LnL AP Vs 550 or 650

[brad3579]

I would really like info from people that have used the different models personally.
I am looking at reloading about 10k rounds combined of 9mm, .40 and 10mm per year.
Thanks for any info.
(PS I have gone thru all of the existing posts here in the reloading section about presses and many others online but find little info from people that have used the different models)

[crbutler]

I have used a hornady LNL single stage. I had severe run out issues. I know several here like them, but I don't care for them. They are a bit less expensive than the dillon 650. Having said that, and having seen some folks use an LNL AP, I think they will work well enough for general range pistol work. They are not such a bargain when you add the casefeeder part though.

The Dillon 550 is a good basic progressive. You do have to manually advance the shell plate as opposed to the others. Dillon now sells a case feeder for it, but I really think if you are going to go that route, the 650 is the better choice. I still use mine for low volume (to me...less than 500 rounds in a session) handgun and most nonhunting rifle ammo. If its less than 500 rounds, I wouldn't get too worked up about needing the case feeder.

The 650 is dillon's main line progressive. It will handle most any rifle case up to .45-70. (won't handle the african double rifle/rigby length stuff but that is really specialized anyhow.) The caliber conversions are more expensive than the 550 or the LNL. In my experience, it is the fastest of the 3 mentioned for turning out volumes of ammo. I have this set up for .308 and .45-70 (although I haven't loaded .45-70 on it in years.) I used this for handgun until I brought the 1050's- they are used for volume handgun and .223.

The down side for the progressive presses is changing primer sizes. I have not done it with a LNL, but with the 550 it isn't too bad. The 650 can be a little sensitive. The 1050 (which you didn't ask about) is very easy to reset primer sizes, but the primer pocket swage can be a pain.

Caliber switches- You can have tool heads set up for the dillon stuff and just switch and go with changes. The LNL uses Hornady's system, which if it works for you, is fast. All take about the same time to switch shell plates.

Basically to me, it falls to the size of lots of ammo you will reload. If you are buying this to load 1000 rounds at a time of one caliber, the 650/1050 will make this a relatively painless process. The 550 will slow you down a bit. The LNL (and this is my opinion, others will undoubtedly disagree...) will slow you down more as the system for holding the cases in is more sensitive than the 650, but still be faster than the 550. The 1050 is overkill for your total number of rounds a year at this point.

If you are loading smaller lots (500 or smaller) with lots of caliber changes the 550 will probably be the best bet. Its caliber changes and primer changes are the easiest of the lot (except for the 1050) although once you get it down, its not that much of a time sink, however, as it does not automatically rotate the shell plate, it is possible to double charge if you are not paying attention.

Any of these loaders will work with any standard dies. Stay away from the dillon SDB unless you want to be locked in to that press alone.

[gun_fan111]

I just went through the same choice and picked the LNL AP. I wanted an extra station for the lock out die over 550 and found it easier to understand LNL mechanics - which should result in me being able to keep it running smoother. I also think it has a bit mor real estate to work with dies...

Prior to this the only press I personally worked on was a friend's 1050 - which definitely ROCKs but was too much for me to start with.

[67camaro]

+1 LNL AP

You can PM me and give me your number if you would like to talk more about it.

[andrewP]

I just went through the same choice and picked the LNL AP.

Same here; my prior experience is all with a single stage, so there was a lot of research to do. My research (once I got past the fanboyism on both sides and found information that seemed objective) indicated that from a quality standpoint, all 3 are likely to last, and that both Hornady and Dillon seem to do a good job on customer service when something does break. Given those factors, it came down to the fact that the LNL AP is basically feature equivalent to the 650, but at roughly the 550's price point. I also like the apparent speed and ease of swapping out dies for loading different calibers on the LNL AP vs the Dillon machines needing multiple toolheads in order to achieve similar speed.

[rugersol]

different calibers on the LNL AP vs the Dillon machines needing multiple toolheads in order to achieve similar speed.

... to be fair, the LNL-AP package only comes with 3 LNL bushings ... more, ain't cheap! ... in the end, I'd guess 3 - 4 bushings for every new die set is about the same as a new toolhead (sans powder measure)!

When I look at who's selling new Dillon equipment, it seems like they try to sell a ... I dunno what they call it ... "deluxe"? toolhead ... including a powder measure! ... that really jacks up the price!

It may not seem like a big deal when you're only looking at 2 - 3 calibers ... but I'm set up to load probly 20 er more! ... I do NOT have 20 powder measures! IMO, ya can get by with two ... three, and you're in purdy good shape ... five, if ya ever think ya need another, yer jest plain lazy!

Speakin of lazy, I've got two LNL-AP's ... I keep one set up for small-primer, and the other for large ... so, of course, with that, I've got two powder measures already!

If ya work at it, ya should be able to buy a LNL-AP for about $400 ... two, for $800! Add dies and shellplates, and ya got all the equipment ya need to run two different calibers ... with zero change-over!

Now price out a 650 (as mentioned, the 550 is not otherwise functionally equivalent) ... and then add a "deluxe" toolhead! ... and with that, if ya wanna go from small to large primer, ya gotta change that over, as well as the toolheads!

... not to mention (er maybe I jest will) ... what bout when yer press goes down (and no matter what color it is, it will ... eventually ... go down) ... two is one ... one is none!

Oh ya ... and don't forget about the 500 free XTP's!

[andrewP]

different calibers on the LNL AP vs the Dillon machines needing multiple toolheads in order to achieve similar speed.

... to be fair, the LNL-AP package only comes with 3 LNL bushings ... more, ain't cheap! ... in the end, I'd guess 3 - 4 bushings for every new die set is about the same as a new toolhead (sans powder measure)!

New toolhead straight from dillon: $27.95

*10* LNL bushings from Midsouth (others have similar prices): $40.89

So, for less than 1.5x the money, you can have approximately 3x as many caliber conversions on the LNL.

When I look at who's selling new Dillon equipment, it seems like they try to sell a ... I dunno what they call it ... "deluxe"? toolhead ... including a powder measure! ... that really jacks up the price!

It may not seem like a big deal when you're only looking at 2 - 3 calibers ... but I'm set up to load probly 20 er more! ... I do NOT have 20 powder measures! IMO, ya can get by with two ... three, and you're in purdy good shape ... five, if ya ever think ya need another, yer jest plain lazy!

Speakin of lazy, I've got two LNL-AP's ... I keep one set up for small-primer, and the other for large ... so, of course, with that, I've got two powder measures already!

If ya work at it, ya should be able to buy a LNL-AP for about $400 ... two, for $800! Add dies and shellplates, and ya got all the equipment ya need to run two different calibers ... with zero change-over!

Yup, I paid $389.99.

Now price out a 650 (as mentioned, the 550 is not otherwise functionally equivalent) ... and then add a "deluxe" toolhead! ... and with that, if ya wanna go from small to large primer, ya gotta change that over, as well as the toolheads!

... not to mention (er maybe I jest will) ... what bout when yer press goes down (and no matter what color it is, it will ... eventually ... go down) ... two is one ... one is none!

Oh ya ... and don't forget about the 500 free XTP's!

The 500 free bullets definitely sweetens the deal nicely. It wasn't enough to make me choose the LNL AP over the 650 on its own, but it sure didn't hurt.

[rugersol]

different calibers on the LNL AP vs the Dillon machines needing multiple toolheads in order to achieve similar speed.

... to be fair, the LNL-AP package only comes with 3 LNL bushings ... more, ain't cheap! ... in the end, I'd guess 3 - 4 bushings for every new die set is about the same as a new toolhead (sans powder measure)!

New toolhead straight from dillon: $27.95

*10* LNL bushings from Midsouth (others have similar prices): $40.89

So, for less than 1.5x the money, you can have approximately 3x as many caliber conversions on the LNL.

my mistake!

well then, it appears ya'd be a fool to go with a Dillon!

[gun_fan111]

Hornady has the $10 powder metering inserts, which can be purchased for every caliber one reloads.

Of course you would have to stick with same powder each time to make it worth while

[rugersol]

Hornady has the $10 powder metering inserts, which can be purchased for every caliber one reloads.

Of course you would have to stick with same powder each time to make it worth while

ya ... that's purdy much what I meant ... 1 - 2 pistol powders ... 1 rifle powder ... and one extra measure so ya don't gotta take another one completely apart to get every last kernel out!

If ya can get to 4 - 5 measures, and 12+ inserts, ya'd be in really good shape!

[brad3579]

I am thinking the 650 or LnL would be best and will probably load about 1000 to 2000 same caliber rounds per set up.
Thanks "crbutler" you are correct about the prices if you add the case feeders it is about $60 more for the 650 vs the LnL. (Did not think about it but will probably add one down the road)

New toolhead straight from dillon: $27.95
*10* LNL bushings from Midsouth (others have similar prices): $40.89
So, for less than 1.5x the money, you can have approximately 3x as many caliber conversions on the LNL.

How many bushings are you using per caliber change?
It looks to be about $15 more per caliber conversion between the 650 (using separate tool head) and the LnL (four bushings) and shell plates, figuring on moving the powder measure and powder check die between conversions.
If I am looking at this correctly it would be about $100 more for the 650 with case feeder and three caliber changes vs the LnL. (please let me know if I am missing something)

[andrewP]

I am thinking the 650 or LnL would be best and will probably load about 1000 to 2000 same caliber rounds per set up.
Thanks "crbutler" you are correct about the prices if you add the case feeders it is about $60 more for the 650 vs the LnL. (Did not think about it but will probably add one down the road)

New toolhead straight from dillon: $27.95
*10* LNL bushings from Midsouth (others have similar prices): $40.89
So, for less than 1.5x the money, you can have approximately 3x as many caliber conversions on the LNL.

How many bushings are you using per caliber change?
It looks to be about $15 more per caliber conversion between the 650 (using separate tool head) and the LnL (four bushings) and shell plates, figuring on moving the powder measure and powder check die between conversions.
If I am looking at this correctly it would be about $100 more for the 650 with case feeder and three caliber changes vs the LnL. (please let me know if I am missing something)

Depends on how you want to set it up, but the way I plan to do it (at this point, I'm only going to be switching between 2 calibers) will be 3 bushings per change. I think 3 or 4 would be the most common. Even if you used 5 per caliber change, you'd still be getting 2x as many caliber changes for 1.5x the money...