Advice on progressive press

[ebitney1]

So I'm thinking about getting a progressive press. I want to reload 223, 308, 9mm, 45, and 38 special. I want a user friendly setup that isn't fussy. I have around $1500 to spend. I realize that everything is hard to come by right now but it looks like Dillon is excepting backorders, I don't know about Hornady. What should I get? Any advice would be greatly helpful! Thank you!

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[Sfc Jack]

Dillon hands down. Ive had both setup, the dillon machines set up easy and they are bullet proof. Like u said though everything is sold out and on backorder.

 

[ebitney1]

Dillon hands down. Ive had both setup, the dillon machines set up easy and they are bullet proof. Like u said though everything is sold out and on backorder.

What accessories do you recommend?

 

[P7M13]

If you're doing 308 based cartridges, Dillon.
I have a LnL AP and it flexes enough that I won't load 308 with it. 223, 6.5, 6.8 - it'll crank those out just great. The force of resizing the 308 cartridge tilts the platten enough that your B2O length can vary by as much as 10 mils.
I had one 308 get stuck once, and pulling the ram down it snapped the head off the ram platten. That's one of those "duh, duh, duh" moments - broken ram and stuck case at the same time. Hornady replaced it, free, that same day.

 

[Red98422]

So I'm thinking about getting a progressive press. I want to reload 223, 308, 9mm, 45, and 38 special. I want a user friendly setup that isn't fussy. I have around $1500 to spend. I realize that everything is hard to come by right now but it looks like Dillon is excepting backorders, I don't know about Hornady. What should I get? Any advice would be greatly helpful! Thank you!

out of curiosity will this be your first press? And does that $1500 also have to include dies?

personally I went with Lee Breechlock pro, I liked it so much I got a second one. Setup isn't too bad IMO, but a huge plus is I can prime on press easily (a lot of folks prime off press with both the LNL and Dillon).

Now for the cons, the biggest one being that 308 is a bit too long for the auto index so it has to be used manually, this is the biggest turn off for your application.

Also you have to buy their spline drive bushings for each die, The casing feed ramp can get damaged if your rushing. And finally there is only one bullet feeder option, this can be a deal breaker for some.

 

[ebitney1]

out of curiosity will this be your first press? And does that $1500 also have to include dies?

personally I went with Lee Breechlock pro, I liked it so much I got a second one. Setup isn't too bad IMO, but a huge plus is I can prime on press easily (a lot of folks prime off press with both the LNL and Dillon).

Now for the cons, the biggest one being that 308 is a bit too long for the auto index so it has to be used manually, this is the biggest turn off for your application.

Also you have to buy their spline drive bushings for each die, The casing feed ramp can get damaged if your rushing. And finally there is only one bullet feeder option, this can be a deal breaker for some.

Yes it will be my first press and I don't want to buy another. I used my brother's Hornady progressive and it was cool but even he recommended that I buy a Dillon. I won't have to buy all the the dies immediately though.

 

[ebitney1]

If you're doing 308 based cartridges, Dillon.
I have a LnL AP and it flexes enough that I won't load 308 with it. 223, 6.5, 6.8 - it'll crank those out just great. The force of resizing the 308 cartridge tilts the platten enough that your B2O length can vary by as much as 10 mils.
I had one 308 get stuck once, and pulling the ram down it snapped the head off the ram platten. That's one of those "duh, duh, duh" moments - broken ram and stuck case at the same time. Hornady replaced it, free, that same day.

That's good to know about 308 for sure! At least they replaced though!

 

[Certaindeaf]

Get the auto-advancing, cast iron Lee Classic Turret and have enough left over for a brick of primers.. you know, to reload with.

 

[ebitney1]

Get the auto-advancing, cast iron Lee Classic Turret and have enough left over for a brick of primers.. you know, to reload with.

$1300 for a brick? Haha! Sounds about right!

 

[Sfc Jack]

What accessories do you recommend?

Depends on which machine, start with the basics.
Only thing i would really recommend are the dillon carbide dies well worth the money

 

[joken]

I'm really happy with my Dillon 550 and it will do everything you want to do.

 

[Certaindeaf]

$1300 for a brick? Haha! Sounds about right!

Yea, good luck.
And there's one of these threads started every day.

 

[Red98422]

Yes it will be my first press and I don't want to buy another. I used my brother's Hornady progressive and it was cool but even he recommended that I buy a Dillon. I won't have to buy all the the dies immediately though.

Ok, that's good to know. With the Lee you can remove the index rod Easily to operate manually station by station as your learning and the cases come out easily at station 3 to weigh out the charge while your setting up your powder thrower.

Dillon does make a good machine, hard to really knock it. Personally I didn't feel like I would have gotten 2x the machine considering it's 2x the price of the Lee.

 

[Stomper]

Get the auto-advancing, cast iron Lee Classic Turret and have enough left over for a brick of primers.. you know, to reload with.

I have a "Dilbert-650", but there's something to be said for them turret presses. Those Redding turret presses also look amazing.

 

[bbbass]

What accessories you buy for the press itself will depend on which Dillon you buy and how high your reloading bench is and whether you like to stand or sit. You may want to buy the mount that Dillon sells. But for instance, the higher end Dillon presses already have bullet and case feeders, soooooooo.

Of course, you will need the obvious accessories of a powder scale, calipers, powder trickler, bullet puller stuck case remover, case gauge, etc.

 

[bbbass]

And there's one of these threads started every day.

Give the OP a break, he just signed up last Christmas. Not everybody is successful using the clunky search engine.

 

[PiratePast40]

If you can find a single stage press at a decent price, I would suggest picking one up. Considering the range of ammo you've mentioned, it will serve you well since there are more than a few operations you'll want to want to perform off the progressive. I would pick up a reloading manual and go through the beginning sections to get a good feel for the physics involved and how changing parameters like bullet weight, shape, seating depth, and powder type and quantity all affect the outcome.

 

[PiratePast40]

ETA: I would also do a DuckDuckGo search for reloading equipment and supplies. The suppliers websites are a wealth of information about equipment and gives you a chance to look at all the accessories to see what they do.

 

[ebitney1]

If you can find a single stage press at a decent price, I would suggest picking one up. Considering the range of ammo you've mentioned, it will serve you well since there are more than a few operations you'll want to want to perform off the progressive. I would pick up a reloading manual and go through the beginning sections to get a good feel for the physics involved and how changing parameters like bullet weight, shape, seating depth, and powder type and quantity all affect the outcome.

I already have been using an RCBS kit for a few years now but it takes me too long. I just don't know what is out there that is reliable enough and will save me time.

 

[oremike]