Hey there! I'm a young fellow who started reloading a few years ago. I started out with a single stage press then moved to my current lee classic turret press, which is great but I would like a more efficient press. I currently load 8 pistol calibers so I'm looking to move to the Dillon 550b (manual rotating progressive) do any of you have this press? Care to share your experiences? Where would I be able to buy one? Thanks!!
Upgrading my press
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I have a 550B and a LeePro 1000
I would take the 550B any day. I am very happy with it. (Starting to outgrow it though)
(550 is used for all my handgun loads, precision rifle is done on a single stage, mass 223 production is on a 650)
I would take the 550B any day. I am very happy with it. (Starting to outgrow it though)
(550 is used for all my handgun loads, precision rifle is done on a single stage, mass 223 production is on a 650)
I load several pistol cartridges on my 550B and no rifle. I have a single stage for my rifle reloading. I have had my 550B for over 20 years now. When I bought it money had a lot of places to go...not so much now. If I had to do it all over again I might go with the 650 Dillon. That said the 550B has done all I ever needed it to do and more. I have over 375,000 rounds loaded on it over the time I have owned it and I bought it slightly used. Great machine. The bottom end broke a couple of years ago and Dillon sent parts up to replace the entire lower end of the press. About seven years ago Santa brought me the case feeder and I love it.
Over the years I have acquired six powder dies set up for the most common cartridges I load for. I found it convenient but not really necessary to have the powder measures set up with the dies installed.
You won't be disappointed in the Dillon press. If you can afford the 650 I would recommend you go for it. If not, the 550B will serve you well. The 650 is just a bigger press with a few extra features.
I bought my press used so unable to recommend from experience a Canadian dealer. Dillon service is outstanding. Find the right pricing and go for it. You won;t be disappointed.
Take Care
Bob
ps If you are a "young" fellow buy the 650 IF you can afford it. The extra cost will be next to nothing when you turn the press over to your grand-son.
Over the years I have acquired six powder dies set up for the most common cartridges I load for. I found it convenient but not really necessary to have the powder measures set up with the dies installed.
You won't be disappointed in the Dillon press. If you can afford the 650 I would recommend you go for it. If not, the 550B will serve you well. The 650 is just a bigger press with a few extra features.
I bought my press used so unable to recommend from experience a Canadian dealer. Dillon service is outstanding. Find the right pricing and go for it. You won;t be disappointed.
Take Care
Bob
ps If you are a "young" fellow buy the 650 IF you can afford it. The extra cost will be next to nothing when you turn the press over to your grand-son.
I use a Dillon 550 for a variety of rifle and pistol cartridges. It has no problem keeping up to around 500 rounds/month of pistol ammo consumption. The 650 with case feeder has a significant productivity advantage, but conversion parts are also significantly more expensive.
The 550 is best for moderate quantities of a variety of cartridges and the 650 is best for making large quantities of fewer different cartridges.
The 550 is best for moderate quantities of a variety of cartridges and the 650 is best for making large quantities of fewer different cartridges.
- Location
- West Quebec
^^^ Good advice I agree
- Location
- Central AB
A 550 setup costs about 3 times as much as a Pro 1000, I would hope there is some advantage to justify that gap. Or a person could buy three Pro1000's in different calibers for the same money.
Anyway, when you intend to switch back and forth between 8 different calibers, it pays to research carefully how easy that process is on various models. And to consider the extra costs of heads etc to accomplish the changes. Time to change calibers can seriously impact production rates.
All things equal, the more processes that are automated on a press, the longer it takes to do caliber changes. So you may want to strike a balance between production rates automation offers, and ease of caliber changes.
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You can't go wrong with Dillon presses. If you have the cash go straight for the 650. If not start with a 550B and when you have more dollars add to it. I have two Dillon 550B's that over the time I added the case feeder and other accessories. One is set up for large pistol (to minimize primer changes) and one is set up for small pistol. All of my dies are set up on there own die head with powder hopper so I am not constantly changing calibers and resetting the powder throw. I only do rifle cartridges on a single stage.
Going Dillon will cost more than others but their warranty is industry leading in my opinion and quality i fantastic. Other than normal cleaning and maintenance I have had nothing broken on either machine in the course of 15 years and tens of thousands of rounds.
Going Dillon will cost more than others but their warranty is industry leading in my opinion and quality i fantastic. Other than normal cleaning and maintenance I have had nothing broken on either machine in the course of 15 years and tens of thousands of rounds.
I strongly recommend you start with a full progressive - in this case, get the 650. The 550 can't be upgraded to progressive, so if you buy a 550 and later decide you want progressive, you'll end-up having to buy a whole 'other press. And the GREAT thing about reloading pistol on a progressive, is that it's much less likely to throw a double-charge; a friend has a 550 and he loves every minute of it, but he's much more deliberate than I am; he never forgets to advance the cartridges. I know I would.
Me - I can $crew-up everything; three times now I've managed to throw no powder at all with my progressive, and once likely a double-charge (one round was really suspiciously loud); don't ask me how ( - and fortunately I load real light, so it did no damage). But I don't have a Dillon for my main pistol press; were I doing it again, I would've got a 650. My other progressive, a Dillon Square Deal, has been a delight from the first day, but it's not for you; it's great if you're only reloading one calibre.
Me - I can $crew-up everything; three times now I've managed to throw no powder at all with my progressive, and once likely a double-charge (one round was really suspiciously loud); don't ask me how ( - and fortunately I load real light, so it did no damage). But I don't have a Dillon for my main pistol press; were I doing it again, I would've got a 650. My other progressive, a Dillon Square Deal, has been a delight from the first day, but it's not for you; it's great if you're only reloading one calibre.
Depending on your volume any of the three Dillon will do you fine. (550, 650 or the bad boy 1050). The nice thing is you can start with the base unit and upgrade as you want (or can afford). Any progressive press will be better then what you have. There is a reason that most of the good competitive shooters run Dillon presses.
If you are in Ontario try Select Shooting Supplies. Dean can hook you up with just about anything you want.
If you are in Ontario try Select Shooting Supplies. Dean can hook you up with just about anything you want.
This x2
I purchased a Dillon 550 about 27 years ago (it was a stretch to find the funds back then) when I was into IPSC ... then service rifle ... now F-Class. Didn't keep track of the numbers, but might be 100,000+ cycles between reloads and case prep. Can't say enough good things about it and Dillon. Bought a PW motorized 1050 to help out with case prep and could have probably been better off with a 650 for my needs, but still happy with it. Longevity, precision, warranty ... all the things you want to have.
- Location
- Central AB
You raise a good point, one should consider which brand of press offers the best safety, and best engineers out human errors.
That said, I'm a big believer in using powder and charges that prevent the possibility of double charges.
That said, I'm a big believer in using powder and charges that prevent the possibility of double charges.
- Location
- Central AB
Not sure how to categorize the 550. What Dillon was thinking making a manually advanced progressive I don't know.
I'd toss the Hornady LNL progressive press in there if your budget is in the Dillon 550 range. I'm not a fan of manually advancing the press vs self-indexing stages with each pull of the lever. My LNL has yet to let me down.
- Location
- Central AB
Dillon definitely aren't the only company to make good presses, with good warranties. They however are the most expensive. Many people opt for less expensive options, and crank out quality ammo year after year. So look over the options carefully before drinking the cool aid.
+1, and I was wondering who else would chime in. Just like any debate, you have brand specific fanboys, Go Red.
I just recently had a few parts sent to me from Hornady for a 25+ year old press. No questions asked. Have the option to upgrade to the latest for $200 also anytime I want. But you can't beat the 'ole projectors primer switching (1 slotted screw)
I have a 1050 and a projector, projector is more versatile in my book for switching calibres
That was the exact reason why I bought the leepro1000. Was going to "dial it in" for one setup and just let her fly. Was a nightmare to setup and maintain with lots of bad rounds made. Some have had success, it am just not one of those. I trust my Dillon and it has run very predictably for me.
