Hey guys, I'm new to the whole reloading game but I have about 80k of spent brass from military 5.56. I've pumped out a few rounds on my buddies single station and it worked will for about a hundred rounds of .45. But I'm looking for something a little bigger/faster.

I've been debating between the Dillon XL650 and the Hornady AP. An expereinced friend told me he's leaning towards Hornady now after using Dillon for a few years. And the automatic bullet feeder is going to be a nice addition when they start making it for rifle ammo.

Where I need help is ordering to get started, I have a pretty good understanding of powders/bullets/primers but not the actually machinery.

Here's what I plan on ordering so far. It's all from Amazon, that where I'm finding the best prices and it's all in stock

Hornady Lock N Load Auto-Progressive Reloading Press - $439.99
Hornady Electronic Scale (1500 Grains) $34.93
Hornady Digital Caliper $23.56
Hornady Primer Turning Plate $8.04
Frankford Arsenal Master Tumbler Kit $71.31
I'll get a stainless steel media tumbler also
Hornady Lock N Load Powder Measure $69.59
(I'm not sure if one comes with the press)
Hornady Lock N Load Automatic Case Feeder(110 VT) $369.99
Where I need help is picking out the right Die set, 2 or 3?
Will I need a swager because it's military standard and which one do you guys rec?
I'm sure there's little bits and pieces I'm over looking too. This is my first time writing on a forum so hopefully there's enough info here to get started. I have a pretty big budget to work with and I'm going to look to reload a lot of pistol ammo also but I'll save that for another time.

Thanks a lot guys

Hornady is better than the Dillon; much more rigid as the die holder does not float. And it is ergonomically better to use. Powder measure comes with it. Dies? I use all kinds and it depends on which caliber; two are usually for bottlenecked cases and 3 are for straight. Because you need a die for inside neck expanding on a straight wall. Mil brass; yes you need to either swage out the crimp, or use a countersink and cut it out. I prefer that method; easier than swaging. I do have a RCBS swager but never use it. Read some loading manuals like Hornady. I do not have the auto case feeder; it is too much $ for me. And I can hand feed them in pretty fast anyway.

Have you checked the youtube videos for the loaders you are interested in?

What is your monthly/yearly requirement for ammo?

You might want to consider starting with handgun rounds since they are simpler due to the use of carbide sizers.

Before you start trying to load rifle rounds on a progressive you might want to load a few thousand on a single stage tool. That way you can pull the rim off of your first 5.56 case in a single stage setting.

The best swager I have seen is the Dillon.

You might indicate how many rounds you plan to load of how many different calibers. If you plan to do a lot of caliber changing you would want the system that accomadates those changes readily.

Many people that load rifle rounds on a progressive actually do all the case prep away from the progressive.
They deprime, swage, clean, size, and trim and clean again away from the main tool.
Then the progressive is used for priming, charging and seating. I think you can find those variations on youtube also.

I would go slow on buying equipment for a while. Especially do not get invested into thinking all your equipment has to be of the same brand.
You especially need to consider a beam scale and a set of check weights. A digital scale can be treacherous for a newbie.

I have very strong prejudices in loading dies to the point that I do not use Hornady dies.
Consider what RCBS, Redding, Forster and Dillon have to offer. As far as dies go Dillon dies have some features that are very good for high volume use.
So you may want to study what Dillon dies can do with the removable components.

In summary all I can say is don't get too focused on the words "automatic" and "speed".
You cannot make this a no thinking activity.
In the beginning speed is your enemy.

I have had very good service with a Dillon 650. I just purchased a BL 550 from Dillon to use as a psuedo single stage for larger cartridges.

FWIW, IMO, you're getting an awful lot of "automatic" stuff. I'd suggest starting out with a simple, single stage press and a balance beam scale. AND, a couple or more good reloading books. I'd get the books first and read them through and through before I bought anything else.
Learn the fundimentals and how they inter-act before you get too involved with "automatic" and speed.

Oh, yeah,, I don't load much rifle ammo on my Hornady; pistol and 223. I use a Rock Chucker for rifle. Check out a Dillon closely before you buy one; they are designed backwards and you can't use both hands like you can with the Hornady. And the die head floats; a bad thing. Getting a single hole press first is a good idea to learn. I learned on a Lee Loader in 1967 and used it for a thousand rounds.

This is perfect, thanks guys. Most of you are confirming some questions I've had. The book I'm reading now is the ABC's of Reloading, I'm still waiting on the Hornady Reloading Manual. I spoke to my friend, he's deploying soon and I'm going to use his single stage for a while. I'll start out with .45 for a while. As far as the automatic part goes I'll stay away from the case loader for a while.

Will the dillon dies seat into the Hornady system?
I'll switch to the beam scale. Thanks SR4759, and I've been all over youtube, it's an easy way to waste an entire Saturday. And I'll go after the Dillon swager.
DPCD, so 3 are for bottleneck rounds, like .556 and .308 right, and 2 die sets are for straight like 45/9mm rounds? Thanks for the prompt reply. And what do you mean by the 'die heads float'?

Tons of experience here, thanks again. Anyone still active duty?

You got it backwards; study and think about it. A 3 die set is needed for all straight walls because you can't inside neck expand in a straight wall die; no place for the brass to go. So you need a separate die to expand straight walls. Two dies for bottlenecks. Dillon presses use a removable die holder which in the ones I have seen, is not very firmly held in the press head. Convenient to change die but I do not like it. Worse, for me, is the fact that Dillons feed cases in from the right; Hornadys feed from the left, so you can use both hands to pull the tiller with your right and feed brass and bullets with your left; faster and easier on Hornady.
Beam scales? Mine has been sitting on the shelf for 15 years since I got a RCBS electronic; much faster and no issues at all. Yes, any dies will work on any presses. I have all kinds of dies from Herters (for us old folks) to Lee, and most every make.

DPCD,
I you want to get rid of that old balance beam scale I will pay for the shipping to my front door. I calibrate and collect scales. I don't resell them but I may give one away to a new reloader on the condition that if it is ever replaced it will be returned so someone else can use it in the future.
The reason I am willing to pay the shipping is that I don't feel anyone else should pay for what I do with their old equipment.

My offer is open to anyone with an old scale that they don't mind donating.

The offer is not valid for Lee scales - I have found them neither accurate nor repeatable in their ability to provide weights at below the 50% of maximum range.

i us my hornady for "everything"... including 45 colt, though my dillon is setup for 45 colt ..

i WISH i had / could have bought a hornday lnl ap about 3-5 years after i started reloading .. an excellent press...

get a couple drums for the powder thrower, btw.. and mark them for what you will

About ready to get my stuff ordered. Just wanna double check. I got my friends Lee single stage press. No dies.

He's giving me a couple hundred 9mm, 45 cases.
Will the Hornady die bushings fit in the Lee. And for Dies should I even buy hornady or something else?

http://www.amazon.com/gp/produ...&smid=A30DGGRQPDAP9Y

http://www.amazon.com/gp/produ...&smid=A30DGGRQPDAP9Y

Is this what I should be looking at?

Just an extreme caution for your pistol loading.

Be very careful to not double charge a case

I will keep my old Lyman beam scale in case my green electronic craps out, which it has never done. As I said, I use all kinds of dies in my Hornady. Many Lees.

Lee bushing won't fit Hornady

best of luck

swagger...how about a thumler tumbler w/ SS (stainless steel)...sonic cleaner...and vibrator....
Remove the spent primer and SS away
One shot dry lube and resize
Sonic the dry lube away
Polish w/ the vibrator (the media will last a long time since it stays clean....