checked out Dillon's showroom

I do not think I would have self control walking in there ,

.... it would be bad for me too!

I've been reloading for over 40 years and the worst mistake I've made is I waited until about 3 years ago to own a Dillon. My 650 is one of the best bargains I've ever purchased in my life. Not only is it a great machine, but the customer service is almost too good to be true. I had a primer chain reaction explosion about a year ago. Something got hung up and it was probably a primer that got turned sideways, and instead of checking it out, I slammed the lever home and bang or rather boom! Of course the primer tube was full. The steel outer tube prevented me from getting hurt but it sent metal pieces into the ceiling. The aluminum inner tube was blown into many pieces and I don't have to tell you what happened to the plastic primer alarm at the top of the tube. After I calmed down and cleaned my pants, I made a list of parts I knew I would need and was hoping the primer feed assembly was operational but would need to purchase the other parts before I would know for sure. I called Dillon and went through everything with the Technical rep and he insisted on sending me a complete primer feed assembly and a couple of parts not on my list just in case. Sent everything free and no shipping either. I kept saying I wanted to pay since I'm sure it was mostly if not all my fault. His answer was "we'll take care of you". After getting what was probably close to $300 worth of parts, he had told me to call back and they walked me though the disassembly and reassembly of everything and made sure all was adjusted correctly and didn't hang up until I had actually got the press up and running. It is truly a NO BS warranty and More. I'll never consider buying another brand of press if I decide to expand. You just don't see that kind of customer service these days.

I got rid of my lee turret and got a square deal b for my bulk 9mm loading
What a difference the Dillon is smooth just a great machine

When we visit the Phoenix area and I mention that I'm going to the "Blue Temple", my wife knows exactly where I'm headed.

roval said:

I'm glad i went with the 550 over the 650. the 650 with a case feeder and bullet feeder would have been too big for my workspace.

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That's the main reason I chose the 550

Where are pictures of the Models? (Female type)

roval said:

btw i asked something i was curious about. Dillon aero(mini gun you see on gunny time) is part of the same group of companies.

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The Mini Gun and Govt contracts IS the Dillon Company. The reloading stuff is a sideline.

roval said:

btw i asked something i was curious about. Dillon aero(mini gun you see on gunny time) is part of the same group of companies.

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They took over when GE got out of that line of business.

roval said:

im grateful for their sideline business then.

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We as reloaders benefit from a great number of sideline businesses. Component bullets are often overruns from contracts for loaded ammo and are sold through secondary chains. Reloading equipment companies are often sideline businesses to other firearms related businesses. The powders we have would never be readily available if they were not piggybacking off of large volume contracts to pay the overhead of the powder manufacturers. Used brass often is a sideline of a shooting range. I’m very thankful that I can enjoy the hobby, but I’m slowly but surely preparing to start losing a lot of these businesses. I don’t expect it any time soon, but if it does, I want to have supplies on hand to keep my hobby going for a while.

I'm not usually wanting a progressive press but looking at that room, well....

Once I got my 550 I basically load everything on it. Even load development. It’s just too easy.

The only thing I don’t do are long range loads where I like to hand throw each charge.

-J.

roval,

Just for kicks, load up 20-30 of those .308s entirely on your 550 and shoot groups comparing them to the ones you loaded with the hand weighed charges.

I think you will find that weighing charges is a waste of your time.

I tried it with a super accurate 6zMM Remington, loading on a 650. My loads shot 3/8 MOA regardless of whether charged on the Dillon or hand weighed.

Might not work out as well for you as it did for me, but what the heck, it's worth a shot!

roval said:

i have but the charges ranged quite a bit due to the extruded nature of 4895 but i didnt compare groups .maybe i should have but i shoot them in an m1a with iron sights so my vision would be the rate limiting factor.

so maybe i should just charge them in the 550 again but that is what i got the chargemaster for.

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A dilemma indeed!