Opinions on new press to replace single stage LEE

[bigeric08]

I learned to reload on a lee 50th anniversary kit single stage press I feel like im ready to try my hand at a progressive press I have been researching the lee pro-1000 and the loadmaster. Im somewhat partial to LEE because that what I started on I guess. Someone I know has been whispering in my ear "Dillon" and I whisper back "MONEY!" I mainly load .45acp and 9mm what would be the best option/model for the money. I like the idea of pulling a handle and having a loaded cartridge but undecided on what I need and afford to make this happen. Also where is a good place to buy or order one .

 

[HamsterStyle]

Bobcat Steel in Shelbyville can get you all things Dillon. I don't have one but all my research has turned up that Dillon can't be beat. I have yet to find any negative experiences with Dillon equipment that wasn't resolved and ultimately ended up with a happy customer. It appears that Dillon may very well be the ultimate "Buy once, cry once" in the reloading world. When I decide I am ready for a bigger, better, faster press, I will purchase a Dillon. Can you be satisfied with the others? Absolutely. Are any of them as much a sure thing as the Dillon? I don't think so.

 

[MoparMan]

I recently purchased a Lee Turret and it's worked just fine for me being a beginner. Only cranks out a little over 200/hour though, but that is enough since I just started learning the process. I definitely see a Dillon in my short-term future.

 

[superluckycat]

I've been reloading for about 2 months now. Started with a Lee single stage kit. That lasted about 100 rounds then I ordered a Dillon 650 with all the goodies.

Depends on how much you shoot and how important your time is to you.

I can pop into the garage and bang out 100 rounds of 9mm in less than 10 minutes.

The 650 is bad mammer jammer.

 

[Kmcinnes]

Just ordered my 2nd Dillon 650, Now I will have one set up for Pistol, and one for rifle. I figure I'm good because the one 650 I have cranked out 20,000 rounds last year so It has paid for itself quite a few times. My opinion is a Dillon cant be beat with their no hassle lifetime warranty, my son will be reloading on these same machines when I am 6ft under!

 

[oldpink]

If you really mean to go progressive, undoubtedly the most popular choice would be the Dillon 550B.
I still use my well worn Rock Chucker, but that's definitely the way that I would go if I wanted to invest ~$500 for an upgrade.

 

[red_zr24x4]

Dillon 550 can't be beat. Especially for a new to progressive reloader.
We've got 2 set up. We still have 2 RCBS Rock Chuckers set up also, these we use for depriming 223, 308, and .30-06

 

[Sniper 79]

I found a used Square Deal B Dillon press and am pretty happy with it. I am also only loading 9 and 45. Use my old Lee like yours for rifle stuff.

 

[sloughfoot]

Red versus blue versus green. The argument never ends

I have been using the same Pro 1000 for over 20 years. It's great for pistol calibers. I don't really know how many thousands of rounds it has loaded.

I recently bought a turret press. I like it, but have not loaded a lot with it.

I buy from midwayusa

 

[sparky32]

I have two Lee turret presses and have nothing bad to say about them for the cost of the machine. I can reload plenty for my shooting habits. I can get home in the afternoon and crank out 200-250 in an hour if i do this 3 or 4 nights a week for an hour thats a 1000 a week. I don't get to shoot everyday at my range but just about every weekend I do and I have plenty. Especially during the winter times(if its really cold i don't go out much) i start to fill a dozen or so ammo cans of 45 acp and 9mm and then I am ahead of the game. It really depends on how much you plan on shooting in my opinion.

 

[bulletsmith]

I've used Lee turret and Loadmaster presses for many years. They work well, until they don't. It can be a little frustrating, but it's always something fixable. They are hard to beat for the money. I would suggest upgrading to the Auto Disk dispenser though.

That being said, if I could go back and take some cash with me, I'd go blue. From what I see the engineering and mechanics are just better. If Lee is a Chevy Cavalier, Dillon is an Audi A7.

 

[Sirshredalot]

Been there, done that.

DO NOT...please, DO NOT waste money one a lee progressive...especially a pro1000....My Dillon 550 is THE BEST money I have ever spent on this hobby and wouldnt trade it for twice the price paid.

When it comes to ammo production to CAN NOT afford to buy somthing less quality than a Dillon...especially the 550b

everytime I pull the handle on my 550 I smile and thank God I got rid of that Pro1000....
The pro1000 served me well for over 2000 rounds then was a finnicky nightmare...temperamental and moody.
for double the money I got 10 times the press with the 550...call Bobcat steel...you will not regret it.

I bought the Lee thinking I couldnt afford the Dillon....was working 36hrs a week @ $10/hr....I know money being tight...I would have gladly eaten ramen and given up beer for a couple months if I knew then what I know now.

5 years later and probably 10k round of 45acp, 9mm, and 223 rem into my Dillon and I have no regrets other than I didnt do it sooner.
I make quite a bit more money now and would not buy any other press.
You CAN NOT afford to not buy quality...money is too hard to earn just to have to spend it twice or three time "upgrading"....buy a Dillon 550b and be done with it.
The Dillon 550b never goes out of time, never spills powder from a rough index cycle, never mis-feeds a primer due to poor design, and never goes down in value....its hard to GIVE AWAY a pro1000...its hard to BUY a 550b because they sell fast.

YOU WILL NOT REGRET IT!...550B!

God bless
-Shred

 

[oldpink]

[...]

YOU WILL NOT REGRET IT!...550B!

God bless
-Shred

One other strong selling point is that Dillon has the industry standard of warranties.
If anything breaks or otherwise goes wrong with one of their presses, they will fix or replace it...PERIOD.
RCBS has basically the same policy, but they've always specialized in single stage presses.
People who have ever dealt with Dillon for warranty service attest to their eagerness to take care of whatever problem they may be having.
It does a body proud to see an American company so firmly stand behind their American made product.

 

[bulletsmith]

One other strong selling point is that Dillon has the industry standard of warranties.
If anything breaks or otherwise goes wrong with one of their presses, they will fix or replace it...PERIOD.
RCBS has basically the same policy, but they've always specialized in single stage presses.
People who have ever dealt with Dillon for warranty service attest to their eagerness to take care of whatever problem they may be having.
It does a body proud to see an American company so firmly stand behind their American made product.

I'm trying to hold off buying a Dillon. All this gushing praise is not helping...

 

[Broom_jm]

I have two Lee turret presses and have nothing bad to say about them for the cost of the machine. I can reload plenty for my shooting habits. I can get home in the afternoon and crank out 200-250 in an hour if i do this 3 or 4 nights a week for an hour thats a 1000 a week. I don't get to shoot everyday at my range but just about every weekend I do and I have plenty. Especially during the winter times(if its really cold i don't go out much) i start to fill a dozen or so ammo cans of 45 acp and 9mm and then I am ahead of the game. It really depends on how much you plan on shooting in my opinion.

There is a clearly a lot of blue love on this forum, but your best answer came from Sparky32. Nobody has asked how many rounds per week/month/year you are looking to load. Since you're currently using a single-stage press, there are 3 additional levels of production you could move up to:

1) A Lee Classic Turret will allow you to produce 150-200 rounds per hour of 9mm and 45. You get a finished round every 4th pull of the handle, but only touch each case 1 time, so it is much more efficient than a single-stage.

2) A manually fed progressive, like the Lee 1,000, Dillon 550 or Hornady LNL, an excellent press nobody has mentioned thus far. Any of these will allow roughly 2-3 times the hourly production of the Lee Classic Turret, but the Dillon and Hornady presses will cost around 4 times as much.

3) The fully automated Dillon 650, or the Hornady LNL, with all the bells n' whistles, will crank out the amount of ammunition a competition shooter needs, but either will cost the better part of a grand to get you there.

If you're shooting anything less than 500 rounds per month of ammunition, total...the Lee Classic Turret is absolutely the right press for you. If you're shooting 500-1,000 rounds or more, per month, a 550 is a great press for the money. If you're shooting more than 1,000 rounds a month, every month, a fully-progressive press like the 650 or LNL is the way to go. Another thing to be aware of with the faster presses is that you really want to have a fair amount of components on hand when you use them; in my opinion, they turn the relaxing hobby of reloading into a high-pressure "manufacturing" proposition. In the same breath, if time is very limited and you can't relax while you reload, or if you really don't like the process of reloading, the faster presses get it over with, sooner. Personally, I love reloading and am always a little disappointed when I run out of stuff to do.

For most recreational shooters, the LCT is unbeatable, for the price. Some guys just have to spend the most to get the best, and that's OK...if that's you, go with the Dillon 550.

 

[Fullmag]

Been there, done that.


I bought the Lee thinking I couldnt afford the Dillon....was working 36hrs a week @ $10/hr....I know money being tight...I would have gladly eaten ramen and given up beer for a couple months if I knew then what I know now.

5 years later and probably 10k round of 45acp, 9mm, and 223 rem into my Dillon and I have no regrets other than I didnt do it sooner.
I make quite a bit more money now and would not buy any other press.
You CAN NOT afford to not buy quality...money is too hard to earn just to have to spend it twice or three time "upgrading"....buy a Dillon 550b and be done with it.
The Dillon 550b never goes out of time, never spills powder from a rough index cycle, never mis-feeds a primer due to poor design, and never goes down in value....its hard to GIVE AWAY a pro1000...its hard to BUY a 550b because they sell fast.

YOU WILL NOT REGRET IT!...550B!

God bless
-Shred

What shred said I have experienced closely. There is a reason used Dillon's sell for a very small percentage under new if at all on Ebay or Amazon.

Do your self a favor, before your buy, go to Dillon's web site and visit a dealer for a demonstration. After seeing one run and how amazingly simplified and smooth they run I was hooked. Then talk to some owners about what bells and whistles you need.
Another thing from experience local dealers might save you some bucks on shipping.

It comes down to what you value your time and effort at reloading. My self, keeping the old stuff for those times and getting the new stuff when there's not the time. Remember case prep is also quite time consuming.

 

[bigeric08]

I guess I should have added how much I plan to reload to help decide which press I need/want. Right now with my lee single stage I load 3-500 Month but I have a 7yr old that will be helping burn some powder on the weekends so I expect that rate to go up quite a bit. I have been quite interested in the lee loadmaster because of the case feed that comes with it and of course the price I think if I understood correctly you can add a bullet feeder. So does that mean you stand at the press and pull the handle and get a loaded round every time? Now considering the price and all the blue love that this post has turned out to have ...lol If I was to get a Dillon I would want the 550 but can you add a case feeder? Ideal press for me would be a 550 that all I have to do is set a bullet on top of the case without all the quote "finicky" situations a lee press will present. In order to fund the Dillon 550 I will sell every bit of my lee components the press the press dies etc. Or set up a "gofundme" page hahahah.

 

[singlesix]

Don't think "new", there is always someone getting out of reloading that is selling good, used presses. Yes I bought a Brand New Dillion SD, but all my shotgun presses are "used", I have a MEC 650 I bought for 1/3 the new cost over 4 years ago and it is still going strong. Get a quality press with a good company that stands behind its products; for me it's Mec for Shotgun and Dillion for Cartridges.

 

[MoparMan]

For me it's not about how quick I can complete xxx number of rounds. It's a calm and fun hobby. I don't watch much TV, so I spend at least 1-2 hours a night at the press chunking out some rounds. The point when I have to rush, it's no longer fun and could be dangerous. I shoot 200-500 a week and the Lee Turret has worked just fine for me. I do plan to go upgrade to a progressive though. Just haven't decided which one.

 

[ZbornacSVT]

Be glad to help out any way that we can!

I am supposed to be getting a Used Dillon SDB in 9 and 45 any day now. If you aren't looking to do any rifle cartridges, the SDB may be right up your alley.