Progressive setup comparison thread...

[Lena]

Star Universal Progressive, case feeder, bullet feeder, indexer, bought it new in 1975, never 1 problem at all, about 3-4 minutes a box production rate, Had a Dillion RL1000 and later sold it never part with the Star.
The Dillion put Star out of business, the RL1000 was a great machine for 5.56 ammo.
38 spl-357mag-9mm-30 carbine-44spl-44mag-45acp
Keep it clean and lubed and still looks as new.

Star, the original progressive. If I recall, they were around $700 in the 70's and that was steep!

Chas.

I got mine from Gil Hebred guns mid 70's for $175 with 2 die sets

[WTR]

Star Universal Progressive, case feeder, bullet feeder, indexer, bought it new in 1975, never 1 problem at all, about 3-4 minutes a box production rate, Had a Dillion RL1000 and later sold it never part with the Star.
The Dillion put Star out of business, the RL1000 was a great machine for 5.56 ammo.
38 spl-357mag-9mm-30 carbine-44spl-44mag-45acp
Keep it clean and lubed and still looks as new.

Star, the original progressive. If I recall, they were around $700 in the 70's and that was steep!

Chas.

I got mine from Gil Hebred guns mid 70's for $175 with 2 die sets

I bought a Star in the early 70's.......never a hiccup. Set up for .45. A gentleman bought out the remaining parts and has set up shop again. I'm going to buy some additional shell plates to reload all my pistols. Best machining I've seen for a press.

[Bayoutalker]

When we got involved in Cowboy Action Shooting I bought three Lee Pro 1000s, one in 45LC, one in 45 Schofield and one in 38/357. I've loaded thousands of rounds in them with no issues. It was nice to not change anything to load all 3 calibers.

[Lena]

With 2 experienced people, 1 keeping primer tubes, case tubes and bullet tubes full you can really load some ammo, the mounting base is cast everything else machined from steel, Mike Dillon got his start trying to improve the Star, his 1st was a 5.56 conversion, Garland Tx PD got sn#1--- I got #2 it worked very well, a few more small other things and he went into production of his own presses after leaving Braniff. I do believe the RL1000 was the best press he ever made.......

There was a Star clone called a Phelps that was a good press most were made so close you could switch the tool heads, they were not a Star though load on both and you sure could tell the difference. They just don't wear out. They were compared to the Winchester M12, everyone who wanted one got one and they just do not wear out so to say factor in the less costly Dillon and Star could not make it anymore. It is sad to find one in an old barn or garage which I have done several times. Many commercial reloaders started with a Star.
Camdex and Ammoload were popular with the 38 Spl reloaders in the day, great machines unreal production rates but lots to maintain. 5000 rounds was nothing on these if you had good components and no problems.
This day and time Dillon all the way.

[G.A. Heath]

AndyC You have the Mark I, as I call it, primer system. The Mark II and III has a little cup that The base of the cam wire sits in and it's designed to pop out should the primer punch get stuck. The plastic bracket is designed to flex a little so that nothing gets damaged in theory. In reality that bracket breaks when someone is going too quick and doesn't catch it popping out or when it gets really dry like mine did. Hornady makes a conversion kit for it, you can see what parts are involved at http://www.hornady.com/store/Breakaway- ... -Assembly/

[AlaskanInTexas]

RCBS Pro 2000 - all kinds of configurations; probably spend 3/4 of my free time tweaking.

[Charles L. Cotton]

Star Universal Progressive, case feeder, bullet feeder, indexer, bought it new in 1975, never 1 problem at all, about 3-4 minutes a box production rate, Had a Dillion RL1000 and later sold it never part with the Star.
The Dillion put Star out of business, the RL1000 was a great machine for 5.56 ammo.
38 spl-357mag-9mm-30 carbine-44spl-44mag-45acp
Keep it clean and lubed and still looks as new.

Star, the original progressive. If I recall, they were around $700 in the 70's and that was steep!

Chas.

I got mine from Gil Hebred guns mid 70's for $175 with 2 die sets

That's a heck of a price! Look at the retail sheet on http://www.starreloaders.com/ It started at $710.

Chas.

[Lena]

I was in AMU at Ft Hood at the time on the Army pistol gold team, several of us ordered them, somewhere I still have the Hebred catalog with them listed, we had them shipped to Hood. It still looks almost new, It was always kept in the house oiled and covered, there is a man in California who still makes tool heads and dies same as Lifetyme, standard decapping pins fit, and I have an adjustable powder slide.

[G.A. Heath]

I am finally frustrated beyond reason with the lee Pro 1000, it's priming system, ect. So now I am cannibalizing the 9mm Seating and sizing dies off it so I can setup my Hornady for 9mm as well. Now I have to decide the fate of the Pro 1000: scrap metal, sell/trade/give to my worse enemy, ...

[Don2]

Star Universal Progressive, case feeder, bullet feeder, indexer, bought it new in 1975, never 1 problem at all, about 3-4 minutes a box production rate, Had a Dillion RL1000 and later sold it never part with the Star.
The Dillion put Star out of business, the RL1000 was a great machine for 5.56 ammo.
38 spl-357mag-9mm-30 carbine-44spl-44mag-45acp
Keep it clean and lubed and still looks as new.

Star, the original progressive. If I recall, they were around $700 in the 70's and that was steep!

Chas.

Wow...I've always wanted to get my hands wrapped around a Star Progressive press..!!!
They seem to have been years ahead of their time, also in their price..

D2

[mjoplin]

Back to the original question, I run a Dillon 550 on a Dillon strong mount:

Toolheads for 308, 223, 45acp, 40 S&W, 380 auto

Station 1 - size, decap, and prime
Station 2 - flare (as req'd) and powder drop
Station 3 - seat and crimp (except 45 acp and 308, seat only in 3 and crimp in 4)

Dies are a mix of Redding, RCBS, Lee, and Forster (use whatever works the best for the task at hand)

Toolheads with powder drops set up for each

I would love to have a second 550 with one set for large and one for small primer, but in reality hasn't proven to be a big deal to switch and gives me an opportunity to do some cleaning with parts out of the way.

[TXBO]

I'm a Dillon man.
650 for pistol rifle
950 for shotgun
All dies are Dillon.

[Lena]

All ball bearings and smooth as glass, I have passed on several under $200 in the past, the problem with them unless they were cared for being all steel they rust, especially if kept in the garage, with a dryer vent it is worse.
I keep a tool head setup for 45 and another for 9m/m. The 45 being a almost straight walled case loads easier than the 9m/m. The last price I remember was almost $1700 before they went under.