Finally took the plunge with Dillon

Nice! You made a great choice with the 550. I love mine!

I've never regretted buying my 550, upgraded to the "B" later when they came out. Loaded many, many perfect rounds. The few imperfect ones were mostly my fault.

It will take a bit to setup, but will be worth it. If you decide you don't like the "Dillon Lean", the Strong Mount and roller handle are worthy additions. And help is available here and most other reloading forums.

I want one! Good luck and I am sure you will enjoy.

You made a great choice! I've had mine for years and have nothing but good to say about it and Dillion service!

Congrats on your Dillon. While I use the Hornady LNL AP, the Dillon is a great press and will last forever.

I ordered from Brian last month....It took about a week to get to TN....if you live on Dillons side of the country you might have it this week. You won't get any tracking info. The package will just show up. No complaints here. The machine is a work of art for sure!

You will be well pleased! I've been a Dillon owner for over 25 years.

Like Kingcreek said, most of the imperfect rounds you make will be something you did to cause it. Only problems I've ever had with my 550B, were self induced. Read directions carefully when setting up your Press. When you get it dialed in, LOAD AWAY.

Robert

Congrats! I own 2 550's and a 450 with all the updates except the frame upgrade. There will be a 650 added to the bench soon. Best thing I did was sell all my previous presses and upgrade to Dillon.

I love my 550!

I love my 550 too.

Started out with a Lee single stage (which I still use),
went to a Pro 1000. It was so frustrating I boxed it up & sold it.
Went to a Lee turret, it was OK.
But an acquaintance NEVER used his 550 so he sold it to me.

I've had it about a year & 3 months.
I could never go back, I'm too spoiled.

Just got this mounted up today.

It is a solid tool(And it is large, the LCT is tiny next to it. ).
Good thing the bench is 1 1/2" hard ply screwed down, lagged into the wall also.
Bought through Enos, with the 'as it should be' pack and casefeeder also.

Great choice!! I ordered mine last month after Christmas. Brian was great to deal with. Read the instructions and watch the video.

SWEET man. You made a GOOD choice. I love my 550B after debating with myself and considering the 650 I finally opted for the 550B and do not regret it one bit. YOU WILL LOVE IT. I use the Strong mount which really stabilizes everything on the bench.

If you grow into reloading and end up shooting over 4000 rounds of one caliber per month then you can save up and add the 650 but for all around reloading of many different calibers, the Dillon 550B is the best choice. That is my unbiased opinion.

Welcome to the Blue Haze club.

I use the the 650 and the 550. They are great machines. The people at dillon are great. If you have any problems just call them and they will fix it. I have used the 550 for years.About six months ago I purshased the 650. It is great when you get it fined tuned you can crank out some ammo. Have fun and be safe.

I built my bench to the right height before they came out with the strong mount. Someday I'm gonna rebuild the bench and get a mount but the darn bench is an L shape 8'x6' and one length is lagged into concrete, the other into a stud wall.

I'll jump in, though I wasn't asked -

The black sheet metal affair (with the Dillon logo on the side) is the strong mount.

The various pictures that have been posted show different views. As far as I can tell, every picture so far has shown the press on a strong mount, including GT1's.

What is the "Dillon Lean"???? Refering to getting the strong mount.

My press is a XL 650 and it has the shorter strong mount that is specific to the 650(the regular strong mount that fits the 550/650 is a couple inches taller.)

I have an aftermarket handle on the LCT(inlinefabrication) where the handle grip ends up being quite a bit higher relative to the press. Easy on the back and essentially feels like the press is much higher.

Note the handle level of both presses. The 650 actually feels a bit lower when pulling through.

Everyone being different, you have to adjust to what you like. I would not have hesitated to stack spacers under the bench(Or start cutting on bench legs) or a spacing up a press to make it feel right.

What is the "Dillon Lean"????

Click to expand...

When you are standing or sitting on a high stool at the press w/o the Strong Mount, many people (including me) have to bend slightly to finish the downstroke on the handle. With the Strong Mount the press sets 8.5" higher and you can use the press w/o having to bend over.

Good choice , I've been happy with mine....

I was planning to purchase a Dillon 550B when I came across a deal on a Dillon Square Deal press. I have emailed Dillon a few times for replacement parts and they were sent for free of course and all the information is online for most questions I may have. I have loaded many rounds with my Dillon presses and would like to offer some advice. First, take your time to set it up and double check and everything should be fine. I add my primers last after all of my checks are done to ensure none have popped out and jam the linkage. If there are any problems with the ammo or press, it is probably YOUR fault. That is the time to get up, walk away, come back after a glass of water or something. The Dillon presses are high quality machines that are smarter than I thought and more times that not I was the cause of errors. That being said, I make great ammo on Dillon equipment...FAST. The powder measure is great too. I think you will enjoy the versatility of the 550B. Good luck.