Progressive Press: Hornady LnL AP vs. Dillon 550C

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  • Rathmatik

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    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

    Will do! Yes, I think the fact that Dillon toolheads float is part of the reason why we would use the non-floating Whidden toolheads. Since my dies are floating and the Dillon toolheads float, it could be too much movement to allow for precise alignment. So from my understanding, it's better to have either floating dies and a non-floating toolhead (eg. more rigid), or non-floating dies and a floating toolhead.
    Hurley's Gold
     

    Rocky Carey

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    I agree with you to much of a good thing can be bad. Be nice to load as good of rounds on Dillon as my Forster or Redding do. It’s close now but could be little better. Anxious for updates may try it out if successful.
    Thanks
    Roc1
     

    ed308

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    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.

    I'm using a similar setup with my 550. I deprime and size the brass on my 550 in separate steps. I then run the case through the 550 for a final step. I use an Autothrow/Autotrickler system to drop and trickle the powder to a A&D Fx120 scale. The powder is dropped through a Area 419 funnel. (For some calibers, I also using the Whidden floating tool heads. But not sure whether they make much of a difference.) With each pull of the handle, I'm priming the brass, dropping the powder, seating the bullet then crimping if a crimp is needed. It's so much faster than pulling the handle an extra 290+ times. And my loads are just as accurate as any single stage press I've used.
     
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    ed308

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    If anyone questions the quality of ammo produced on the 550 compared to a single stage press, take a look at the August 2020 Dillon Magazine. There's an article on precision rifle loading on a Dillon 550C. It's part 2 of the series. I'm using the powder trickle system as described in the article. Now to find my July magazine to read part 1. Somehow I missed it.
     
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    Rathmatik

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    If anyone questions the quality of ammo produced on the 550 compared to a single stage press, take a look at the August 2020 Dillon Magazine. There's an article on precision rifle loading on a Dillon 550C. It's part 2 of the series. I'm using the powder trickle system as described in the article. Now to find my July magazine to read part 1. Somehow I missed it.

    Did you get that in the mail or digitally? I don't see an August 2020 edition on their site yet (or even June/July).
     

    Rathmatik

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    Update: I got everything set up with my 550C for 9mm, and it's working incredibly well! I made a quick 20 rounds and tested those with good success. I've since made about a total of 250 rounds, and it is SO much better and faster than loading on the RC. It actually makes the reloading process a lot more fun. Definitely glad I went with this one.

    One thing I have noticed is the low primer detection bar (the plastic stick you put in the detector) doesn't really go down on its own and I have to push it down to get it back on top of the primers to know where I'm at. Does anyone else have this issue and have a good solution?

    I'll probably be getting the toolhead, conversion kit, etc. for 6.5 Creedmoor in a few more weeks so I can test with that as well.
     

    toddnjoyce

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    Update: I got everything set up with my 550C for 9mm, and it's working incredibly well! I made a quick 20 rounds and tested those with good success. I've since made about a total of 250 rounds, and it is SO much better and faster than loading on the RC. It actually makes the reloading process a lot more fun. Definitely glad I went with this one.

    One thing I have noticed is the low primer detection bar (the plastic stick you put in the detector) doesn't really go down on its own and I have to push it down to get it back on top of the primers to know where I'm at. Does anyone else have this issue and have a good solution?

    I'll probably be getting the toolhead, conversion kit, etc. for 6.5 Creedmoor in a few more weeks so I can test with that as well.

    Are you setup like this?

    5f99b8a81d755ce800e93dac42e9e128.jpg
     

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    toddnjoyce

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    I have the blue part twisted the other way around, but yes the stick is through the hole on the part that hits the green button. I'll take a picture in a bit and post it here.

    Interesting. I’ve never had a problem with the primer followed rod.

    ETA: stick an empty case over the top of the follower rod and see what that does.
     
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    ed308

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    Did you get that in the mail or digitally? I don't see an August 2020 edition on their site yet (or even June/July).

    Only available via the hardcopy of the Dillon magazine for now. Part 1 is in July, 2020 mag and Part 2 is in August, 2020 mag. It's currently not available on Dillon's website. The most recent magazine on the website is May, 2020.
     

    Coyote9

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    I'm considering getting into progressive reloading, as I currently load on a RCBS Rockchucker for 9mm, .223, and 6.5 Creedmoor. For 6.5, it's fine because I'm more concerned with high precision there. For 9mm (and future pistol) and .223 (plinking) it's quite slow and actually a bit tiring for larger batches.

    I do use Hornady dies at the moment and also the LnL bushings on my RC. So, the LnL AP seems like a good fit for that system, and less costly for multiple calibers in general (no conversion kits).

    Now, Dillon obviously has a good reputation, so the 550C seems like a good option in the same price range as the AP. The main difference I see is the 550C does not auto-index, conversion kits + toolheads can be pricey, and it's only 4 stations vs. the AP having 5.

    Do you think the Dillon is worth the eventual additional cost, in terms of overall quality of ammo and ease of use, etc.? I'm also curious if anyone is able to get good match/hunting-quality ammo with one of these progressives. If I can load 6.5 with similar quality (concentricity, runout) as the RC, then that's a huge plus as well.
     

    Coyote9

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    I have a new in box Hornady progressive press with a sack of die adapters for sale $175 in Granbury TX. Got it as a gift and no longer reload enough to justify the expense of completing the setup. Randy 409-497-6556
     

    Byrd666

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    I have a new in box Hornady progressive press with a sack of die adapters for sale $175 in Granbury TX. Got it as a gift and no longer reload enough to justify the expense of completing the setup. Randy 409-497-6556

    Pm'd
     
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