So....I just ordered a Dillion 550c

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Skull1

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Yep ordered a Dillion 550c with a 38/357 kit...... I did a lot of looking on the net.........I've been using a single stage Lyman press that I got used in 2000. I think it's time for a upgrade........ I hope this works out, lots of money to upgrade.......cheers
 
mrspeel said:
It's money well spent. The only regret you will have is that you didn't buy it sooner.
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A hearty DITTO to that! I love my 550b.

If you load a fair amount of both Magnum and Special before long you WILL want another die plate and set of dies. Altering the dies to deal with the longer Magnums gets old pretty fast. I load for cowboy action with Special brass for the handguns and Magnum for the rifle. I could go all Magnum and save myself the bother but I've got a rather large bucket load of Special brass and have to buy the Magnum brass. As the brass is lost or splits I'm replacing it with Magnum. But I don't think I'll live long enough to see the day where I'm 100% Magnum brass.

The great thing about the 550 press is that it's also easy to use as a partial loading tool in addition to a full on progressive. If I leave out two of the retention buttons on the platten I can remove sized, primed and flared casings for powdering up then return them to the seating and crimp stations easily. I do that for my black powder rounds as I don't have a proper black powder measure yet.
 
BigUglyMan said:
I can't imagine running bottleneck cases through a progressive press. How do you deal with the case lube issue?
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I use a Dillon 550C for brass processing. It is much quicker than doing it on a single stage.

I just use Dillon case spray lube.

I still seat on a Rock Chucker though.
 

"I can't imagine running bottleneck cases through a progressive press. How do you deal with the case lube issue?"

I use a Dillon 550 and 650.

Used the 550 last night to load 2,000 rounds of 223. It loads about 9 rounds a minute.

Lubing bottlenecks for a Dillon is no different than lubing for any other press, except you need to be able to lube a bucket of brass at a time. That is easy to do:

There is a fast efficient way to lube the cases. I lube 100 or so cases (rifle) at a time. Takes about 30 seconds.

I use Lee case lube. It is a water soluble cream that is easy to clean off.

Dump brass in a plastic pail that has a lid.

lubebrass1.jpg


Then take a 1" worm of lube and smear it around the top inside wall of the pail.

lubebrass.jpg


Put lid on and swirl and shake for 15 seconds. This will lube all the cases and deposit a tiny dab on the case mouth, to lube the expander button.
 
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Well it arrived today. I won't have a chance to set it up until the weekend. I had a peek inside the box, and really impressed how it is package, how clear and easy the instructions are. Looks like money well spent......
 
And there telephone service is excellent. If you have an installation glitch, just call them.

They have replaced parts at no cost, even though they were broken through customer abuse (like a powder thrower than caught fire.)
 
I'm curious OP, where did you buy it? I've been wanting a 550b for some time. I have saved at least 2000 brasses of various calibers waiting for the day.
 
I am very happy with my 550B. I load 9mm ,357 and .223 with it.
I normally just use a lube pad on the bench beside the press.
I loaded 200 .223 last night using Ganderite's method of lubing them.
It works well and maybe a little faster than the lube pad method.

Terry
 
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