Hornady Lock-N-Load Press....

[billybob81]

Ok, I am completely new to reloading, actually have never attempted it, and I am looking to order a press in the near future. I have talked to CJ briefly about it and he has agreed to show me the basics and help me get started. I have seen several people recommend the Dillon press, but what about this Hornady?

http://www.cabelas.com/product/Horna...3Bcat107638380

It is on sale for $399, and comes with a mail-in-rebate for 500 bullets. Is this a good deal and how does it compare to a Dillon? Thanks!

[Moose242]

That is what I use and everything has gone good so far.

[CJ]

Is have to say its too close to the price of an rl550 dillon. Although the dillon is slightly more its worth the money because of their customer service and no bs warranty.

[capreppy]

Purchase the Hornady LnL AP from Natchez. I think they still have a couple in stock. Sale price of 389.99 + $28.00 shipping & insurance to Saginaw, TX (where I live). Mine is sitting on a UPS truck in Dallas someplace unfortunately won't see it till I get back from a business trip on Friday late night.

Cabela's will NOT have the LnL AP in stock till sometime in March. I spoke to a customer service rep regarding the backorder. Since they are allowing backorders, basically the entire batch that is coming in is already spoken for.

edit: and yes you still qualify for the free bullets

[billybob81]

One of the reasons I was looking at Cabela's is that I have $150 in points on my club card. They don't sell the Dillon, but the Hornady caught my eye. I am not in a rush to get it ordered, seeing as I don't know the first thing about reloading yet. If I buy the Dillon elsewhere, I guess I could use my points on powder, primers, and a scale or tumbler.

[CJ]

Dillon primarily sells Dillon, I only know of a couple retailers that sell them and they are online. The gift card is probably the reason why my below suggestion is futile, but I'll make it for the hell of it.

Now that I'm at home I'll give my opinion in greater detail. The L&L is a great press. Hornady makes good stuff. Originally the L&L had some growing pains but they have figured them out.

Without a case feeder you have an auto indexing press that's essentially useless, if that makes sense. Anytime you remove your hand from your lever you've defeated the purpose of an auto-indexer. An RL550 will be just as fast as an L&L without a case feeder. Yes you can upgrade to it, but then you're stepping into the XL650 territory and I absolutely believe the XL650 is superior to the L&L in every way. The L&L is kind of an odd price point, it has the features of a higher price point, but it's missing essential parts to make them useful, when you purchase them you've overpaid. The last large reloader's poll I saw showed 80% of reloaders are using a Dillon press. And the reason being the machines have no bugs any longer, they've been through 15 revisions, and they are for all intents and purposes rock solid. That's not to say the L&L doesn't have it's advantages, it is cheaper to change between calibers.

I'm going to come off like a Dillon fanboy, but honestly I think they deserve it. I can't overstate how Dillon treats it's customers, and how quality their machines are. My RL550 has done well over 20k rounds, and not a single part has broken yet. If I lose a part, or for some reason I screwed up and broke something Dillon sends it to me for free no questions asked. If you screw something up or you're stuck, or you have a problem - call 800-223-4570 and someone answers the phone and helps you. That's really nice if you're new to reloading. Yes, the L&L is selling for $389 right now, but that's with no shell plate - the RL550B is cheaper then that if you don't get a shell plate.

So, here's really my opinion. If you don't purchase a case loader on an L&L you have an auto indexing machine for no reason. If you purchase the case loader you've spent more than an XL650 and you've overpaid (alot).

Both machines are excellent, I just feel the L&L has a really weird pricepoint and it's marketing features to newer reloaders that really make no sense.

[billybob81]

Thanks CJ for the reply, it makes a lot of sense, even though I am new to this. Since I am not in a big rush, maybe I should just look for a Dillon on ebay or craigslist. Having a gift card doesn't mean I WANT to buy the L&L, just thought I would put it towards a reloader. I can ALWAYS find a way to spend money at Cabela's, so if I don't use it towards a loader, no big deal. I would like to load a wide range of calibers including 9mm, .40, .45acp, .270, 30-06, .308, .223, and .50S&W. Starting out, I would probably go with .45 and .270, and once I get the hang of it, start loading some custom .308 loads. Is it going to make a big difference price wise to add different calibers to the Dillon vs the L&L? I appreciate everyone's response. I am not really concerned about the price. I don't want to buy something that I have to spend additional money on to get the peak performance of the machine, but in the other hand, I don't want to spend more money on something that has more features that I won't necessarily need or use.

CJ, pm me next time you do some loading and I will be there. I am really wanting to get my feet wet, and learn from someone who knows what they are doing!

[CJ]

Thanks CJ for the reply, it makes a lot of sense, even though I am new to this. Since I am not in a big rush, maybe I should just look for a Dillon on ebay or craigslist. Having a gift card doesn't mean I WANT to buy the L&L, just thought I would put it towards a reloader. I can ALWAYS find a way to spend money at Cabela's, so if I don't use it towards a loader, no big deal. I would like to load a wide range of calibers including 9mm, .40, .45acp, .270, 30-06, .308, .223, and .50S&W. Starting out, I would probably go with .45 and .270, and once I get the hang of it, start loading some custom .308 loads. Is it going to make a big difference price wise to add different calibers to the Dillon vs the L&L? I appreciate everyone's response. I am not really concerned about the price. I don't want to buy something that I have to spend additional money on to get the peak performance of the machine, but in the other hand, I don't want to spend more money on something that has more features that I won't necessarily need or use.

CJ, pm me next time you do some loading and I will be there. I am really wanting to get my feet wet, and learn from someone who knows what they are doing!

We can load some rounds tomorrow, actually I think we're going to do 1,000 .223 rounds tomorrow - Mr. Fiux? My only request is I get to use you for slave labor trimming and processing brass for some period of time. I can show you a single stage to a progressive, no matter. Reloading is easy, and you'll be wanting to start immediately after only a few hours.

I don't want to completely shoot down the L&L press, but I question some of their price points on that machine, and I feel the free bullets promotion is kind of gimmick to sell a press that has an odd price point. Feel free to correct me if I'm wrong on any of this information, especially if you own an L&L because I'd like to hear it. Like I said before, the caliber conversions on a Dillon are more expensive. You will realistically spend $100 per caliber. (this is absolutely every single thing, required and optional - does not including the dies).

I myself will be upgrading to a XL650 here soon with a bullet feeder and I'm going to automate it more than likely.

[GSXRK5]

Very interesting. I've been looking into this stuff as well. Couple of people that i've talked to said "If you're not reloading, you're wasting money". Buddy of mine took some reloads for his .45 and had a jam every other shot it seemed. That kinda made me shy away from it. But then again i don't know the first thing about reloading.

[CJ]

Very interesting. I've been looking into this stuff as well. Couple of people that i've talked to said "If you're not reloading, you're wasting money". Buddy of mine took some reloads for his .45 and had a jam every other shot it seemed. That kinda made me shy away from it. But then again i don't know the first thing about reloading.

Neither did your friend it seems like

[GSXRK5]

Neither did your friend it seems like

Haha he got them from his father in law apparently. So he didn't do them himself.

[billybob81]

We can load some rounds tomorrow, actually I think we're going to do 1,000 .223 rounds tomorrow - Mr. Fiux? My only request is I get to use you for slave labor trimming and processing brass for some period of time. I can show you a single stage to a progressive, no matter. Reloading is easy, and you'll be wanting to start immediately after only a few hours.

I don't want to completely shoot down the L&L press, but I question some of their price points on that machine, and I feel the free bullets promotion is kind of gimmick to sell a press that has an odd price point. Feel free to correct me if I'm wrong on any of this information, especially if you own an L&L because I'd like to hear it. Like I said before, the caliber conversions on a Dillon are more expensive. You will realistically spend $100 per caliber. (this is absolutely every single thing, required and optional - does not including the dies).

I myself will be upgrading to a XL650 here soon with a bullet feeder and I'm going to automate it more than likely.

Sounds good to me! I will help out with whatever to get some info and learn some things in process. Let me know if you are going to do that this evening, I will pm you my number.

[billybob81]

Thanks CJ, I learned a lot last night! I am ready to start looking for a press, and I think I am leaning towards the Dillon. On the Cabela's site, the L&L case feeder is an additional $300 making the total $700. I think to start off with the 550 will be more than sufficient. If you come across a used one in good condition, let me know.

[GSXRK5]

Thanks CJ, I learned a lot last night! I am ready to start looking for a press, and I think I am leaning towards the Dillon. On the Cabela's site, the L&L case feeder is an additional $300 making the total $700. I think to start off with the 550 will be more than sufficient. If you come across a used one in good condition, let me know.

Is that $700 total to start reloading? Or is that on the higher end? Some guys at work said they've spent about ~$300ish on their reloading stuff. So I was thinking that's not too bad.

[CJ]

Is that $700 total to start reloading? Or is that on the higher end? Some guys at work said they've spent about ~$300ish on their reloading stuff. So I was thinking that's not too bad.

Checkout the reloading FAQ in this forum, it's a sticky. It will answer all your questions. I made it for new reloaders.