Goebela3 Wrote:Looking at getting my first press and was leaning towards the Dillon 550C. Is there a reason most of you are doing single press for 6.5 Grendel instead of progressive? I would mostly load 9mm, 5.56, and 6.5 Grendel.
The reason the majority of gun owner don't use a retail progressive to load rifle rounds is they are not consistent enough for the precision required. What they are good for is speed and if that criterion is more important than where the bullet lands on the target then a progressive it is. In handguns the precision required is a lot less and typically handgunners shoot more rounds at short ranges. Progressive presses suit handgunners while single stage presses suit long gunners.
Part reason why progressives produce less accurate ammo is because of the inbuilt run-out. The axis of the die does not line up with the axis of the case, especially in small diameter rifle rounds. Regardless of calibre the dies are screwed into a block or frame at the top while the cases index off the circumference of the bottom disk. This means the axis of the case varies relative to the die depending on the calibre. Your case will likely go into the die on a slight angle instead of exactly lined up. This produces run-out, which in turn degrades precision.
For example, the Lee Loadmaster disks...
[ATTACH=CONFIG]11333[/ATTACH][ATTACH=CONFIG]11334[/ATTACH]
Dillon is the same.
If you shoot a lot of 9mm then you need two presses; a single and a progressive. The good news is the single stage will last a lifetime. Lee gets a bad rap on this forum and I must say that my first progressive was a Lee Loadmaster which while cheap, needed constant tweaking and minor repairs. I gave up and threw it out at the end of several years and tens of thousands of handgun rds. The Dillon 650 I currently have has yet to fail. I only use the Dillon for handgun. The Lyman single stage I've had for years just 'keeps on keeping on', with the occasional spray of oil. I don't mind screwing in and out dies for rifle loading. You get pretty quick at it.