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I'm in the market for a new progressive press and I'm leaning towards the Hornady AP because it's so much cheaper. I cant seem to find any definitive answer on where they make their presses. Dillon is my next option and I will gladly pay the difference if it's made in the US

mupepe wrote:I'm in the market for a new progressive press and I'm leaning towards the Hornady AP because it's so much cheaper. I cant seem to find any definitive answer on where they make their presses. Dillon is my next option and I will gladly pay the difference if it's made in the US

Im going to China in a few weeks, ill ask around!

TreyHouston wrote:

mupepe wrote:I'm in the market for a new progressive press and I'm leaning towards the Hornady AP because it's so much cheaper. I cant seem to find any definitive answer on where they make their presses. Dillon is my next option and I will gladly pay the difference if it's made in the US

Im going to China in a few weeks, ill ask around!

You can probably find one there. You can pick up a Sino "Zeiss" rifle scope while you're there for certain.
Seriously they're made in Nebraska and the company is not public.

Good to know! Thank you!

I have a Hornady single stage, got it for Christmas (not the iron press)
Good stuff you won't be disappointed

puma guy wrote:

TreyHouston wrote:

mupepe wrote:I'm in the market for a new progressive press and I'm leaning towards the Hornady AP because it's so much cheaper. I cant seem to find any definitive answer on where they make their presses. Dillon is my next option and I will gladly pay the difference if it's made in the US

Im going to China in a few weeks, ill ask around!

You can probably find one there. You can pick up a Sino "Zeiss" rifle scope while you're there for certain.
Seriously they're made in Nebraska and the company is not public.

If made at their plant, Grand Island, NE.

Jeff B.

Thanks! I'm going to go check one out at Cabelas tomorrow (hoping they have it set up). It's currently on sale for $389. It's either that or $599 for the 650XL from Dillon.

mupepe wrote:Thanks! I'm going to go check one out at Cabelas tomorrow (hoping they have it set up). It's currently on sale for $389. It's either that or $599 for the 650XL from Dillon.

Hm; $389, huh? Please keep us informed. Someone I know (ahem) might be interested in what you learn/decide.

I've had the Hornady progressive for a few years & been quite happy. I have no experience with
any other brand or press. I learned on this one. I am mechanically inclined and do not think
I'm the smartest one in the room, but there is a learning curve. Maybe even multiple curves.
Go slow w setup, read the instuctions & follow them. It is a very good product.
They have been great since the purchase & overall quality is very good.
I have called them three times, twice they immediately sent new parts that I believe was due
to mass manufacturing. The other time, after talking to a very polite customer service person,
they sent out a new part. I'm pretty sure that part that was boogered up, after talking to their
person, was by me and my learning curve. Even after I acknowledged my mistake &
thanked them for their time they insisted on sending a new part. I admit I accepted it.
One of those customer for life moments.
All that having been said, I have to say that I have noticed that I am NOT saving any money.
To be fair I think I'm actually spending more since learning to load my own.

mupepe wrote:Thanks! I'm going to go check one out at Cabelas tomorrow (hoping they have it set up). It's currently on sale for $389. It's either that or $599 for the 650XL from Dillon.

$389 for the AP? Wow. Keep me away.
Last time I was at Cabela's Allen, they had the single setup but I didn't see the AP. Good thing too....

I'll let you guys know what I decide. I have heard their customer service is top notch but I am a sucker for lifetime no questions asked warranties like Dillon has.

But a progressive press for this price is too good to not give serious consideration. You also get 500 bullets for free so knock that off the price too.

I've been reloading on a Lee single stage for some years now and the volume has just become too much on a single stage considering how often I shoot.

One thing I did notice is that all in with the case and bullet feeders for all my calibers would be about $1600 on the Hornady and $1100 on the Dillon. That's mostly due to having to get a pistol bullet feeder and rifle bullet feeder for the AP whereas its just separate inserts on the Dillon.

Here is the link for anyone else interested...

Hornady® Lock-N-Load® Auto Progressive Press : Cabela's http://www.cabelas.com/product/Hornady- ... 739991.uts

Yeah I plan on loading a lot of calibers. The AP is cheaper to change out for multiple calibers it seems since you dont need a plate for each set of dies like you do on the Dillon. It seems like its immediate vs long term cost. I have until the 22 to decide since the sale ends then at Cabelas

Only $600 for a 650XL? I seem to remember pricing one only a couple years ago and came up around $1200 for the stuff for two calibers. Has it really come down that much or am I misremembering?

I think the ~$600 for a 650 is the bare press. You'll still need dies and a case feeder.

One thing to note: The Hornady works quite well without the case feeder, I consider it an add-on, and a nice touch, but the press is designed to operate without the case feeder.

The Dillon 650 is NOT designed to run without a case feeder. It will run without one, and a friend of mine ran one for 2+ years without a case feeder...but I can assure you that's not how it's designed to run, and it's not especially friendly to operating without the feeder.

I consider a Dillon 650 without a case feeder to be an incomplete machine, so do yourself a favor and factor in the cost of a case feeder at minimum.

It's a matter of personal preference as to which is a "better" machine...there are things I like better about each machine, so everything is a trade-off.

They're both excellent machines.