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Posted: 3/3/2012 1:47:25 PM EDT
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Hello all. I have been reloading for a couple years on my lee classic turret. My current monthly totals are:
9mm- 1000-2000 .223- 500-1000 but would like to get to 1500ish 30 carb- 2000/year 30/06- 2000/year I am looking to increase my production speed, while still being able to make quality ammo. I realize that everyone has a favorite and also realize that all presses have shortfalls. Lee loadmaster and pro 1000's seem to be too problematic for my liking. Pretty much narrowed down to Dillon 550 Hornady LNL without casefeeder at first Dillon 650 without casefeeder at first–––– top of my price range as well I have read all I could read, just looking for a little more up to date information and reviews to help with the decision. Thanks |
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Will echo what EWP states and add XL650 is designed around action shooting. It's good for the guy who goes out to shoot 500 to 1000 rounds in a day, the come home at night to reload same brass for next day. It's also a great press for 223 prep work with RT1200 trimmer.
I would not use 650 for rifle, though some do. Loading gas gun rifle would be ok. It's not a precision rifle press. I would load precision rifle on my 550 or LNL AP. There's less than 5 in this forum with actual hands on with presses you list as options. If choosing from your 3. AP press would be my choice, if you go 550 you've done very well too. |
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Quoted:
Care to elaborate? Cons of the LNL have included everything to horrible case feeder to priming issues. I like the idea of the free bullets and the concept of the LNL bushings I have had LnL case feeding problems with .30 carbine, but not because of the feeder; .30 carbine is an odd duck of a round and any feeder would have problems with it. (It is too long for its diameter for conventional case collators to align properly, and the Dillon collator works exactly the same way as Hornady's.) I have examined Dillon's priming system and compared it to Hornady's and I like Hornady's a little better for its simplicity. But I have never had a priming glitch with my LnL anyway. The LnL bushings are, I think, more economical than Dillon's toolhead system, because I can set up for special situations on the fly, but it also let's me use ONE universal depriming die with any other combination of dies. At the fun show yesterday, I came close to making an offer on a 550 someone was selling, set up for 40 with the 9mm conversion kit too, but then I saw the sign he had on the table and backed away...it was a BL550 with a few RL accessories, and he wanted $400 for it... If it had really been an RL, I might have gone for it. The only problem with too many presses is available bench space! 
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| I have no loyalty to any brand so im just investigating. I like the idea of having a 5th station for a powder check, which kind of leads me to either the LNL or the 650, and while a case feeder would certainly speed things up, it sounds like they can be a source of headaches as well. How is the LNL for doing rifle prep? |
| I have a LNL (have not used a dillion) as well and it's a great all around press. I like the way yhe bushing system works. It makes changing from prep to load, large primer pistol to large primer rifle as quick as i could imagine any press being. What ended up selling me on the LNL over the 650 was 1) price 2) my cabelas carries parts 3) already have a hornady single stage so I could use the same bushings 4) price of caliber change. Hope this helps but I dont think you'd be going wrong with any of the 3 presses you have on your list. |
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Quoted:
I have a LNL (have not used a dillion) as well and it's a great all around press. I like the way yhe bushing system works. It makes changing from prep to load, large primer pistol to large primer rifle as quick as i could imagine any press being. What ended up selling me on the LNL over the 650 was 1) price 2) my cabelas carries parts 3) already have a hornady single stage so I could use the same bushings 4) price of caliber change. Hope this helps but I dont think you'd be going wrong with any of the 3 presses you have on your list. David, let me ask you this. As someone who's going to be changing to a new press soon and is considering a LnL, I've done a little bit of research but as always opinions vary. Being that your opinion isn't swayed in a particular direction since you have not used the Dillon presses. What do you personally feel are the weaknesses of the LnL? |
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I have noticed that you don't see as many used LNL's for sale as you do Dillons? I was looking at possibly finding a gently used one You noticed that too  kind of wonder what to read into that . Really figure a lot of it's from guys that never got in to reloading but swallowed the Blue koolaid line  That said of the 4 Dillons I've got only 1 for sure was from someone who just didn't get into the need of fast paced reloading 2 were long time loaders and no idea on the 4th.
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Quoted:
Quoted:
I have a LNL (have not used a dillion) as well and it's a great all around press. I like the way yhe bushing system works. It makes changing from prep to load, large primer pistol to large primer rifle as quick as i could imagine any press being. What ended up selling me on the LNL over the 650 was 1) price 2) my cabelas carries parts 3) already have a hornady single stage so I could use the same bushings 4) price of caliber change. Hope this helps but I dont think you'd be going wrong with any of the 3 presses you have on your list. David, let me ask you this. As someone who's going to be changing to a new press soon and is considering a LnL, I've done a little bit of research but as always opinions vary. Being that your opinion isn't swayed in a particular direction since you have not used the Dillon presses. What do you personally feel are the weaknesses of the LnL? i will answer this cause i have an lnl also –– the case feeder is the biggest weakness if you ask me it works but it took a little time of tinkering to get it to run right. i still love it though. |
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Quoted:
Will echo what EWP states and add XL650 is designed around action shooting. It's good for the guy who goes out to shoot 500 to 1000 rounds in a day, the come home at night to reload same brass for next day. It's also a great press for 223 prep work with RT1200 trimmer. I would not use 650 for rifle, though some do. Loading gas gun rifle would be ok. It's not a precision rifle press. I would load precision rifle on my 550 or LNL AP. There's less than 5 in this forum with actual hands on with presses you list as options. If choosing from your 3. AP press would be my choice, if you go 550 you've done very well too. Is there truth to this that the 650 is less precise than the 550? |
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Quoted:
Quoted:
I have a LNL (have not used a dillion) as well and it's a great all around press. I like the way yhe bushing system works. It makes changing from prep to load, large primer pistol to large primer rifle as quick as i could imagine any press being. What ended up selling me on the LNL over the 650 was 1) price 2) my cabelas carries parts 3) already have a hornady single stage so I could use the same bushings 4) price of caliber change. Hope this helps but I dont think you'd be going wrong with any of the 3 presses you have on your list. David, let me ask you this. As someone who's going to be changing to a new press soon and is considering a LnL, I've done a little bit of research but as always opinions vary. Being that your opinion isn't swayed in a particular direction since you have not used the Dillon presses. What do you personally feel are the weaknesses of the LnL? I find that you need to properly clean and lube the press now and then, but the wire guide for the priming system, and to a greater extent the wire guide for the case feeder (you really do want that!) need to be carefully set up. AND you need to check to make sure all the jam nuts for those wires are snug before each run, because they can work loose with repetitive use. I haven't used Loctite or anything like that, but I pay attention to those nuts before I set up for a new batch and don't run into any problems. |
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Quoted:
I have no loyalty to any brand so im just investigating. I like the idea of having a 5th station for a powder check, which kind of leads me to either the LNL or the 650, and while a case feeder would certainly speed things up, it sounds like they can be a source of headaches as well. How is the LNL for doing rifle prep? If you seat and crimp in same station you only need four stations.... |
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Quoted:
Care to elaborate? Cons of the LNL have included everything to horrible case feeder to priming issues. I like the idea of the free bullets and the concept of the LNL bushings My case feeder works fine and I hand prime all my brass. I don't care for/trust any press priming system. |
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I have noticed that you don't see as many used LNL's for sale as you do Dillons? I was looking at possibly finding a gently used one Simple numbers. Dillon OWNS the progressive (metallic) press market and there are vastly more Dillons in circulation than LNLs. I run two 550Bs (I don't like switching primer sizes) and see no need to "upgrade" to a 650XL, at least for my needs. I do nearly as many rifle rounds as pistol, so that figures into my decision. Plus my wife does most of our pistol reloading and she doesn't know there is a faster way. I also have decided not to buy a case feeder for either of our 550s.
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Quoted: I think there's something to this. I know the guy I bought my one 650 off of for $250. I doubt that press loaded 100 rounds before I bought it. He probably had it for 10 years.Quoted: I have noticed that you don't see as many used LNL's for sale as you do Dillons? I was looking at possibly finding a gently used one You noticed that too kind of wonder what to read into that . Really figure a lot of it's from guys that never got in to reloading but swallowed the Blue koolaid line That said of the 4 Dillons I've got only 1 for sure was from someone who just didn't get into the need of fast paced reloading 2 were long time loaders and no idea on the 4th. |
Im more confused then ever..... The LNL is significantly cheaper in the long run by the time I outift for all the calibers I shoot, as it seems that the caliber conversions are what puts the 650's price alot over my head. And now hearing that precision rifle rounds arnt well made on the 650 is concerning as I shoot Highpower with an AR15...
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Quoted:
Im more confused then ever..... The LNL is significantly cheaper in the long run by the time I outift for all the calibers I shoot, as it seems that the caliber conversions are what puts the 650's price alot over my head. And now hearing that precision rifle rounds arnt well made on the 650 is concerning as I shoot Highpower with an AR15... The costs are very close when you have the case feeder. Whoever said the 650 won't produce accurate rifle loads is full of crap. ANY press will produce good loads––the mechanics are simple. Speed is what costs and can be tricky. ALL the Dillon presses will produce accurate loads, but the 650 may not be quite as handy for rifle loads, which are typically done in two steps. I can't say for sure, as I've never used one. One of the big features of the 550 is the lack of auto advance/indexing. Some hate it that way, but it's really handy for loading rifle calibers. 
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I made a spreadsheet of costs assosciated with buying either the LNL,550 or 650 with my cost from Grafs with a C&R Discount. I have the dies already
To get everything needed to get started loading 9mm,.223,30carb and 30/06 LNL (With casefeeder)- $891.68 550 (With casefeeder)- $819.17 650 (With casefeeder)-$1140.95 Those prices dont include, roller handles, strong mounts, bullet trays,covers,extra parts,primer tubes... Basically everything I would need to show up on my doorstep and goto town |
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I hear alot of "Just get the 650", but nobody can really tell me why the Dillon is better than the Hornady? Both presses appear well made and have great customer service. Caliber changes appear easier on the LNL, and also cheaper. The Hornady is a bit "rough" in its design and construction, while the Dillons are more refined and better made. That certainly doesn't matter to everyone. The toolhead design is absolutely effortless and fantastic and I would say "buy once, cry once" applies. Look at the pic above by COSteve and notice his toolhead collection. Pull two pins, yank the toolhead, slap the new one in, replace the pins, fill powder hopper, reload. <––––This assumes same primer size. Disclaimer: I have used Dillon presses for nearly 20 years and have no experience with the LNL beyond fondling them and reading here, so I am highly biased. Don't forget though––Mike Dillon put progressive metallic reloading on the map and everyone else will always be playing "me too."
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Quoted: Can the 650 be used without a case feeder? I'm not sure I could shell out that much cash at the moment sure, just have to fill the feed tube by hand Some people make "speedloaders" for filling the tubes, pvc pipes full of brass, which they dump into the feed tube |
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