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Hornady LnL classic kit - good place to start?

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hello all

 

just wondering if this kit would be a good place to start.

price looks good at $249 plus 500 free bullets

I'd be looking to reload 9mm with 357 magnum and .223/5.56 down the line once I get comfortable.

 

if yes, what additional items would I need to get started?

 

http://www.cabelas.com/product/Shooting/Reloading/Presses-Dies%7C/pc/104792580/c/104761080/sc/104516280/Hornady-Lock-n-Load-Classic8482-Kit/740228.uts?destination=%2Fcatalog%2Fbrowse%2Fshooting-reloading-presses-dies%2F_%2FN-1100195%2FNs-CATEGORY_SEQ_104516280%3FWTz_l%3DUnknown%253Bcat104792580%253Bcat104761080&WTz_l=Unknown%3Bcat104792580%3Bcat104761080%3Bcat104516280

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I'm personally a blue man ( i like dillons stuff ) . That kit is a single stage kit, prepare to take a long time to go throw all the steps to have a functional round in the end.

 

You'll also need dies for each of the calibers you plan on reloading, calipers, case gauges, powders, primers, bullets, you'll need a tumbler with cleaning media,a media seperator, primer tubes, etc...etc....

 

PERSONALLY, i'd pass. the 500 free bullets dont do it for me at all, it's like a $40 value.

 

IMO, i'd save up a bit more cash and go for something of a progressive nature, either hornady or dillon.

 

If you dont do alot of shooting, and you dont mind taking your time loading up and are on a budget, by all means go for it, I do a alot of shooting and need to be able to crank out a few hundred rounds at a moments notice for a match or something.

 

More ammo = More happy

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For an extra hundred+ dollars you can get a dillon 550, It's " semi " progressive, meaning you'll have to spin the turret by hand, but it'll be tons faster then a single stage, and if you want a full progressive check out the xl650

 

550 -

http://www.dillonprecision.com/#/content/p/9/pid/25291/catid/1/RL550B__w_o_a_Caliber_Conversion_Kit

 

650- comes with 1 set of caliber dies

http://www.dillonprecision.com/#/content/p/9/pid/23803/catid/1/XL_650

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I reload 9mm, .357, and 5.56, and I would advise that you skip single stage and go straight to a progressive. Unless you are only loading small batches (50-100rds a session), single stage will just be too time consuming.

 

I use a Hornady L-N-L but you can't go wrong with Dillon either, if you have the coin and like blue. The mechanisms on the Dillon seem more elegant (or at least more complex) than the Hornady. From what I've seen, the primary procedural difference between the two is that in the Dillon, caliber changes will be slow if you only use one tool head, or if you have multiple toolheads but only one powder measure. If you plan to buy multiple toolheads each with a dedicated powder measure, then the Dillon wins every time in terms of caliber change speed.

 

With the L-N-L, you can quickly swap out individual dies due to the L-N-L bushings, and if it matters to you, you can still store them in their die boxes with the bushings installed (not sure if this is possible w/Dillon toolheads). The powder drop design is also different, as the Dillon uses a slider bar whereas the Hornady uses a rotating drum.

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Heres some stuff to look at, All are free shipping

These are progressive presses

 

$419.00 Hornady LnL with 500 bullets

http://www.grafs.com.../productId/5988

 

$394.00 dillion 650

http://www.grafs.com.../productId/3032

 

$485.00 RCBS

http://www.grafs.com...productId/14219

 

$234.00 Lee Loadmaster

http://www.grafs.com.../productId/8276

 

Check out this one too

http://www.midsouths...%45%53%53%45%53

 

multiple stage turret presses are also something to look into they give you quick caliber change overs and I can do 150 to 200 rounds an hour without trying. They also give you the option of single stage loading as well which I find useful when prepping my 223/556 cartridges.

I use a Lee 4 stage turret press FWIW

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I considered Dillon

I know it's a forum favorite as well.

I remember someone having discounts on Dillon as well and if that was still available I'd definitely be interested.

It may be.

http://njgunforums.com/forum/index.php?/topic/9964-njgf-dillon-group-discount/

Ken

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Heres some stuff to look at, All are free shipping

These are progressive presses

 

$419.00 Hornady LnL with 500 bullets

http://www.grafs.com.../productId/5988

 

$394.00 dillion 650

http://www.grafs.com.../productId/3032

 

$485.00 RCBS

http://www.grafs.com...productId/14219

 

$234.00 Lee Loadmaster

http://www.grafs.com.../productId/8276

 

Check out this one too

http://www.midsouths...%45%53%53%45%53

 

multiple stage turret presses are also something to look into they give you quick caliber change overs and I can do 150 to 200 rounds an hour without trying. They also give you the option of single stage loading as well which I find useful when prepping my 223/556 cartridges.

I use a Lee 4 stage turret press FWIW

 

That price for the dillon is a 550, not a 650.

 

The LNL is a good press for the $$

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A LnL is very effective without a casefeeder, a Dillon 650 is not. Both are great machines. I have a LnL with a casefeeder and I believe the weak link is the casefeeder. Dillons casefeeder is that much better. However I give the nod to the LnL for its dies/quick change system, the LnL powder measure blows the Dillon away, the primer mechanism is better on the LnL and it doesnt spit out a primer if there is no case in the station, the spring vs the brass tabs on the dillon for case retention is also better in my opinion.

 

I also have a sdb from dillon and think its an awesome press so I'm not bashing dillon by any means. I think the Dillon presses are built just a little stronger but both the lnl and the dillon have amazing warranties so you can't go wrong with either.

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I have the Dillon 650 and will say while I like my Blue Press, I'd be just as happy with the Red one. Don't think you can go wrong either way. While many of the old time hand loaders will say start off on a single stage, I started on a progressive and don't see it as a problem at all.

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