I am looking to upgrade to a progressive press for pistol and precision rifle loading. For precision rifle I plan on getting a quick measure powder measure so that I can throw precise charges with stick powder and using RCBS X dies to eliminate trimming. I will have 2 tool heads in .308 w/ 2 separate die sets setup for individual shoulder bump and OAL specs for my two rifles. I require a press that will give me consistent (+/- .001) OAL and shoulder bump, that is efficient, and high quality, and efficient tool head/caliber changing. So far the number one seems to be RCBS pro 2000, with honorable mention to the dillon 550B. Guys like the hornady LNL, but they also say you have to buy a special ejector to get it to eject properly and that it drifts out of timing occasionally. Lee cuts cost, but you can only use certain primers, the priming system seems questionable, and guys say they have to tinker with them and mess with preventive maintenance, and (the deal breaker) my Lee turret press does not give me consistent shoulder bump and OAL, which is why I use a hand press for my accurate stuff currently. Anyway, what are your thoughts?
Progressive Press Requirements
- Thread starter LeadLauncher
- Start date
The Lee progressive is junk.
No opinion on RCBS.
The 550 is a decent machine, but I'd never own one again because it lacks auto-index, which is a KEY component of a progressive.
The LnL and 650 are a draw. Each has some advantages over the other. Each has disadvantages.
My 650 with NO HOTROD PARTS will maintain a consistent shoulder bump inside .001", and concentricity of loaded rifle ammo is never worse than .002", but almost always .001" or less. Whidden/Unique-tek sells hotrod parts to improve the machine further.
The 650's "wasted primer" system is a little strange but not a big problem. The LnL's primer system can be finicky. The LnL's toolhead arrangment is FAR, FAR nicer than Dillons. With the LnL, once you buy a die, you marry it to a bushing and it lives there. In loading precision rifle, I find that I'm changing up the order of tools in my toolhead all the time, which requires resetting die adjustment all the time. Not the case with the LnL. The primer exhaust system of the LnL is better. The Dillon handles a "cam over" better than LnL.
Pick one and go with it. Just be sure you get a casefeeder for whichever you choose.
No opinion on RCBS.
The 550 is a decent machine, but I'd never own one again because it lacks auto-index, which is a KEY component of a progressive.
The LnL and 650 are a draw. Each has some advantages over the other. Each has disadvantages.
My 650 with NO HOTROD PARTS will maintain a consistent shoulder bump inside .001", and concentricity of loaded rifle ammo is never worse than .002", but almost always .001" or less. Whidden/Unique-tek sells hotrod parts to improve the machine further.
The 650's "wasted primer" system is a little strange but not a big problem. The LnL's primer system can be finicky. The LnL's toolhead arrangment is FAR, FAR nicer than Dillons. With the LnL, once you buy a die, you marry it to a bushing and it lives there. In loading precision rifle, I find that I'm changing up the order of tools in my toolhead all the time, which requires resetting die adjustment all the time. Not the case with the LnL. The primer exhaust system of the LnL is better. The Dillon handles a "cam over" better than LnL.
Pick one and go with it. Just be sure you get a casefeeder for whichever you choose.
Also:
Good luck on finding a powder measure that meters the extruded stick type rifle powders well. If you find it, please let us know!
I use an RCBS CM1500 scale/dispenser. Good machine, does what I need but I'm at the point where I could really use another one (or two). If I could throw Varget, H4350, H4831sc and H1000 to an HONEST TO GOODNESS +/- .2gr, I'd switch to thrown charges for sure.
Good luck on finding a powder measure that meters the extruded stick type rifle powders well. If you find it, please let us know!
I use an RCBS CM1500 scale/dispenser. Good machine, does what I need but I'm at the point where I could really use another one (or two). If I could throw Varget, H4350, H4831sc and H1000 to an HONEST TO GOODNESS +/- .2gr, I'd switch to thrown charges for sure.
[First, you might find this useful if you haven't seen it already: Dillon vs Lee vs Hornady Or “How I spent my Winter and Then Some"]
I couldn't convince myself that either of your leading presses could produce ammo to the specs you want for "precision rifle". Watching Youtube videos of actual reloading showed slop in the toolhead, often angular in nature (due to unequal upward pressure/timing at each die station). Some folks claim it's all "self-aligning", but most reports I read showed the Hornady AP produced rounds with the greatest concentricity. Youtube videos of the LNL AP in action show no slop at the toolhead, so this "confirmed" that trait for me. YMMV.
The Dillon 1050, however, shows no slop at all in any direction in any videos I saw.
While there are fans of all machines (duh!), the powder measures on the RCBS and Hornady are "quite similar" and generally felt to be the most consistent, at least according to my research. However, they all throw powder by volume. Whether that will suffice for your definition of "precision rifle" is your call.
Personally, a dispenser scale fits well in my own rifle reloading process. I tumble rifle brass after sizing, so for me there's not as much to be gained by using a progressive press to seat and crimp as there is on the straight-through pistol process. On charges up to (eg) 30gr, powder charge #2 is ready before I have seated and QC'd the bullet over powder charge #1. This approach simply must yield higher levels of accuracy. Whether that's important, or whether you need it or not is your call.
The Lee Classic Turret has a great deal of (angular) slop in the toolhead compared to other presses. You can also buy a dozen of them for the price of a 1050 lol. To me, it is the proof that phrases like "self aligning" and "the toolhead is always in the same position at the top of the stroke" just do not tell the whole story. If the LCT had 5 holes and didn't require 1200-1500 ram strokes to do 300 x 45ACP, I'd probably still be using it for pistol.
Bottom line, I stopped using my LCT, and bought a Hornady LNL Classic and a Hornady LNL AP. (Note that these two presses will not allow the quick-change use of the same dies without readjustments.) The classic does all my rifle, and the AP does all my pistol. My rifle ammo is now much more consistent, and I believe I have the tools to refine it further. My pistol ammo now requires at least 4x less work, and I have room on the press for a powder check die and the FCD.
And I didn't break the bank. YMMV
I couldn't convince myself that either of your leading presses could produce ammo to the specs you want for "precision rifle". Watching Youtube videos of actual reloading showed slop in the toolhead, often angular in nature (due to unequal upward pressure/timing at each die station). Some folks claim it's all "self-aligning", but most reports I read showed the Hornady AP produced rounds with the greatest concentricity. Youtube videos of the LNL AP in action show no slop at the toolhead, so this "confirmed" that trait for me. YMMV.
The Dillon 1050, however, shows no slop at all in any direction in any videos I saw.
While there are fans of all machines (duh!), the powder measures on the RCBS and Hornady are "quite similar" and generally felt to be the most consistent, at least according to my research. However, they all throw powder by volume. Whether that will suffice for your definition of "precision rifle" is your call.
Personally, a dispenser scale fits well in my own rifle reloading process. I tumble rifle brass after sizing, so for me there's not as much to be gained by using a progressive press to seat and crimp as there is on the straight-through pistol process. On charges up to (eg) 30gr, powder charge #2 is ready before I have seated and QC'd the bullet over powder charge #1. This approach simply must yield higher levels of accuracy. Whether that's important, or whether you need it or not is your call.
The Lee Classic Turret has a great deal of (angular) slop in the toolhead compared to other presses. You can also buy a dozen of them for the price of a 1050 lol. To me, it is the proof that phrases like "self aligning" and "the toolhead is always in the same position at the top of the stroke" just do not tell the whole story. If the LCT had 5 holes and didn't require 1200-1500 ram strokes to do 300 x 45ACP, I'd probably still be using it for pistol.
Bottom line, I stopped using my LCT, and bought a Hornady LNL Classic and a Hornady LNL AP. (Note that these two presses will not allow the quick-change use of the same dies without readjustments.) The classic does all my rifle, and the AP does all my pistol. My rifle ammo is now much more consistent, and I believe I have the tools to refine it further. My pistol ammo now requires at least 4x less work, and I have room on the press for a powder check die and the FCD.
And I didn't break the bank. YMMV
Guys, thanks for the info. Always great to hear from someone with actual experience with the equipment.
Having had the LnL AP, and currently having a 550b, 650, and 1050, I can honestly say they all are fine. I prefer the Dillon presses, but refuse to be like some owners and rave about them for hours. The 550 with the strong mount, bullet tray, and case tray is an amazing machine. I'm not a fan of the manual index, but it forces me to pay more attention. The 650 seems to load well, but I haven't bothered to load precision ammo on it. The 1050 is honestly the way to go (if you don't care about money). I have found that I can produce extremely consistent ammo on the 1050, if I am using a powder that agrees with the dispenser. If you want to load rifle semi-progressively, but use any powder, get the 550 with the powder die/ funnel. If you want to load a lot of ammo that is very high quality, buy a 1050. If you want the most consistent rifle ammo, use a single stage.
Similar threads
