A friend reloading for his AR is looking at these. I have used the Lee Pro 1000 for my handguns and was wondering if they are OK for the .223. I know the Dillon is great but too expensive for him. Any other suggestions for a more modest budget?

I'd look at the Hornady Lock-n-load at Midsouth. Plus Hornady is giving away 1,000 bullets on purchases of the AP model before the end of this month.

IMO, the Lee is only adequate for handgun rounds. The extra sizing force of the rifle round, even small 223, needs a better system. A Dillon 550B or if you want autoindexing, the Hornady LNL is the way to go. You can probably make the Lee work, if you don't load a lot of ammo, but really, if you can afford $200, you can afford $400.

R/B- I have a progressive hornady old enough to vote. Loaded alot of rifles from the .17rem-7mm. If you ask me if I'd go that way again, I don't know that I would. I could write ya a big letter as to why, but suffice to say its a bitch when ya load small neck brass ( ie. .17 or .204 ). the powder hangs up in the neck and when ya pull the plate down ya got powder goin everywhere., makes ya talk funny !! I've shot more ball powder than I would have. Over all I think I could appreciate a good base or 2 and be ahead. Just my .02. jc

I use a Lee Classic Turret for my .223. Works good.

quote:

Originally posted by gdc:
R/B- I have a progressive hornady old enough to vote. Loaded alot of rifles from the .17rem-7mm. If you ask me if I'd go that way again, I don't know that I would. I could write ya a big letter as to why, but suffice to say its a bitch when ya load small neck brass ( ie. .17 or .204 ). the powder hangs up in the neck and when ya pull the plate down ya got powder goin everywhere., makes ya talk funny !! I've shot more ball powder than I would have. Over all I think I could appreciate a good base or 2 and be ahead. Just my .02. jc

My impression is that Hornady has been making improvements to their press for many years. Their current product is highly regarded and may not deserve your evaluation. Have you used it?

I have a lee 1000 for my 223 i got tired of jerking around with it and chucked it under my bench the primer feed is junk the powder meetering is questionable

hornady LNL ap .. huge improvements over time .. great press, fairly cheap.

in my opinion, you must get a progressive, auto indexing, press .. if you can't afford a dillion 650 over a 550.. just hold on a month and save for it ..

the hornady LNL is light years better than the originals

hornady lnl just get get use to the priming and it is great

My vote is for one of the older Hornaday Projectors.

I know.

But with three of them on the bench, set up for 9mm, 45, 223, it is hard to see anything else but red paint.

James Wisner

At the moment I still have 6 progressive presses. (I used to have a good assortment of full-auto rifles, so bought a number of Dillons to feed them....bolted them to benches, and left them set up pretty much all the time.)

Nowadays the only progressive presses I use are a pair of Stars, one in .45 ACP and the other in .32 S&W.

Even when I load a thousand or more .223s at a time, I now prefer a non-progressive turret press. I've decided I would rather handle the brass more, but know for sure exactly how everything is going into (and with) each piece of brass at every step.

Not suggesting that is how anyone else should view it, but it IS the way I now look at it.

And sturdy turret presses aren't all that expensive....

A progressive press anticipates that you don't do any brass prep and the powder dispensing provided is adequate. For precision reloading, neither criteria is met. The powder function should be carefully analyzed.

If you de-cap, prep the primer pocket, and tumble before going to the press, the powder function then becomes the determinant. Should the powder have to be weighed for each charge, the time-saving of the progressive is non-existent.

Should a mechanical measure be deemed adequate, Hornady's is the best available for the application with its case-activated system.

It ain't straight forward.

My Dillon 550B works great, outlasted my marriage and is now getting set up to load every caliber I own. need a few more parts to be complete but about 80% there. would not trade it unless it was for a 650

Thanks to everyone who replied so far. You have given me some other ideas on what to look for. Keep them coming. It sounds like the newer Hornadys have been an improvement.