Purchasing a Dillon.. oh my there are a lot of choices

You will not need different case feeders for each caliber just different plates. So 1 case feeder will work for all. You will need large pistol, small pistol, large rifle, and small rifle to cover your list of calibers. The case feed comes with 1, so you will need the others.

I would not load rifle without a powder check (you can’t see inside the case to verify powder level). The good news is 1 size fits all.

The carbide rifle dies work great, but not really a must have. The carbide pistol dies are a must, and Dillon’s work best in the 650, they are made for it.

Perhaps I missed it but how much reloading experieince do you have? I ask because a progressive press would not be my recommendation for a first press.

After further review of you post, you list 357 twice I am not sure why. Maybe 1 for 38 and 1 for 357?
You will most likely want a tool head for each caliber and at least 2 or 3 powder measures.


That is a good point that StrawHat has above.

My suggestion is to CALL DILLON.

Like you, when I decided to buy a blue press I was literally overwhelmed with the sheer number of choices. I'd determined that the only way to get what I wanted and not find myself lacking, was to buy a 1050.

So I called them and the sales rep PROMPTLY talked me out of a 1050.

They're not going to up-sell you, when you call. In fact, they down-sold me.

What they WILL do is take all the time YOU need to explain and educate you on what everything is. I asked if I could use my existing dies instead of buying new dies - they said, "sure! just be aware that you might want to get better locking rings for them." I found on my 45 ACP RCBS Carbide dies, that in order to get the die deep enough to function, it sat VERY deep in the head, so I had to cut a custom ring for it. All of my other dies for other calibers were off the shelf LEE, RCBS, and Redding, and worked without a hitch.

Anyway, my final suggestion is to call the folks at Dillon and talk to them. They really know their business.

One other thing, I'd recommend getting set up for a few calibers to start, and adding in the others over time. It'll spread the expense out.

I was PLANNING on getting caliber conversions for EVERYTHING and eventually found that 9mm, 45, and 223 was sufficient for my needs. I don't shoot enough of the others to really justify spending all the extra money on a progressive; although I'm about to add 8mm to my 650, because of some recent german belt-gun acquisitions....

Also, check out Brian Enos store,

http://www.brianenos.com/store/dillon.ez.550.html

I load on one of two 550B press for every thing I own. For the pistol caliber stuff it is great for the rifle its faster then a single stage but depending on how you do it not as fast as pistol rounds on the progressive.

I don't use a case feeder other then my hand.

I don't use a powder checker as I didn't get one when I got either of the two machines.

I don't use a low powder sensor on the powder hopper. The hopper is right there all you have to do is look and stay alert to when your getting low.

The differance in the two 223Rem dies is one is a set (3 Dies) one is just the carbide resizing die (single die) you would still need the other die(s) from a set to make it work.

The Carbide dies are fantastic for pistol calibers as you don't have to lube the cases (not true with 357Sig as its a bottle neck). I don't use them for the rifle calibers as you still have to lube the cases. I brake the rifle cases down in to batches and lube, size clean them off and then load (thats why its slower on the progressive) you can do them with out cleaning but its seemed more messy to me that way. By they way any model or maker of Die will fit the Dillon press as long as there the standard size thread. Some will work better then others. I have slowly been migrating over to all the Dillon ones as I could find a deal on them used.

The case gages? Some use em and some don't. I use them for my rifle cases but not the pistol cases. There cheap so if it make you feel safer why not.

Extra pickup tubes are a must. Each one holds roughly 100 primers. If your going to load up a 1000 rounds and you have one tube you have to stop and fill it ten times. If you have 5 tubes you only have to stop loading and re-fill them one time. If you have ten just the once. Thing is you save the time of stopping in the middle of the process to re-fill the tube and then the magazine. This dosn't sound like much but it will speed up your overall time spent at the press. Once again a pretty cheap (Ok not realy) item to have a few extra of. Its a balance of speed and time on this one. I only have a two of each.

For case triming the Dillon ROCKs. I trimed on an old hand crank RCBS one for years and fought blisters and the mess. I bought a Dillon setup for 223Rem and the old RCBS sits on the shelf as a reminder of how it use to be. Doing them by hand it would take me a week to do a 1000 pc of brass. With the Dillon I can do them as fast as I can put them in the press and pull the lever (once its all setup and that can take a few min). On the down side of the Dillon trimer? You need a differant die for each caliber as it dose your re-sizing for you. You need to put it through the standared re-sizing die to use the neck beller (Dillon said that you don't have to do this and I have done it both ways), The trimer for 7.62x39 is a whole seperate unit that you would need to buy. Using a shop vac to pull off all the trimings makes a lot of noise while your doing it. So in the long run it sort of depends on how much triming you plan on doing to wheathe its worth it. For me it was just on doing a 5000 pc of 223Rem.

I didn't see any mention of the Super Swede? If your doing any sort of Mil brass its worth looking at.

You can save a little on your calber conversions by talking to the guys at Dillon. The one conversion for 38spl will also work for 357mag. The 45acp will do 308Win and 30-06spring with differant locator pins and powder funnles. The one for 223rem maybe the same one for 9mm with differant pins but I am not sure on that one without checking. I know the 550B ones work this way and am not sure if the 650 ones do the same thing.

That all said and done. If you have never done any re-loading find someone local that can show you the ropes and try out there equipment. It would suck to drop that kind of mony to find out that you realy don't like or trust yourself in reloading. Not that you would losse much money selling used Dillon stuff. There are a lot of guys just now getting into reloading it seems. Supplys are hard to find and not real cheap so this might be a frustration for a year or two till supplys come back to normal avalbilty. But over time for me it has been a great hobby.

Being a Reloader means never having to say I can't go shooting cause I don't have ammo!

Your only limited by the supplys you have on hand and the time it takes you to reload them...

YMMV
WB

Brian Enos staff gets rave reviews across the web.

As a recreational reloader/shooter my Lee gear fits the bill perfectly -figuratively and for my llimited budget literally - but it is educational to see the $$ one might have invested in Dillon products.

Good on ya' mate! Happy reloading. That's a lot of gear to learn to operate safely so take your time.

If you call Brian he will try and talk you into the 550.

Wacki, the setup that you described in your original post is what sits on my reloading bench (caliber choices vary a little, of course) with one exception: I haven't sprung yet for the case head trimmer. I couldn't be happier with my choice.

You didn't mention a case cleaner, media separator, etc. I'd add those to your list. Mine are also from Dillon; highly recommended.

Here's a link to two items you can use
They ain't Dillon, but they ain't Dillon prices either (and they are blue)
A vibratory tumbler & case/media separator

http://www.berrysmfg.com/product-i14545-c47-g8-b0-p0-Rotary_Brass_Cleaning_Kit.aspx

For the love of whoever CALL BRAIN, I can not say enought good about him! Just ask and he will give you all the answers you need, and shipping will cost a hole lot less. Dillon is IMHO the best there is, but having a guy like Brian on your side is a very good thing!

wacki said:

I have 6 progressive shotgun reloaders. Kept on upgrading till I got to ponsless waren. Dont want to do the iterative upgrade again. I have a non progressive lee press that I dont use. So this wont be my first pistol press. Experience on shotgun is high but low with pistol reloading.


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Good to know. The suggestions to call DIllon or Enos are good ones. I still load on a 450 I got when they first came out. It is all I need.

I think it's a serious mistake to jump directly into a multifunction reloading setup. So many of the beginning reloaders are trying to skip the learning stage and are just asking for a catastrophy later.

Mobuck said:

I think it's a serious mistake to jump directly into a multifunction reloading setup. So many of the beginning reloaders are trying to skip the learning stage and are just asking for a catastrophy later.

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+1

IMO, all beginning reloaders should start with a single stage press. I've only been reloading for a couple of years now, and believe it to be very beneficial in the learning process.

Crawl, walk, run.....just my military training I guess.

BTW, this is not in response to the OP, just an opinion based on the post I quoted.

I'd get the 650 over the 550 and there's a few reasons why. One, its priming system is better, more robust. Two, it auto indexes, unlike the 550. This virtually eliminates the possibility of a double charge. A squib load is possible, as with all progressives, but a squib is less dangerous and more forgiving than a double. A squib you should hear go pop and not bang and that's enough warning for most to have a look in the barrel for a bullet stuck there. Of course, both squibs and doubles are virtually impossible when using Dillon's powder cop that let's you know if your charge is significantly over or under. It's cheap insurance.

Dillon does make first-time buying a bit confusing. Having used my 650 for a while now, I'm at the point where I intuitively understand what I need when I add a new caliber. (I used Hornady before that.) It takes time to get there, though.

For now, call Brian.

You can run a single case through every station first--always having only one thing happening at a time--so it's not impossible to learn on a progressive.

If you're going to switch between large and small primers often, spend the $90 on the second complete priming assembly. That will cut your conversion time in half when changing to a caliber with a different primer.

I agree with MOBUCK.

However, if you are set on the 650, it is an outstanding setup. Just be prepared to use a LOT of components.

Primer flipper tray. The Dillon is nice, but the square one from RCBS works also.

Get the extra primer tubes. 4 of each is better.

Instead of the Dillon case lube, I'd suggest a small tin of Redding's Imperial Sizing Wax.

Get an extra tool head and powder die for each die set

You still need to lube rifle cases if you get anyone's carbide die set.

The aluminum roller handle is a nice option.

I'd choose a digital scale (not necessarily Dillon) over the balance beam - much faster to use, and you can easily weigh bullets and brass.

Anyone mention books? Get a couple from e.g. Lyman, Lee, Speer, Hornady, etc. In fact, if you haven't done that, it would be the first place to start, and read the reloading sections before you go buying equipment and supplies.

The spare parts kit may be handy, however, I have had a 550B for 19 years and have never needed a part from the kit yet. Maybe the 650s are different.

Sign up for the Blue Press.

Mike

have you considered the Square Deal set up for your pistol rounds and use the singel stage you have for rifle.

I have a 650 for 40 and 45 and a Square deal for 9,380,38 etc. Compare the cost.
All depends on what you shoot the most of.