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So based on some debates some of us were having in other threads about which press is best. I figure we may as well have it out without clouding up other threads.
Here is my contribution:
While I will concede that dillon is currently the market leader in progressive reloading presses, I do not believe that this is because they are better than everyone else, but rather all of the other reloading equipment manufacturers out there have to a degree refused to compete.
RCBS has some very nice progressive presses, yet they refuse to put case feeders on them, and any conversion activity requires a greater number of tools than changing piston rings does. Their single stage presses are top notch, and usually demand a premium even if they are 50 years or more old. In terms of fit, finish, and function these presses are top notch, they just let you down in terms of features.
Hornady at least makes an attempt at competition with the LNL press, which for most purposes is essentially a dillon 650 (imitation being the sincerest form of flattery). There are three ways you can make money selling things, make them better, make them cheaper, or make something no one else does, as a consequence of this analysis, I have no idea which of the three models hornady ascribes to.
Then there is the retarded uncle of the reloading world... lee precision. In comparison to hornady, lee is definately catering to the "make it cheaper" model. Which has it's own merits, they definately perform a service making the barrier of entry to reloading low enough that even high school kids and broke college students can afford to get into reloading. Despite a few innovative products (the factory crimper, the deburring tool) lee products are a train-wreck in practice. After snapping my "classic reloader" in half one day resizing a stubborn batch of military .308 brass, I bought an RCBS single stage, and didn't think much of it until some years later when lee was selling the pro 1000's factory refurbished for $50. After fighting with these things for nearly a year, I sold them to a friend for $20. My friend after I told him the price gave me this look and asked "did I just buy the monkey's paw". Boy did he ever!
Getting back to dillon, what is it that I don't like about them so much? They show a great deal of innovation in thier products, however they just don't show enough engineering prowess in how they are assembled. The 550 and 650 with that head that slides in, tends to move up and down during loading, giving inconsistent seating depth (yes, it's in the thousandths, but I notice it). The 650's priming system has a horrible habit of exploding, usually in your face, and usually when you're not expecting it. I think it's happened to me 3 times now. At least I've never been injured. However, these are both very standard toggle link presses. The most interesting one is the RL and XL 1050's. These presses show an astounding level of innovation, the priming system is bulletproof (unless you get a ringer, or a winchester NT in your .45 auto brass). It sizes, it swages the pocket, the priming system is always consistent. However the ram suffers from a chronic lack of leverage. This leads most users to "wind up" as they are bringing the handle down. The RL also has a weakness in the yoke on the bottom of the ram, which in one case actually broke.
And then there are the still larger commercial loaders... Camdex and Ammoload. These loaders, when set up properly, with good tooling, and proper maintenance performed on them are champions. They will run all day long with minimal effort, and all you have to do is sit there put shell casings, bullets, powder and primers in them, and just watch the ammo fall out the other side.
However, since never is any machine maintained in this level of readiness ammo load's bullet indexing disk will jam constantly when using cast bullets, requiring constant adjustment and replacement of the shear pins. The primer disk, if exposed to the slightest amount of grit will jam, and occasionally, set off primers. God forbid you don't have a casing under the powder drop station when cycling the press manually, as it will drop powder all over the line. Blowing it out with the compressor will be an exercise in utility as the combination of lead stripped off the bullets, grease, and gunpowder will form into some kind of mutant litharge cement.
Unlike ammoload where you get the same problems over and over until you find the mystical component that needed SAE30 wt oil and grease, older camdex machines crash with surprising irregularity. A peticular JS-6300 I had would be running fine, and then all of the sudden for no reason, something would jam slightly and all of the shellcasings would come flying out of the rail, usually just in time to get crushed under the decending press head.
To a certain extent, as a machine's complexity increases, so does it's capacity for mayhem. If done properly, you will produce more ammo than you throw away/blow your hand off with. As much as I hate to focus on the negatives, the positives are never the parts that bother me.
Here is my contribution:
While I will concede that dillon is currently the market leader in progressive reloading presses, I do not believe that this is because they are better than everyone else, but rather all of the other reloading equipment manufacturers out there have to a degree refused to compete.
RCBS has some very nice progressive presses, yet they refuse to put case feeders on them, and any conversion activity requires a greater number of tools than changing piston rings does. Their single stage presses are top notch, and usually demand a premium even if they are 50 years or more old. In terms of fit, finish, and function these presses are top notch, they just let you down in terms of features.
Hornady at least makes an attempt at competition with the LNL press, which for most purposes is essentially a dillon 650 (imitation being the sincerest form of flattery). There are three ways you can make money selling things, make them better, make them cheaper, or make something no one else does, as a consequence of this analysis, I have no idea which of the three models hornady ascribes to.
Then there is the retarded uncle of the reloading world... lee precision. In comparison to hornady, lee is definately catering to the "make it cheaper" model. Which has it's own merits, they definately perform a service making the barrier of entry to reloading low enough that even high school kids and broke college students can afford to get into reloading. Despite a few innovative products (the factory crimper, the deburring tool) lee products are a train-wreck in practice. After snapping my "classic reloader" in half one day resizing a stubborn batch of military .308 brass, I bought an RCBS single stage, and didn't think much of it until some years later when lee was selling the pro 1000's factory refurbished for $50. After fighting with these things for nearly a year, I sold them to a friend for $20. My friend after I told him the price gave me this look and asked "did I just buy the monkey's paw". Boy did he ever!
Getting back to dillon, what is it that I don't like about them so much? They show a great deal of innovation in thier products, however they just don't show enough engineering prowess in how they are assembled. The 550 and 650 with that head that slides in, tends to move up and down during loading, giving inconsistent seating depth (yes, it's in the thousandths, but I notice it). The 650's priming system has a horrible habit of exploding, usually in your face, and usually when you're not expecting it. I think it's happened to me 3 times now. At least I've never been injured. However, these are both very standard toggle link presses. The most interesting one is the RL and XL 1050's. These presses show an astounding level of innovation, the priming system is bulletproof (unless you get a ringer, or a winchester NT in your .45 auto brass). It sizes, it swages the pocket, the priming system is always consistent. However the ram suffers from a chronic lack of leverage. This leads most users to "wind up" as they are bringing the handle down. The RL also has a weakness in the yoke on the bottom of the ram, which in one case actually broke.
And then there are the still larger commercial loaders... Camdex and Ammoload. These loaders, when set up properly, with good tooling, and proper maintenance performed on them are champions. They will run all day long with minimal effort, and all you have to do is sit there put shell casings, bullets, powder and primers in them, and just watch the ammo fall out the other side.
However, since never is any machine maintained in this level of readiness ammo load's bullet indexing disk will jam constantly when using cast bullets, requiring constant adjustment and replacement of the shear pins. The primer disk, if exposed to the slightest amount of grit will jam, and occasionally, set off primers. God forbid you don't have a casing under the powder drop station when cycling the press manually, as it will drop powder all over the line. Blowing it out with the compressor will be an exercise in utility as the combination of lead stripped off the bullets, grease, and gunpowder will form into some kind of mutant litharge cement.
Unlike ammoload where you get the same problems over and over until you find the mystical component that needed SAE30 wt oil and grease, older camdex machines crash with surprising irregularity. A peticular JS-6300 I had would be running fine, and then all of the sudden for no reason, something would jam slightly and all of the shellcasings would come flying out of the rail, usually just in time to get crushed under the decending press head.
To a certain extent, as a machine's complexity increases, so does it's capacity for mayhem. If done properly, you will produce more ammo than you throw away/blow your hand off with. As much as I hate to focus on the negatives, the positives are never the parts that bother me.