I am looking for a progressive loading outfit that would pump out some volume amounts of pistol ammo, what do you guys recommend? I'm a RCBS fan but I'm open to Dillon, etc. tell me your reasons for choosing one over the other.

Six of one, half dozen of the other. It all depends on which Kool-Aide you like: The Blue, the Green, or the Red.

I'm still using my 17 year old Hornady Pro-Jector. Sure, it has it's issues and it's slow to set up. But when it gets cranking I've logged as much as 600 rounds an hour (confirmed). I normally load out around 400 rpms.

Truth is, RCBS, Dillon, and Hornady are all very, very good.

Roll the dice, they each have their pro's and con's. My buddies like Blue. I like the Red Kool Aide.

You'll get many opinions here's mine. I have two Dillon 550B. They are probably the easiest progressive to setup & keep running. The manual index is only slightly slower than auto, & being simpler, has fewer problems. The caliber change over is less than 3 min. w/o a primer change, hence why I have two, & the change overs are reasonably priced. You can easily load a true 400rds/hr, push a little & get close to 500. That's fast enough for me & the manual indexing lets me efficiently check powder drops & primer seating. It can also handle rifle rounds.
I love RCBS stuff, but their original progressives were problematic. I have played w/ Lee, some guys like them, I find their stuff cheap & sometime quirky. The Hornady LNL is a good looking machine, seems pretty straight forward & you get 1000 free bullets. If I was buyin gtoday, I would look hard at the LNL. Most guy sbuy way more progressive than they need. Keep in mind the cost of caliber conversions. I load for 10 pistol rounds right now, that adds up.

I am very partial to my Dillon 650. I don't feel it's all that more finicky than a 550. And the production rate is notably better. That said a 550 with an auto case feeder may not be a bad second choice. I have had (note past tense)a Lee and a RCBS progressive but gladly gave them up for my Dillon.

muck

I have a Hornady LNL AP. I don't load as fast as some of these guys do but that is because I am not in that big of hurry. My Hornady runs with hardly any surprises and if speed is a concern a guy could get the automatic case and bullet feeders. I only load straight walled pistol ammo with mine. I don't think I could ever go back to loading pistol fodder on a single stage press again.

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I have a LNL-AP as my progressive press at this
time.

I had a Dillon 550.

I like the LNL-AP better.

The 550 is a good press. The LNL-AP is just
a better system.

dxr

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I have a Dillon 300, three Dillon 550-B presses, and two Star presses...all progressives.

The Stars are my favorites for being able to operate safely while in semi-hypnosis (not paying close attention), but they are MUCH pricier and no faster.

The Dillon 300 is my preference for a guy who is just learning to run progressives. It only has 4 stations, no auto-feeds, and is the slowest of the bunch. At the same time, it is not likely to do (or omit) something the perator was not actively watching. Finding one is tough. They are no longer made, so must be located as used goods.

For the moola, and the average coordination/knowledge of the typical reloader, i think I'd recommend the Dillon 550-B. You can easily change cartridges in it, once the "inserts" are set up, in a couple of minutes or less.

Buy whatever brand of progressive you want as long as it's a Dillon.

I bought another major brand progressive and was never able to successfully load a single round of ammo with it. A part broke and they've moved on to other models so I'm stuck with a pile of expensive useless parts.

Other brands like the Hornady LnL might work fine for now but 12 years from now when it breaks are you going to be able to call them and get the part you need to get back working? Didn't happen for me and it was 1 year not 12. With Dillon if something breaks now or 15 years from now it gets fixed, period.

I've loaded 10's of thousands of rounds with my Dillon and wouldn't buy any other progressive because of my bad experiences with other brands........................DJ

Two things I like about the RCBS is that the powder measure stays with the press when changing ctgs, and they can use the APS primer strips.
Lyle

I have both a Lock-n-Load Hornady AP as well as a dillion 550B. Both are great, but if you get the LNL by the end of the year you get 1000 boolits free......makes the press cost about 50-60$ total. A deal that can't be beat!

My RL450 is over 25 years old, and it's every bit as good today as it was in 1983. Sitting beside it is a newer RL550B and my trusty old Co-ax.

My point? DILLON = progressive

DILLON

i've had dillon 450, 550 and 650 and much prefer the 650. Most important thing about a progressive is that you have to concentrate on what you're doing. One little thing goes wrong (like a primer misfeed, powder charge screw up etc) and the whole process begins over. Working a progressive isn't like single stage loading where you can have one eye on the football game and one on the press.

I have the Dillon 1050 and keep it set up just for my .45 acps. Way fast!

Dillon is a good press as is the L&L AP but I strongly recommend not buying any progressive press that does not automatically advance the stations with each pull of the handle......this avoids the possibility of a double charge in handgun loads.

My 1050 does turn with each handle pull. All you do is place a bullet in the powder fuilled case. The press does all the rest. . . . .

I've had a Dilon 650 for about six years. I like it, but it can be occasionally irritating.

Apparently the QC by primer manufacturers has deteriorated, as primer jams are becoming more common. That's a pain in the ass to clear on a 650.

CCI primers are larger than Winchester, but the last batch of Winchester magnum pistol primers I bought are also a bit oversized. Dillon customer service told me not to load Federal 215's in the feeder when loading .375 and 7mm RM because they have been known to sympathetically detonate.

Dillon gets an A++ for customer service. The press has a no BS lifetime guarantee and they gladly honor it and will patiently assist you in solving problems that the accompanying manual won't solve. The manual, BTW, is excellent.

I have loaded many thousands of rounds on mine and would buy one again.

Looks like Hornady are continuing the 1,000 free bullets offer in 2009 AND the improved version of the L-N-L AP press is arriving at dealers.
This new version is supposed to fix the known case eject problem of the old one, so make sure you don't get fobbed off with the old model

You can not go wrong with a Dillon.Great factory support as well as a great press.

Some folks like the Hornady LnL AP but I had massive problems with mine. I finally dumped it for pennies on the dollar when Hornady wouldn't fix it the third time. I never had a problem with my Dillon 550B, which I totally recommend.

I never used the RCBS progressive or the Lee so I have no comments on those.

RobertD

Dillon... Why else is a FIRST place ribbon blue?

My reloading bench is almost completely green (as in RCBS) except for my Dillon 550B which I use for 45 ACP. Can't think of a better progressive reloader than Dillon. My gun club has a very active pistol group and almost every reloader uses one of the Dillon presses.

There are less expensive presses than the Dillon but the Dillon just plain works every time with no fiddling. I think the real question is not whether to buy a Dillon but which one to buy? That is the real question..........

Does the Hornady LNL use non standard dies?

quote:

Originally posted by Fjold:
Does the Hornady LNL use non-standard dies?

It uses standard dies. The dies are screwed into the LNL bushings.