Which Dillon for a beginner?

[taoshooter]

I know nothing about reloading other than I have to learn and do it before I end up in a home for wayward shooters that spent all their money on factory ammunition.

I have decided on a Dillon but not really sure which one. I would be loading five different calibers. Would like the most 'user friendly' one since at this point I'm technologically challenged but want something progressive.

Which one: RL550, 650? ANY opinions/suggestions would be appreciated. Thanks.

 

[SDC]

Depends on whether or not you're going to continue with it past a certain point; if you're going to be happy loading only pistol calibres, you can get by with a Square Deal B and conversion kits, but if there's a chance you'll want to get more into it, the 550B is so much easier to work with and change back and forth for different calibres.

 

[Stealthfixr]

Just got a SDB, and it's working great

I reloaded single-stage with my Dad over 20 years ago, but recently got myself the SDB. Dillon has been nothing short of amazing--they built huge loyalty with me. I'll never buy another brand. Dillon instructions were easy to follow. Good luck!

 

[Jim Watson]

Five different calibers?
Get a 550B; it is the most versatile in the line.

Start by studying up. Get a manual, the new Lyman 48th edition ought to be a good reference, get another manual, get the free literature from the powder companies. Dillon has instructional videos, get one of those.
http://dillonprecision.com/template/p.cfm?maj=32&min=0&dyn=1&
(Video at the bottom of the page below press specs.)
http://dillonprecision.com/template/p.cfm?maj=12&dyn=1&

You will be told you should learn the basics on a single stage, that a progressive is too complicated. There is some truth to that, you can tell what is going on at every step without worrying about the others. There will always be a use for a single stage press even if you eventually have four progressives set up as I do.

I would be glad to see you start out with a single stage, but if you want to jump in the deep end with a Dillon, there is a secret to learning to reload on it. You don't HAVE to run it in progressive mode with a shell at every station. You can run one at a time and see it being resized, decapped, and reprimed at Station 1, move it around to Station 2 where it will be flared and powder charged, move it to Station 3 and seat a bullet, move to Station 4 and crimp. The press will not scatter primers or spill powder when there is not a case at those positions. You can get everything properly adjusted and understood, one operation at a time. And keep doing it for a while until you are comfortable with the press before going true progressive. When you do, a small adjustment to the powder measure and you are off and running.

 

[ChristopherG]

Jim is right; it is possible to use a dillon progressive like a single-stage, and I found that a very helpful way to run things at the beginning when I got my Square Deal B a couple of months ago. It was my first machine, and indeed the first time I had ever even seen reloading, never mind doing it myself. If you read a bit so you know what the stages are doing, and get yourself a couple of good reloading manuals and read all the introductory and explanatory pages in them, an SDB is not an unreasonable place to jump in--though for 5 calibers, you may get a little vexed at the time and energy it takes to switch from caliber to caliber.
CG

PS--in your situation, the 550 might actually be more economical, because of the higher cost of caliber conversion parts for the SDB

 

[stevelyn]

The AT 500. When you are ready it upgrades and converts to a 550B.

 

[caz223]

Brian Enos has a which Dillon essay on his website.
http://www.brianenos.com/pages/dillon.html
I just ordered a 550, so that's what I would recommend.

 

[SASS#23149]

I love my 550b!!
It takes standard "off the shelf" dies,the sdb does not.It also has more visibilty arournd the work area to see what is going on.
I like that it does not automatically advance if I accidently short-stroke it or some other wierd thing happens.
I really like the Lyman manual.A lot of folks say to get several manuals,I see no need for a bookshelf full of manuals myself.
That said,I think they Lyman manual still says to decap before tumbling the brass....this has NEVER made sense to me...just plugs the primer pocket with media.Must be a throwback to single stage loading when primer pockets were regularly cleaned.Most folks don't clean em these days.
I built my bench tall enough to not need the Strong Mounts they sell.The ball handle will get you by just fine...I got the roller handle but would not do it again.
Most folks like to buy separate seating and crimping dies,especially for lead bullets.saves shaving the lead and lube into the die.
Be sure to run it single stage for a while to get to know the function of each die,and above all DON'T try to set speed records.
DO buy lots of supplies,'cause you'll run out before uya know it.
Wear safety glasses,and ear protection is a good idea too.
Ask lots of questions,we all started out new once.

 

[45auto]

I wouldn't bother with a single stage if you are going to shoot any amount of rounds, or unless you enjoy reloading as much as shooting.

As mentioned, you can load singles on a progressive if you wish. I doubt that will last long... however!

A sure bet is the 550 if you don't know where reloading might be for you in the future. It will load anything with standard dies.

I load on a SDB and like it very much for one caliber. If I decide to load another caliber, I'll buy another. I dislike reloading and want it to be easy, cheap and quick.

 

[Mike Irwin]

I really see the AT as being one of the more dubious offerings.

It's a little cheaper in the initial purchase, but by the time you get everything that you should have gotten with the full 550, it ends up costing quite a bit more.

If you want a single stage, simply get the 550, and USE it as a single stage.

Don't pay more for less.

 

[Mike Irwin]

The deal with tumbling after decapping is, I'd bet, in an effort to get the residue out of the primer pockets.

I don't tumble in any event, so it doesn't much matter to me.

 

[Steve Smith]

I love my 550b and I also agree with Mike about the AT.

Regarding tumbling I tumble and then just run it though the press after making sure all the loose media is out. The decapping pin will clear the flash hole fine. I run my match brass for one season and then retire it, so high primers due to primer residue is not an issue. Of course, all those pockets are squared and therefore deepened when they first come out of the box, so they start out deeper than normal anyway.

The nut behind the trigger cannot keep up with the accuracy of my Dillon ammo, even at 600 yards.

BTW, if you want a powder check die on your 550, use the search feature and you will find where I modified the 550b toolhead to accept a 650 powder check die.

 

[Abe]

Another vote for the 550. It was my first press and I love it. It works great and Dillon's customer service is excellent.

I agree with Mike as well. I did the same math on the AT vs. 550 and went with the 550 as I was going to end up there anyway.

It's easy to switch calibers. Two seconds to change the toolhead and a few minutes to change the primer bar and\or powder bar if necessary.

As for the "home for wayward shooters that spent all their money on factory ammunition" you won't end up there but you may end up wearing out your trigger finger as you "save" all that money by reloading!

Shoot, reload, shoot, repeat.

- Abe

 

[Mike Irwin]

Abe,

Do you remember what the price differential was?

When the AT first came out I was looking at one, and decided to do the math, and determined that the price differential between an AT built into a 550 was about $60 more than a 550 bought that way.

 

[Abe]

Mike, I seem to remember it being around that much too. I grabbed my latest copy of The Blue Press and it turns out it is $36.

Here are the numbers:

AT press: $194
Auto Prime upgrade: $71
Primer Warning upgrade: $18
Auto Powder upgrade: $67
Auto Eject upgrade: $16

Total: $366

550 Press: $330


$36 dollars is $36 dollars. If you're going to end up at a 550 anyway and the difference isn't more than you can afford up front, spend the $36 on components or all the other stuff you will need to reload.

IIRC, part of my math at the time was total outlay, i.e. from zero to reloading with the least dollar outlay. Given that you've decided that a Dillon is the only press selection and that you are going to get to a 550 but can't afford to get there all at once, it's obviously cheaper to get an AT. Get an AT, dies, and a scale and you are reloading for less than a 550.

Even after all of that I made the stretch and bit off the 550 as I started to factor in time. I'm not looking to set any land speed records but one can certainly reload faster on a 550 as opposed to an AT. Less time reloading means more time for shooting.

- Abe

 

[ambidextrous1]

I'm an old geezer, and my first press, bought about 5 years ago (not quite as soon as I wanted to buy it), was a 650. It will kast for the rest of my life, I'm sure.

I have always operated it as a progressive, but my early loading sessions weren't very high production.

If you're a serious shooter, consider the cost of buying TWO presses, if you start with a single operation press or a lesser progressive. The cost of my 650 is long forgotten, but the satisfaction I get from it endures.

Having said that, it's obvious that the 550 owners are a proud and loyal group. It's hard to argue with a satisfied customer...

As previously mentioned, whatever you buy, don't try for speed records!

 

[John Galt]

Most people agree, a Dillon 650 is the best progressive press out there and the only way to go for volume pistol shooters.

The 550 is almost as good and $100 cheaper. It's their best seller by far. I wouldn't get anything less. So, my vote is to make your choice between these two.

I have two friend's with Dillon 650's and one of them just bought me one! I'm having fun setting it up for 223. It came setup for 45acp. My first turn on a friend's 650 it took us about 4 hrs to do about 1200 rds between the two of us. My 2nd effort a year later and I did about 1000rds/hr all by myself. Can't wait to load 45acp on my own press. Problem is, my brass is all loaded!!!

* Read the instructions and get it setup just right. Manually check your powder throws for each round for a couple to verify it's setup right.
* By handloading, you can load what's not for sale. We use Hogdon "Clays" for 45acp with 200grn SWC molly coated lead. We load near the minimum powder charge. This is a very cheap and easy recoiling round thats great for practice. I'd never afford to practice with factory ammo.

 

[taoshooter]

The decision is between the 550 and the 650 - I have been told that the 550 is more user friendly when it comes to set up and also with changing calibers - all true?

 

[ambidextrous1]

It depends on how well tooled you are, and how you plan your reloading. All of my tool heads are complete, including powder measure - there's nothing to tweak when I change calibers.

I try to plan my work so that I load a variety of large-primer ammo in large quantities, then switch to the small-primer stuff after all the large-primer ammo cans are full.

I shoot more .45 ACP than all other calibers combined, and start to panic when I get down to a couple of .30 caliber ammo cans full.

Oh, has anyone mentioned that you'll need empty brass? Hopefully, you are already picking it up at every range visit.

 

[bogie]

Why a Dillon?

What calibers are you planning on loading? What degree of consistency/accuracy are you looking to achieve?

Personally, I'd start with a Rockchucker...

 

[taoshooter]

To answer the brand question, I'm planning on Dillon because everyone I've ever asked said "buy a Dillon" never had anyone at all say any other brand when asked.

The caliber quesiton: I'd use .45 and .40S&W the most - I use about 300 rds a week right now - also practice 38 and .357 and .44 but don't really have to reload those.

The why question: I probably wouldn't end up saving too much money - I'd just shoot more. Would like to make loads that are different than the factory loads available near me.

Already have a stockpile of brass waiting.

 

[243_shooter]

Just started reloading.. Picked up a used 550 (purely by chance)..

I love it. Took me a bit to get the hang of it, but considering it was my first shot at reloading it turned out to be much easier learning curve than I anticipated.

Like the other poster mentioned, I used it quite a bit "single stage" working on one cartridge at a time until I understood how everything worked.

Now I just put in the appropriate tool head and shell plate, verify the powder measure setting hasn't changed, and crank away. 350 rds/hr working at a leisurely, safe, deliberate pace.

I also got a rock chucker out of the deal that I've been using for .243, but that's only because I enjoy it, and don't shoot it in nearly the volume I do pistol ammo.. I can't imagine doing 700-800 rds of pistol ammo single stage

Leo

 

[bullseyekp]

Do some searching on The Firing Line, Brian Enos, GlockTalk and here and you will find plenty of threads about the 550 vs. 650.

Personally, I own a RockChucker and an XL650. Auto-indexing is the way to go, even if you don't buy the casefeeder for the 650 (4-foot acrylic tubes work great and you can fill them while watching TV or something).

 

[Carlos]

Go with 550, you won't be sorry. Personally, I like the manual indexing better.

Get a separate toolhead, powder measures for each caliber you plan on reloading for.

Then, to switch calibers, you simply plug in a new toolhead, with the dies already adjusted, change the plate, and off you go.

I still own two Lee Anniversary kits, and will probably use the equipment again, like if I'm out in the woods and want to reload.

Good Luck!!! As far as I'm concerned, Dillon rules.

 

[Kcustom45]

Another vote the 550B! It was my first and only press (so far). I started out not really knowing a lot about reloading either, but I learned from books, from friends, and from Dillon. Whenever I had a question they were more than happy to help me out. A good enough reason to go with them in my book.

Get the 550B and don't look back. You won't regret it.