Opinions on Dillon BL550 press

London22

CGN Regular
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Calgary, Alberta
I’m thinking of getting into reloading and was looking at turret presses and ran across this one. What do you guys think about it? I want something to learn on but not something I’d outgrow in a year. I also don’t want a progressive at this stage. My main use would be reloading handgun calibres and 223. Thanks
 
for the difference i would get the RL550c. if you end up going progressive, which once you are confident you most likely will, it will cost less than the BL once you add in all the other pieces you will need. my first reloader was a RL550, was great as i just used a single station at a time, and once i was confident and wanted to increase productivity i used it as a progressive
cheers
cueball
 
Go with the RL550. You can use it as a single stage machine and load one at a time until you get the hang of it. Then you can use it as a progressive. Hand indexing means you can take it slow and make sure you've done everything right before you go to the next step.
 
I own a rl550 and love it. I highly recommend a progressive press. You won't outgrow it soon if you're starting. I haven't used anything better but I suspect I'll have it for the rest of my life. Really relaxing hobby, I should setup a Buddhist alter in my reloading room ; )

As for reloading .223, I'd recommend not starting with that caliber and thinking it over before taking the plunge. It's alot more work then non necked pistol calibers or anything not necked down. Trimming bulk brass to feed Semi auto's is a pain.
 
I have a single stage press, it’s a real love/hate relationship. My buddy has the Dillon RL550, puts mine to shame. 6 times faster at least!! Needless to say, I am saving for the same RL550
 
The manual powder measuring will get old quick. If you want a Dillon, but not a auto-indexing progressive, do it right and get the machine that everyone loves, the RL550.
 
for the difference i would get the RL550c. if you end up going progressive, which once you are confident you most likely will, it will cost less than the BL once you add in all the other pieces you will need. my first reloader was a RL550, was great as i just used a single station at a time, and once i was confident and wanted to increase productivity i used it as a progressive
cheers
cueball

Good advice here. Add to that scout_289 said and you need no more info. The 550 will serve you the rest of your life and into your offsprings,

Take Care

Bob
 
The RL550 is an excellent combination rifle/pistol cartridge reloading press. You definitely want a progressive press for handgun reloading and you are going to want to have a powder measure anyway, so you might as well choose it over the BL550.
 
The xl 650 or hornady ap
Just a word ......you will wanna go bigger one day and might think a true progressive would of been better for your needs ....selling it and up grading ????
Brass processing is faster too

But do as you want. As it’s your money ....I’ve seen and know people who bought one ....all happy for awhile and then a year or two down the road want the bigger toy for more volume
Something to think about
Enjoy what ever you buy
 
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