Loadmaster vs Dillon

[Hang Fire]

I still have my Dillon 450 from the early 80's and the Square Deal set up for .45 ACP from late 80's. Never had a problem with either that was not operator malfunction induced. I sometimes get a bug to update the 450, then common sense asks, if satisfied, why?

[mike in co]

"Found out that someone had stripped the screw hole for the case retainer out, and had replaced it with a bolt and nut. It has always come loose on me but never as bad as today. Its such a pain to tighten the nut on the bottom unless you take the primer assembly out and then you have to move the durn thing to get the primer and shell plate back in. Nothing major but I got pretty aggrevated with it.

well since there is a hole that a bolt fits thru,,,why not add a threaded insert in the hole and skip the nut.....or jb weld the nut in place( lots of grease on the bolt) and not get frustrated...


mike in co

[Geraldo]

I bought my 550B sometime in the early 1990s. I didn't realize that there was a problem with CCI primers, which I have used almost exclusively. Being somewhat obsessive, I check powder weights at intervals when I'm loading on this press, and they aren't off by any more than my RCBS Uniflow measure.

[prs]

Woe is me. I have a Loadmaster. I got it for a song many years ago from a previous neighbor who had basically junked it and abused it. I called Lee and Patrick talked me through the trouble shooting to identify the buggered parts and then he sent me the parts and a new owner's manual (the manual was very poorly written). It got it fixed, but found some other damage later and fixed that too. The neighbor went ballistic when he came over and saw it function properly (by that time his new 650 was also on the fritz -- if the operator is an idiot, the press can not compensate -- I don't care what color it is! I did have frequent priming problems after a while and about gave up on it -- two online pards did abandon theirs, then I made some changes to my loading procedures to make sure the press stayed clean and free of powder and filler (I use grits with black powder). The dang thing works ticky-boo. If I could just get this press to fail, I would get me one of those better ones. Actually, I might get a Hornady LnL anyway -- just for the "excitement".

prs

[largecaliberman]

I have a Lee Loadmaster. The biggest humbug is the priming station. Well---I gave up on that so what I did was to install a decapper and a sizer on a seperate toolhead. I would deprime and size all my shells. Then go with a Lee hand primer.

When reloading, I would install the sizing die (without the punch to remove the primer) just to line up the shells onto the shell plate. Then go onto the case expander/powder drop station. I find this much better because there would be no tipped, bent, smashed, etc primers.

Friend of mine have a Dillon and I've found that the priming station on both presses are the weakest link when using progressive reloaders.

[Legion489]

I bought a Lee LOAD MASTER and it was/is a load of SOMETHING alright! I returned it to Lee after 3 days and they returned it to me in the same shape. Seems it had/has a warped ram from faulty heat treating according to the letter they sent, BUT....that did NOT mean they would repair it under their two year warranty! The priming system NEVER worked right, primers upside down, sideways, ect. After I had returned it to Lee 24 times in 24 months (including getting it back with all broken parts in place and still locked up tight) they sent me a letter saying it was over two years since I started returning the press to them to be fixed, which they refused to do, so it was no longer under warranty (yeah, like that mattered! In the book MODERN RELOADING on page 26 and 34 they state all Lee equipment has a two year warranty and a love it or your money back guarantee. ALL LIES!) but NOW they would FINALLY repair it for another 50% of retail! What a piece of junk!

Bought a used 550B and guess what? Got a problem? YES SIR WE CAN HELP YOU WITH THAT! YES SIR WE WILL GIVE YOU A NEW PART! FREE! Now THAT is customer service! I have NEVER regretted buying a Dillon and bought an used 450B too. A commercial reloader friend has a 450 and has reloaded probably millons of rounds on his. GUNS MAGAZINE just came yesterday and guess what? Article about reloading by Petty, he has a Dillon 550B and (I think) Hornady for odd ball stuff because it is "easier" to change primer sizes in it. The 550 can load just about anything except the .50 BMG and other big stuff that needs over sized dies, and is manually indexed. The Square Deal uses special Dillon dies that are not cheap, the 650 and 1050 are more like commercial reloader's machines. The 1050 will even swage the primer pockets for you! Got quirks? Sure, but every piece of machinery I have ever bought did, but the Dillons works and there is no problem with repairs or parts. Have a house fire and burn up your press? Return the Dillon to Dillon and they replace it FREE, return the Lee and it costs you 50% of retail and it still doesn't work.

[Crash_Corrigan]

I bought a Lee Loadmaster for my first press. I spend forever adjusting and messing around. I never could get reliable rounds made with it. The clinker was the primer feeder. It was always missing and I was always getting powder everywhere. It drove me nuts.

Finally a buddy got out of reloading and gave me his well used Dillon 550. It was a very short learning curve and wow does it make good rounds fast. After three years of messing with it I sprang for the casefeeder. Big improvement! Now I can crank out 300 to 400 rounds an hour and feed my hunger to pop caps.

I trashed the Lee but I think highly of a lot of their products but not the Loadmaster. See photos of current 550 B without casefeeder and note the production of .38 Wadcutters. No primer problems! Powder within .10 gr and not any downtime due to equipment malfunctions.

Note the photo of the 10 years old girl. Never fired a gun in her life! Was hitting the 12" gong at 20 yds 6 out of 6 using my old 586 and powder puff reloaded wadcutters. Very little recoil and noise yet accurate to POA at 20 yds. Ideal gun for a newbie. I convinced her father, a card carrying liberal democrat to buy 4 old smith .38's and a dozen speedloaders loaded with glaser safety slugs. Now he has hide out guns all over the house and everybody including his wife and daughter has the means and ability to defend thier home and lives from the current wave of home invasions.

[EDK]

I just ordered another DILLON 550B yesterday. My old one dates from the early '90s and has only had minor problems with the primer feed and other honest wear issues that were corrected with a phone call to DILLON. I'd estimate somewhere around 250,000 rounds have been produced---probably more.

The reason I'm getting another 550 is that "I'm old and cranky" and think changing calibers is a PITA when I just want to knock out a few experimental rounds for my 357 and it's set up for 44s or vice-versa. The new one will primarily be 44 and 45 and the older one becomes a 357. Besides, if the old one ever needs a re-build, I still have a press.

I had a Square Deal in 45 ACP....had problems with CCI primers and military brass that might have missed the primer pocket swage. It was converted to 357 when I got the 550B and going strong years later after I traded it to a friend...should have kept it! When he moved, it sold at auction for $50 over retail..."talk about fools getting into a bidding frenzy!"

The only "alligator laying in wait for you" is that you DO NEED dies set up for a progressive press. The DILLON dies are competitively priced and with them, you CAN ACHIEVE the high production rates they claim. Using my standard LYMANS in the 550B was an exercise in futility and crushed case mouths...I called DILLON, ordered their dies, and have lived happily ever after.

READ the instruction book. FOLLOW the instructions they give. AND FIRE THAT BAD BOY UP! IT'S PRODUCTION TIME!!!

[zdogk9]

Star progressive for .38spl. and a Hornady L&L for everything else. Lee Turrets are great, their progressives give me heart burn. The Star is elegant. The Hornady is extremely functional.
Z

[Legion489]

OK, it was HANDGUNS MAGAZINE, Petty had a Dillon 550B and RCBS 2000. Sorry.