Deciding on a reloading press

[rootacres]

Hello everyone, I am going to be new to the reloading game. I have this do it once, do it right idea about this however I am not a pro shooter. I enjoy my weekend USPSA pistol and 3 gun matches. I plan to go to some larger competitions when some time frees up. I will primarily be reloading 9mm right now. Maybe down the road I will venture into reloading some .223. Any help/insight would be great.

thank you

Edited April 26, 2016 by rootacres

[Hi-Power Jack]

You need the Dillon 550, at least.

Possibly the 650 - depends on how many rounds you'll load/month

and how many hours you have to devote to reloading.

[Razabak]

I was in the same boat awhile back. I went with a hornady lock n load progressive, mainly because that's what some others I shoot with use and I was new to reloading. I've been loading .40 and once it's set up its a breeze.

I can load about 250/hour taking my time, and I'm pretty new to the reloading game so I tend to be careful. I'm sure you could do more if you wanted to. I don't have any experience with other presses, just thought I'd give my experience on what I have.

In the end I think it comes down to how much time you want to spend reloading. A higher end press will allow you to pump out more rds/hour. For me I'm pretty satisfied with a rate of 250/hour. Also I think I'm going to end up liking the lock n load feature as I look into doing other calibers.

[springer99]

Went with a LnL. Coming from a Lee Turret, I just couldn't bring myself to go back to a manual indexing press like the 550, and the 650 was not in the budget. Just set it up and ran a couple 100 38Spl's thru it so far. Seems like a real solid press I will like a lot.

[Gooldylocks]

I have a 650 with a case feeder, I can go very fast loading pistol ammo. My buddy has an LnL and it is also very quick, but he doesn't have a case feeder (yet). I think that the priming system on the LnL is better than the 650 personally. I think that the LnL would be just as fast as the 650 if it had a case feeder, at least I don't see any reason why it wouldn't.

I like the idea behind the collets of the LnL, but haven't messed with them enough to know if it is just a bigger pain than it is worth vs the tool heads on the dillon presses.

I have ranted on here about my kinda sorta disdain for the 550, because a manually indexing progressive seems silly to me. That is just my $0.02 on that press though having never used it.

I would personally vote for either a 650 or an LnL (preference would be the 650). The LnL would be cheaper to set up than a dillon would be, but probably not that significantly. The most important part about buying an XL650 though, is it comes with the Dillon warranty.

[mikeyjones]

I've had both the 650 and lnl. They each have their pros and con's.

Priming system on the lnl is better IMO. Case feeding is better on the 650. Caliber changes are faster on lnl. Hornady powder measure is better.

But they will both run roughly the same once dialed in and tweaked.

Sent from my Z812 using Tapatalk

[vinceislander]

I have a 550 and my shooting has increased to 1k rnds/month. I can probably work the press up to 300rnds/hr but that is pushing it without a case feeder. The manual indexing on it is nice for a novice loader(like myself), but once you dial your load in, a 650 or LnL is probably the way to go for 1k+ rnds/month. I don't regret the 550 and probably will reward myself with a 650 or at least a case feeder once I move up in classification. I only shoot pistol.

[Underwood]

I have only used my 650, and its everything i need it to be.

[firewood]

I would not limit myself to one press.

Collect 'em all!

[GrumpyOne]

Reloading rifle will take exponentially more time than pistol, as there are generally more steps involved. I would suggest the 550, as it can do both, changing calibers is super simple if you have the second tool head and powder hopper. If properly set up and prepared, 500 9mm rounds an hour on a 550 is doable (lots of primer tubes filled, brass handy, bullets handy, etc.) Same can be said of 40 S&W...

[Bkreutz]

I use a Dillon 650, I only load 9mm for competition shooting. I have loaded around 160,000 rounds on my current press. I don't like tuning and tweaking equipment so I'm happy with the Dillon. I've replaced the primer arm spring twice, the decapping "e" clip every 25,000 rounds (or so), and I've taken it apart to clean once. Other than that, there has been no "tweaking" that had to be done. I adjusted the dies to get the round I wanted and then just pulled the handle a bunch of times. I like to shoot so I don't want to spend any more time making ammo than I have to.

[Bamboo]

What the Grumpster said ^^^

I have both a 550 and 650. If i were to sell one it would be the 650. The 550 will do it all, and do it well. 500rd/hour for pistol rounds is about my average. A little less for 223 after prepping the brass. The manual index is a non issue if you don't have a case feeder.

Having said that, the 650 w/ case feeder is a joy to reload pistol on and can produce a crap-ton of ammo once dialed in. However, if something goes wrong or breaks it also takes longer to sort out.

[9x45]

rootacres, since you are here on the Blue Site, it's only matter of which Dillon press to choose. For me it's the Dillon 550. Mine has been in continuous service since 1986 and I think the best. Lots of my hoser buddies have 650's and 1050's, but 300 rounds an hour is all you need for a couple of hours a week. By the way, you can buy your press directly form the Benos....... And according to the USPSA Nationals equipment survey, more than 95% of hoser's run Dillons.

Edited April 26, 2016 by 9x45

[Chills1994]

I have a 650 with a case feeder, I can go very fast loading pistol ammo.....

I can go very fast reloading rifle on my 650 because I buy preprocessed brass.

I think it only costs 2 cents more per case to have it ready to go.

Edited April 26, 2016 by Chills1994

[Lastcat]

201 voted for the Rock Chucker .

I have been loading on my Dad's RCBS Jr II for 10 yrs. The same single stage press my Dad used back in 1975 when I was a kid and watched him reload for 9mm. Now many years later, I am doing the same. Love this little unit and liked the feel of the press. I can tell the primer pocket condition. How loose or tight. Too loose, I throw the case out.

Then when resizing, I get a good feel for how the case's are doing. Too hard to resize, case is over worked and reloaded too many times, I toss those. Or the cases are just bad quality. Out they go. Then seating what a breeze, easy to keep the OAL +/- .003. When crimping, a single stage just has that feel.Too much crimp and too little, it was easy to tell on this JR2.

Now I have a Lee Load Master. Ditched the priming system. Like the case loader feature. But just don't have the same feel as the single stage. I'll use the Loadmaster. But, prime and flare with the JR2. Then load the case's into the 4 tubes. Also ditched the Auto Disc powder Measure and went with the Lee Auto Drum Measure. OAL is not as consistent, +/- .012 .

Well I guess its still the JR2, which is great. But at least I can stay tuned to the condition of each piece of brass and use the Loadmaster to up the finished rounds an hour.

Edited April 26, 2016 by Lastcat

[Miranda]

I would not limit myself to one press.

Collect 'em all!

begging the question... how many presses are there?

... thar! I got an open can o worms...

[Kaldor]

I own a LnL, but I run a little of this and a little of that, so its a better press suited for that. If I was going to set up and run alot of one caliber, Id spend the extra money, buy the 650.

I actually plan to do this in the near future, as I load about 1k 9 or 223 per sitting generally, both of which are small primers. Ill still use my LnL, but for lower volume calibers like 45, and 308, both of which are large primers.

The one thing about the LnL that kills me is the case feeder. Ive spent a ridiculous amount of time tuning it, and I still have to intervene far too often, especially with 223 and 9, because of the small base of the case. If Hornady would make the case feeder more reliable, Id buy another LnL.

A dark horse might be the new RCBS 5 station too, but its having some teething issues with the primer slide, and the case feeder was finally released.

[wheelie]

I have an RCBS Pro 2000 and like it a lot. But I also have several other presses. I would not be without a single stage press for load development, quick changeover and cartridges that I don't load in high volumes. Its also not that big a deal to load 200 rounds of pistol ammo on a single stage press after you develop a good work flow. If I was forced to choose only one press. it'd be a single stage like the Rockchucker.

[warpspeed]

The first press I loaded on was a 1050. 9mm only.

Then added a 550 for the other calibers.

Then added another 1050 for 223. Sold it and got a SL900. It's gone and then got a Square Deal ( still have it )

Now, I'm on a 650. I like the 650.

Needless to say I like the Dillon stuff. If you are even for 1/2 of 1 second thinking about loading 223 in quantities of more than 100 at a time, get the Dillon 550B. Otherwise, the Square Deal is a great press to load 9mm on.

[Smitty79]

If you want a 550, get a 650. I wish I did.

[nate89]

I have owned a SDB, and loaded 9mm on it. It didn't have any complaints about it, but I wanted to load 223 as well, so I sold it and got a 650. All in all, I'm out just over a grand for the whole set-up, and the first loading session made me completely forget about the price tag. If you want bulk loading of a single or a few calibers, I think the 650 is the way to go (unless you have the coin to jump up to the 1050).

[Garmil]

I use a rcbs pro 2000 and love it.

[Polymer]

I prefer auto indexing plate so i would do 650 over the 550b. Everyone i know, and i do mean everyone, uses some sort of dillon. I have never met anyone that does not like their dillon.

I have the SDB and i only load 9mm for production. Only get the SDB if you are positive that is all you will load and you are fine with about 300 rounds an hr. Looks like you are eventually planning to load 223, i would not get the SDB. If i were to purchase another press, it would be the 650.

[Brooke]

I started with a 550 and after a year added a case feeder. After 18 months added another 550 with case feeder to eliminate a lot of readjusting between calibers. When I started shooting IDPA and USPSA I added a 650 with case and bullet feeder.

I believe you learn a lot about problems and problem solving from the 550 that might not come so easily with a 650. I now use all three presses but my match ammo comes from a 550 because I believe I have more control and ability to observe the results on that machine. All my practice comes from the 650. Output from the 550's is 300-400 rounds per hour depending on the level of care I exercise. The 650 easily does 600-700 rounds per hour.

Buy a Dillon, you will eventually anyway. I suggest starting with a 550.

[woof]

If I had it to do over again I would pony up the money for a 1050 with a case & bullet feeder. My SDBs are dismounted and collect dust most of the year while my 550 waits for mr to burn through all the 308 & 30-06 I loaded last winter. Now my 1050 doesn't have any dustand has been a work horse.

woof