Last edited by LittleLebowski; 04-12-2017 at 12:52 PM.
#RESIST
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.Originally Posted by LittleLebowski
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.
-Seconds Count. Misses Don't-
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.
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.
Last edited by ranger; 11-06-2016 at 08:59 PM.
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.
“If you know the way broadly you will see it in everything." - Miyamoto Musashi
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.
Last edited by SecondsCount; 11-07-2016 at 12:24 AM.
-Seconds Count. Misses Don't-
Thanks for the info SecondsCount.
“If you know the way broadly you will see it in everything." - Miyamoto Musashi
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.
Scott
Only Hits Count - The Faster the Hit the more it Counts!!!!!!; DELIVER THE SHOT!
Stephen Hillier - "An amateur practices until he can do it right, a professional practices until he can't do it wrong."
550. Love mine, learned how to reload on it. I will help you out if you buy one.
#RESIST
What's the difference in the 550 and 650?
500 rph is very appealing.
"Shooting is 90% mental. The rest is in your head." -Nils
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