Ran the Dillon 550B for the first time.

[SuperNaut]

Today is a state holiday so I had time to get the 550B all set up (except for the priming mechanism) Once all the dies were in proper position and locked I got started. I already had 300 pcs of .45 ACP brass that I had already primed so I skipped Station 1, pulled the pin out of Station 2, and started pulling the handle. Soon I was hearing the sweet sound of "plunk, plunk, plunk" as finished rounds fell into the catch bin.

My 5 y.o. son came into the garage about half-way through and pulled the handle while I seated brass and bullets for the rest of the lot.

What fun!

I stopped and manually weighed charges about every 5 rounds for the first little bit, then decided I didn't need to anymore since it was dead on every time. I read online complaints about the Dillon powder feeding mechanism but it is way more accurate than my old green powder feeder.

I also ran a few rounds of .308 through as if it were are single-stage to see if I could get the precision of my old single-stage. Everything mic'd up perfectly. I was planning on keeping my old single-stage, but if this thing is this accurate, I don't see why I should.

Very, very, happy!

 

[sellersm]

The 'old single-stage' has many other uses, so hang onto it! But the 550 can make some very nice ammunition!! Congrats.

 

[JC98]

I recently moved to a 550 from the Lee turret....nothing like pumping out a leisurely 3-400'rounds an hour

I found my powder measure to be within a tenth of a grain on every round I weighed. Glad your happy with your new purchase!

 

[Oceanbob]

Congrats..!..Dillons are incredible machines. Have Fun!.....

I reload .45ACP and 10MM mostly. But can switch to .223/.308 and others calibers if needed...

 

[UKWildcats]

I have a 550A (currently use for rifle -- got it chear last winter) and a 550B (use for pistol) but would never give up on a Single Stage Press.

I still use the single stage to resize Rifle Brass all the time -- While doable on the Dillon, I just feel better doing it on my old Lee.

Just take your time and make sure you watch the powder system on the Dillon -- this is the only problem area I have ever had.
-- I have issues with the white plastic square washer jumping out of the Powder Bar and not delivering powder to the case.
-- Mine did not like Varget with 223 cases sometimes, the powder damn'd up in the Powder Funnel and did not deliver powder to the case, but the follow on case got a double dose. This is easy thing to notice since the rifle cases I load can not take a double load -- but a pistol case can.

I have actually have a goose neck desk light I set up just so I can look into each pistol case during reloading ops.


UK

 

[HexHead]

Keep your single stage. I've had my 550 for almost two years now, and I'm adding a single stage. Initially I'll use it to deprime brass so I can swage the primer pockets without sizing the brass twice or adding an extra priming step and having to load cases into station one out of my "normal" sequence.
Also, I plan to use it to load small batches of calibers I don't shoot often. No sense buying a conversion kit etc to load 100 rounds.

 

[mtrmn]

Blue koolaid is good, but don't throw away your old stuff.

 

[SuperNaut]

While cleaning up I found an unopened bag of .45 brass so I ran the 550B through all stages today. I thought I'd have to tweak the primer feed system, nope, ran like a top.

I'll keep my old green single-stage for a while yet, but at this point I'm struggling to see why...

 

[Hondo 60]

Definitely don't throw away the old press.
I use my single stage for LOTSA stuff.

I read online complaints about the Dillon powder feeding mechanism but it is way more accurate than my old green powder feeder.

I've found it varies depending upon the powder.
Tite Group, Universal, AA#5, & even Varget - all pound 'em out perfectly +-.1!

Lil Gun, Unique, 2400 not so much.
in fact they can be down right awful +-.4, .5 or .6

My Lee Pro Auto-Disk Powder Measure does Lil Gun & 2400 perfectly.

Unique? well when I want to use Unique I gotta weight it by hand.

 

[Zcarp2]

The 550 is wonderful. Welcome to the fold.
I use the dillon powder measure for all but extruded powders.
For extruded powders & rifle loading, you can set up the first spot to deprime & size. Second spot for belling case mouths.
Tumble to remove sizing grease.
The another tool head to seat & then crimp if needed.

You will be amazed at how creative you can get on the seating dies.
Good luck & happy shooting.

 

[mtrmn]

I still use my old RCBS single stage for:
1-resizing large lots of rifle (bottleneck) brass, which usually requires a trim etc.
2-swaging primer pockets on military brass (which is 90% of my brass) with a CH4D tool.
3-working up small lots of experimental loads or seldom-used stuff like .38 S&W etc.

Once all my rifle brass is prepped, I then run it through the Dillon for loading. This is measured in the thousands, and I have considerable reservations about not removing case lube or trimming cases when I run them thru the Dillon from start to finish. I intend my ammo to be ultra-reliable for use in any firearm that I happen to grab, so I full-length resize all my brass, which can be a pain sometimes with once-fired mil stuff.