Progressive Presses

shrpshtrjoe · Posted: Tue Mar 30, 2010 3:34 pm Post subject: Progressive Presses

Who has them and what do you have Very Happy

. As I'm shooting more .223 and .45 I'm thinking about getting one but not sure witch one I don't want to break the bank I was thinking either the Hornady Lock-N-Load Auto Progressive Press or the RCBS 2000. Any Info would be great Very Happy

Joe

gelandangan · Posted: Tue Mar 30, 2010 3:46 pm Post subject: Re: Progressive Presses

I got a Dillon Square Deal to load my 38/357 with a change kit for 45ACP.

Progressive definitely the way to go if you shoot a lot..
Just need to make sure that your powder measures well in the thrower.
Ball powders do well in mine.

chambered221 · Posted: Tue Mar 30, 2010 3:54 pm Post subject: Re: Progressive Presses

Dillon 550.....great for doing rifle and pistol !!!

I don't think you can go wrong with any of the well known companies but Dillon seems to have the market cornered when it comes to handgun calibers and the .223

shrpshtrjoe · Posted: Tue Mar 30, 2010 4:08 pm Post subject: Re: Progressive Presses

chambered221 wrote:

Dillon 550.....great for doing rifle and pistol !!!

I don't think you can go wrong with any of the well known companies but Dillon seems to have the market cornered when it comes to handgun calibers and the .223

I just looked at the 550B on there web site there not as expensive as I thought they would be $419.00. I didn't think I could aford the blue kool aid Very Happy

.

chambered221 · Posted: Tue Mar 30, 2010 4:43 pm Post subject: Re: Progressive Presses

Joe, that comes with everything you need except a set of dies.

Where they get you is when you start re-loading for multiple cartridges. You'll then need a caliber conversion, powder funnel, tool-head and a set of dies.

Don't let anyone make you think you need another powder measure. They are easy to take off and convert from pistol to rifle.

If you re-load for multiple handgun or rifle cartridges once you determine your load and the powder measure is set make witness marks on the adjustment screw and then turn it closed counting the revolutions. Write that down with you load info and it is easily repeatable.
I use different color permanent markers and different locations for each load.

Aloysius · Posted: Wed Mar 31, 2010 2:30 am Post subject: Re: Progressive Presses

I agree totally with Chambered221: Dillon light blue will suit you! Easy to convert, the best and most accurate powder measures I have, just 1 thing: don't forget to change the equipment when going from large primer to small (easely forgotten and you will ruin some primers before you discover there is something wrong).

Pumpkinslinger · Posted: Wed Mar 31, 2010 7:50 am Post subject: Re: Progressive Presses

I have the Hornady. I've only loaded a few hundred rounds on it so far but I've been pleased. Without being in a hurry I could change over from one set of four dies and shell plate to another in right at 2 minutes. The only tool you need is a 9/16” wrench to loosen and retighten the shell plate bolt.

stovepipe · Posted: Wed Mar 31, 2010 2:37 pm Post subject: Re: Progressive Presses

I only reload pistol (rilfe we do at Grandpops) at home and have the Lee Pro 1000.

It's a bizarre Rube Goldberg kinda thing but it's pretty darn versitlie and parts are dirt cheap so I can afford to have many turrets pre-loaded with dies and stuff.

Takes some fiddling and learning but so far it's been a keeper after a gajillion rounds and I can single stage, go full progressive or anything in between and for plinking rounds it'll scoot 'em out the back end a box every 20-30 mins taking my time.

Max or near max power stuff gets done one atta time, each and every step of the way. But, this press still does the size/decap, prime, flare seat and crimp. I just weigh and charge by hand off the press. (I no longer tumble brass for the most part, it looks nice but does nothing for accuracy and takes too much time for plinking stuff. Match stuff gets the shiny treatment (wiersey smile here :-D) )

The priming stage has incredible feel and feedback.
The powder measure and drop is barely satisfactory but completely fine for light plinking stuff.
I won't use a measure for MAX or close to MAX. Those get hand-weighed. Period.

I've really gotten a lot of different uses and such out of this inexpensive little press and the only time it stops is when I goof something up and it's an easy fix. Nothing has broken on it either. It actually looks like something that should not work but work it does, and how. And, on the cheap, too!

shrpshtrjoe · Posted: Wed Mar 31, 2010 2:45 pm Post subject: Re: Progressive Presses

Great info guys. The Company I work for is suppose to be putting me on a rate job for a couple of weeks Im not sure when it's gonna start but Ill have some extra money then and Im gonna get a progressive so all this info is great Very Happy

shrpshtrjoe · Posted: Wed Mar 31, 2010 5:46 pm Post subject: Re: Progressive Presses

I have always resized - deprimed then tumbled rifle brass to get the lube off . How do you guys do it with the progressive ?

aznative · Member Joined: Oct 03, 2005 Posts: 31

I have a dillon 650. On loads that I run thru from start to finish, I just run them thru the tumbler when done. I've never had a problem with a primer popping.

I have some tool heads set up to trim. I punch the primer out on station 1, seat a primer on 2, trim on 3 and expand the neck on 5 with a lyman M die. I use a regular size die on 1 to help align the case to the decapping pin. I tried decapping dies and I regularly bend the decap pin. I then run them thru the tumbler to get the media off. The the only thing that is left is to drop powder, seat and taper crimp. Dillon suggest that you don't install the primer like I do and then tumble. They claim it could cause a fail to fire but I've never seen it happen in thousands of rounds.

BTW: I use the taper crimp die to simply push in the burr that is left from their trimmer. The cutter is tapered so it doesn't leave much of a burr on the inside.

I've found I can get reasonable accuracy with the dillon system with my pistol loads, and I always do them as a single process.

I have some rifle loads that require percise powder measurement. I have some really great rifle loads that don't. I have a whole lot of tool heads and a whole lot of powder thowers. I have at least a dozen dillon powder throwers. Use ball powders when you can because the dillon will thow ball powders very accurately. One more thing on thowing powder, on your first powder drop and on the first drop after a jam repair, the vibration will compact more power into the bar. As long as everything is going smoothly, it thows very accurately. When you stop for some reason, the extra time and vibration will cause the next powder thow to be a little heavy.

As and example, be very carefull trying to drop say H4831SC into a 6mm or smaller case. It will hang up in the case neck causing the first round to be light and the next load to be very heavy. The bigger the stick the bigger the neck needs to be to properly drop into the case.

BTW: If you can ever get a Dillon powder thrower that predates the current one, buy it. I believe they work better than the newer models.

Vince · Posted: Wed Mar 31, 2010 6:44 pm Post subject: Re: Progressive Presses

Like Stovey Joe, I used a Lee 1000 Pro when loading for pistol. It always turned out a consistent accurate load.

Only problem I had with it was the occasional flipped primer. The Powder Throw worked a treat...even with large flake powders...never tried it with powders like Varget so I can't comment there. Like most on here...I hand weigh every charge for my rifle cartridges and load them on a single stage press.

For a bucket load of plinking or paper shooting ammo, I would say any of the progressives are up to speed, with Dillon probably having the edge.

Again, 'cause I use a single stange press, I re-size and decap before I polish...if I decide to polish. As for removing lube...I wash my cases in Brakleen after re-sizing them.

Cheers, Vince

chambered221 · Posted: Thu Apr 01, 2010 5:21 am Post subject: Re: Progressive Presses

Dillon (and others) offer spray lubes that will not contaminate powder or primers !!! I use it when re-loading with non-carbide handgun dies.

Tumbling after completion is not recommended. I know a lot of re-loaders do it anyways despite the warnings. Keep in mind the time length is a key issue. It is possible to cause a break down of the powder if tumbled too long. This can lead to a composition change that can have negative effects.

You can always break things down into a two step process such as aznative does and tumble before the actual loading.

SingleShotLover · Posted: Thu Apr 01, 2010 5:34 am Post subject: Re: Progressive Presses

Last year I finally retired a pair of Lee 1000s that I used for 20 years. After pricing and evaluating several replacements I settled on a single Lee Load Master with additional case and die plates to accommodate .44 Mag, .45 ACP and .45 Colt. The old 1000s had simply been worn out by many hundred thousand rounds each. The Load Master has proved to be solid and extremely reliable so far. It eliminates most of the faults of the 1000s (flipped primers, indexing creep, ease of changing calibers and etc.) plus, with he additional die stations, allows me to seat and crimp in two different operations. Change between calibers can be done in less than 3 minutes if I'm in a hurry (longer if changing primer size...not an issue for me since all of the cartridges I load for use Large Pistol size) and adjustments are rock solid. The whole unit is actually a little over-engineered, but that should contribute to many long years of loading. The set-up instructions are pretty vague, but there is a wealth of on-line videos that are extremely helpful for anyone that gets too lost. Nothing wrong with any of the others mentioned, but I am pretty well sold on the Load Master.

stovepipe · Posted: Thu Apr 01, 2010 6:25 am Post subject: Re: Progressive Presses

Well said SS, I am really horny for the Lee LM. Very nice press and bomb proof and it'll process any case made. Xmas is coming too. Very Happy

Dillion is hot stuff but if I had to go that route I could not afford to reload.

Hey Chambered, what kind of divot tumbles completed cartridges? Laughing

Sounds like a great way to blow something up, during and after the process.

I always resize and decap before tumbling, pick them pockets/flash holes clean too. If/after I tumble I'll gently brush the pockets being careful not to scratch them. A little soot in the pocket is better than a gouge that can cause a leak. Then I'll blow in them to get any media out and store them mouth down in a box. Tumbling makes a beautiful looking cartridge but it's a freakin' pain and not necesarry and gets lead and other stuff all over the place.

I've heard some go really nuts and actually match/machine the pocket floor depth and stuff. And, match the primer flash hole too- that makes sense though. Unless something was grossly off the case volume, powder, primer and COAL variables will have a larger effect on accuracy IMHO as the makers pay super close attention to this portion of the case, from what I gather.

Gettin' a little rain here today...think I'll go pull the handle after work. Cool