Comparing Dillon, Lee, and Hornady
If you are a reloader or are going to start, you need to read this article. It is very informative.
The following is a post from "acrashb" a canadiangunnutz.com forum user.
When I started with progressives, I found basically no detailed information on the web, or anywhere else, that talked about strengths/weaknesses/function of what are now the "big three" - the Dillon 650, Lee Loadmaster, and Hornady LNL AP.
I found two kinds of writeup:
- stuff from people who had used only one (1) of the above - so they either hated it for quirks or loved it for speed compared to single stage, with no other progressive to measure against.
- angry "I dumped that { crappy | overpriced | poorly supported } thing and am now in heaven surrounded by endless beer and pizza" - strictly because they had a bad experience and were bound to think the next thing was better.
So, after using a Loadmaster for several years, I acquired and used a 650 for about half a year, then a LNL AP for about the same.
And then I wrote about my experience. http://www.comrace.ca/cmfiles/dillonLeeHornadyComparison.pdf . To emphasize what should be obvious: people have different needs from presses. I swap calibres and components and loads regularly. If you crank out ten-thousand .38Supers each year with the same bullet, OAL, and powder your needs will be different.
For fun, an LNL video - about 18MB. If you don't want to upload such a large file, here's a YouTube link to the same vid.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oHCYnILM6u8
Manuals for each press are available online from the manufacturers, and I would urge anyone who is considering a purchase to review the manuals, and the drawings in them, in detail.
Factual and objective feedback is welcome. I only have one of the presses now, so corrections will have to be specific and maybe include pics, as I can't go over to the bench and directly confirm.
Regarding the choice of presses: in my view, there's no point in a non-auto-index progressive, so RCBS was not reviewed. And the 1050, while a brilliant piece of work, is just plain out of the price range for most people, so it too was not reviewed. Any progressive without a case feeder is also out of the running.
Forum link - http://www.canadiangunnutz.com/forum/showthread.php?t=127691&highlight=dillon+hornady+comparison
Essay Link - http://www.comrace.ca/cmfiles/dillonLeeHornadyComparison.pdf
The following is a post from "acrashb" a canadiangunnutz.com forum user.
When I started with progressives, I found basically no detailed information on the web, or anywhere else, that talked about strengths/weaknesses/function of what are now the "big three" - the Dillon 650, Lee Loadmaster, and Hornady LNL AP.
I found two kinds of writeup:
- stuff from people who had used only one (1) of the above - so they either hated it for quirks or loved it for speed compared to single stage, with no other progressive to measure against.
- angry "I dumped that { crappy | overpriced | poorly supported } thing and am now in heaven surrounded by endless beer and pizza" - strictly because they had a bad experience and were bound to think the next thing was better.
So, after using a Loadmaster for several years, I acquired and used a 650 for about half a year, then a LNL AP for about the same.
And then I wrote about my experience. http://www.comrace.ca/cmfiles/dillonLeeHornadyComparison.pdf . To emphasize what should be obvious: people have different needs from presses. I swap calibres and components and loads regularly. If you crank out ten-thousand .38Supers each year with the same bullet, OAL, and powder your needs will be different.
For fun, an LNL video - about 18MB. If you don't want to upload such a large file, here's a YouTube link to the same vid.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oHCYnILM6u8Manuals for each press are available online from the manufacturers, and I would urge anyone who is considering a purchase to review the manuals, and the drawings in them, in detail.
Factual and objective feedback is welcome. I only have one of the presses now, so corrections will have to be specific and maybe include pics, as I can't go over to the bench and directly confirm.
Regarding the choice of presses: in my view, there's no point in a non-auto-index progressive, so RCBS was not reviewed. And the 1050, while a brilliant piece of work, is just plain out of the price range for most people, so it too was not reviewed. Any progressive without a case feeder is also out of the running.
Forum link - http://www.canadiangunnutz.com/forum/showthread.php?t=127691&highlight=dillon+hornady+comparison
Essay Link - http://www.comrace.ca/cmfiles/dillonLeeHornadyComparison.pdf
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A well written, informative, and objective article, based on tests, not heresay. Well done! And, as a further note- we all tend to get wrapped up in our own preferences sometimes. Truth be told, a Lee Loader will, albeit slowly, make ammo every bit as good as the average shooter will ever need, as will ANY press made by ANY of the main manufacturers. Further features are preference and convenience only. [:)] 0
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