Well, after about 6 weeks of learning what I could and LOTS of help from folks here, I finally ordered my press last night.
At first, I had pretty much decided to go with the Lee Classic 4-hole Turret Press. It hass low in price, had lots of satified users, was simple to understand and several online vendors sell 'starter kits' for those of us with starting from scratch. For anyone that wants to find out if releoading is for them, wants to make a minimal investment to start with, or is on a limited budget, I still think this is the way to go. I may end up eventually getting one someday anyway.
But, I decided to go with a progressive setup and spend the money now rather than later. So it came down to the 550 vs the LNL. I won't go into a comparison and trade-offs here. if anyone is ineterested, PM me and I will be happy to go through them with you.
In the end, my decision came down to final cost and availability. I didn't count the cost of dies or other tools in my comparison that I have to buy no matter what press I bought. But I spent time on the phone with both Dillon and Hornady and they gave me a list each of things to buy. So they agreed the two lists were comparable. (If anyone wants the lists, PM me).
The LNL came out ~$150 more than the 550B did for the press, cover, 3 toolhead setups, powder dies and meters. Part of what drove the LNL cost up was the lack of availability. To buy what I wanted meant going to 4 different vendors and still having some stuff backordered. That meant extra shipping costs and still waiting 4-6 weeks for some parts. On top of that, I spent 45 minutes on the phone with Cabelas trying to explain that the shellplate has been redeisigned and even though they have the same model number, there are different Hornady part numbers for the old and new shellplates. They never did believe me but did promise to call Hornady and check.
The 550B was readily available and Brian Enos has free shipping with everything in stock. The Dillon customer service reputation was a big consideration as well. Hornady's has good customer service, but the first-person accounts I found from Dillon users were pretty compelling.
The LNL has some nice features and but I was concerned about dealing with possibly getting old parts for the new LNL design. I figured in the 1000 free bullets, but that is a real world cost of about $70 (that's what I paid at the gun show this weekend for 1000 .223 FMJ), so that didn't cover the difference.
In the end, I went with the Dillon 550B. It was lower cost, readily available and several folks around here have them, so I have some local help if needed. So it should be here in a few days.
Maybe I'll get lucky and end up getting a LNL some day, too, when they are more readily available. But for now, I guess I drink a glass of the blue lool-aid.
Thanks for all the help here, I'm sure I'll be asking for lots more help as I learn what I'm doing.
Tnx,
Rick
At first, I had pretty much decided to go with the Lee Classic 4-hole Turret Press. It hass low in price, had lots of satified users, was simple to understand and several online vendors sell 'starter kits' for those of us with starting from scratch. For anyone that wants to find out if releoading is for them, wants to make a minimal investment to start with, or is on a limited budget, I still think this is the way to go. I may end up eventually getting one someday anyway.
But, I decided to go with a progressive setup and spend the money now rather than later. So it came down to the 550 vs the LNL. I won't go into a comparison and trade-offs here. if anyone is ineterested, PM me and I will be happy to go through them with you.
In the end, my decision came down to final cost and availability. I didn't count the cost of dies or other tools in my comparison that I have to buy no matter what press I bought. But I spent time on the phone with both Dillon and Hornady and they gave me a list each of things to buy. So they agreed the two lists were comparable. (If anyone wants the lists, PM me).
The LNL came out ~$150 more than the 550B did for the press, cover, 3 toolhead setups, powder dies and meters. Part of what drove the LNL cost up was the lack of availability. To buy what I wanted meant going to 4 different vendors and still having some stuff backordered. That meant extra shipping costs and still waiting 4-6 weeks for some parts. On top of that, I spent 45 minutes on the phone with Cabelas trying to explain that the shellplate has been redeisigned and even though they have the same model number, there are different Hornady part numbers for the old and new shellplates. They never did believe me but did promise to call Hornady and check.
The 550B was readily available and Brian Enos has free shipping with everything in stock. The Dillon customer service reputation was a big consideration as well. Hornady's has good customer service, but the first-person accounts I found from Dillon users were pretty compelling.
The LNL has some nice features and but I was concerned about dealing with possibly getting old parts for the new LNL design. I figured in the 1000 free bullets, but that is a real world cost of about $70 (that's what I paid at the gun show this weekend for 1000 .223 FMJ), so that didn't cover the difference.
In the end, I went with the Dillon 550B. It was lower cost, readily available and several folks around here have them, so I have some local help if needed. So it should be here in a few days.
Maybe I'll get lucky and end up getting a LNL some day, too, when they are more readily available. But for now, I guess I drink a glass of the blue lool-aid.
Thanks for all the help here, I'm sure I'll be asking for lots more help as I learn what I'm doing.
Tnx,
Rick
