Researching the LNL and 650

[skosh69]

Nothing in this world is perfect! Anything is prone to failure, humans and mechanics alike.

Originally Posted by pitor

I want to get into reloading so bad but it's confusing and at times cost-prohibitive. I definitely want a progressive, Dillon 650 seems the right choice, but as mentioned, $1,100 for the whole setup, yikes!

Pedro, I dropped over $600 (I don't have the receipts) a complete RCBS Rock Chucker single stage reloading setup. I bought everything that one would need, the carbide dies, electronic scale, powder thrower w/stand (lucking I bought that one used from ), etc. I went with the single stage because it was suggested that I get a single stage to begin with and that the cost of a Dillon set up freaked me out also.

In the beginning it was great. Woo hoo, making my own ammo, this is great. Saving money, ya buddy.

Guess what, years later that same set up sits idle and unused. I haven't used it in at least 2-3 yrs. Why? Because loading on a single stage sucks. It takes 5 separate steps to make 1 bullet. I timed it once, nearly an hour to make 100 rds from start to finish.

Now reloading is not about speed, but I'm a firm believer in working smart, not hard. And if you are shooting a lot or want to make a decent amount of ammo, a single stage is not the way to go.

That old saying "buy once, cry once" comes into play here.

You do not have to drop the whole $1100 on a Dillon set up at first. You buy the press, strong mount, tool head, dies, etc just to get you started. You can buy the case feeder, bullet feeder, roller handle, etc later. You can scour the forum sales areas for the press, parts and pieces also.

The padre's turret set up is similar to a single stage except there's no changing dies, they're all loaded on a turret, but you still do each step one by one. It works for him and my neighbor who has the same set up.
So my advice is to save your money and buy 1 press, 1 time. And since you are shooting IDPA and if you get into USPSA, you're going to want to reload with efficiency.

I've never heard ANYONE that bought a Dillon say, "damn I wish I would've saved money and bought a RCBS Rock Chucker".

After my son's wedding late this year, that green iron lump of crap that's attached to my work bench will find a new home and a blue ammo making powerhouse will take it's place. Oh yes, I can't wait.

This is just my 0.02

[sdmc530]

sorry, I should have been more clear. The basic 650 is around $600-650. Then you add:
Case feeder
feeder plate for different size cases
Strong mount
Roller handle
second die plate
bullet tray mount
extra primer tubes

you get the idea....you can use the basic step without dropping the extra $500 however you will want to after you get the basic set up....I did. now I can reload so dang fast is silly.

Started on a single stage Lee press that worked awesome but the speed was killing me. Took me all winter to load up my 45 alone, now a weekend and I am done.

[sdmc530]

Originally Posted by skosh69

I've never heard ANYONE that bought a Dillon say, "damn I wish I would've saved money and bought a RCBS Rock Chucker".


This is just my 0.02

THIS.....and one more thing their warranty is the BEST..no BS warranty to them is NO BS. No questions asked and the CS is so good.

[AFJuvat]

Another happy Lee Classic Turret Press user here.

No, it isn't the fastest, but it was inexpensive, and caliber changes cost about $50 for a new turret, shellholder, and dies.

[Rick McC.]

I bought a Dillon RL 550 B over 20 years ago, and I'm still using it now.

Back then, I think it was a little under $300.00. Now, I think it's a little over $400.00.

I bought most of my die sets used, and none of them have worn out yet, either.

[MajO]

I have read the above posts and in a sacrificing frame of mind I offer the following solution to the high coast of a progressive set up.

http://www.therichest.com/rich-list/...for-big-bucks/


Good luck and let the bidding begin.

[skosh69]

Originally Posted by MajO

I have read the above posts and in a sacrificing frame of mind I offer the following solution to the high coast of a progressive set up.

http://www.therichest.com/rich-list/...for-big-bucks/


Good luck and let the bidding begin.

Thanks to and Chris, they made excellent points about the advantages of a single stage press for long cartridges (rifle) and or accuracy. They are perfect for just that.

[Lonestar grips.]

I have my dad's square deal B. for years it had been sitting in an old truck getting sun baked and slightly rusty. I called Dillon and they said send it in. they completely re-built it for me and didn't charge me a dime. when it comes to progressive reloaders they will always get my business.


as others have said the only bad thing about the square deal is it takes it's own kind of dies. but if you only want to reload pistol calibers and only have a few calibers to reload for then the square deal is hard to beat. I have 45acp and 44 mag/spl dies for mine and over time I plan on getting 38super, 357mag/38spl, 45 colt and 32H&R dies for it.

as for rifles I have 4 or 5 single stage presses. if you have the room for it you can set several of these up and use a different die for each press. that makes things a little quicker.

[Grizzman]

I bought a Rock Chucker about 18 years ago, and it still works well. It seems I'm always doing load development, so I use the Rock Chucker to load the 20 or 25 round batches. For this purpose, speed doesn't matter.

I upgraded to a RL550 a few years ago, and my ammo doesn't seem to be any better than it is from the RCBS....it just takes a LOT less time.

People complain about having to manually index the 550, but it allows me to easily use it in the same manner as a turret press.

I've had absolutely no desire to upgrade to a 650.

[sdmc530]

I was tempted to get the 550 but thought the manual index would have sucked.

Remember, what ever you buy will probably last decades so if you are going to go high end do your research. Like already stated Dr. got his in 1971, that has paid for itself how many times?!!

That is why I went all out because I will have it forever and didn't want to repeat the process.