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Comparing Dillon, Lee, and Hornady
kamikazetsunamis
Member Posts: 435 ✭✭✭
If you are a reloader or are going to start, you need to read this article. It is very informative.
The following is a post from "acrashb" a canadiangunnutz.com forum user.
When I started with progressives, I found basically no detailed information on the web, or anywhere else, that talked about strengths/weaknesses/function of what are now the "big three" - the Dillon 650, Lee Loadmaster, and Hornady LNL AP.
I found two kinds of writeup:
- stuff from people who had used only one (1) of the above - so they either hated it for quirks or loved it for speed compared to single stage, with no other progressive to measure against.
- angry "I dumped that { crappy | overpriced | poorly supported } thing and am now in heaven surrounded by endless beer and pizza" - strictly because they had a bad experience and were bound to think the next thing was better.
So, after using a Loadmaster for several years, I acquired and used a 650 for about half a year, then a LNL AP for about the same.
And then I wrote about my experience. http://www.comrace.ca/cmfiles/dillonLeeHornadyComparison.pdf . To emphasize what should be obvious: people have different needs from presses. I swap calibres and components and loads regularly. If you crank out ten-thousand .38Supers each year with the same bullet, OAL, and powder your needs will be different.
For fun, an LNL video - about 18MB. If you don't want to upload such a large file, here's a YouTube link to the same vid.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oHCYnILM6u8
Manuals for each press are available online from the manufacturers, and I would urge anyone who is considering a purchase to review the manuals, and the drawings in them, in detail.
Factual and objective feedback is welcome. I only have one of the presses now, so corrections will have to be specific and maybe include pics, as I can't go over to the bench and directly confirm.
Regarding the choice of presses: in my view, there's no point in a non-auto-index progressive, so RCBS was not reviewed. And the 1050, while a brilliant piece of work, is just plain out of the price range for most people, so it too was not reviewed. Any progressive without a case feeder is also out of the running.
Forum link - http://www.canadiangunnutz.com/forum/showthread.php?t=127691&highlight=dillon+hornady+comparison
Essay Link - http://www.comrace.ca/cmfiles/dillonLeeHornadyComparison.pdf
The following is a post from "acrashb" a canadiangunnutz.com forum user.
When I started with progressives, I found basically no detailed information on the web, or anywhere else, that talked about strengths/weaknesses/function of what are now the "big three" - the Dillon 650, Lee Loadmaster, and Hornady LNL AP.
I found two kinds of writeup:
- stuff from people who had used only one (1) of the above - so they either hated it for quirks or loved it for speed compared to single stage, with no other progressive to measure against.
- angry "I dumped that { crappy | overpriced | poorly supported } thing and am now in heaven surrounded by endless beer and pizza" - strictly because they had a bad experience and were bound to think the next thing was better.
So, after using a Loadmaster for several years, I acquired and used a 650 for about half a year, then a LNL AP for about the same.
And then I wrote about my experience. http://www.comrace.ca/cmfiles/dillonLeeHornadyComparison.pdf . To emphasize what should be obvious: people have different needs from presses. I swap calibres and components and loads regularly. If you crank out ten-thousand .38Supers each year with the same bullet, OAL, and powder your needs will be different.
For fun, an LNL video - about 18MB. If you don't want to upload such a large file, here's a YouTube link to the same vid.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oHCYnILM6u8Manuals for each press are available online from the manufacturers, and I would urge anyone who is considering a purchase to review the manuals, and the drawings in them, in detail.
Factual and objective feedback is welcome. I only have one of the presses now, so corrections will have to be specific and maybe include pics, as I can't go over to the bench and directly confirm.
Regarding the choice of presses: in my view, there's no point in a non-auto-index progressive, so RCBS was not reviewed. And the 1050, while a brilliant piece of work, is just plain out of the price range for most people, so it too was not reviewed. Any progressive without a case feeder is also out of the running.
Forum link - http://www.canadiangunnutz.com/forum/showthread.php?t=127691&highlight=dillon+hornady+comparison
Essay Link - http://www.comrace.ca/cmfiles/dillonLeeHornadyComparison.pdf
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