dillon reloaders

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takman74

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Northwestern Ontario
Hey all

well I stepped up and got my Rpal. I now have some guns and need to feed them. I am looking at a progressive press and I thought I would draw on the collective knowledge from the group here. I like the looks of a 550 dillon. I have watched the vids on you tube and they seem good. Does anyone know of dealers for these in Canada? Also is there any others that are a good press for the progressive process. I already have an RCBS chucker for long gun ammo and I love that stuff. I am looking to load for the following:

9mm
45acp
38 spec
45 Colt
357 mag

Thanks everyone!
 
There are many dillon resellers here. The Shooting Edge, reloadersbench.com, as well as other sponsors of the site.

Best bet for a deal is to watch the Equipment Exchange - that's where i got my 550.

Also, look at the Hornady Lock-N-Load. They are highly regarded on here too. You will get many different opinions, but I really like my 550. No issues whatsoever, and it's easy to crank out 400 rounds per hour for pistol without a casefeeder..
 
yeah and do not think prices you see are prices you pay
many websites have not been updated entirely but ALL shops have highered their dillon prices. I was welcomed by a 25% higher price than quoted on internet

Viva 2009 amigo.
 
bjhill said:
Get a dillon sdb if yuor just going to do straight walled handgun
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I am sorry bjhill for contradicting your recommendation. Been there done that with SDB.

NOPE!!!
In my own opinion..... For a few bucks difference.... buy at least the 550. DO NOT make the mistake of buying SDB especially if you are reloading multiple pistol calibers (it will not be as cheap and convenient as the 550). SDB uses a Dillon proprietary dies. You wont have the flexibility in using different type of dies aside from SDB Dillon dies. Plus the parts are expensive compare to 550 Dillon press.
 
The 550 is not a true progressive you have to manually index the shell plate.The sdb is fully progressive the shell plate is indexed with each pull of the handle.
 
bjhill said:
The 550 is not a true progressive you have to manually index the shell plate.The sdb is fully progressive the shell plate is indexed with each pull of the handle.
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True, but who cares? I don't even notice the indexing with my thumb, and to be honest, I like it better. Easier to move forward/backward if you ever need to (like when you're trying to dial-in a charge and you need to re-charge the same round a few times. It's nice not having it move away).

SDB is kinda dumb unless you're a single calibre pistol shooter only. (IMHO).
 
4string said:
Dillon 650.

TSE still has them at the old prices.
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I have both 650 & 550. I love them both, but as canucklehead said I wish I could manually rotate the indexing backward on my 650 if I need to.
I use my 550 in loading 38 SC for my open gun. The thumb indexing helps me rotate the shell plate at a pace where I dont have to spill the powder in my almost full 38 SC brass unlike the 650.:D:D
 
I looked at 650 and 550.. chose the 550 for pure simplicity. the manual operation has many benefits for the small effort it takes to move it.. you can get a case feeder for it if you want, but unless you're loading a "lot" (> 10K \ year), it's no big deal..
 
progressive reloading

I hate to be contradictory of other members but from my experience if you want a loader that will ultimately do it all ,look toward a HORNADY LNL press it will load everything from .25 acp to belted magnum rounds with standard dies and in my opinion far less hastle messing around in set up !!!!!
 
blaser.306 said:
I hate to be contradictory of other members but from my experience if you want a loader that will ultimately do it all ,look toward a HORNADY LNL press it will load everything from .25 acp to belted magnum rounds with standard dies and in my opinion far less hastle messing around in set up !!!!!
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From the research I did before ordering my L&L, I gather the early versions had some problems, ie with the eject mechanism. Hornady, not surprisingly, has addressed these, ei Eez-eject system, and today's versions are creating nothing but happy campers :). I'm not selling the things but if you're in the market for a progressive today, you'd be seriously mistaken not to give Hornady's L&L deal a look.

Here's some chatter from a Hornady friendlier site:

http://forum.m1911.org/showthread.php?t=61164
 
My 550 works well for my volume requirements. I can load 100 rounds in about 15 minutes (400 rounds/hr). It definitely has the advantage in ease and cost of calibre changes over a 650 or a Square Deal. Manual indexing makes it easy to back up the shellplate if you make a mistake.

Auto indexing probably won't make much difference in speed unless you also have a case feeder. In that case, the 650 will have a considerable edge. If you are loading lots of ammo in one or two calibres, the 650 would a good choice.
 
tjhaile said:
Auto indexing probably won't make much difference in speed unless you also have a case feeder. In that case, the 650 will have a considerable edge. If you are loading lots of ammo in one or two calibres, the 650 would a good choice.
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That's the key. Lots of throughput. If you are not going to reload many thousands (think in the ten plus thousand range), there are probably better options. I have a Dillon 650 and while I initially thought I would reload a few different calibers, it has been in use for a couple of years loading .357 exclusively. Somewhere between 10 and 15K rounds per year. I have never been able to get the advertised 800 rounds per hour out of it though. Either I screw up or it screws up or I run out of primers or . . . something always manages to slow me down. Maybe 650 rounds peak per hour and it is expensive to buy. While I really like the 650 for what it does, I also have a Lee Classic 4 stage press and that is what I use to reload all the rest. I can get a couple of hundred rounds per hour out of it and swapping calibers is incredibly simple and quick! I use it for both handgun and rifle ammo and while I reload using the Autodisk powder measure for most of my handgun reloadng, I hand measure my rifle loads. Don't sell these smaller presses short. It is a small outlay of cash for a wonderful product and I am sure that there are others I haven't looked into at all.
 
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