Progressive Press: Hornady LnL AP vs. Dillon 550C

[Rathmatik]

I have a 550 and 650. Both great presses if you want to turn hi volume 650 hands down to all others in its class. I love 550 it is 100% dependable makes great ammo flexible manual index can be a great help when there is a problem with a case or something. But 650 has casefeeder speeds things up quite a bit . I owned a Square Deal great little press for pistol straight wall cases just wanted more flexibility. Still use single stage for precision rifle though 550 is no slouch makes very good ammo never tried 650 on rifle. Precision shooters use both so there you go.
Hornady LNL had one awhile. It makes good ammo just to finicky always working on it. Had it rebuilt twice and on third big screw up fixed it sold it.
So I say Dillon both good companies both good support
Dillon runs and runs

Thanks for the feedback. It's good to hear your experience with the 550/650, as well as the AP. I'm starting to lean more towards the 550 because I do want to use the press for precision rifle if I can, and I've seen more and more evidence that points in that direction. Even Dillon has a specific video on doing 6.5 Creedmoor match loads with the 550 (video below). It does seem to have more of an ability to handle precision loads due to the manual index and more compact design. Less moving parts typically helps with improved quality.

I thought about the 750 too, but with it being $650 base and all the components costing quite a bit more, it doesn't quite fit my scenario. I also don't see myself needing higher volume than the ~500 rounds/hr that the 550 is already capable of doing. They do have a casefeeder for the 550 as well if I ever felt so inclined. And of course it does seem that the 550 is suggested for precision/hunting quality ammo.

My concern that I've seen with the AP is similar to your feedback. I really don't want to hassle with something I'm already paying $450+ for, as I'd prefer it just to "work". It seems that Dillon fits the bill.

 

[Rathmatik]

So I called Dillon out of curiosity and asked for their opinion on whether a 550 or 750 would suit my needs. I mentioned the cartridges I load for and that I’d like to load precision/hunting rounds for 6.5 Creedmoor. He suggested the 550 too as I expected (that shows some good service when they don’t suggest the most expensive option haha), and explained why as well.

The case sits directly on the frame on the 550 in comparison to cases floating on the 750, so you would generally get more accurate results (concentricity, runout, etc.). Pretty cool to know more about why it’s more popular for this type of progressive reloading.

 

[ed308]

Started out with a Dillon 650. Then bought several red and green presses. Sold the red and green presses and bought a 550C. It's a great press. I use the 550 for my precision loads or cartridges that I don't load in volume. I do wish it had the 5th station like my 650. I'd install the the powder check system. My 650 is for use for high volume like .223/5.56, .45 and .40.

 

[TxStetson]

Until recently, I loaded precision 308 and 6.5 CM on a RockChucker and used a 550 for everything else. I have now started loading everything on the 550, and can change calibers in about 3 minutes without any fine tuning or adjusting of the dies. Pull 2 pins, slide tool head out, change shell plate, slide new tool head in, and re-insert 2 pins. As long as you aren’t changing primer sizes, you can do it almost as fast as reading the above steps. I even load 338 Lapua on the 550, and while I’m still dialing my loads in, they’re pretty damn precise. I don’t use the auto powder drop for my precision loads, I use an RCBS powder dropper and powder trickler on the side, weigh each charge separately, and then drop it in the case.

 

[Rathmatik]

Started out with a Dillon 650. Then bought several red and green presses. Sold the red and green presses and bought a 550C. It's a great press. I use the 550 for my precision loads or cartridges that I don't load in volume. I do wish it had the 5th station like my 650. I'd install the the powder check system. My 650 is for use for high volume like .223/5.56, .45 and .40.

Very cool, glad to hear another success story for precision loads on the 550. Haha yeah, the 5th station would be icing on the cake. I've a couple setups where someone uses an electronic powder measure (I have the Chargemaster Lite) to pour in a funnel, then swap out for other dies. I could also see using one toolhead for rifle resizing operations, then trimming, and swapping in another toolhead with everything else (and could even use a powder cop then).

 

[Rathmatik]

Until recently, I loaded precision 308 and 6.5 CM on a RockChucker and used a 550 for everything else. I have now started loading everything on the 550, and can change calibers in about 3 minutes without any fine tuning or adjusting of the dies. Pull 2 pins, slide tool head out, change shell plate, slide new tool head in, and re-insert 2 pins. As long as you aren’t changing primer sizes, you can do it almost as fast as reading the above steps. I even load 338 Lapua on the 550, and while I’m still dialing my loads in, they’re pretty damn precise. I don’t use the auto powder drop for my precision loads, I use an RCBS powder dropper and powder trickler on the side, weigh each charge separately, and then drop it in the case.

Awesome, sounds like a nice setup. Thanks for letting me know about your good results. I'd be interested to see the different between using the Dillon powder measure and my Chargemaster Lite for 6.5 Creedmoor. I'm guessing I should only do that with ball powder, as it seems stick powders often do poorly in mechanical measures (at least they do in my LnL measure). If anyone has experience with something like H4350 and the Dillon measure, I'd like to know if I'm mistaken. I do have some Superformance and will be picking up StaBall 6.5 sometime soon, so I'd probably test those first.

 

[rotor]

I currently load on a few older RCBS single stage presses. All of them were gotten free, or for very little money. But I have given some thought to getting at least a turret style press ot speed up loading pistol ammo, and possibly even to expand into loading 223 ammo.

These are the two presses I have been giving heavy consideration to.

https://leeprecision.com/4-hole-turret-press-with-auto-index.html

https://leeprecision.com/4-hole-classic-turret-press.html

And input or suggestions would be much appreciated.

If you are going Lee then go with the classic turret, a bit more expensive but a better press. I personally do all of my reloading on the classic turret. If you want to go to progressive though stay away from Lee and go Dillon. All depends on volume. I am retired, don't like to rush and Lee classic is fast enough for me.
Get or make a good sturdy table though. I have a Lee single stage and a classic turret and use the Lee mounting plates so that I can interchange them as needed. Stay away from the new Lee breech lock pro which they call progressive. It is a POS. Ask me how I know. Buy some extra turrets, Lee dies work fine. I use case gauges for everything I load.
One other consideration, the Lee primer system is not the greatest and I will frequently prime my pistol cases with the RCBS hand primer, the one that takes any case without a shell holder, and I remove the deprime pin from the case sizer die. This lets me examine all of my cases carefully, check the primer pockets (small vs large), prime with ease and not worry about dropping primers or putting them in backwards. Works pretty good. Lee factory crimp die is great too, make sure you get one in your die sets.

 

[Dave68]

The Dillon 550 has an optional case feeder And case collator, correct? That would be a good option to add, especially for pistol cartridges.

 

[Rathmatik]

The Dillon 550 has an optional case feeder And case collator, correct? That would be a good option to add, especially for pistol cartridges.

Indeed it does for pistol only on the 550. Dillon confirmed that when I called, and I found it on their site. It would definitely be a good upgrade in the future.

 

[Rocky Carey]

Yep you can get casefeeder for 550. I have heard it’s awkward to work around if you want to load rifle only good for pistol. I would go 650 if you want casefeeder. I have both presses both are great. DAA is supposed to come out with a casefeeder for 550 that looks promising and lot cheaper than Dillon but only holds like 100 at time Pistol looks like Lee tube setup. Will see

 

[xdmikey]

Yep you can get casefeeder for 550. I have heard it’s awkward to work around if you want to load rifle only good for pistol. I would go 650 if you want casefeeder. I have both presses both are great. DAA is supposed to come out with a casefeeder for 550 that looks promising and lot cheaper than Dillon but only holds like 100 at time Pistol looks like Lee tube setup. Will see

go 650 if you want addons. That’s what it’s made for. Or maybe 750 for better technology. Yeah, safe up for another month or two(while still buying powder/primers then get the 750 and never look back.

 

[Rathmatik]

Yeah it’s not really a matter of whether I need to save up for the 750, but interested in the best option for both loading pistol faster and also being able to get good precision for rifle (6.5 Creedmoor in my case, maybe 30-06 and 30-30 eventually). The 550 seems to be the better option there. I don’t see myself getting or wanting a case feeder for a long time even if I did, and I’d probably just get a second press at that point if I needed such a high volume. I’m definitely not gonna need the volume benefit of the 750, so the 550 still reigns supreme here.

 

[Rocky Carey]

Yep best overall if you need more volume get 750 with casefeeder full deal. 550 best overall for everything

 

[Jungle George]

I would suggest the 550 and I own an LNL. You will get better support from Dillon.

Sped reding the above I saw Lee mentioned. I used/still have a Lee turret(the tin one)and it was great; you could disable the auto advance or not. If you got this route don't cheap out, get the heavy turret press.

That's the operative phrase; don't cheap out! I have numerous presses and the Dillon 750 is far and away the best option out there. And you will never beat their service and tech help!

 

[xdmikey]

I got to cancel notifications for this thread! I’m trying to save for a rifle but I keep going to the Dillon site dammitt!

 

[Rathmatik]

Welp, I have settled the dilemma. I just ordered the 550C and it should be here later this week or early next. Pretty excited to get it all set up!

For anyone that's also interested in making precision loads on this press, I have found a lot of suggestions for the Whidden toolheads. These are CNC machined and made with tighter tolerances (more rigid, better alignment), which will thus improve concentricity/runout. They make both floating and non-floating ones, and since I'll be using the Redding Master Hunter set (resizer has floating expander ball, competition seater has floating seating stem), then I would need the non-floating toolhead for the best quality/accuracy. If you have non-floating dies, then getting the floating toolhead would be ideal. The non-floating ones cost right about the same as the Dillon toolhead, while the non-floating costs double ($31 for non-floating vs. $61 for floating). Brownells sells these here.

 

[xdmikey]

Good choice. OP sounds like a precision shooter and he will be set up for that soon.

If he chooses to load pistol down the road he’ll know where to go!

 

[Rathmatik]

Good choice. OP sounds like a precision shooter and he will be set up for that soon.

If he chooses to load pistol down the road he’ll know where to go!

Haha, I am the OP. I will be starting with 9mm on the 550 at least to get started. It was the easiest to learn when I first started reloading last year, so it makes sense here. It's also my main pistol caliber, so more volume will be great. That was my initial interest in progressive reloading, because it's just painful with the single stage. But, then I started seeing some videos on precision loading on a progressive, and here we are. It'll be great for when I find a good load for 6.5 Creedmoor, and can just crank them out faster while still retaining the quality you get on a single stage such as the Rock Chucker.

I ordered the 9mm Dillon dies and 9mm conversion kit to go with the press, so I'll report back here once I get it all set up. I'll probably order the 6.5 Creedmoor conversion kit after I get it up and running.

 

[Rocky Carey]

Let us know how works our. I’m interested in Whidden toolheads but after studying not sure if it would help. Dillon heads float anyway so I’ve heard conflicting reports. John Widden makes his precision ammo on a 650 press. His dies are top notch I understand haven’t personally used them but would if I needed any dies. I am interested in toolheads if you try one let us know results compared to Dillon head
Thanks good luck
Roc1

 

[xdmikey]

I’m anxious to pass this info on to my buddy “trader4stuff”(ebay handle, I just call Gary to reach him)!