550 or 650 - which is better for a beginner?

[lorenzobishop040]

I want to start reloading what would be better a 550 or 650 to learn to reload

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[Hi-Power Jack]

The 550 is "easier" to learn reloading on - but, if you have

the $$$$ and a little mechanical ability, it's not too difficult

to learn how to reload on the 650. 

[lefty o]

depends, rifle, pistol, how much volume.i say find a friend to help you learn, and simplest is on a single stage. always a need for a good single stage press on your bench. no the most important thing is a couple of good reloading manuals read thoroughly before buying anything else.

[Gussers]

I'm going to concur with Lefty on this one. If you're just starting out, a good single stage is best. 

1. It's a lot less money to start. If you decide it's not for you, you aren't out a huge investment. 

2. It's going to be needed even after you have a progressive press. I still use mine for small batches (load work up), precision rifle loads, depriming, swaging, etc. 

3. There's a lot less going on. You can focus on one step of the process at a time and get familiar with proper seating, crimping, and primer seating. If you go this route, you'll find you can do one, make some small adjustments, do another, repeat. You'll learn a lot about what works and doesn't. This is much harder to do with a press loaded up with 4-5 other rounds in varying states of assembly.

Going for the 550 vs the 650 is a personal choice. The 650 is much more expensive up front and the tool heads, conversion kits, etc are also more expensive. I have two 550s and and perfectly happy with them. I can load about 500-600/hr if I have the primer tubes, bullets and cases ready to go, then get a good rhythm.

You can't go wrong with a Dillon, though. Whatever you decide to do, that's my recommendation for a progressive press.  

 

 

[Hi-Power Jack]

Not sure I agree with Gussers -

1. you won't be out a "huge investment" - the Dillons all hold their value

2. I use ONLY a SDB - I can use it for small batches, etc - don't need a single stage

3.  I've never had any problem making small adjustments - just make them one

     at a time, just like on a single stage.

But I do agree with Gussers - 550 vs 650 - very personal choice - really comes down

to speed vs money - if you have the $$$$ - go for the 650

[armydad]

I'm with Hi-Power Jack on this topic. Prior to buying a press, I researched reloading extensively, this forum and Lyman's reloading manual, and then acquired a 550 and a 650 as my first presses. I use the 550 exclusively for 5.56 and the 650 for 9 and 40 loads. I've acquired several different tool heads to quickly change between calibers and minor/major. Both presses are excellent and anyone with a modicum mechanical ability will figure them out very quickly. I haven't had any issues with load development on either press.

I see no negative issues beginning with a single stage, and working toward a progressive. Either road will get you where you want to be. I think it is prudent to consider how many rounds and calibers you will be shooting. Money and time you have available for reloading is a biggy too. Some folks enjoy reloading and consider it a hobby like I do. Others consider it a burdensome necessity to get back to shooting.

I recently added a MBF to my case-fed 650 and love it!

[lorenzobishop040]

I am gonna be reloading 9 40 45 pistol

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[GR8GIFT]

Well if high volume the 650. I have 2 650's and a 550  the 2 650's because I didn't like switching from large to small primers. Cheaper change over for the 550 but the auto indexing on the 650 sure makes loading easier for me. 

[lorenzobishop040]

Thanks for the impute for everyone

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[ChemistShooter]

I'm learning on a 550B. It's not too difficult. I only load 9mm. One thing I discovered is you can put a powder check die in a 650 but not a 550. If I had known that in the beginning, I might've gone with a 650.

And I have wound up buying a single-stage press. I decap my brass with it. The 550B throws used primers all over the place. I found a dead primer in the primer-loading cup once. That pushed me over the edge.

[BeerBaron]

to be honest I think the 550 is more difficult. on the 650 cases are fed for you and the press indexes automatically. all you have to do is watch for powder and place a bullet. on the 550 you are constantly taking your hand off the handle to feed cases and can easily confuse a step or miss something.

if you truly struggle with the patience to learn new things and check carefully then I'd suggest a Square deal. there is no need to adjust dies on that press and it auto indexes. the downside is that like the 550 you have to feed cases manually.

my suggestion is go straight for the 650. auto case feeding and auto index are not just time savers but they are also safety features. on a 550 your attention is divided between all those manual tasks. on a 650 you can focus easily on just making sure the powder drop works, feeling the primer go in and placing bullets. 

go 650. if you don't like it you can always sell it for about 85-90% of it's new cost...

[RDA]

Where are you located? Maybe someone is local that can show you their equipment.

[Stangs55]

IMHO...
Get a 650 and you will likely never replace it.
Get a 550 then look to upgrade to a 650 in a few years.


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[JimP42]

I have a 550 with heads for 6 calibers as well as dedicated prep heads for 556 and 300BO. I am tempted to get a 650 or 1050 for bulk 9 and 223 but I think I will always keep the 550.

You don't really need a powder check for straight wall pistol rounds if you can pay attention and look for powder before putting on each bullet. Much more critical for bottleneck cases.

[Mikelindsey]

Well I'll be the different one here. Had no experience reloading and got the 650 and glad I did.  I read the manual and watched the video many times before starting, then off I went. No problems and love my 650. I'll never need to upgrade again.

[dillon]

The RL550B is slightly easier to learn to use, as it is simple to insert just a single piece of brass into the shellplate, run it through the various positions, and eject a loaded round. Then insert another piece of brass and repeat. Reload using the machine as a single stage until you understand the steps, then you are ready to insert cases on all the stations.

 The same principle works for the XL650, with the exception that the 650 cycles a new primer every time, regardless of whether or not it was needed. Unused live primers drops into a recovery slide for reuse. The RL550B primer feed instead keeps the same primer in the cup until it is seated into a case.

I suggest if you need more than 500 rounds a week, order the XL650. Under that , or if you want the ability to load the larger rifle cartridges such as 338 Lapua, the various Remington Ultra Mags and large Weatherby cartridges, then order the RL550B.

[Youngeyes]

Good stuff here from Brian....http://brianenos.com/pages/dillon#which

[bigdawgbeav]

Like many folks, when I started out, money was always a consideration.  For the last 4 years I was loading on a Lee Classic Turret press.  I was really able to learn everything about reloading without breaking the bank.  Recently I was able to pick of a 550B used on Craigslist.  I'm glad I did as now I can produce much more in less amount of time.

I'm very happy that I started on the LCT.  I was able to go slow, learn, and be safe (only 1 squib in 4 years).  As mentioned above, progressive reloading right out of the gate can be a little daunting.  But take it slow, only load that 1 piece of brass and get comfortable.

Remember, when you roll your own, you have no one to blame but yourself if something goes wrong.

[tanks]

I have had a single stage for a long time as I used it for rifle mostly. Once I decided to shoot USPSA competitions got a 550B. After loading several thousand rounds a month for a few months on that 550B decided to go for the 650XL with a case feeder. A week later got a bullet feeder to go with it as well.

Reloading is no longer a chore.

[GunBugBit]

I went through the 550 vs 650 thing not too long ago and decided to start out with a 550.  It's serving me very well.  I can keep myself in ammo for the matches I shoot with little effort.

[PPGMD]

On 8/17/2016 at 9:24 AM, Gussers said:

3. There's a lot less going on. You can focus on one step of the process at a time and get familiar with proper seating, crimping, and primer seating. If you go this route, you'll find you can do one, make some small adjustments, do another, repeat. You'll learn a lot about what works and doesn't. This is much harder to do with a press loaded up with 4-5 other rounds in varying states of assembly.

Nothing says that you have to load the shell plate full. You can easily just drop a single case on the shell plate, and run things one at a time.

It is a little annoying with the dropped primers on the 650, but you can make a bracket to stop the primer feeding.

[hceuterpe]

I "learned" to load on a Lee Loadmaster.  What an awful press that was.   That being said, if I could do it on the LM, any of the Dillon presses would be fine to learn with.

The auto indexing is really nice over the manual indexing of the 550.  If you have the money, I'd say go for the 650.  Just go slowly, and check very often when you are first starting out.

[NatureBoy]

Well, this noob started his reloading journey with a 650.  I load for accuracy in .223 and .308.  I can single load when I want to measure every round and I can run in progressive when I need more volume.  The nice feature for a beginner with the 650 is the powder check station.  No way to miss a charge or over change.  That's peace of mind for a new guy who's worried about not getting himself "blowed up real good"

[tkheard]

I started on a 550. Loaded 9mm and 45 on it for three years. Good place to start. I upgraded to a 650 three months ago and wish I'd started there.

[rustybayonet]

I was a single stage guy back in the 1980's. After much research I went with the 550 and love it.

The questions to ask yourself is:

Do I feel lucky, Well do you punk, oops wandering again.

Cost, what can I afford to do what I need to do?

How much do I shoot? Remember once you start reloading you will shoot more.

If you shoot competition you may like the 650 because of the high output.

What calibers will you be reloading?

Myself, I collect military firearms and shoot for fun and self defence. so I reload 8 different calibers right now and still have more on my list. For me the 550 is the way to go due to cost and ease of caliber changes.

Last question how is you mechanical skill level and how fast is your learning curve. A 550 is just 4 single stage presses all in one. From what I have heard (read) here, a 650 does not seem to hard to learn.

If you want to play it real safe and opt for a single stage it is a great place to start. If after a bit you want to move up to a dillon, don't sell the single, it may come in handy someday. I just pull my rock chucker out of mothballs to server as a bullet swager (my latest venture in reloading is casting bullets). Stick with standard die threads and most of your single stuff will work with your dillon.

Yea I'm bored tonight, not shooting, so you get a long read.