Looking for advice on Dillons.

Kevin M.

Kevin M.

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Edmonton, Alberta
Looking to buy my first Dillon press and need advice on what press and components to buy.

I have loaded all of my handgun and rifle on a Lee Turret press to date, and while it is great for making good reloads for rifle rounds, it does not produce enough output for me.

My father and I have both joined IPSC, so we are looking at shooting about 10,000 rounds plus per year between 9mm and 45, and I can not get even close to keeping up on the turret press without giving up my life to the bench.

We have talked to some very experienced IPSC shooters, and gotten completley different opinions of what to get between the 550 and the 650. I am not quite a beginner anymore, so I am not too concerned with a complicated machine, but rather I do need a very high output.


What machine do you reccommend, and what do I need to buy with it to make sure that everything functions smoothly? Looking for anything and everything to make the process easier and faster that I would need to buy seperately from the press itself.

Calibers to be loaded on it-

-9mm
-45ACP
-.223

Thanks,

Kevin.
 
I'd go with the 650 if i was going to get a dillon, autoindexing. Both are good presses. With the few calibers your looking at, a square deal might be worth it, as it has all the stroke you need, takes up much less room, and will cost less.

Personally i'd get a Hornady LNL, but thats cause i already have one. :D


Kevin M. said:
Looking to buy my first Dillon press and need advice on what press and components to buy.

I have loaded all of my handgun and rifle on a Lee Turret press to date, and while it is great for making good reloads for rifle rounds, it does not produce enough output for me.

My father and I have both joined IPSC, so we are looking at shooting about 10,000 rounds plus per year between 9mm and 45, and I can not get even close to keeping up on the turret press without giving up my life to the bench.

We have talked to some very experienced IPSC shooters, and gotten completley different opinions of what to get between the 550 and the 650. I am not quite a beginner anymore, so I am not too concerned with a complicated machine, but rather I do need a very high output.


What machine do you reccommend, and what do I need to buy with it to make sure that everything functions smoothly? Looking for anything and everything to make the process easier and faster that I would need to buy seperately from the press itself.

Calibers to be loaded on it-

-9mm
-45ACP
-.223

Thanks,

Kevin.
Click to expand...
 
Consider the 1050. While more expensive than the 650, it swages the primer pockets of the crimped 9mm and .223 you are going to wind up loading.
 
I have a SD and a 550 if i was to get a nother one it would be the 650 the 1050 nice press but i think you only get a 2 year warranty with it the other models its life time
 
Canuck223 said:
Consider the 1050. While more expensive than the 650, it swages the primer pockets of the crimped 9mm and .223 you are going to wind up loading.
Click to expand...
WEll, the 1050 just isn`t "more" expensive, it`s way, way more expensive....Plus, extra toolheads, shell plates costs are best left to people who would shoot several thousand rounds a week, and it has a limited warranty....The 1050 isn`t for most shooters (as much as I would love to get one)....I believe that the 650 with the case feeder would be his best choice, which also has the unlimited warranty.....
 
Cocked&Locked said:
I'd go with the 650 if i was going to get a dillon, autoindexing. Both are good presses. With the few calibers your looking at, a square deal might be worth it, as it has all the stroke you need, takes up much less room, and will cost less.

Personally i'd get a Hornady LNL, but thats cause i already have one. :D
Click to expand...
You can`t reload rifle rounds on the square deal, so I would rule it out for him...
 
Airwolf said:
WEll, the 1050 just isn`t "more" expensive, it`s way, way more expensive....Plus, extra toolheads, shell plates costs are best left to people who would shoot several thousand rounds a week, and it has a limited warranty....The 1050 isn`t for most shooters (as much as I would love to get one)....I believe that the 650 with the case feeder would be his best choice, which also has the unlimited warranty.....
Click to expand...

It's the ideal press if you load a lot of a single caliber.

I load mostly 9 Major...and occasionally 9 Minor. So...same tool head and bullet feeder...I just have to change the powder...and adjust the seating depth (Redding micro adjustable)

Honestly...it's the best money I've spent in a while. It's more money...but it's also more machine. I can;t get over how solid and precise it is.

but yes...if you load lower volumes of several different calibers...it's not the right choice.
 
Airwolf said:
WEll, the 1050 just isn`t "more" expensive, it`s way, way more expensive....Plus, extra toolheads, shell plates costs are best left to people who would shoot several thousand rounds a week, and it has a limited warranty....The 1050 isn`t for most shooters (as much as I would love to get one)....I believe that the 650 with the case feeder would be his best choice, which also has the unlimited warranty.....
Click to expand...

What I find absolutely ridiculous is guys will quibble over the cost of the press, then spend double that difference on the gun of thier dreams.

A good press is something you buy once in your life. Why compromise, and make do with something less than you truly want, when the cost isn't really that much more? What's $1000 divided by the 20-30 years you will likely have it?

As for the limited warantee, it's a bulls**t arguement that needs to stop. The 1050 doesn't die. I've asked around the bigger forums, and have yet to find a single person who has actually killed one short of burning the house down around it. By the time you find yourself having to fork out more than pocket change for a failed part, your grandchildren will be cranking the handle. I don't mean to ridicule the 550 or 650, but sit behind a 1050 for an hour, and the smaller presses will seem fragile by comparison.

Hell, If you want the ultimate side-by-side comparison, order a 1050 set up for 9mm, and a 650 without a case feeder set up in .45acp with the spare large pistol casefeeder plate. At the end of the year, sell the one you like least.
 
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Cannuck 223 has it exactly right, the people who put down Dillon and the 1050 have never used one. I still use the 1050 in .45 ACP I bought in the mid-eighties, it is still tight and works like new after several hundred thousand rounds.

You will never regret buying one.
 
Been looking at all three on Dillons website, and I am planning on investing the money once.

The 1050 looks like one hell of a press, almost certainly too much for me, but that kind of thinking has never held me back. ;)

If it is as good as it seems, it may be worth the extra investment, plus a bullet feeder. That kind of thought makes me think of how much extra time it will give me to be able to squeeze the trigger instead of pulling the handle making rounds.


Gonna keep looking into all of the though. This discussion is really useful.
 
Canuck223 said:
What I find absolutely ridiculous is guys will quibble over the cost of the press, then spend double that difference on the gun of thier dreams.

A good press is something you buy once in your life. Why compromise, and make do with something less than you truly want, when the cost isn't really that much more? What's $1000 divided by the 20-30 years you will likely have it?

As for the limited warantee, it's a bulls**t arguement that needs to stop. The 1050 doesn't die. I've asked around the bigger forums, and have yet to find a single person who has actually killed one short of burning the house down around it. By the time you find yourself having to fork out more than pocket change for a failed part, your grandchildren will be cranking the handle. I don't mean to ridicule the 550 or 650, but sit behind a 1050 for an hour, and the smaller presses will seem fragile by comparison.

Hell, If you want the ultimate side-by-side comparison, order a 1050 set up for 9mm, and a 650 without a case feeder set up in .45acp with the spare large pistol casefeeder plate. At the end of the year, sell the one you like least.
Click to expand...
In no way was I putting down the 1050...As I said, I would love to get one...As for "quibbling over the cost", there are certain people here who slam Dillon`s for their expense claiming that one should get the Hornady LnL due to the difference in price ( and use that difference to buy reloading components)...An argument I don`t buy...I have sat in front of a 1050, 650 and own a 550....I`m saying that the 1050 is not for everyone and people should balance what they can afford against, what calibers they need and how much they shoot....For most shooters, he 650 , with case feeder, is perfect...
 
Kevin M. said:
If it is as good as it seems, it may be worth the extra investment, plus a bullet feeder. That kind of thought makes me think of how much extra time it will give me to be able to squeeze the trigger instead of pulling the handle making rounds.


Gonna keep looking into all of the though. This discussion is really useful.
Click to expand...

When I was in my 20's and single, time spent reloading was time not spent at the bar.;) I figure I REALLY saved money by reloading.:redface:

Now in my 40's, time spent reloading means time I don't have to go shooting. Kids, work, domestic bliss obligations get in the way fast.
 
Kevin M. said:
Been looking at all three on Dillons website, and I am planning on investing the money once.

The 1050 looks like one hell of a press, almost certainly too much for me, but that kind of thinking has never held me back. ;)

If it is as good as it seems, it may be worth the extra investment, plus a bullet feeder. That kind of thought makes me think of how much extra time it will give me to be able to squeeze the trigger instead of pulling the handle making rounds.


Gonna keep looking into all of the though. This discussion is really useful.
Click to expand...
And there several places that sell a device that takes the place of pulling the handle..With a bullet feeder, now that would be heaven!....
 
Airwolf said:
And there several places that sell a device that takes the place of pulling the handle..With a bullet feeder, now that would be heaven!....
Click to expand...

That's my next planned purchase, the Ponsness Warren Autodrive. Of course then I'd need to find someone to rig up a bypass switch for the foot pedal, and a manually resting switch for the primer alarm microswitch.:D
 
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