What makes one progressive press better than another?

[CloudStrife]

Their prices range from ~$150 up to ~$600. What qualities justify such prices differences?

 

[BayouSlide]

Ease of use, flexibility, ability to switch calibers easily without having to readjust dies, operating speed, smooth functioning, customer support. All of these issues become more important for someone who loads 12K rounds a year compared to someone loading only hundreds. For all those reasons, I feel my Dillon 550B gives me great value for the dollar.

 

[Storm52]

And to add to Curtis' post, the warranty, customer support/service and every detail relating to after purchase satisfaction. It really boils down to quality...

 

[artabr]

And to add to Curtis' post, the warranty, customer support/service and every detail relating to after purchase satisfaction. It really boils down to quality...

+ a million. Dillon's "no BS" warranty policy can not be beat.


Art

 

[nickatnite]

Speaking of Dillons, they are truly a NO B.S. Warranty. Just ask Derek (FD807) on here. He recently bought a 550 and broke a part while putting it together. He called Dillon and told them what happened and that he broke the part and they still sent him a replacement FREE!!!

 

[CloudStrife]

Isn't the 550B a manual indexing turret press?

 

[artabr]

Isn't the 550B a manual indexing turret press?

Yes
That's one of the reasons that I like the 550.

I've also had Dillon send me replacement parts that I said broke because of my actions, and offered to pay for. They sent the parts for free.
This happened more than once.



Art

 

[CloudStrife]

Yes
That's one of the reasons that I like the 550.

I've also had Dillon send me replacement parts that I said broke because of my actions, and offered to pay for. They sent the parts for free.
This happened more than once.



Art

Why do you like that it's manual?

 

[Jman1911]

So you do not double charge maybe???

 

[CloudStrife]

So you do not double charge maybe???

Actually, you could double charge with a manual, while a progressive would advance automatically.

 

[Jman1911]

I've used them and they are very nice and quality is good as well.

 

[Jman1911]

This is true.

 

[artabr]

Why do you like that it's manual?

When I load rounds for some of my match rifles I use my Dillon as sort of a single stage press. I trickle the powder for each round. I don't need to do this, the Dillon will throw consistent enough loads, but it's just something that I choose to do. I tend to be kinda anal about accuracy.
Being a manual gives me a little more versatility. I can repeat an action if I choose to.



Art

 

[BayouSlide]

The 550 is a progressive press, just not an auto-indexing press. You have to manually advance the shellplate, which can be an advantage under some circumstances as Art explained.

Lack of auto-indexing makes it a little simpler and easier to "backup" if you have a problem. Caliber conversions are simpler and cheaper. Sure, you have to pay attention while you're loading, but you should do that anyway. I have an LED shining down into station 3 to make sure powder is always there before setting a bullet in the case.

I sure wouldn't turn down a 650 with case feeder, but the 550 is the greatest bang for the buck, IMO.

 

[Request Dust Off]

The rigidity of the press and that it is not fragile. The ability to use other companies standard dies.

On a Dillon 550B you can manually double index to only size/deprime bottleneck rifle cases if you want. I prefer having a separate tool head.

 

[whbonney26]

Speaking of Dillons, they are truly a NO B.S. Warranty. Just ask Derek (FD807) on here. He recently bought a 550 and broke a part while putting it together. He called Dillon and told them what happened and that he broke the part and they still sent him a replacement FREE!!!

I had a similar experience. They are great and dont ask questions. NO BS.

 

[jbonnette]

Hornady Lock N Load Auto Progressive is a great press as well. I went with the Lock N Load over the 550b for these reasons (in order of importance for me): Auto-indexing, slightly cheaper than 550b, caliber conversions are cheaper, warranty was as good as Dillon (no questions asked lifetime), and 5 die stations.

IMO, both presses are quality and will serve you well.

 

[WB5QBK]

I really like my Dillon 650, BUT there are days that it doesn't like me. When something goes wrong it is a pain to get back to running normal. My main complaint with the 650 is the priming system is very sensitive to handle movement.....i.e. you must complete the stroke. If you hesitate or try to correct somthing mid stroke it throws the primer timing off.

I added a case feeder to my 550B and it almost makes me wish I had another one instead of the 650 because of the ease of getting things back to normal. I get more crushed cases with the 550 feeder that I do with the 650. The 550's priming system is more friendly than the one on the 650 when something "happens".

 

[SKYWLKR]

The color.