Tell Me

This spring (2012) I'm going to purchase a Progressive reloader ... Both the "Dillon 650" and the "Hornady L-N-L " have all the bell's and whistles that I'm look'n for ...
(case feeders ,and/or bullet feeders) ...
What are the pros and cons of each ?
Which has more plastic parts ?
Which reloader will last long enough to go into my will ?
Are both of these machines 100% made in America ?
Which reloader needs a parts kit first ?
What machine is most likely to have the tolerances drift ?




Your comments are going to help me chose

In my opinion, flip a coin. Heads go Dillon, tails, go LnL. Both carry a no bs warranty from their makers and both are great machines. Both will produce great ammo if you do your part.

That probably did not help much, however, that is my opinion. There are a couple members here with the LnL, Not sure abouat a 650 tho.....

The no BS warrenty is a lifetime warrenty. It does not matter who owns it. The warranty goes with the machine.

I had thought 'bout taking a coin anpaint one side Red and the other Blue

I had this same issue , I ended up with the lnl. I really like the tool head concept with the dillon but in the end the overall cost of the dillon vs the lnl didn't seem worth it to me.

As far as case/bullet feeders I have not made the jump but RCBS makes a good product and would invest some time check that out.

Good luck, between the two presses you can't go wrong

Don't you get free bullets from Hornady for buying a LnL ? Just sayin'

Yes, you do get 500 free bullets. Hopefully XbonesX will chime in. The only reason I say that, I may be wrong, but I believe XbonesX has figured out that by the time you purchase the press, recieve the free bullets, the cost is really low. I believe he broke it down. If not, then he knows someone that did and the price was impressive to say the least.

At any rate, nothing against either machine!!! I have a LnL, have not used it yet, it is an older machine before the newer ez eject system. I also own now, 2 Dillon Square Deal press. Had 3 but sold one.

Daywalker wrote:Yes, you do get 500 free bullets. Hopefully XbonesX will chime in. The only reason I say that, I may be wrong, but I believe XbonesX has figured out that by the time you purchase the press, recieve the free bullets, the cost is really low. I believe he broke it down. If not, then he knows someone that did and the price was impressive to say the least.

At any rate, nothing against either machine!!! I have a LnL, have not used it yet, it is an older machine before the newer ez eject system. I also own now, 2 Dillon Square Deal press. Had 3 but sold one.

You hit the nail on the head, I haven't heard any bad about either machine. But me being a tight wad, I would lean toward the Hornady due to price and free bullets. lol

here are 2 great topics where this was discussed in detail, might want to check them out.

http://www.atgreloading.com/t594-hornady-lnl-or-dillon-550?highlight=Dillon+vs+Hornady

http://www.atgreloading.com/t208-honady-lnl-progressive-vs-dillon-650?highlight=Dillon+vs+Hornady

my first question is how long have you been reloading, because if you are new, i wouldn't suggest a progressive at all.

XbonesX ,
I've been reloading 17 years ,Lee hand held press and also a bench mounted single stage press ... It started out as therapy for a divorce

LOL that is how I got my first Dillon, guy was selling it d/t a divorce.

Read this article and check out the videos on http://ultimatereloader.com/ are the best things I can suggest short of knowing someone with both presses that you can try out.

Like most of the others on here, I prefer the LNL. The features are inbetween the Dillon 550 and 650.

To answer your questions:
1. Pros for the LNL are the price, free bullet offer, and IMO a more accurate powder measure. The biggest negative IMO is the question on if Hornady will always have the LNL model like Dillon has had theirs for 20+ years. Both have excellent warranties and are stood behind by great companies.
2. There are only a couple small plastic parts that are non-crucial on the Dillon and LNL. Infact the only one I can think of on the LNL is part of the case feeder.
3. Both will with proper care. Parts availability might be better w/ the Dillon though.
4. To my knowledge, they are both made in America. Hornady is out of Nebraska and Dillon in Arizona.
5. You will require more spare parts on the LNL, unfortunately nothing in a "kit". I bought 3 extra retention springs and 2 extra prawls. Dillon sells a parts kit. Both have some small springs that can be easily lost.
6. I found more tolerance drift in my Dillon 550 than I have the LNL. This can depend on how anal you are, how the press is setup, solid bench, etc etc. Some people say the tolerance in the Dillon is what makes it so reliable.

Hope that gives you a better idea.

I just bought the L N L, it is everything I thought it would be. Caliber change is a piece of cake. But I will warn you, you will need to buy the shell plate/plates of choice separate.
Also an FYI the bullet offer rebate states till the end of December 2011. (Not 100 % sure of the day) but I'm sure they will have it again next year.

A friend has a dillon and loves it, but caliber change is more of a pain.

Both come with great customer support, and service, and a no bs warranty. One other thing to keep in mind the 550 is not auto indexing, the 650 is. The LNL is as well.

Either one will get the job done.

Just on a side note, I bought the lee 1000 and was not happy with it at all. I gave it more than 1 chance by buying 2 different caliber conversions and none really worked all that much better.

Tripples