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Case Feeder for 550 B


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I am ready to take the next step and order a case feeder for my 550. I have done a "search" and have a fair amount of information. Before I place the order I would like some feedback: does anyone who ordered a case feeder for their 550 regret the decision? If so why? TIA

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Absolutely no regrets - I have one on each of 2 550's, one set up for 38super and the other for 45acp. Occasionally cases will end up sideways at the top funnel and spill out rather than dropping thru feed tube or hang up just above the pusher, but it's easily corrected. I glued a parabolic blind spot mirror to the ceiling so I can see into the hopper, compensating for being vertically challenged. Take your time with setup and adjustment and you too can produce 450 rds/hr.

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I got one and could never get it to work right. About every other case would come back out of the shellholder far enough to get crunched by the size die.

I have 2 550s that I've loaded with for 10 or 12 years. They are a very good press. I really like Dillon products, but I couldn't get the case feeder to work.

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I bought a case feeder after they first came out. It is set up for 9MM and 45 ACP, it works very well. But then I got back into High Power rifle shooting and a lot of shooters reload 223 cases on there 550. So now I guess if I want to use the 550 I need to remove the case feeder. I have read were one person has adapted his for 223 cases but Dillion has looked into this and decided not to persue this. So I'm still undecided or go buy another 550 and problem is solved. As far as the case feeder goes like I said before it works great, but if your going to be reloading rifle cases also I'm not sure I would get one.

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I've sold quite a few, and I haven't had any negative feedback.

If you're loading pistol and rifle, I don't recommend it, because it's a PITA to "get out of the way" to load rifle.

Did you see this in my Dillon FAQs:

I don't recommend the Casefeeder for the 550 unless you already own and have some experience with a 550. And even then - because the 550's Casefeeder works with pistol cases only - I'd might recommend it if you don't load rifle ammo with your 550. (It's not easy to move the 550's Casefeeder "out of the way" in order to load rifle cartridges.)

In my opinion, 550 owners, especially if they're already set up to load several pistol calibers, have the most potential to benefit from the Casefeeder. After some experience with your 550, if you feel you really need a Casefeeder, for 250 bucks, you could upgrade your 550 without having to start all over with a 650.

This is a tricky topic. If you're considering buying your first Dillon press and you've narrowed it down to either a 550 or a 650 - if you think you just have to have a Casefeeder - then you should buy a 650. But - if you're buying your first Dillon press, in 19 out of 20 cases - the the 550 is the machine for you. More on the 550's virtues in Which Dillon...

The beauty of the 550 lies in its simplicity. And although hanging a Casefeeder on it may give you 200 rounds/hour, it will substantially increase your "fiddling with it" time. Especially every time you change calibers.

Will the 550's Casefeeder increase the 550's output? Certainly. But I still do not recommend buying it with a 550 initially.

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I've sold quite a few, and I haven't had any negative feedback.

If you're loading pistol and rifle, I don't recommend it, because it's a PITA to "get out of the way" to load rifle.

Did you see this in my Dillon FAQs:

I don't recommend the Casefeeder for the 550 unless you already own and have some experience with a 550. And even then - because the 550's Casefeeder works with pistol cases only - I'd might recommend it if you don't load rifle ammo with your 550. (It's not easy to move the 550's Casefeeder "out of the way" in order to load rifle cartridges.)

In my opinion, 550 owners, especially if they're already set up to load several pistol calibers, have the most potential to benefit from the Casefeeder. After some experience with your 550, if you feel you really need a Casefeeder, for 250 bucks, you could upgrade your 550 without having to start all over with a 650.

This is a tricky topic. If you're considering buying your first Dillon press and you've narrowed it down to either a 550 or a 650 - if you think you just have to have a Casefeeder - then you should buy a 650. But - if you're buying your first Dillon press, in 19 out of 20 cases - the the 550 is the machine for you. More on the 550's virtues in Which Dillon...

The beauty of the 550 lies in its simplicity. And although hanging a Casefeeder on it may give you 200 rounds/hour, it will substantially increase your "fiddling with it" time. Especially every time you change calibers.

Will the 550's Casefeeder increase the 550's output? Certainly. But I still do not recommend buying it with a 550 initially.

Thanks. I did order one from Dillon. I have over three years experience with the 550 and will only be loading 45 ACP and 9mm (no rifle). I use my 45 for IDPA: my volume demand is rather light and my short stubby fingers handle the cases well. My subgun goes thru a lot of ammo each time out and short stubby fingers don't handle 9mm cases as easily as 45's. I look forward to not feeding the cases manually.

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Absolutely no regrets - I have one on each of 2 550's, one set up for 38super and the other for 45acp. Occasionally cases will end up sideways at the top funnel and spill out rather than dropping thru feed tube or hang up just above the pusher, but it's easily corrected. I glued a parabolic blind spot mirror to the ceiling so I can see into the hopper, compensating for being vertically challenged. Take your time with setup and adjustment and you too can produce 450 rds/hr.

Now I like the Idea of the mirror on the ceiling. I use a small hand mirror and it usally doesn't work as well as it should.

Thx

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I got one and could never get it to work right. About every other case would come back out of the shellholder far enough to get crunched by the size die.

I have 2 550s that I've loaded with for 10 or 12 years. They are a very good press. I really like Dillon products, but I couldn't get the case feeder to work.

My 550 was old when I got it used in 2002. I had to send it back to Dillon for some tuning in order for it to work with the casefeeder.

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Absolutely no regrets - I have one on each of 2 550's, one set up for 38super and the other for 45acp. Occasionally cases will end up sideways at the top funnel and spill out rather than dropping thru feed tube or hang up just above the pusher, but it's easily corrected. I glued a parabolic blind spot mirror to the ceiling so I can see into the hopper, compensating for being vertically challenged. Take your time with setup and adjustment and you too can produce 450 rds/hr.

Hi:

I received and set-up the case loader yesterday and am very happy so far. Initial set-up went very well (by the book!) and first batch of 9mm rolled off as advertised. I have had two instances where a case ended-up sideways with spill-out and I needed to pick-out the cases by needle-nose pliers to solve the problem. I only put 3-4 handfuls of 9mm in the bin. I'm curious: why does this happen? What did you do to prevent it from occurring? TIA

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Cases sideways where? Top or bottom of the feed tube? If it's at the bottom, the first case or 2 may come out sideways, but once I get past those, mine runs fine. Could be that the slot at the bottom is set too high for such a short case. I load 9X23 normally, but the 9mm cases are the ones that fall over, being just a bit shorter than my usual stuff. I don't change the slot height when I change between those 2 calibers.

Alan~^~

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Cases sideways where? Top or bottom of the feed tube? If it's at the bottom, the first case or 2 may come out sideways, but once I get past those, mine runs fine. Could be that the slot at the bottom is set too high for such a short case. I load 9X23 normally, but the 9mm cases are the ones that fall over, being just a bit shorter than my usual stuff. I don't change the slot height when I change between those 2 calibers.

Alan~^~

Sorry I was in a hurry and didn't give a clear picture. The cases end-up sideways at the top. It hasn't been a problem "clearing" the jam, just an inconvenience.

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Cases sideways where? Top or bottom of the feed tube? If it's at the bottom, the first case or 2 may come out sideways, but once I get past those, mine runs fine. Could be that the slot at the bottom is set too high for such a short case. I load 9X23 normally, but the 9mm cases are the ones that fall over, being just a bit shorter than my usual stuff. I don't change the slot height when I change between those 2 calibers.

Alan~^~

Sorry I was in a hurry and didn't give a clear picture. The cases end-up sideways at the top. It hasn't been a problem "clearing" the jam, just an inconvenience.

Hi guys new to the forum. Just installed the 550 case feeder and so far so good. It works great just ran about 500 rounds of 9mm in about an hour just trying to get used to the machine.. Its the best of both worlds, You have the reliability and simplicity of the 550 with added attribute of the case feeder from the 650. How could one go wrong? I highly recommend this addition if your loading just pistol. I have another 550 set up strictly for rifle.

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  • 2 weeks later...
I got one and could never get it to work right. About every other case would come back out of the shellholder far enough to get crunched by the size die.

I have 2 550s that I've loaded with for 10 or 12 years. They are a very good press. I really like Dillon products, but I couldn't get the case feeder to work.

I'm having a similar problem with my casefeeder. About 30% of the time, I either have to stop and restart on the upstroketo allow the case to feed into the sizing die, or stop on the downstroke, and reach across with my left hand and manually push the case under the shell plate to get it in positon so the primer can be seated. Usually, this happens on the same case. It looks like either the ram is not pushing the case completely into position on the shell plate, or it is bouncing out slightly on the downstroke. Has anyone else ran into this, and if so some advice would be greatly appreciated.

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  • 4 weeks later...
I'm having a similar problem with my casefeeder. About 30% of the time, I either have to stop and restart on the upstroketo allow the case to feed into the sizing die, or stop on the downstroke, and reach across with my left hand and manually push the case under the shell plate to get it in positon so the primer can be seated. Usually, this happens on the same case. It looks like either the ram is not pushing the case completely into position on the shell plate, or it is bouncing out slightly on the downstroke. Has anyone else ran into this, and if so some advice would be greatly appreciated.

I just installed mine a few nights ago. I've run 300 rounds out since. I'm also having trouble about 25% of the time. It seems to help if I move slowly on the downstroke; but that doesn't help the production rate. I've futz'd around adjusting the cam and still have the problem. When it jams, it is easily corrected with another half stroke to push the case back into the correct position. But I'd like to get it working 100% of the time.

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  • 4 months later...
I got one and could never get it to work right. About every other case would come back out of the shellholder far enough to get crunched by the size die.

I have 2 550s that I've loaded with for 10 or 12 years. They are a very good press. I really like Dillon products, but I couldn't get the case feeder to work.

I'm having a similar problem with my casefeeder. About 30% of the time, I either have to stop and restart on the upstroketo allow the case to feed into the sizing die, or stop on the downstroke, and reach across with my left hand and manually push the case under the shell plate to get it in positon so the primer can be seated. Usually, this happens on the same case. It looks like either the ram is not pushing the case completely into position on the shell plate, or it is bouncing out slightly on the downstroke. Has anyone else ran into this, and if so some advice would be greatly appreciated.

I just got my new 550 case feeder last night and am having the same problem exactly. Watched very closely and case is coming back out of the shell plate just enough to not go into the size die and coming out on the down stroke just enough to miss the primer hole. Need to reach in and set case back over primer plunger or slightly move the case to go into the 45ACP Dillon sizing die.

Any ideas on a fix for this.

Thanks,

Dave

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I got it sorted out. Went back in and readjusted the cam with a case in station 1 and that made the difference. Loaded up a hundred after that and it ran about 98%, so I will call that good while I'm getting used to the case feeder. I can see where it will really help speed up the process.

Dave

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I am ready to take the next step and order a case feeder for my 550. I have done a "search" and have a fair amount of information. Before I place the order I would like some feedback: does anyone who ordered a case feeder for their 550 regret the decision? If so why? TIA

I had one and ended up selling it. Installation was smooth and I had it working right for the most part except for the occasional hangup. I thought the improvement in output was marginal. However, if there was any type of hangup with a case, any time gain you had was lost. One thing I really like about the 550 is how easy it is to manipulate when working up a load. YMMV.

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I am ready to take the next step and order a case feeder for my 550. I have done a "search" and have a fair amount of information. Before I place the order I would like some feedback: does anyone who ordered a case feeder for their 550 regret the decision? If so why? TIA

Have had mine for few months. Works good. Had some initial adjustments to make (as did others I have read here). Once got sorted out and we got used to each other - like it alot. Would recommend it.

Bill

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I got one and could never get it to work right. About every other case would come back out of the shellholder far enough to get crunched by the size die.

I have 2 550s that I've loaded with for 10 or 12 years. They are a very good press. I really like Dillon products, but I couldn't get the case feeder to work.

I'm having a similar problem with my casefeeder. About 30% of the time, I either have to stop and restart on the upstroketo allow the case to feed into the sizing die, or stop on the downstroke, and reach across with my left hand and manually push the case under the shell plate to get it in positon so the primer can be seated. Usually, this happens on the same case. It looks like either the ram is not pushing the case completely into position on the shell plate, or it is bouncing out slightly on the downstroke. Has anyone else ran into this, and if so some advice would be greatly appreciated.

I just got my new 550 case feeder last night and am having the same problem exactly. Watched very closely and case is coming back out of the shell plate just enough to not go into the size die and coming out on the down stroke just enough to miss the primer hole. Need to reach in and set case back over primer plunger or slightly move the case to go into the 45ACP Dillon sizing die.

Any ideas on a fix for this.

Thanks,

Dave

Similar problems here. So count this as negative feedback since I have spent seven hours fighting the thing.

Where is your shellplate set? I find that looser causes less problems, but I've bent two decap pins due to case misalignment. I've also read the threads here and have adjusted the cam accordingly. Still, 40% of the time I must restroke halfway to position the case properly.

Additionally, the feed tubes were slightly too short and would come apart on the primer stroke. I had to shorten the mount tube to get the hopper low enough to prevent this from occurring. The primer chute had a screw that was too long and kept the case feed platform from laying flat. The primer chute spews spent primers all over the place, sometimes ending up where they foul the primer bar.

I can't recommend the device at this point having spent enough time dinking with it to have loaded 2500 rounds on a straight 550B.

That said, I'm going to keep trying, but I am at a loss as to what I haven't tried at least five times.

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