Buying a new progressive. Need advise.

blacksmithden

blacksmithden

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I live among the creatures of the night (Edmonton)
Ok, so through a fortunate circumstance, I'm forced to spend aprox. $700.00 before the end of April. It's one of those "spend it or lose it" deals, and that's all I'm saying for now.

Anyway, my sights are set on a new Dillon press. I load 44 mag and 45ACP. I'll probably be loading 9mm and .40 within the next 2 years as well.
Given the dollar figure, and the fact that I'm in Edmonton, and will be purchasing it from our friends at P&D, what Dillon press would you guys recommend that I pick up? (Man, that sentence is way to long...oh well :D ) They've always been out of my price range, so I've never paid much attention to anything anyones said about them. I'd like to get everything I need to load both calibers right away. I've got all the dies (I assume these things take standard Lee dies), so that's not an issue. Recommendations ????
 
I just upgraded from a Lee Pro 1000 to a Dillon 650. The caliber change is a bit pricey, but the 650 is so smooth and trouble free compared to some other presses. I only reload 45ACP right now on it and I plan on getting a conversion kit for 9MM. I would cry if I had to go back to the old Lee pro. My best hour reloading on the 650 is 800 - 45ACP rounds. You won't regret buying a Dillon XL650. Once it is set up, check and tighten everything and always lube the cases. Happy reloading.
 
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TIGRR;

I'm just a bit curious, why do you lube your pistol cases ?

Aren't you using carbide dies ?

I have a Dillon 1050 in .45acp, have loaded tons of cartridges on it in the past 12+ years.... No lubed cases....

I load .41 mag, .44mag, .45lc on my Dillon 650, all carbide, no lube.... Never had a problem

John
 
johnone said:
TIGRR;

I'm just a bit curious, why do you lube your pistol cases ?

Aren't you using carbide dies ?
John
Click to expand...

I never lube my pistol cases either. Tumble, seperate then straight back into the press with no issues.

I would recommend a Dillon press with carbide dies.
 
If you're doing large volume reloading..go for the 650 with case and bullet feed.
If not, settle for the 550....a little slower, but parts are less pricey, and they are bullet proof.
I used to have a 650 when shooting IPSC on a regular basis...
Now I shoot less, but different calibres...have TWO 550's.. one set up for small primer and one for large.
Bought enough tool head to make calibre changes a snap.
One word of advice....use whatever dies you like, but add a Lee factory crimp die as the last 'station'...easy to adjust, and it re-sizes the case at the same time....make poor feeding of incompletely sized cases a thing of the past!
 
Thanks for all the info guys. I've got Lee factory crimp dies for every caliber I reload...actually, I've got duplicates of a few dies, and I haven't even been reloading a year yet. I checked out the 550 and the 650 today (well, looked at the boxes and the prices. 550 is $515 and the 650 is $695. With my budget, if I stick with the 550, then I can still buy the bits and pieces to swap calibers. I don't reload that much pistol ammo. When I go at it, I'll load up about 300 44 mag and about 150 to 200 in 45ACP. I'll do that every 3 weeks or so. I have no idea what my shooting schedual will be like a few months from now (I'm moving), but I hope it's more. :D
I'll check out Dillons website and other posts to make my very final decision. One thing I forgot to check was if each press had 5 die stations. The other thing is.....I know they're not really made for it.....but could a guy reload 300 win mag and 30-30 winchester with one if the cases are already neck sized??? I saw a rifle conversion kit or something to that effect on the shelf today. Anybody that's used a 550 for this, I'd love to hear how you made out.
Thanks again guys.
 
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Dillon XL650 Instruction manual page 9 under lubricating brass.
In the pistol section at the bottom of the paragraph it says and I quote We do however, recommend lubricating all brass.

You would be surprised at how smooth and easy it makes it cycle. I have the resizer, case flare, bullet seat and carbide resizer. then a quick wipe and your done. Just try 10 cases to see the difference. You may be surprised!
 
going to the calgary show

got a 550 for sale with high rise mounts shellplates for 223 44 357 7br

extra primer pickup tubes

and so on

400 beans


Jeff
 
tigrr said:
Dillon XL650 Instruction manual page 9 under lubricating brass.
In the pistol section at the bottom of the paragraph it says and I quote We do however, recommend lubricating all brass.

You would be surprised at how smooth and easy it makes it cycle. I have the resizer, case flare, bullet seat and carbide resizer. then a quick wipe and your done. Just try 10 cases to see the difference. You may be surprised!
Click to expand...

I do my pistol brass with a quick shot of lube as it is rotating in the case feeder. Makes life easy and the 550 really sails with just a touch of lube!
 
Lube in a Dillon 650

beltfed said:
I do my pistol brass with a quick shot of lube as it is rotating in the case feeder. Makes life easy and the 550 really sails with just a touch of lube!
Click to expand...

I use the RCBS spray-on lube and find the press works a little smoother. Don't use too much or the finished ammo gets gummy.

Take a look at The Reloading Bench in Bolton, Ontario. Brian Stephens' prices in Jan 2007 were better than anyone else in Canada. Dillon would ship, but insisted on using UPS who wanted to add a brokerage fee of $286, back when the US dollar was more than today
 
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