Excellent comparison of Dillon 650, Lee Loadmaster, & Hornady LnL

[LittleLebowski]

http://www.comrace.ca/cmfiles/dillonLeeHornadyComparison.pdf

#Dillon650 (https://pistol-forum.com/usertag.php?do=list&action=hash&hash=Dillon650)

[SecondsCount]

http://www.comrace.ca/cmfiles/dillonLeeHornadyComparison.pdf

I have used all three and will stay will Dillon. While I like some of Lee's products, I would never recommend a Loadmaster. Two friends bought them because they were cheap and within a year sold them for Dillon presses.

The Hornady LNL is a decent press but some of the way it is put together comes across as cheap to me. For one, they don't put any protection on some of their metal parts and they like to rust if you don't wipe them down with oil. Maybe I got a dud but I own a Hornady powder measure, the same style that is on the LNL, and I have more issues with it when running longer grain extruded powder than the Dillon.

[FPS]

I almost bought an LnL last year based on that doc but when I researched further on forums and heard about all the problems and tweaking hornady owners were doing, I bit the bullet and bought blue. Glad I did.

[ranger]

I started with Lee 1000s decades ago and ended up with three on the bench - one in 9, one in 38 Special, and one in 45. Loaded a BUNCH or rounds on them. They were merely adequate and quickly got worn with extensive use. I won a Dillon Square Deal in 45 and was suitably impressed - I quickly added a second Square Deal in 9mm and retired the Lee 1000s. Decided I wanted to load rifle on a progressive and picked up a Dillon 550. Fortunately, I still had all the Lee dies from my original loaders plus the Lee Powder Disc systems. I bought multiple Dillon 550 tool heads and finished them with the Lee dies and the Lee powder drops that are still serving me well today. I tried a Lee Loadmaster once and immediately sent it back as it just did not compare to the 550.

If you are only going to load pistol, I am a fan of the Dillon Square Deal. I am a fan of the Dillon 550 for multiple calibers including rifle. I like Lee Dies. I never felt the need to go the Dillon 650 or 1050 route.

[MGW]

I've been thinking really hard about buying a press for myself. It isn't always convenient to get to my dads place to load ammo.

At this point I don't plan on ever loading rifle ammo. If I do it will most likely be on a single stage. Im a little spoiled because all I've ever used is a Dillon 550 or Rock chucker.

With those parameters what should I buy? 550, Square D, or the LnL? The Hornady wasn't on my radar before reading this article. I'm not really a fan of the Lee.

[SecondsCount]

I've been thinking really hard about buying a press for myself. It isn't always convenient to get to my dads place to load ammo.

At this point I don't plan on ever loading rifle ammo. If I do it will most likely be on a single stage. Im a little spoiled because all I've ever used is a Dillon 550 or Rock chucker.

With those parameters what should I buy? 550, Square D, or the LnL? The Hornady wasn't on my radar before reading this article. I'm not really a fan of the Lee.

Square Deal B has auto indexing but takes proprietary dies and you cannot add a casefeeder, and you could never load rifle ammo on it.

The 550, which I think is the best all around Dillon press, does not have auto indexing but uses standard dies and you can add a casefeeder although I that point I think the 650 would be a better option. It also supports loading rifle calibers. I used one for about 15 years before I bought a 650 with a casefeeder for pistol and still use the 550 for short runs.

Dillon 650 is an ammo making machine. With the case feeder, it is really setup to crank out a lot of ammo. 500 rounds an hour is easy on this press. It does everything the 550 does, just better, and has auto indexing.

The Hornady LNL is closer to the 650 in features but like I said earlier, they cut a few corners and it lacks in fit and finish.

[MGW]

Thanks for the info SecondsCount.

[rsa-otc]

I've been loading 9, 40, 38 & 45 on my 550 since the mid 80's. I can do 400 to 600 rounds per hour on this press. 600 if everything flows, 400 if there are any issues. Mainly I am at about 500 rph. The only way I would trade it would be for a 650, anything bigger is overkill. The Dillon No BS warrenty is all the shizzel.

[LittleLebowski]

I've been thinking really hard about buying a press for myself. It isn't always convenient to get to my dads place to load ammo.

At this point I don't plan on ever loading rifle ammo. If I do it will most likely be on a single stage. Im a little spoiled because all I've ever used is a Dillon 550 or Rock chucker.

With those parameters what should I buy? 550, Square D, or the LnL? The Hornady wasn't on my radar before reading this article. I'm not really a fan of the Lee.

550. Love mine, learned how to reload on it. I will help you out if you buy one.

[JCS]

What's the difference in the 550 and 650?

500 rph is very appealing.

[JAD]

What's the difference in the 550 and 650?

The
heart of the matter is auto-indexing, which the 650 does and the 550 doesn't. That makes the 650 faster and more sure, but also increases the difficulty of caliber changes and rifle reloading.

[MGW]

550. Love mine, learned how to reload on it. I will help you out if you buy one.

I'm definitely leaning 550. I don't really care about auto indexing. I think manually advancing the rounds would give me more time to pay attention to what is going on.

[FPS]

650 also has an additional station to put in a powder check die which is a very nice safety feature.

[JAD]

I'm definitely leaning 550. I don't really care about auto indexing. I think manually advancing the rounds would give me more time to pay attention to what is going on.

Think of it as manual v automatic transmission. With the 650 you're less likely to make a mistake. With the 550 correcting a mistake is a lot easier.

[Rich@CCC]

That was a great review/comparison and validates what I have always thought myself. I say thought because I have never owned either a Dillon or a Hornady press. I have used both(very limited use) a bit, but I have many thousands of rounds through Lee presses.

Before reading this, I had already decided to go to the L-N-L if/when I get new gear, but for now my Load Master does everything I ask of it with minimal coercion. The new Lee Auto Drum powder measure makes it just a little bit better than before and still cheap, Cheap CHEAP by comparison.

[mmc45414]

I'm definitely leaning 550.

Another angle is if your dad has a 550 you could probably share conversions for some of the stuff neither of you do frequently.

I went from a Rockchucker, to one 550, to two 550s with a case feed on one, to now have the 550 w/o the feeder and a 650 with a feeder and this is a pretty sweet setup. Of course the Rock Chucker never went anywhere.



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[Peally]

FWIW I only reload 9mm and 45 (never plan to reload rifle but I never know). I bought a Dillon 650 as my first reloader and have no plans to get rid of it. All the other brand/cheaper loaders weren't really worth it in the end to me. I like something that works, and I don't like tinkering with a machine that I consider a chore to use.

Buy once cry once, YOLO, and all that.

[olstyn]

My Hornady LnL has not been perfect. The primer slide, while it works really nicely most of the time, is something you have to keep an eye on; if a few grains of powder get in its channel, its operation can become erratic. It also pays to keep the primer slide clean and lubed (dry film lube). My press was *slightly* out of time from the factory; it was easy to adjust, but that doesn't negate that it had to be adjusted. IMO that stuff is pretty minor, and given that it's feature-wise a 650 for the price of a 550, I have no regrets. The LnL die bushings are GREAT, too. I can switch from loading 9mm for me to loading .380 for my wife in a very short amount of time; by far the longest part of the process is monkeying with the powder measure setting. If I loaded .380 more frequently, I'd just get a second powder measure, and then that part would be done in no time as well. Even if I had the budget for a 1050, which by all accounts is the bees' knees, I'm pretty sure I'd miss the LnL bushings. :)

[Mike C]

My Hornady LnL has not been perfect. The primer slide, while it works really nicely most of the time, is something you have to keep an eye on; if a few grains of powder get in its channel, its operation can become erratic. It also pays to keep the primer slide clean and lubed (dry film lube). My press was *slightly* out of time from the factory; it was easy to adjust, but that doesn't negate that it had to be adjusted. IMO that stuff is pretty minor, and given that it's feature-wise a 650 for the price of a 550, I have no regrets. The LnL die bushings are GREAT, too. I can switch from loading 9mm for me to loading .380 for my wife in a very short amount of time; by far the longest part of the process is monkeying with the powder measure setting. If I loaded .380 more frequently, I'd just get a second powder measure, and then that part would be done in no time as well. Even if I had the budget for a 1050, which by all accounts is the bees' knees, I'm pretty sure I'd miss the LnL bushings. :)

I love the 1050 in a lot of ways but changing calibers on the LNL AP is a snap. Having to remove the tool head every time to change calibers is a giant PITA. I miss some times being able to just swap the shell plate with the turn of 1 Allen wrench. Additionally the cost of the tool heads if you just want to be able to swap the tool head out is retarded. I do dig the auto swage for primer pockets tough. Especially because I spend a crap ton of time converting 556 mil brass to 300 blk now. I still miss my LNL AP some times, is still a pretty good press IMO.

[jeep45238]

I've ran all the machines in this comparison for several years. I will never, ever, ever recommend a loadmaster, and it isn't due to the finicky nature of Lee products.

The loadmaster can be made to run through a several hour long session with minimal fidgeting if lubricated properly before every run, and you actually understand the adjustments you're making. The reason why I will NEVER recommend them is due to the priming system. The Lee primes the cases while every other operation is happening through a lever arm. This means it's impossible to detect if there's a problem with the primer over the force needed to size/seat/crimp/expand as it's all the same motion of the operating lever. While it makes excellent repeatability and quality ammo, it's damn dangerous. It becomes more dangerous when you realize that the primers sit in a plastic 'chute' with 7 or so in there, and then directly to the primer flipper tray (also holds the primers in the Lee). There is NO physical separation between 100 primers except for a piece of plastic less than 1/16th of an inch or so in thickness. This can lead to daisy chain primer explosions with your hand in close proximity, and turn those 100 primers into a mini gernade. There is no protective shroud like the Hornady or Dillon machines.

I know - it happened to me. I was loading .45ACP like I had been doing for months without adjustment, and showing my friend how it operates. He was standing to the left of the machine (primer tray faces to the left), and it exploded. His face caught shrapnel, thankfully no eye damage - my hand throbbed like I just punched a stud in a wall full force. I don't know if a primer was sideways, if two fed instead of one, or if it was one of those small-primer .45's that I missed. Either way - there's a reason Lee sells a primer tray explosion sheild for this thing. If you decide to operate one of these, buy the damn primer sheild. The $5 is worth it in the event you get a primer gernade.

I moved on to the Hornady. Great little machine, very smooth - I got lucky and never had primer feed issues, although that is a common thing with them. I did have COAL issues that would vary by .050 that couldn't ever get resolved, just lessened to .025 (that's more than triple my Dillon). The reason I sold it was Hornady's crazy prices for parts/accessories that are usually just after thoughts, and their refusal to sell some parts at all. I wanted to make a case collator but didn't feel like making the feed part, and they flat out refused to sell the feeder parts. No if/ands/buts. I've been less than impressed with their support for dies as well, and am slowly transitioning away from them. The primer system is second only to the RCBS strip system in terms of safety, although some would argue the Hornady is better by a bit.

I do recommend this press if you don't care about a case feeder or bullet feeder. The Hornady versions of these accessories are shoddy at best, which is a shame because with very minor tinkering it has the potential to be one of the best 5 station progressives out there.

I now run the Dillon 650XL, with a bullet feeder and case feeder. All work superbly. COAL variation is less than .008". Dillon has never told me I can't buy a part, never asked why I wanted to buy (never needed to, just was curious if they would sell). Aftermarket parts are everywhere if there's something you don't like about the Dillon machine.


In summery - if Hornady is too much, skip the Lee Loadmaster and get the Pro 1000, as it seats primers in a different movement of the lever, thus serpating priming from everything else. You give up a die station, but for safety's sake, it's worth it.

If you don't care about the case/bullet feeders, get the Hornady. It's an excellent press.

If you just want the best support, both factory and aftermarket, without the constant need to tinker get the Dillon.

[pdb]

Nice summary, jeep. I had the opportunity to fiddle with a Hornady LNL in a local store and liked a few technical details about it and was leaning red. But an apples to apples shopping list vs the 650, the 650 is only about $100 more, I think I'm going to go blue.

Thanks!

[mmc45414]

650 also has an additional station to put in a powder check die which is a very nice safety feature.

Or potentially charge after flaring. I plan to experiment more with the Hornady measure, I just like the cylindrical shape of the measuring cavity. No scientific data, it just makes more sense to me than something with corners. I tried the drop tubes that flare and didn't like the way it worked.

[LittleLebowski]

Nice summary, jeep. I had the opportunity to fiddle with a Hornady LNL in a local store and liked a few technical details about it and was leaning red. But an apples to apples shopping list vs the 650, the 650 is only about $100 more, I think I'm going to go blue.

Thanks!


Hurry up and help make America great again already!

[Tokarev]

The Pro 1000 is an amazing little press. What's amazing about it is how well it works for the money. The downside is that it is made of pot metal, aluminum and plastic. Still, I don't think there's anything out there that'll load pistol (and some rifle) ammo as fast for so cheap.

Lee now has some stuff it is selling as a "classic" series that is made to a bit more durable standard. I wonder how a Lee Pro 1000 Classic would be. Get rid of the plastic parts and make everything from cast iron and aluminum and they'd probably have a little progressive press that's second to none.

Then discontinue the Load Master.....

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[butler coach]

what i like about Dillon is when you call you get a person who takes care of you right away. Heck i called on a saturday and someone answered. And their warranty is top notch.

[Snapshot]

He is gone now but years ago I called about an issue with my 650XL and Mike Dillon answered... in less than two minutes he diagnosed the problem and explained how to correct it (case feeder plate was not fully seated causing intermittent / recurring case feeder jams). The relatively few other calls I have made to Dillon have been totally satisfactory with every possible effort to resolve whatever I was calling about.

I have been very happy with my 650 with case feeder and bullet tray, mostly loading 40 S&W but also 9mm and 44 Magnum.

[Rich@CCC]

Just to toss another anecdotal piece of info in here.

I recently picked up a Lee Load Fast auto indexing progressive shot shell loader at a gun show. It was a spur of the moment purchase, $10.00 and I had never seen a progressive shot press from Lee. Turns out they were made from 1990 to 1997 and had a couple issues that made Lee stop production.

I called Lee to see if there were any parts available, like shot and powder bushings and the primerr feed tray. They sent me out a complete bushing kit, primer tray and adapter and a bag of miscellaneous springs, screws and the like. All they charged was shipping. Now this would have been about $15.00 in retail value so it's not like they broke the bank for me, but excellent customer service for a second hand, discontinued press.

BTW, I got the press up and running in about 20min. and loaded 25 rounds with nary a hiccup. I do see some potential issues and it is a fairly cumbersome process but it works and makes quality shot shells.

If nothing else it will look nice as a historical piece.

[Rich@CCC]

OH Yeah,

What's with the Load Master hate? I find it to be a much more reliable and versatile press than the Pro 1000.

[Tokarev]

OH Yeah,

What's with the Load Master hate? I find it to be a much more reliable and versatile press than the Pro 1000.
I don't have a bunch of time on a Load Master and what little time I have was positive. But I don't care for the prime on the upstroke. It is counter-intuitive.

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[jeep45238]

OH Yeah,

What's with the Load Master hate? I find it to be a much more reliable and versatile press than the Pro 1000.

If you look back at my post, you'll see why I hate it. It makes quality ammo to say the least, but I find the priming system dangerous as hell.

[Rich@CCC]

I took a couple extra minutes setting it up(ground the bolt head flat and set it up with a spent case) and haven't had any problems with seating primers in many, many thousand rounds. With the exception of getting some small primer .45 cases mixed in with the real stuff, I've never had any kind of priming issue at all o the load master. I can't say that with the Pro1000 which is the primary reason I went to the Load Master, that and I wanted a five station press.

I do run a decaping die in station 1 and resize in station two to center the case for priming.

[Tokarev]

I took a couple extra minutes setting it up(ground the bolt head flat and set it up with a spent case) and haven't had any problems with seating primers in many, many thousand rounds. With the exception of getting some small primer .45 cases mixed in with the real stuff, I've never had any kind of priming issue at all o the load master. I can't say that with the Pro1000 which is the primary reason I went to the Load Master, that and I wanted a five station press.

I do run a decaping die in station 1 and resize in station two to center the case for priming.
Three stations is the real drawback to the Pro 1000. That and it can't be used for anything longer than .223 Remington.

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[jeep45238]

I took a couple extra minutes setting it up(ground the bolt head flat and set it up with a spent case) and haven't had any problems with seating primers in many, many thousand rounds. With the exception of getting some small primer .45 cases mixed in with the real stuff, I've never had any kind of priming issue at all o the load master. I can't say that with the Pro1000 which is the primary reason I went to the Load Master, that and I wanted a five station press.

I do run a decaping die in station 1 and resize in station two to center the case for priming.

The issue I have with it is safety. I had a primer tray explosion on one, and decided from that day on any press I buy will have a distinct separation between the primers in 'que' and the one being pressed into the case. Hornady, RCBS, Dillon, all have primer shields for this exact reason. Lee sells one for $5 - buy it now if you don't already have it.

http://forums.loadmastervideos.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=472

It would have saved my buddy's face, and thankfully there wasn't any permanent damage. They should come with every loadmaster.

Hornady's tube will direct the explosion up into the cieling, same with Dillon and the new RCBS units. Every one of them has a carousel or slider mechanism to separate the active primer from the que. The Loadmaster has no such separation.

[Tokarev]

I am an old Hornady Pro-Jector user and have been loading on one of those presses for probably close to 30 years. While the Lock N Load has a few more modern features like the die bushings and the little EZject shell kicker I think I prefer the older press.

The older press' primer system is a swinging arm instead of a slider bar. As such it allows me to see the primer as it swings from the tube to the shell plate. I can visually verify if the primer is right side up or that there are primers in the system. It also does not have the issue of not coming all the way under the primer seater that the slider system can have.

I haven't checked recently but the old Pro could be found on ebay for pretty darned cheap and even these older presses are still covered by Hornady. If anyone wants a second press to dedicate to a specific cartridge or just to have another press I would really hunt for a used 'Jector. I think you'll be happy.

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[nwhpfan]

People have been trying to convince others, and themselves that LNL or Loadmaster competes with Dillon.

People that already have a Dillon are just trying to help folks save time, money and headache.

There is a reason everything is compared to Dillon.

That is why 'everyone' says, "just get a Dillon."

[Tokarev]

People have been trying to convince others, and themselves that LNL or Loadmaster competes with Dillon.

People that already have a Dillon are just trying to help folks save time, money and headache.

There is a reason everything is compared to Dillon.

That is why 'everyone' says, "just get a Dillon."

BTW, I've never met a person say they were going to sell their 650 to LNL.
You have now. I did just that when the LNL came out.

But I do still use a Dillon powder measure. One of the old ones with the return spring instead of the pull rod affair.

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[Rich@CCC]

You've never heard me say that Lee is as good as Dillon. What I have said and will continue to say is that Lee works and works well with a modicum of patience and attention to detail at a very reasonable price. Anyone who argues that you don't need patience and attention to detail if you run a Dillon is either a fool or an idiot.

With Dillon you pay a premium for an iron clad warranty on a piece of very well made equipment. If you have the money for Dillon, buy Dillon. If you don't have that kind of money, buy Lee, just do so with your eyes wide open in either case.

BTW, how is Hornady's CS and warranty compared to Dillon?

[Tokarev]

BTW, how is Hornady's CS and warranty compared to Dillon?

Pretty much identical.


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[Rich@CCC]

JEEP, I'm not arguing against the blast shield. It's cheap insurance and does not effect the operation at all. I've never needed it but why take the chance.

This brings another question I have asked before and never really had answered. Why do I not get popped primers? I've had them get sideways with the Pro 1000 and crushed into the case. I've had small pocket .45 case get large pistol primers smashed into them. I mean smashed. I don't mean that I've tried to make it happen but all the normal crap has happened and nary a primer has gone boom. It could just be that I haven't reached my number yet. I'm sure I'm just middle of the road at best as far as volume of loading goes, but I still wonder why I've never seen this happen when it obviously does happen.

[LittleLebowski]

I'd try a used LnL but I wouldn't be fooling myself about it compared to 650.

I just looked up the Hornady LnL swager, looks goofy.


https://youtu.be/ColxtXXs1PU

[Tokarev]

I'd try a used LnL but I wouldn't be fooling myself about it compared to 650.

I just looked up the Hornady LnL swager, looks goofy.


https://youtu.be/ColxtXXs1PU
It actually works pretty well.

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[LittleLebowski]

It actually works pretty well.


I believe you but it's caliber specific and you can't use it as part of a processing cycle other than to only swage.

[Tokarev]

I believe you but it's caliber specific and you can't use it as part of a processing cycle other than to only swage.
Well, conversion from using the press to load into using the press to swage only takes minutes. And conversion back to loading is equally fast.

Once a rhythm is worked out the swaging goes pretty fast. This system is 10x faster than the bench mounted single swagers or the single stage press systems like the RCBS. I imagine the only thing better is the Dillon 1050.

Currently I decap with a universal decapping die and then tumble the brass. After cleaning it is swaged on the LNL.

Right now I only have a 223 swager but I imagine the 308 works just as well.

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[LittleLebowski]

Well, conversion from using the press to load into using the press to swage only takes minutes. And conversion back to loading is equally fast.

Once a rhythm is worked out the swaging goes pretty fast. This system is 10x faster than the bench mounted single swagers or the single stage press systems like the RCBS. I imagine the only thing better is the Dillon 1050.

Right now I only have a 223 swager but I imagine the 308 works just as well.


I wish I could test drive a LnL locally...

The SwageIt (http://swageit.com/swage-it-s650-combo/) for the Dillon 550 and 650 looks way better if you don't believe the hype about it possibly damaging your press and I do not.

[Tokarev]

Are you on arfcom? Maybe post on the hometown forum and see if someone local to you will let you test drive a press.

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[ralph]

I wish I could test drive a LnL locally...

The SwageIt (http://swageit.com/swage-it-s650-combo/) for the Dillon 550 and 650 looks way better if you don't believe the hype about it possibly damaging your press and I do not.

I just bought a 650 last week, and the swagit looks very interesting.. one could set up a toolhead to deprime, swage primer pockets, (and with a Dillon power trimmer/ resizing die, which I happen to have) size, trim, all at once and do all the brass prep quickly. I'll admit the single biggest chore to loading rifle brass is the brass prep,and if you have 1-2000 cases to do at a crack, it really becomes a chore. The fact one could set up a toolhead to do it all at once, fairly quickly, really, really has my attention...

I j

[LittleLebowski]

Are you on arfcom? Maybe post on the hometown forum and see if someone local to you will let you test drive a press.


I did check, nothing yet.

[Tokarev]

The SwageIt (http://swageit.com/swage-it-s650-combo/) for the Dillon 550 and 650 looks way better if you don't believe the hype about it possibly damaging your press and I do not.

I asked Dillon about the Swage It specifically on a 550. The rep I spoke with told me the design places more stress on the shell plate than it is designed to handle and will void the warranty.


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[LittleLebowski]

I asked Dillon about the Swage It specifically on a 550. The rep I spoke with told me the design places more stress on the shell plate than it is designed to handle and will void the warranty.


Yes, exactly what I was referring to. Most if not all, report that it does not but there's a beefier aftermarket shell plate available for this.

[mmc45414]

The SwageIt (http://swageit.com/swage-it-s650-combo/) for the Dillon 550 and 650 looks way better if you don't believe the hype about it possibly damaging your press and I do not.


I just bought a 650 last week, and the swagit looks very interesting.. one could set up a toolhead to deprime, swage primer pockets, (and with a Dillon power trimmer/ resizing die, which I happen to have) size, trim, all at once and do all the brass prep quickly. I'll admit the single biggest chore to loading rifle brass is the brass prep,and if you have 1-2000 cases to do at a crack, it really becomes a chore. The fact one could set up a toolhead to do it all at once, fairly quickly, really, really has my attention...


I asked Dillon about the Swage It specifically on a 550. The rep I spoke with told me the design places more stress on the shell plate than it is designed to handle and will void the warranty.


Yes, exactly what I was referring to. Most if not all, report that it does not but there's a beefier aftermarket shell plate available for this.

I bought one for the 550 with the intent of doing some of what Ralph describes, but am not totally on board with it. It seems as though it does take a lot of force to pull to case off of the mandrel, maybe more force than it needs to. It seems like the mandrel is up in the primer pocket farther than it needs to be and I am considering tweaking the pin to reduce some of the force required to pull it loose. But now I am especially in a quandary because I to have added a 650, and the option of cranking through things with the case feed is a huge appeal. My approach will probably to tweak the pin (only $40 if I screw the pooch) to see if I like it more, before jumping into one for the 650. The fact that I bought a bunch of really cheap 9mm brass that showed up with a lot of crimped primers is a factor...

ETA: I meant to ask about the aftermarket shell plate?

[mmc45414]

It seems like the mandrel is up in the primer pocket farther than it needs to be and I am considering tweaking the pin to reduce some of the force required to pull it loose.

Motivated by this thread I just went and did this, and it does seem to help significantly. I just put in my drill press and hit it with a couple needle files, it didn't seem like it was that hard. Didn't try and prime the case I did but it looks like it will be suitably swaged. I also polished the pin with Scotchbrite and that may help.