Which Dillon?

[Tanfoglio]

Well, finally going to bite the bullet and upgrade from just a single stage, to a progressive. Looking at the Dillon 550, and 650.

press is probably going to be setup for 223 and 300AAC only. Short runs, and my specialty calibers will be done on my single stage.

The versatility of the 550 is huge. Easier to setup, but it's manual index.

650 sounds like its better set for the long haul. Set it and forget it.

Thoughts, advice?

[westhope]

The 650 has more stations than the 550 press. I have a powder check and separate crimp die in the additional stations. Could not do that on a 550 press. I've had a 650 for 20 years.

[Sigfan220]

I like the 550. The conversion kits are cheap and available used from time to time. Plus there is less going on which means less stuff to break. I load 9mm, 6x45, 223, 22-250, 243 and 30-06 on my 550 and couldn't ask for more. I shoot about 10,000 rounds a year and have never found a desire to go auto index like on the other Dillon models. I load about 1-2 days per month to get to the 10,000 rounds per year. A 650 would only save me a minimal amount of time. If I ever start shooting a lot more, say 20,000+ rounds per year I would look at a 650 or 1050.

The one thing I ran into recently was with the Dillon power trimmer. with the 4 station head I could not fit a FL die and the trimmer on at the same time. Since the Dillon trimmer does not have an expander ball you must run it through another die after sizing and trimming. That is my only complaint so far.

[Erud]

I've got both and if I could only have one it'd definitely be the 550. You can do anything with it.

[Scratch]

I have the 650. I love it obviously, but I have never touched the 550.

[gun_fan111]

Never tried 550 or 650 but had the pleasure of reloading on a 1050. When it is time I will be picking up a 650. That way when friends come over to reload they can run a sizeable batch through quickly.

[mvpete]

Have both, for only two calibers and short runs the 550, I use the 650 for large runs of handgun

[crbutler]

If all you are going to load is .223 or .300 BLK the real question is how many rounds will you load at a session.

The 650 and the 550 will handle magnum length cartridges. I have done .416 rigby on the 550 in the past.

With a case feeder, the 550 will be just a little slower and as Westhope said, one less station.

If you have no desire to load handgun at some point and you are not loading over 400-500 rounds in one setting, the 550 will be more than adequate. It is also a bit easier to change things, such as primer size than the 650. The extra station will make a difference especially if you are planning on automating your trim process with a dillon trimmer, so if you are planning on serious volume (loading more than 1000 rounds at a time) the 650 may be better for you. The 650's caliber conversions are much more spendy than the 550's.

If all you want is something to turn out reasonable quantities of rifle fodder for noncompetitive levels of shooting, get the 550 without a case feeder.

If you want a bit more production than that, but may add more calibers to load for, get a 550 with the case feeder add on.

If you want the ability to make large quantities of limited calibers of ammo, get the 650.

If you have issues with tendonitis, the 1050 is higher production yet, and does not require a back and forth handle stroke, which may make it a better bet yet, if a lot more expensive.

[MarkL]

Just picked up my 550 and everything to go along with it at MNGunStop last weekend, he has them in stock. John was great to deal with.
Hat's off to those that helped me with my decision to go with the 550.

[dronning]

Just picked up my 550 and everything to go along with it at MNGunStop last weekend, he has them in stock. John was great to deal with.
Hat's off to those that helped me with my decision to go with the 550.

Great choice, John was a huge help when I bought my 550 and it has and will serve me well. At first I was switching powder measure & tool heads but eventually went with dedicated quick change kits for my main reloads. If you decide to get a case feeder I have the info you need to get it to work with .223.

Since retiring I get to shoot a lot more and I just placed an order for a 1050 with John. Now if I could find a few thousand large pistol primers I'd be a happy camper.

[BigDog58]

Just picked up my 550 and everything to go along with it at MNGunStop last weekend, he has them in stock. John was great to deal with.
Hat's off to those that helped me with my decision to go with the 550.

Great choice, John was a huge help when I bought my 550 and it has and will serve me well. At first I was switching powder measure & tool heads but eventually went with dedicated quick change kits for my main reloads. If you decide to get a case feeder I have the info you need to get it to work with .223.

Since retiring I get to shoot a lot more and I just placed an order for a 1050 with John. Now if I could find a few thousand large pistol primers I'd be a happy camper.

I was just at Scheels in Waite Park (St. Cloud) today and they had thousands of Winchester Large Pistol Primers. They do, have a limit of 2000 so I suggest you take someone with you if you want more. A young man named Adam, helped me today and I must say he was an excellent salesman. He discovered I was getting items for several friends (GunTalk members) and he allowed me to exceed the limits.

I scored Small Pistol, Large Pistol and Large Rifle (Remington) primers, as well as a 4lb Power Pistol and an 8lb Bullseye. I also picked up some Varget (2lbs) and a couple other powders for friends.

I suggest you call before driving there. They will hold items for you of you ask.

[Tanfoglio]

From what I read, the casefeed might work on the 550 with rifle cartridges? But it's would take some serious tinkering it sounds like?

For now, this is primarily going to be used for 223 for match loads. How cumbersome is the 550 with setting up the Dillion Case trimmer? How about setting up the case trimmer for 300AAC? I know specialty trim die is needed, but I seem to remember seeing the toolhead needs to be custom on the 550 as well then?

[dronning]

From what I read, the casefeed might work on the 550 with rifle cartridges? But it's would take some serious tinkering it sounds like?

I've loaded about 4,000 rounds of .223 on my 550 using the case feeder. Once I figured out the right part numbers I had to raise the de-capping pin (RCBS dies) so it just cleared the case and still de-capped the primer.

Check the thread over at Brian Enos forum I listed some part numbers etc. make sure to read it all the way through.

http://www.brianenos.com/forums/index.p ... try1830788