Almost ready to buy a Dillon

S

superbikeracer

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So my first year of shooting PPC I used a Lee turret press to reload .40S&W. I learned a lot and got the hang of reloading so I feel that I've got a pretty good idea of what to watch for etc.

I started reloading again for this season and the speed just isn't doing it for me. My plan was to reload over the winter while I had a lot of time so I'd be all set.... well turns out I don't have as much time on my hands with a new chocolate lab puppy showing up in October :)

So I started looking into the Dillon presses. I found that great page on Brian Eno's site that helps you pick out which press is right for you and from that process it looks like the 550B is right for me.

I only will be reloading 9mm to start... I may start doing .38SP in the future as well.

I shoot about 200-300 rounds a week (I know, I'm a lightweight :) that will probably go up as the summer progresses)


So from what I've read the 550B should be exactly what I need but wanted to ask for other opinions before I pull the trigger. I'm going to order it from P&D.

I also hear that a lot of people will try and push the 650 XL just because it's bigger/faster. So try to stay away from the "I bought it and you should too" advice :p
 
The 550 is a great press if you load small to med volumes of different calibers...

My only piece of advice...don't buy the case feeder...it's a retrofit for the 550 and wonky at best.
 
Cool, I'm going to ask the guy about it.

I think the SDB would probably be fine. I originally was thinking about the 550B because I have die sets already but if I can get a good used one with the custom dies I need already then it may not be an issue.

How does Dillon treat the warranty on their presses if you are not the orginal owner?
 
Dillion is one of the best for warranty if you have a problem they are a phone call away and usually parts are free within reason.That said there really not much to wear out on them.
 
Ok, great. That's what I figured but just wanted to double check.

The guy who has the press for sale is just a couple hours away from me too.
 
dillon thumbs up

i bought my 550b 2 years ago, i load 9mm,40 sw,38 special,357 mag,.223,.

243. and .45 acp i truly love the loader for its simplcity and how much it

saves me and the wife in money. over the cold months i convinced the wife to

get anougher dillon so now we have the sl 900 dillon for our shotshells for

this years trap season over 2000 loaded in a couple of nights

what ever u pick? that dillon it will be your best friend

only one call made customer servive in 2 years and they were great, the part was

mailed up that day free(it was the primer swing arm for the 900 sl my bad i broke it)

it)
 
Quigley said:
The 550 is a great press if you load small to med volumes of different calibers...

My only piece of advice...don't buy the case feeder...it's a retrofit for the 550 and wonky at best.
Click to expand...

Hmm, I kinda like my 550 with the casefeeder. If you're buying new, and want a casefeeder, go for the 650. If you own a 550 and want to make it better - buy the casefeeder.

WONKY

[SIZE=-1]ADJECTIVE:[/SIZE]
Chiefly British [FONT=arial,sans-serif][SIZE=-1]won·ki·er[/SIZE][/FONT], [FONT=arial,sans-serif][SIZE=-1]won·ki·est[/SIZE][/FONT]
  1. confusing to people from Ottawa.
  2. simple or easy to operate.
[FONT=arial,sans-serif][SIZE=-1]ETYMOLOGY:[/SIZE][/FONT]
Probably alteration of dialectal wanker, alteration of wanker, from Middle English wanker, from Old English wanker, "I'm from Ottawa - that's wonky" :D:cheers:
Click to expand...
 
OK PMT...now that was funny...

But I still didn't like the case-feeder on my 550

Come to think of it...I really didn't like the 550 that much either...
 
For 200-300 rounds a week you can't go wrong with the 550. I've had mine for 18years now. Never worry about the warranty. Just this past winter the arm-thingy-part on the collar of one of my powder measures broke. A quick e-mail to Dillon and the following week the new part showed up in the mail. I've broken the odd bit in the past where it was entirely my fault, I've never heard the question "How the heck did you manage that? What are you, stoopid?" And I was, once or twice.....:redface:

Instead, you will hear "Is there anything else we can help you with today?"

Also, check out the Hornady lock and load. It has a following here and many swear by them. Although I wouldn't touch one with a 10 foot pole......:D
 
i've got a 550b as well as a lee turret.i purchased the 550 used and it was missing some parts so i called dillon.i got all the parts i needed but was charged for everything.i even ordered extra stuff to change calibers.i expected to pay,so no big deal,but the guy was so-so on the customer service part.he seemed annoyed that i called.
anyway,the dillon is a sweet rig,the powder measure is very accurate,moreso than the lee pro powder measure.to change calibers,lee wins hands down in speed.the dillon wins on quality.

just remember,the 550 is MANUAL indexing--you have to turn the shell plate by hand.if time is important to you,maybe the 650 or even a hornady lnl-ap would be a better choice...
 
The 550 should have sufficient capacity for your needs. I can easily load at a cyclic rate of over 500 rounds/hour with the bullet tray and empty case bin fitted to the Strong Mount.

The 650 would be an appropriate choice if both of the following apply:

1. You will only be loading aboout two or three calibres on it. 650 toolheads and conversion kits are considerably more expensive than those for a 550.
2. You intend to run a case feeder. Auto indexing is only substantially faster when used in conjunction with a case feeder.

I would not recommend the Square Deal for the same reasons that Brian Enos lists on his site.
 
I have a SDB since '94 and a 650 since 2 months, Only reason I bought the 650 is for increasing productivity because I'm shooting more than I used to (IPSC). I almost double the speed of the SDB using the casefeeder but it takes more than 3x the space of the SDB on the bench.. but worth it for the time saved!

Only maintenance I made on the SDB over the years was to change the plastic wave bearings sent free of charge by Dillon and I made an homemade rolling handle using a winch handle.
 
Ordered the 550 today from P&D. Great people to deal with!

I ordered a pack of 4 extra primer tubes as well.

Should be here Friday or Monday. Likely Friday with my luck :rolleyes:
 
Oh.... my..... god.... this press is awesome :D

Got it all setup last night and tonight and starting cranking out some rounds tonight. It is sooooo nice.
 
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