I am in the process of picking which progressive press to get.

My choice is between the Dillon 650 with the electric case feed, or the Hornady Ammo Plant.

Pros and cons of each please.

Blue vs Red vs Green - If you're colorblind you'll not note a difference (or so I've heard)

In a nut shell. Price them the same, the 650 is only about $75 more. For that you get a better case feeder & superior priming system. Both work both are pretty reliable, the 650 a bit more so. If I never wanted the case feeder, then the LNL is nore usre friendly. The 650 was designed ground up to use a case feeder & if you want the case feeder, where all the speed comes from, then spend the extra $75 & go Dillon.

With case feed, the 650 without a 2nd thought.

Blue...

650...

Case Feeder...

In that order...

Every time & twice on Sundays

Dillon 650, no question about it!!

buy a dillon

dillion 650 no bs warranty.

I had an ammo plant for 4 years and eventually jumped in to Dillon 650 w/case feeder. Although a little pricey, I have absolutely no regrets and consider that decision one of the best i have made in regards to reloading.

What I noticed as a primary difference between Hornady and Dillon is that The Ammo Plant requires a lot of adjustments that you constantly have to tinker with. The Dillon on the other hand achieves machine changes via hardware such as caliber conversion kits (Very easy to install and virtually no adjustments---So everything is fixed in place---and it just works.

With the Power Plant, it would take me a full day if not two to run 1000 pistol rounds such as 45. But with my Dillon, I can easily run 1000 rounds in 3 hours if I have my primer tubes loaded ahead of time and my shoulder holds out.

Now, I will admit, like all other machines, the Dillon will malfunction occasionally, such as upside down shell casing or stuck case on the ejection wire---but, on the Dillon, malfunctions simply don't happen near as often as they do on the Hornady.

I have even setup up my Dillon where I can run rifle cases in 2 phases-----In the first phase I can De-prime, Size, Trim and swage and phase two I size again, prime, Powder, seat and crimp---This operation makes loading rifle ammo in bulk very easy, quick and turns out reliable and consistent ammo.

So, from my experience, blue is the way to go----and if you plan on doing a lot of reloading, definitely go with the 650.

Depends on your purpose.

I have both.

Large lots of pistol, definitely Dillon.

Short runs or test loads of rifle, I use the LnL. Nice not to have to deal with primers everywhere when you basically are using the press as a single stage and the LnL spring retainer system is a lot easier than the Dillon buttons if you are taking cases off and back on to the press.

Horses for courses as they say.

Both good choices. Good luck.

quote:

Short runs or test loads of rifle, I use the LnL. Nice not to have to deal with primers everywhere when you basically are using the press as a single stage and the LnL spring retainer system is a lot easier than the Dillon buttons if you are taking cases off and back on to the press.

Why I still use my 550 a lot. It's just easier to tinker with loads when nothing advances until you manually do it. The 650 is great for loading components & just cranking out rounds. If I had to sell one, it would probably be the 650, just because I don't really need the complexity but it is great for making a lot of rounds in a hurry.

Go Dillon. Lifetime warranty and the people are really nice to deal with.

Thanks guys, Dillon 650 it will be!

I did the same research, a couple of years ago and ended up with the Hornady. It's fine, but I'm sure I'd be just as happy with Dillon. I think each has its quirks and will drive you nuts every once in a while when something is out of adjustment.

quote:

Originally posted by MNSIG:
I did the same research, a couple of years ago and ended up with the Hornady. It's fine, but I'm sure I'd be just as happy with Dillon. I think each has its quirks and will drive you nuts every once in a while when something is out of adjustment.

Another reason the 650 is a bit better, less to adjust & keep tuned.

quote:

Originally posted by fredj338:
Another reason the 650 is a bit better, less to adjust & keep tuned.

I wouldn't doubt it a bit. On the surface, the LNL appears to be very easy to switch out calibers. As far as changing parts, it is. Unfortunately, many of those changes affect the interaction of the others and the timing of the whole set up. It requires very good notes, measurements and more than a bit of patience to switch things over and get the new set running smoothly.

It's been about 5 years since I added a new caliber to my 650. Since that time I've purchased two Hornady single stage presses and several RCBS for precision rifle loads. I ended up keeping a Hornady Iron press. After recently setting up my 650 for .45 ACP, I've formed an opinion that Dillon presses are manufactured at a higher quality compared to my Iron Press. My Iron makes accurate ammo and Hornady Customer Service has been good about replacing parts that I've broken. But in terms of build quality, I think Dillon got Hornady beat in that category. It may be because the Iron Press is new, but the parts used in my Dillon seem to be of much higher quality.

I just ordered my Dillon 650 with the electric case feeder, and a pile of optional items.

Am I going to want to get an engineer to help set it up?

quote:

posted document.write('<nobr>'+ myTimeZone('Tue, 11 Jul 2017 08:35:36 GMT-0700', 'July 11, 2017 10:35 AM')+'</nobr>');July 11, 2017 08:35 AMJuly 11, 2017 10:35 AMHide PostI just ordered my Dillon 650 with the electric case feeder, and a pile of optional items. Am I going to want to get an engineer to help set it up?

It will pretty much be ready to go out of the box. Changing from large to small primers/calibers is where things get iffy. If you plan on swapping large to small often, I would buy the extra priming system. Then it is just two screws & away you go.

Dillon is the best choice in our opinion. Much more precise, help over the phone as well, and anything that breaks is replaced free. ( at least I think that is still their policy, have used it in years past). Great machines.