Most used progressive presses

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and IDPA .... can you say sponcors I bet most of them got them for free!!
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You know how many sponsored shooters there are in IDPA/USPSA? Not many. Maybe 1-3%. And most of the shooters I know who ARE sponsored hardly get more from their sponsors than a free t-shirt and (occasionally) gun. Most don't even get ammo from their sponsors, so they certainly aren't being given presses!

So that's completely wrong. There are many reasons why heavy-shooting competitors overwhelmingly use Dillon presses -- but sponsorship deals are not one of them.

(Hint: When you come up with a theory it is always best to ask around and find out if it has any basis in fact before you publicly state "I bet..." or, "It must be that...," or "I know they...." Wild guesses stated as probabilities and facts make up most of the disinformation we fight with all the time.)
 
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When I bought my press I looked very hard at Dillon and Hornady. As it was a while ago, I don't remember all of the valid reasons I chose the LNL over the Dillon offering.

I may be recollecting wrong, but the high cost of a Dillon caliber change was one of the factors that influenced my decision at the time.

Contrary to what the Dillon cult members like to think, my LNL runs just peachy and I feel like I made the right decision.
 
What, no shotshell reloaders? There are folks who have loaded over a million rounds on some machines. I guess "Ultimate Reloader" only applies for pistol shooters, eh?
 
Nobody can beat Dillion's customer service, not to mention that if, and that's a big if, something breaks, they'll replace it for free. Even the wearable parts. Price? Well, you get what you pay for.
 
Sam1911 said:
You know how many sponsored shooters there are in IDPA/USPSA? Not many. Maybe 1-3%. And most of the shooters I know who ARE sponsored hardly get more from their sponsors than a free t-shirt and (occasionally) gun. Most don't even get ammo from their sponsors, so they certainly aren't being given presses!

So that's completely wrong. There are many reasons why heavy-shooting competitors overwhelmingly use Dillon presses -- but sponsorship deals are not one of them.
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One of them is because your IDPA membership package come with blue blinders .... kidding of course.:rolleyes:

Dillon's been making progressives for pistol competitors for a long, long time.
The other makers are gaining, but they don't have the advantage of having the deeply entrenched blue peer pressure.

The poll that started this thread, was a bit biased.....as is the IDPA poll. In fact, I don't think you can get an unbiased poll, in this hobby. I'm as biased as anyone.:)
 
I would have expected the Dillon 550 to be number one.
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Adding both Dillons together almost equals the LNL. I don't know anything about the latter press, but an guessing it is less expensive, and most people choose price above all else.
 
and IDPA .... can you say sponcors I bet most of them got them for free!!
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I wish, I'm a 5 gun master and even placed 1st MA at IDPA nationals and have never recieved a free press from anyone.
 
jmorris said:
I wish, I'm a 5 gun master and even placed 1st MA at IDPA nationals and have never recieved a free press from anyone.
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well then I guess I would loose that bet !........ however if someone started too they would be the top press, as they all work ,the only bad things you hear about any of them is from someone that has the other ones,
 
however if someone started too they would be the top press
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No, Lee could give the pro 1000 away to everyone that attends sanctioned matches and still would never make it to "top press" used.

Think about how well "free" health care is going to work vs what you pay insurance for. What are you going to stick with?

You have to remember that quite a few of us tried to save a few bucks on reloading gear to begin with and later had to pay more to move up the ladder to keep up with our ammo needs. You are correct that they all work, some just work better than others.
 
Which dies are the most popular?

I would be curious to find out which dies are used the most. People bemoan Lee, but I know quite a few who buy a Dillon press and then only use Lee dies for the all of their calibers because of the cost.
 
Dies? Hard to say, exactly. I rather do expect that Lee has the most units sold. That's almost the only brand of die I use, personally, (in Dillon equipment, no less!).

They are not the highest quality dies, with the most precise adjustments/features. But they work very, very well and most shooters could not possibly tell a performance difference in ammo loaded on Lee dies, vs. Dillon dies, RCBS, or even Reddings at 5-6x the price. Some shooeters are doing such precision work that they need more full-featured dies, but not many.

But I have no real numbers on that.
 
+1 with Sam have a lot of Lee dies. As I have said before, I am all for saving money as long as the product works.
 
+2 with Sam....ditto with Lee Dies. One Die brand I haven't tried is Dillon. Probably should. I hear that you can clean them without losing settings...if so that is impressive enough to try a set. Also they are designed from the beginning for progressives with eased entry holes in the bottoms to lessen slowdowns due to cases that don't "aim well" towards the dies. Only reason I haven't tried them is availability. I haven't bought that many dies since I discovered internet reloading sales. Plus, I'm a skin flint...there is a pretty fair price gap between Dillon and Lee.;) Like jmorris feels....if they work.....

I started with RCBS dies in '71 or so. My first pistol dies were not even carbide enhanced. They were the first to be replaced with Lees.
 
When you start looking at stuff that people actually USE, and use HARD, the chaff quickly drops away. That's why the IPSC shooters use Dillon presses above all others, they actually USE their equipment and presses and Dillon stands behind it, unlike one company that only has a so called "two year warranty" that they don't stand behind any way.

I know a lot of master class shooters and none of them have got a free press from anyone, and ALL of them use Dillon presses. They didn't buy Dillon because someone told them to, they bought Dillon because Dillon presses WORK.

How many use Lee dies? No idea. I have a LOT of Lee dies, and almost the same number of RCBS dies too, mostly depending on which brand I buy on any given day. True, if I had unlimited amounts of money I would use only Forster, Dillon and Redding dies, which ARE the best, but I don't, so I generally use RCBS and Lee.

If Lee thought they could increase sales by giving a free LM and Pro-1000 to every winner (or person who shot at the Nationals or World Shoot for that matter) they would increase their share to maybe 5% instead of 4% and Dillon would stay the same. I'm all for saving money, but ONLY if the product works, which is why I have a Dillon press and not pot metal junk.
 
One Die brand I haven't tried is Dillon. Probably should. I hear that you can clean them without losing settings
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Dillons rifle size dies are for sure worth the extra money. If you get a stuck case, remove one clip with your fingers and run them back out with a 9/16 wrench. I don't know of any others that are that easy.
 
dillon tool heads and the powder measure body are some zinc alloy like zamak aka pot metal. a few other small parts may be, too. the spent primer cup, for example.
 
Does the LNL AP or the good Dillons ever get sold at significantly reduced price? I am in the market but not in a hurry.
 
While you might run into a deal on the LNL or Dillon on some sales site (Craig's list for example) or in the paper, but don't expect to see one cheap at a gun show, gun store or other shooting site. E-Bay won't have any cheap ones either as Dillon has a very high resale value because it is a high quality piece of equipment and guaranteed for ever.

You buy a Rolls and it holds it's value, you buy a Yugo and it drops in value every day. Sure both will get you from point A to point B, but the Rolls does it much better than the Yugo does, or at least it has a heater, a smooth ride and style.

Same with presses, if you want junk that has a worthless, so called "two year warranty", you can pick them up new, for very cheap prices, and the resale value drops like a rock from there. OR you can buy a high quality press that you can actually USE, pass along to your kids still working, and it will STILL be under warranty and STILL hold it's value.

Personally I have no problem with someone buying junk, if they know it is and they know what they are willing to live with. What I DO have a problem with is the fools recommending junk to a beginner knowing it will set them up to fail, so the fools will feel they are some how "superior" because they inconvenienced some poor beginner or even killed any interest in reloading, because they bought junk and want to make everyone get screwed too.
 
It does happen, every once in a while. Some years back, my wife bought my 550 from a club member pal of ours who was parting out an estate, and she paid $250!
 
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