Took a hammer to my Lee loadmaster

[dial1911]

Lee just contacted me. If things work out, a new press and all the equipment I have for it will be up for grabs and I will be in the market for a Dillon.

Dang... Really sorry to hear about the problems with the Lee press. I inherited Dad's old RCBS JR2 setup and used it for about ten years. Great press, reloads anything, but darn slow. I found a deal on a Dillon 550B in the local credit union bulletin about five or six years ago and I'll never go back. It is an outstanding machine that requires very little attention after you get it set up.

And their customer service is second to none. Well, maybe Glock or S&W, but I'm a little biased. I guess it's good I've had more problems with used handguns than reloading equipment.

For what it's worth, I've never seen a press mounted priming mechanism that worked reliably (i.e. without occasional headache). So far (about 5K+ rounds) this Dillon is the best I've used.

 

[mrdrhumphreys]

I stock the Dillons. You can get a 550 with a caliber conversion for $443 out the door. Let me know if you are interested. I sold Dillons to a lot of people that left comments here and they are all happy with the investment.

 

[GodBlessTheUSA]

Most folks won't sell their old Dillons. Estate sales etc are where you might find a used one for less than retail. And although I don't know mrdrhumphreys above, his price is right. Unless you can get one with free shipping and NO tax, $439 is the retail price that Dillon doesn't want any dealers dropping below. I got one (550B) for $440 cash at a gun show, but I paid $7 to get in. I bought another from an estate sale for $300 (never used, in the box, but an older version with the single "bell" on the powder measure). Dillon's warranty is awesome, they've sent me stuff (like buttons) for free via USPS.

I started on a Hornady Lock 'n' Load single stage and have to say I never liked the priming system on the press, so I always primed by hand.

I also use a lot of Lee dies. If Lee is sending you a new press you're ahead!

 

[Cbae123]

I will tell you this I have 2 loadmasters and for the money they work great. If you are strapped for cash and want an auto indexing progressive the Hornady Lock and Load seem nice and is in the pricing point between Lee and Dillion. The one thing I have to say about Lee is that they work great once you set it up for a particular caliber but changing calibers and geting it reset up for that caliber is where the loadmaster fails. Check out the Lock-n-Load by Hornady it is a little cheaper than the Dillon.

 

[jpdriver]

Lee is offering their satisfaction guarantee. I will send this one in along with a check for $200 and they will send me a new one. When I get it, I will round up all the other stuff that I have and sell it. Once I see what I have I will come up with a selling price. I hope to get enough out of it to get me close to a Dillon.

 

[rosewood]

I use Lee dies almost exclusively in my Dillon 550b. I also use the Lee Auto Disk Pro for pistol reloading on the Dillon. The Auto Disk is significantly cheaper than the Dillon Powder measure. I use the Dillon measure for more precise loading and the Auto disk for pistol target loads.

 

[jeffdt]

Lee is offering their satisfaction guarantee. I will send this one in along with a check for $200 and they will send me a new one. When I get it, I will round up all the other stuff that I have and sell it. Once I see what I have I will come up with a selling price. I hope to get enough out of it to get me close to a Dillon.

WTF? " Offering their satisfaction guarantee"? Why would you have to send in $200.00? So, let me understand this. They are satisfied if you pay for a POS twice?

 

[YOTESHOOTER]

DILLON, a no BS guarantee, once and done........................

 

[Smiley]

You'll always hear good things about the Dillons and rightfully so, I guess. I personally have never owned one, but you always hear good things...

For me, my Hornady has always done the trick. I started on a single stage Lock-N-Load classic and just bought a Lock-N-Load AP to go along with it. I have only needed customer service once, when I bent a spring being ridiculous, but it was sent right away. Combine their rebate offer of 500-bullets free, and for me, it brought the actual price down to around $300 for the AP. Just over 1,000 rounds on it so far and it's running sewing machine smooth. The on press priming is great. I probably have 5,000+ on the old single stage, but it's dedicated to .308 nowadays. Plus, the only thing I need to swap calibers quickly is an extra set of LnL bushings for $15. Now, if you want a bullet feeder and case feeder to go on it, you will spend another $500+, but I think that is about par for the course.

I think Lee makes some great stuff, but a progressive press ain't one of them...

 

[BHJ]

WTF? " Offering their satisfaction guarantee"? Why would you have to send in $200.00? So, let me understand this. They are satisfied if you pay for a POS twice?

Maybe because he took a hammer to it?
Not sure even Dillon covers that