I have had a Hornady LnL AP press for 5 or 6 years. I like the press but don't love it. I have done all the tuning tricks and have it timed perfect. I have never been estastic about the press and always wondered if a Dillon really is less frustrating.

I ended up with 8000 CCU #41 primers. On the Hornady I was having issues getting them to seat and go in the pocket. I took the press apart and triple checked and readjusted everything. Still no love. I even reamed every primer pocket a second time to make sure. Still no love. I was priming off the press but I really want to pull the handle and do it all in one pass. I don;t want to handle the brass more than I have to.

I found a good deal on a 650XL with case feeder. I bought it with the intention of running it and which ever press I liked better I would keep.

Well I am keeping the Dillon. I spent yesterday cleaning lubing and adjusting the press. Tonight I installed the dies and  loaded 100 rounds. I had one primer issue and I think it was a case not reamed that slipped into the reamed cases. The primer seating is far superior to the Hornady.

I like the Hornady for the following:

Quick change bushings
Takes a bit to get the first primer into the primer station.
Everything is not crammed into the right side of the press.
Spent primers go down a tube.
Live primers don't go flying if you get out of sequence.
Powder measure is easier to use with more than one caliber.
Smooth shell advance once you get it tweaked right
All case feeder parts come with the feeder. Caliber changes require a shell plate.

The Dillon is better for the following:

The tool head is decent concept but you need to dedicate a die to each head. (for example a Universal decap die)
Primer seating
No tilt in station 5
Aftermarket add-ons.
case feeder is very quiet.
The powder checker is great.
The case feeder is less problematic.

Some things on the Dillon that need fixing:

Shell plate snaps into the next gate and spills powder.(I have a supposed aftermarket fix on order)
Live primer goes down a ramp and shoots onto the floor.(I have an aftermarket fix on order)
Instead of sliding parts and grease use bearings(Again aftermarket case feeder rod and index pawl on order)
Spent primer catch. Instead of small bucket it needs a tube. (aftermarket upgrade on order)

I will be selling the Hornady very soon. I am considering converting to the Dillon line but it is far from perfect. Not sure why Dillon does not incorporate a couple of these fixes/upgrades into new models or at least offer them as an accessory. Caliber changes are expensive.

Google the cut spring trick under the check ball. If I remember right, you just cut 1/2 or 2/3 of the first coil and put it back in cut side down. No more split powder.

Congrats on the new press.  The shell plate snap can be tuned without aftermarket fixes.

The press was used but it hardly looks used.

The detent ball spring already has 1/2 of a coil cut off.

Care to share the fix for spilled powder?

Keep snipping off small amounts of the spring till it stops splashing powder. Half a coil was better but 2/3 of a coil fixed it. To be clear, the top coil is flat and not counted as a coil. I cut the full flat coil off then 2/3 of the coil going down. That fixed the spilt powder problem for me.

I removed the bearing off mine because it didn't do anything for me, and made the ejector spring not work correctly.  I did trim the spring, but what helped is having the correct timing so that the ball doesn't snap into place.  Adjust the rotation so that the ball is right there and doesn't need to snap for the case to be aligned properly.  Another little trick is you can also place the bullet on the case before its lands in station 4 and ride it home.

I was "riding" it to stop the jumping. I adjusted the indexing pawl like I saw in the videos but that helped but did not eliminate the issue.

The Hornady is superior in this regard, if you ask me. The detent balls are adjustable and you just tweak them to get it perfect. The pawls are also fine tunable too. Once set you may have to tweak them every few thousand rounds.

My issue with the Hornady is priming. The plate is made in such a way that not 100% of the case get pushed in all the way so the primer punch does not line up. This heppens every 4 or 5 cases it seems. Then the primer gets damaged and stock in the pocket jamming up the works. These same cases don't have this issue on the Dillon. If I can figure out how to mod the shellplate on the Hornady I would keep her. Maybe I will play with my mill and remove a few thousandths.

The ergonomics of the Hornady is nicer I think. You can see the case as it drops. I use that as a final inspection for neck splits or damaged. The bin for completed rounds hangs on a bracket on the Hornady to the left. Again you can inspect them as they drop in. The Dillon, unless you use the strong mount, does not have a bin the hangs. Also you really can't see the final product as it is made.

On the hornady try a new retainer spring.   If that doesn't work mount the shell plate in a lathe and reduce the shoulder diameter the spring rides on by .050.

Easy fix, put a bit of tape over the end of the ramp.

It is not the retainer spring. I have tried a new one. The brass does not go into the shell plate all the way on some brass. I had a few cases that I saved to the side. I checked them in the Hornady plate and they are real tight but on the Dillon shell plate they are fine. I measured the width on both plates and the Dillon is .004" wider.

If I was to open up the width of the shell plate case holders I think it might work. I may fire up my mill and take .002" of each side and see what happens.

I am sure with brand new brass this is no an issue but if there is anything with the case rim this is an issue. I am talking about issues you need a magnifying glass to see not obvious damaged rims. Those I toss in the scrap bucket.

On a different note I loaded up 300 more rounds today on the Dillon. Only had one issue. I did snip another bit of coil off the detent ball spring. That made it almost perfect. May snip another small piece off shortly. I ran out of prepped cases. So now I will work on getting the brass prep tool head set up and dialed in. I will try the swage-it device and see if that works. If it does then no matter if I get the Hornady fixed or not the Dillon stays.

The Dillon live primer launch pad is annoying as hell. Why continue to make something that clearly is not doing the job. I know I can add tape or glue something on it to make the walls higher. In all reality Dillon should modify their design and give to owners. For the money Dillon charges, to have an item that clearly does not work is just dumb.

Couple of Dillon mods that are worth the money IMHO.

UFO Light


Primer Stop


Crud Catcher


This is what I did for the primer chute.  Its just a small tube that catches any primers.


I took the aftermarket primer catch system off and when back to the dillon cup with the "tape mod" I kept getting primers caught in the tube, and they would back up.

Thanks for the heads up on the mods. I got an Inline Fabrication Skylight kit brand new sitting on my bench. Haven't decided wether to keep it or sell it.

A couple things that annoy me about the Dillon compared to the Hornady. One is I can't see if a case is being fed into the shell plate and can't see the primer station when sitting in a comfortable spot. Second is it is tight if you have to reach inside the carousel to do something when loading.

Overall I do like it but am not swooning over it. Some things annoy me others are just getting used to it.

I have 2 1050’s and 2 550’s. I still wish I had kept the Hornady. Some calibers you just don’t want to buy new setups for. You may not run a ton of some.

I run about 35 calibers at this point. I HATE running single stage presses. I have 3 that get used for odd jobs only. I need to sell one of those someday (no that’s not me trying to sell them here so don’t ask).

The only press I absolutely hate is my PC7. I call it POS7. I only keep it around for black powder reloading (plenty of stations for compression die, etc. Only other caliber I run on it now is the 5.7x28 as I can’t find a shell plate for the 1050. It requires a powder check.

Good luck with your new toy. Subscribe to EE - reloading. I did when I got my 550 and ended up buying dozens of extra stuff fo cheap (including a second 550).

For the longest time, I was buying these 2 pack flashlights made by Bushnell sold via Walmart.

One of the flashlights in the 2 pack was this one:



I would zip tie that to the Dillon Powder measure.

I'd also leave station #3 empty, so that the flashlight would shine through the hole.

Then I had a mechanic's inspection mirror attached to the casefeeder support post so it would show me that there was actually powder in the case.

I was never a big fan of the powder cop dies.

Buttttt....

then I got a 4 foot long LED workshop light from Home Depot.  That is hanging from the supplied chains from the ceiling.

Like somebody else said, a piece of masking tape around the bottom of the primer ski jump.

For .223 reloading using the casefeeder, I also added a piece of masking tape to the opening before the brass drops down the funnel and into the tube.  This made sure the .223 brass dropped headstamp first down into the funnel.

I cut so many part coils off that detent ball bearing spring so the shellplate wouldn't snap into place.

I'd have to look how that hole is machined...what would have been smart for Dillon to do would be to have a bolt in that hole.  You could thread the bolt downward and that would adjust the height of that ball bearing and the amount of force it applies upward on the underside of the shellplate.

I am seriously considering hanging onto the Hornady. Caliber changes are MUCH less expensive on the Hornday. Shell Plates are $30-35. The rest of the stuff came with the press and case feeder.

With Dillon you need to buy the caliber conversions for $90/ea.

For quicker changeover on a  Hornady, a lower powder measure half and metering insert and you can use the powder measure. Bushings are a few bucks each. With Dillon you need a tool head, and at the least the powder measure lower piece, a second if you want to switch the powder alarm, and a powder bar to change calibers fairly quick.

Hornady has the edge when it comes to cost especially if you load many calibers. They just need to make some improvements. The case feeder pushing leaves a bit to be desired. The priming system is an issue but I think I found where my problem is in regards to that.

Overall the Dillon is the better machine because of the priming reliability and the case feeder design. I just wish I could see those two stations when loading.

Yeah I use the 650 with casefeed for 9mm/223 and the lnl for a variety of calibers. I’d sell the casefeed from you lnl and use it for stuff you don’t want to buy all the Dillon hardware on.

Not a bad idea. That would probably solve my primer issue.

My primer issue is with .223. The shell plate is a bit tighter than the Dillon by .004". So if there is a slight thing with the rim the case will no go all the way in. If I feed by hand that would not be an issue plus I would not load that caliber on it anyway.

I may try to open up the shell plate and see if that solves it.

My Hornady primed perfectly... the case feeder was crap. I would toss that. Although the PC7 case feeder is even worse.

Good call to keep it.

Damn, I must be lucky I have four Ammo-plants set up on my bench. One was new and the other three I bought as paperweights that the previous owners stated couldn't make ANY ammo. And the last time I adjusted them was May 23, 2015, and they haven't missed a primer in all that time. And I have two old style case feeders and two new style case feeders and they all run perfectly. I'm glad that I got the only four case feeders that Hornady put out that run perfectly. Or maybe...wait...wait. I bought each of my three son-in-laws an Ammo-plant and they are running perfectly. (After I set them up and timed them). So I guess I got the only seven Ammo-plants that work perfectly. Or maybe...

I know what the issue is with my priming on the Hornady. The shells don't go fully into the shell plate. It is not a timing issue. The #16 shell plate is a bit to tight where the case slides in. I measured and found .004" difference from the Dillon. I have 3 cases set aside that I can't see any damage to the rim but don't fit the shell plate smoothly. I am taking these and a caliper to Cabelas and will see if maybe I just got a tight shell plate. I really like the Hornady other than this issue. I have it timed perfectly and the case feeder works fine. The case feeder requires you to be smooth but you should be smooth anyway so no issue there.

I have only loaded .223 up until this point. I have shell plates for .45ACP, 9mm and something else that escapes me now. I will check those with cases too.

I do not have love or hate for any brand. I like tools that work. The Hornady has given me fits with priming since day one. Timing, smoothness and the case feeder have not been a problem. I have only been loading .223 on it so far. Now I think I can modify my shell plate if I can't buy one that is a little looser. I will then keep the press. Having two will never be a problem.

First off, as a very satisfied LNL-AP owner for around the same length of time, thank you for giving more than just "the Dillion is SOOOO much better, gargle gargle" treatment.

I know there's satisfied owners on both sides, and I know there's quirks and room for improvement on both sides, thanks again for calling it fair.

On the tight fitting case in the shell holder thing, I've run into the same issue a few times.  I hand feed my cases still, so they never make it to the primer station, but I have to ask: are the identified problem cases all the same headstamp?

The only cases that did that with me were a few LC09, and the extractor cut was visibly shorter from the rim to the body than others.  I could still rotate the case and get them to "snap in" to the shell holder to load, and they would eject fine, but getting them fully seated was a bit tight.

I should note that my remaining large stash of LC09 is largely fine, just a few noticably different.

Also, not sure what your #16 plate measures, but mine is showing an average of 0.337", for comparison, and a random sized case on my bench has a diameter of 0.335" at the extractor groove, which happens to be an LC09... LOL.

I am not telling you what to do but if it were me I would send the shell plate and 5 or cases that don't fit to Hornady. If the tolerance are too tight they will make it right. I would not try and modify the plate my self because then you have bought it.

I just measured 8 of my # 16 shell plates and there is a .002 difference between the smallest to the largest. So hopefully Hornady can help you out.

That would bug me too......mounted on a stand I can't see squat on my brother's 650. (being of short stature doesn't help) On my progressive I mounted a micro video camera and a 3"x7" screen that totally cured visibility problems.

I'm one for keeping both machines.....Dillon is greatest for pistol setup for what you shoot most, and no changes to the setup contemplated.  IMO it's costly and a PIA to change calibers on.  But reliability once set up is hard to beat.  Too bad both have tube primer systems........keep your tubes clean.

@edgephoto

Good luck on the new toy!

And most of all thank you for a honest review/comparison. Whenever a "which should I buy" thread pops up, I get the popcorn, cause the shitshow will happen.

I get that Dillon makes a quality product but Hornady has a great press also(I'm a LNL owner), each has areas where they shine and each could use some improvement.

I could care less what a person uses but don't come spouting the virtues of your favorite while blindly cutting the other guys choice.

You gave a real world look as an owner/user of both. Thanks again.

@1stGenCRXer. I measured my shell plate and it is .332-.334. The Dillon is .338-.339. So I have a friend with the same press and he is loading .223 on it. I will see if I can borrow his plate to try. I may stop by Cabelas in the next few days to measure a new one there. If it is bigger I will contact Hornady. Just .002" would make the difference.

@DRAINSMITH Thanks for measuring. Mine has .002" variation too. This is pretty tight tolerance if you ask me. Just wish the opening was a bit bigger. I plan to contact Hornady once I can show them the issue. I will make some photos and mark them up. I want to check a new plate and a friend's plate first.

@GWhis The not be able to see the first two stations annoys me. Maybe if I did not have an AP first where I can see those stations I might not be bugged by it. The other complaint with the Dillon is it is tight to try and reach into the press when it has 5 cases indexed. Not a deal breaker for either of these, just annoyances compared to the Hornady.

@zlman I appreciate you comments. I did not want to make a which is better post. I really am just looking for a machine that will do the job with the least hassle. So far neither machine is perfect. Both have their issues. I guess it comes down to which issues are more annoying.

I appreciate the advice, help and suggestions everyone has given. I did not come here to bash red or blue. I could care less which one is "better". I want a press that will make ammo, not waste my primers, brass or powder. I want a press that does not need constant hand holding. I want to pull the handle and have each station do it's job.

So far I give the edge to the Dillon in regards to being ready to go fairly quick. To be fair when I got the Hornady I was new to progressive presses. I set it up and was so excited to make rounds I really did not take the time to get it going. Same when I added the case feeder. Once I stopped, and took the time to get it adjusted perfect the Hornady has worked well except for this shell plate issue. So my perception may be skewed because of experience.

I want to get the Hornady figured out. I like the press, which is why I bought it in the first place. Until I bought the Dillon I just assumed it was the press. I got so aggravated that when I saw the Dillon for sale I jumped. I probably should have figured out the issue before spending on a Dillon.

I don't load enough to justify have 2 progressive presses. I will settle on one most likely.

Sounds like you're on to the culprit.  We get spoiled by excellently machined parts these days, but there's still the occasional dimensional mishap.

Update:

I stopped by Cabela's tonight on the way home. They had two shell plates in stock. Both measured .338", almost .339". I bought one. I will try it out over the weekend.

I came home and the cases that were tight in my current shell plate fit nice in the new one. I think this may do the trick.

I need to process some brass because I have no prepped brass. I will process them on the Dillon to see how that goes. I will also ream the first 100 cases to try on the Hornady so my only change will be the shell plate. If I have success I will then swage 100 cases on the Dillon and try those. if they load well I have a real dilemma.

My dilemma is this....I like the Hornady for ease and cost of caliber changes plus the ergonomic of the press itself. Maybe it is because I have gotten used ot it but none the less I prefer how I can see everything and it is all on the right side.

I like the Dillon because the Swage-It will make brass prep much easier. No having to handle cases one at a time. I also like how much quieter the case feeder is on the Dillon.

Invite me over and teach me how to use that 650. Ive been eyeing the 650 just haven't pulled the trigger yet.

I live in North Haven

That is possible. You can try both presses and see what you like. Who knows the 650 might be for sale.

Not this weekend. I want to get them both dialed in and running perfect. Maybe next weekend. Then you can bring some supplies if you want to load some of your stuff and try them out.

If you decide to sell the 650 you could put the extra money to good use by upgrading your AP to the Ammo-plant.
And
Now, you want to swage on your Dillon. Why not on your Hornady?

Now in the above photo, it is showing one huge mistake. Let's see who can point it out first.
You never know how enjoyable reloading can be until you can hold a cup of coffee in your left hand the entire time.

You still have your case pusher hooked up

Winner, winner, chicken dinner. You have to take the V block off or you will smash the snot out of the case slide rod spring. But boy was I excited to try it out.

There's only one type of person who sells a 650.

Widows.

Have you ever heard a woman say "Hold my beer and watch this"?  Sometime's a woman is a hell of a lot smarter than any guy. Have you noticed there are a lot more widows than widowers?

Can we make it a party?

Got the green light from the wife for a 650.  

Sure we can all 3 get together. You guys can try out both presses and see what you like. Both are good and have their pluses and minuses.

I will get the Hornady squared away this weekend. I found my original shell plate was made a hair too tight for LC brass. Thanks to a member for measuring his. I guess I assumed my plate was not the issue. I should know better.

Now I have to decide. Keep both or sell one?

You might try taking a steel case and chucking it up in a drill and using some lapping compound to smooth up the shell plate.

That is a great idea. Thanks!

@edgephoto, is there a marked difference in reliability between the two?

I can't really tell yet. I can say the Hornady has been reliable. No broken parts and once the pawls are dialed in they don't need adjusting. The Dillon seems well built too.

I will be doing some case prep this weekend on the Dillon. I want to try out the Swage-it. I will prep a few hundred cases. Then I will see if I can prime and load them on the Hornady with out issue. The new shell plate is promising.

After I do case prep and swaging on the Dillon I will see if the Swage-It works by priming the cases. Also if a ton of force is needed then that is not going to be worth it. Hornady does have a swager but it is not really ideal. You still handle cases one at a time and it is a separate operation from sizing and trimming. The Swage-It allows for swaging to happen during sizing and trimming.

If the Swage-It works and the Hornady shell plate fixes my priming issue I will have a decision to make. Which press to keep? Or both?

You need to go to YouTube and type in "Hornady swage modification". You will find out that you can swage without touching the brass at all. Now, the only question is ... How fast can you pull the handle?

That looks very interesting and seems to make quick work of swaging. Still a second trip through the press but pretty good.

Boy so many decisions to be made.

I am excited to get time to try the priming with the new shell plate.

Yes, it does take a second time through the press but there are 2 advantages.
1. You can still have a cup of coffee in your left hand while you are doing it.
2. It does not void your warranty.

Now I built one of these kits after I ran all my brass by hand. I just wanted to see if it would work. It took me about a 1/2 hour and it worked great even though I was running pre swaged brass.

Well I think I found something else I need.

Looking at the Hornady swage has me interested again. Saw these when they first came out and thought they looked like a goofy set up but after seeing the youtube mods, looks more user friendly.

Especially now that I have over 5000 .223 I'd like to process.

Well it's ordered, wish it didn't feed from the top of the die as my bench set-up isn't ideal for that arrangement but it sure seems like a time saver vs reaming.

I really like this thread, thank you, OP.

Can you link the video you are talking about?

Hell no I can't even load photos into my computer. I had to get my 13-year-old granddaughter to do that for me. But if you go to YouTube and type in "Hornady LNL swaging case feed attachment" and "Hornady LNL 223 swage die upgrade" you can see what I did.