BJPZOO
Member
I had to list my Dillon on E-Bay because my new business does not allow me time like I wanting:banghead: . It is brand new in the box too. Just thought I would give ya'll a heads up.
Thanks,
Bobby
Thanks,
Bobby
Had to put my new Dillon XL650 on E-Bay
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~z
Member
Its a 650, how much time do you need? With my 550, it is quicker to load than to go to a store that sells ammo. But thanks for the heads up.
~z
~z
Kramer Krazy
Member
I have a single-stage RCBS and don't get much time to mess with it. Just the other day, I was doing some laundry and resized, decapped, and reprimed about 60 cases. Sometimes, I'll only do ten, as I walk back and forth through that room. Unless my wife does some of the case prep while I'm at work, it takes a week or so just to reload 200 rounds. We fly through the powder/bullet seating step, as she and I will work on them together, and put out about 200 rounds in 20-30 minutes.....the case prepping seems to take the longest time to do....and it is the most boring.
Father Knows Best
Member
~z said:
The 650 will generally be a little faster than a 550, because it is auto-indexing. As you know, you need to manually rotate the shell holder on your 550 to move the cases to the next station. With the 650, the shell holder rotates automatically.
The 650 also has 5 stations, instead of four. That allows you do add things like a powder checker (to detect under- and over-charges) and still seat and crimp at separate stations.
If you trick out a 650 with all the bells and whistles, including an automatic case feeder and perhaps even a bullet feeder, you can really churn out ammo at blazing speeds.
Personally, I'm satisfied with my 550 for pistol ammo. If I had to load for a whole family of competitive shooters, I might invest in a 650 (or even a 1050).
What do you mean by case prep?
If you aren't doing anything special, a good progressive would speed you up tremendously. With my 550 setup for a caliber, I'll sit down and load 100 in 10-15 minutes then go back to something else. It's a useful way to fill small time gaps. I can do 1K+ marathon reloading sessions, but prefer to break it up into 100 or 200 round batches. You ought to consider one; a progressive made my pistol shooting much more enjoyable.
If you aren't doing anything special, a good progressive would speed you up tremendously. With my 550 setup for a caliber, I'll sit down and load 100 in 10-15 minutes then go back to something else. It's a useful way to fill small time gaps. I can do 1K+ marathon reloading sessions, but prefer to break it up into 100 or 200 round batches. You ought to consider one; a progressive made my pistol shooting much more enjoyable.
Kramer Krazy said:
Kramer Krazy
Member
The separating, cleaning, inspection, resizing, decapping, repriming, and flairing of the case (including two die set-ups). That's where most of my time seems to be spent on reloading with the single-stage. I'm in no rush, anyway, and it gives the wife something to do suring the week, too.1911user said:
I used to have a progressive reloader (RCBS Rockchucker with Piggyback II), but I never learned to use it and sold it 5 years ago. The progressive set-up was a little intimidating with the horror stories of blowing up your gun....and I didn't have any friends to assist me with setting everything up. The single-stage is a nice way to get into reloading, and I'm only 500 rounds into getting my reloading cherry popped, so.......I may get a progressive unit for 45ACP and use this single stage for 44 and 357.....but only after I reload about 2500 more rounds and "pay" this set-up off through my ammo savings.1911user said:
SASS#23149
Member
uh......Kramer
What you call 'case prep' we call 'reloading'.!
What you call 'case prep' we call 'reloading'.!
Kramer Krazy
Member
Yes, it is reloading.....at least the majority of it, most important aspect of it, and the most time consuming. No biggie. It's just about as fun as shooting it. I call it "case prep" because without it, I can't "reload" the cases with a powder and bullet as easily.....I do think a progressive unit is in the near future, though.SASS#23149 said:What you call 'case prep' we call 'reloading'.!
What you call case prep is handled by my tumbler and stages 1 and 2 of the press. The downside to a progressive press is you can load ammo much faster saving more time for shooting. The extra practice is good, but don't be surprised if your monthly cost for powder/primers/bullets goes up.
Tomekeuro85
Member
How long does it actually take to reload say something like 200 rounds of 9mm or .45 on one of those fast presses?
~z
Member
Once you get into the rhythm of using the press, about 20 mins or less. I'm speaking of my experience on a 550B, and I'd guess thats about average, I'm no speed demon on the press.
~z
~z
the time factor and lack of space has kept me from reloading. but having gone through approx 6k rounds of assorted ammo over the last 6 months or so, i'm looking into it more. would also like to know the general time it takes to do 200 rounds, though 200 rounds is an easy day at the range for me.
Tomekeuro85
Member
thats a lot faster than I thought it would be. How much does a press like one of those cost?
~z
Member
Call Dillion for a copy of the Blue Press 800-223-4570 prices and modles inside. Figure about $250 or so, set up for one cal. easy to change out for another cal w/ interchanging toolheads. Changing from large to small primers may take 2 mins or so.
Civilian, thats pistol, based on .45 ACP. Many reload rifle on this press, but I stick to the ole Rock Chucker for rifle.
~z
Civilian, thats pistol, based on .45 ACP. Many reload rifle on this press, but I stick to the ole Rock Chucker for rifle.
~z
Jack T.
Member
$250? Not a chance. $250 for the dies, toolhead, and conversion maybe. . .
Father Knows Best
Member
Rockstar said:
That estimate is way high. MSRP for the 650 with one caliber conversion is $479.95. The casefeeder lists for $199.95. You can get discounts through a number of sources. Your total cost shouldn't be more than $650 max with the casefeeder, and frankly, I don't recommend the casefeeder. The casefeeder is only a plus if you are really trying to churn out mass quantities of ammo in really short time frames. My SL900 (shotshell press) has a casefeeder, but I don't have one for my pistol/rifle press (RL550B) and don't want one.
If you really want a 650, you can get set up with the press and a few useful accessories (roller handle, bullet tray, strong mount) for under $600 direct from Dillon, and a little less from some resellers.
~z
Member
Sorry, looking at the Feb Blue Press, I flipped to the case feeder for the 550B and quoted that price.
************CORRECTION*************
550 B
$369.95
comes with one cal conversion
interchangable tool head
auto powder measure
auto prime system...
Sorry yall, I thought that seemed cheap when I was typing it. Still $375 aint bad at all.
~z
************CORRECTION*************
550 B
$369.95
comes with one cal conversion
interchangable tool head
auto powder measure
auto prime system...
Sorry yall, I thought that seemed cheap when I was typing it. Still $375 aint bad at all.
~z
A dillon 550 is a nice progressive press that is often overshadowed by the 650 (faster when it has a case feeder), but for some (many?) shooters a 550 is a better solution for general purpose reloading. This is especially true if money to invest in a reloading setup is limited. No Dillon press is cheap, but the 550 costs less to buy and convert between calibers than the 650. Both are good presses, but each has advantages depending upon a person's reloading needs.
Cherokee
Member
With my 650, I easily turn out 500-600 rounds per hour. I have the case feeder and really like it. So far I have loaded 45 Colt, 45ACP, 44 Mag, 9MM, 38 Spl, 357 Mag. I will be adding 223 and 308 down the road. Powder level checker is very desirable with this speed.
Father Knows Best said:
Father: You're probably right about the cost; dead wrong about the casefeeder. The 650 is worthless without the casefeeder. We're not talking about the 550 here, folks. I paid around $385 for my 650, plus $155 or so for the casefeeder. I don't know where I came up with the $1000, other than the fact that I've seen folks stating that they had more than that tied up in their 650 with several caliber conversions.
Father Knows Best
Member
Rockstar said:
We'll agree to disagree. As I said, the casefeeder is a great investment if you are producing REALLY large quantities of ammo. For many people, a 650 is plenty fast without it. I'm a cowboy action shooter, and I have quite a few friends with 650's and no casefeeder. They went with the 650 over the 550 because it auto-indexes and has the 5th station. Some use the 5th station for a powdercheck die (and still seat and crimp in separate stations). Others use two powder measures on the toolhead -- one throwing powder and the other throwing a "filler" like grits. Either way, the 550's four station toolhead just isn't big enough for them. Like me, they see no need for a casefeeder, and appreciate the opportunity to handle and visually inspect each case as it enters the machine.
As for me, I'm happy with my 550 sans casefeeder. I can get into a nice rhythm and easily churn out 100 rounds in about 15 minutes or less.
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