking about it then a few minutes of loading.
Like this one where he starts loading around 11:48 into the video with this he needed to correct at 13:20, 13:37 and 14:04 and had 10 rounds loaded.
but yes one should be able to get it to run better than that.
Last edited:
Zendude
Member
Should you get a progressive press? Yes.
Which one? The best one you can afford.
I use the most inexpensive one, a Lee 1000, but for handgun ammo I think it's better than a non-progressive press.
Which one? The best one you can afford.
I use the most inexpensive one, a Lee 1000, but for handgun ammo I think it's better than a non-progressive press.
jmorris
Member
- Joined
- Sep 30, 2005
- Messages
- 24,241
No, not at all. If you had seen how munch time I had in correcting imperfections to the the loadmaster to get it to run like it did on the last page, you would know that I understand having to "fix" things as you go.
If that's the sort of thing you enjoy doing, I take no offense and hope you don't either with my dislike of always having to correct something that should "just work".
AR-Bossman
Member
- Joined
- Feb 9, 2016
- Messages
- 351
done
Last edited:
jmorris
Member
- Joined
- Sep 30, 2005
- Messages
- 24,241
I agree 110% that there is not a device that exists that cannot be improved upon.
There are also certain things I like about Lee, Hornady, RCBS and Dillon progressives on each one vs the others. There are always pros and cons.
I am not "nut rider" either, like my suggestion of the LNL over the 650 in the second sentence of post #37, if there is no want of case feed.
There are also certain things I like about Lee, Hornady, RCBS and Dillon progressives on each one vs the others. There are always pros and cons.
I am not "nut rider" either, like my suggestion of the LNL over the 650 in the second sentence of post #37, if there is no want of case feed.
Last edited:
Nature Boy
Member
- Joined
- Apr 21, 2015
- Messages
- 8,265
Well, I agree 115%. Call Dillion and ask about inconsistent powder drops and one of the solutions they'll tell you to polish the bottom of the hopper and funnel. Why don't they polish them before leaving the factory? That can't cost much. A lot of guys have done this and a lot of other ingenious, cheap little tweaks that make a great product better, Dillion knows about all of them but hasn't incorporated any of them. I don't get it.
And don't get me going on the primer "ski jump"
And don't get me going on the primer "ski jump"
jmorris
Member
- Joined
- Sep 30, 2005
- Messages
- 24,241
You only have to save a nickel 20 times to save a dollar, is the why.
I really don't understand the business model in totality. My oldest Dillon's are over 30 years old and have been back to Dillon a few times for "rebuilds", all they ever charged me was what it cost me to ship the press to them. They made it like new and shipped it back to me on their dollars.
That said Hornady, Lee and RCBS also have outstanding customer service. A phone call, maybe a photo emailed is all that I have used for issues in the past.
If Maytag, Samsung, Ford, etc had the same lifetime warranty there would likely be less development too (but one might care less if a car had a lifetime no BS warranty). More models to support down the road or upset users once you "obsolete" them.
RCBS for example has made a number of "new and improved" machines over the years but have a pretty small market share of "progressive" users.
Last edited:
Nature Boy
Member
- Joined
- Apr 21, 2015
- Messages
- 8,265
From a business perspective, lifetime warranty expense are a messy balance sheet liability. Ask any accountant. Rest assured all of us Dillon owners (past, present and future) are paying for that in the price of their equipment. I love the concept. Customers willing to pay more for piece of mind and incentive for Dillion to make high quality product to limit warranty expenses. Win win.
I'd also guess that most customers would be willing to pay the relatively small increment cost of some of those tweaks, incorporated in new presses or offered as an "upgrade kit"
I'd also guess that most customers would be willing to pay the relatively small increment cost of some of those tweaks, incorporated in new presses or offered as an "upgrade kit"
Load Master
Member
For what it's worth, the event you pointed out was a case that stuck in the shell plate and would not eject. You can see it in the attached photo, the case was being push by the ejector but wouldn't release from the shell plate without me manually pulling it out. This video wasn't a speed evaluation, just a demonstration on loading .223 Rem.
This is a long video, 18+ minutes, start to finish loading 120 each 9mm rounds. It shows the complete process including the issues, like a few dropped bullets.
- Status
