Dillon 550 vs Hornady Lock n Load AP

[pastorpaul]

i don't think i can use that one on sunday, but i'm still laughing! sometimes my naiveté is pretty obvious.

hammAR - good point i shall do so when i contact him.

[plblark]

plblark - excellent idea. i shall go back to tcc and take a link to carry depot.

http://carrydepot.com/

[cobb]

I have a Dillon 550 that was a Christmas gift from my wife years ago. I have been very happy with it, load all of my semi auto calibers on it, some of my revolver stuff, my .221 Fireball and .223 ammunition. If I had it to do over, I would go the same route, but would take another look at the 650.

I believe Pred has a Hornady Lock-n-Load, maybe he can chime in.

[westhope]

Cobb wrote:

but would take another look at the 650.

I purchased a 650 rather than a 550. At the time I was unsure if the 650 was worth the extra money.

I never regret spending the extra money for the 650.

At that time you could not buy a case feeder for the 550 but could for the 650. I didn't buy one with the 650, but after loading on it the first time I bought one. It loads so fast that you spent all of your time loading cases in the feed tube. The case feed is well worth the money.

The other advantage of the 650 over the 550 is that it has an extra station. I have added a "powder check" and a seperate "crimp die" (Lee Factory Crimp). I could not have done this with a 550.

I have had only one part break on the press in the 10 years I have had it. Called Dillon, they sent out 2 of the parts no charge. They said they had problems with that part. They re-designed it slightly and have had no reported problems since. They still sent out 2 of the parts. I have not broken it again.

I probably load 10,000 rounds a year. Mostly 45 ACP.

The only improvements I would like to see with the Dillon are: an easier way to change from large to small primers, and an easier way to fill the primer tubes. I know you can buy automatic primer tube fillers: Dillon $250, Midway $40 but haven't tried them.

[jac714]

I don't use that kind of press, but it seems to me that the Dillon requires you to use only Dillon dies and the Hornady will take any dies. The Dillon dies only work with the Dillon machine.

I could be wrong on the above, but, as a counter to that argument, if you do the math, over a lifetime of reloading, the dies are probably the cheapest item you will use on a per round basis.

The square deal B uses only Dillon press specific dies, the rest of the Dillons (550, 650, and 1050) use standard dies.

[mnglocker]

I've only used my RCBS rock chucker so far, but I did get some Hornady Dies last week and I have to say, they've got me as a customer from now on when it comes to dies. Lube free, and a rock solid locking nut makes for quicker setup and more consistant seatings and crimps.

[1911fan]

I want to be the person who posts that the all time ultimate end-all be-all of reloading in the cities is John Boy Walton out at Gunstop.

I must say that more twenty years later I still call him asking for help, guidance and knowledge. He knows his stuff, he does not push any sale on you, and he will tell you point blank which is better or worse or why some work for some and not for others. Trust him. I do.


re Lock and load vs Dillon, I have a Dillon 550 press that has about 200K reloads on it and I broke ONE little teensy spring (the primer block return spring) thru my own stupidity. Nothing else even seems worn. The Four hole head allows you to add a separate crimp die if you wish, I like the Dillon dies but do not used only them, I have Hornady, RCBS,Lyman, LEE, Herters and foster's as well as Dillons and the one place I think Dillon dies are better is that they have just slightly wider bevel at the mouth to make things move along just a tad bit smoother... I have loaded .223, .308, 6.5x .284, .32 ACP, .380 ACP, ,38 sp. .357, 9mm 10mm/,40 S&W, .41 mag, 44 mag, .45 ACP, .45 Colt, as well as .308 and .30-06 and .243. I have to say if something is that much easier I would be shocked.

[rucker]

I want to be the person who posts that the all time ultimate end-all be-all of reloading in the cities is John Boy Walton out at Gunstop.

I must say that more twenty years later I still call him asking for help, guidance and knowledge. He knows his stuff, he does not push any sale on you, and he will tell you point blank which is better or worse or why some work for some and not for others. Trust him. I do.

I will have to make a trip out there. Thanks for the advice.

[Pinnacle]

John Walton AKA the "Oracle"

He is AWESOME.

If you are serious about reloading and want to make the jump to progressive - the dillion is the only way to go.

I would start with a single stage press first to get the hang of things before I made a move to progressive. I spent lots of years loading on a single arm before I tried progressive reloading.

Learn how things feel first then spend some time with a person with a Dillon - go from there.

I should just rent out time on my 650.

[Pred]

I believe Pred has a Hornady Lock-n-Load, maybe he can chime in.

Nope, I have an RCBS Pro2000. Good machine, but I do have mixed feelings for it's APCS primer system though...

[JFettig]

I'll give this a bump. I'm making the same decision very soon, I've been looking at the 550 and LNL at sportsmans. I like everything that the LNL has to offer that the 550 doesn't, but everyone keeps saying 550! 550! 550! 550!!!!!



Jon

[1911fan]

Go visit johnboy, ask him which one, and ask him why. he's a quiet, thoughtful guy and he will tell you the truth. Serious, this is like having mario andretti working at the local dealership, or Eric Asimov or Pete Wells working at the local liquor store, this is real authority who will willingly spend an HOUR with you working thru your purchase, AND give you hours of live phone or in person tech support after you buy it, and do so happily.

[cobb]

Go visit johnboy, ask him which one, and ask him why. he's a quiet, thoughtful guy and he will tell you the truth. Serious, this is like having mario andretti working at the local dealership, or Eric Asimov or Pete Wells working at the local liquor store, this is real authority who will willingly spend an HOUR with you working thru your purchase, AND give you hours of live phone or in person tech support after you buy it, and do so happily.

Just to clarify for those that do not know who you are referring to, you mean John at Gun Stop, correct?

[macphisto]

Go visit johnboy, ask him which one, and ask him why. he's a quiet, thoughtful guy and he will tell you the truth. Serious, this is like having mario andretti working at the local dealership, or Eric Asimov or Pete Wells working at the local liquor store, this is real authority who will willingly spend an HOUR with you working thru your purchase, AND give you hours of live phone or in person tech support after you buy it, and do so happily.

Just to clarify for those that do not know who you are referring to, you mean John at Gun Stop, correct?

I'm pretty sure that's exactly who he's referring to. As I mentioned in another thread, I visited Gunstop for the first time last Friday. I bought a couple of small items from John and when I told him I was new to reloading, he told me to call him and he would walk me through setting up my dies. I didn't buy my dies or press from him. He's quite a guy and I'll be spending lots of money with him in the future as well as recommending him to everyone who's interested in reloading.

[rucker]

I was at Gunstop for the first time on Saturday. I didn't really get a chance to talk to him as it was pretty busy. I did get to look around quite a bit though and get an idea of everything.

I also had a new idea: What if I just get a Square Deal B? Realistically I am probably not going to be loading anything but .45 for at least a year or two. The SDB is $295 for everything. If in, what seems like, the distant future I can afford a rifle I can sell it and buy a 550. Buying a SDB would get me shooting again the quickest. I am basically not shooting until I save up enough for reloading supplies cause I can't afford it.

After all the advice I have gotten in this thread I hate to change my mind but it kind of seems like that is what would make the most sense for me right now.