RudyVey

This is odd for the north-east coast. I live in NJ and have two 550's in my basement and never have experienced any corrosion of any steel part of the presses. We run a dehumidifier in an opposite area of the basement where my wife stores our winter/summer clothes. Although we are very humid during the summers here in NJ I have not had any problems in my basement; it seems to be the same all year round. I do have a lot of machines with bare steel surfaces there as well (lathes, band saw, drill press etc) and never had a rust issue.

that is not too much, about 6000 rounds per year, estimate 200 rph, makes around 30 hours per year reloading time, not bad....;-)

Check also out Reloading Innovations Starlight, they are customized to each tool head of a Dillon press. I have one on all my 550 set ups, just pull out the plug, change your complete tool head and put the plug back in. Much better, shadow free light compared to the one I used before, the one that sticks inside the middle hole ( mine came from Inline Fab): https://reloadinginnovations.com/products/starlight-press-lighting-system-for-dillon-550

Using a 550, I have timed myself and can load 100 rounds in 12 minutes, so this would be 500/hr, or about 7 seconds per round. Having primer tubes ready, filled up the bullet tray and have the empties box full with cleaned and lubes cases helps. But why rush, for me reloading is pure relaxation, I just concentrate on one thing and keep my mind clear or anything else. I do not need to have a record reloading x rounds in y time. Making sure the primer is seated properly and the powder drop is ok is more important to me than making a record number of rounds and have a one f...up round. I am happy to load 200-300/hr, but what comes out is all good!! I have my reloading bench as a part of my shop in the basement, so whenever I have to wait for some glue to set, I load some rounds, sometimes it is just 20, sometimes it is 100 or more. I definitely need to shoot more as all my storage boxes are full of ammo - yes, I am not a competitive shooter, just for fun and to use up my ammo so I can load (and relax) more...

I think a 550 would be fine for you as you reload not too much and also different calibers. I have two 550 and load .45 on one and the rest is 9 mm and 357 mag and 38 spl. So the presses are set up for large and small primer. When I had only one, I changed over for the other size, which is easy and takes only a few minutes.

Stupid question from my side: I have two 550's and never had the need to use such a tool. What would one need it for? I have removed the platform on one a few times but never needed a tools to adjust anything.

You can get primers and powder, its just quite pricey now. I should be fine for few years. Primes are right now about 10-12 cents per round, used to be 3. Bought some when the crisis began and got them for something like 7 cents. But I am not willing to spend more than this.

Have two 550's, and live in NJ which is also quite a humid state, especially in the summer months. Both my presses are in the basement and none shows any kind of rust.

My fart noses also driving me (and my wife) crazy....

Yes, they are similar, 650 and 750, but the primer system on the 750 is like the 550. Personally, I have two 550 and one is for large and one for small primer. They are fine for me and I never had the feeling to get a different machine for the amounts I load. Not sure how much, but before the components went through the roof, I think I loaded something like 1000-1250 a month, mix of 9, 45, 38 spl and 357 mag. I enjoy the reloading and see it as some kind of relaxation, but this is just me.

Isn't the 750 primer system the same as in the 550??? Never heard of a 660.

I think the correct term is Thing-a-ma-jiggy....

I did the same and the only options for payment are: Venmo Zelle Apple pay Nothing else was listed, so no cc or paypal.....I would not order anything form them.

Here about $2 per pound of mixed brass scrap - I always drop of a mix of primers and the bad and broken brass at my local scrap yard.

For a few years now I always check brass that I collect from the indoor range I shoot. If you have a tag listing that you collect brass, they RO's often use a broom and push anything into your lane. They don't care what kind of brass it is, and what size. So, coming home, I pour it into an old colander and go with a magnet through it; picks up all the steel "brass". Then I hand pick the Aluminum cases and toss, then sort out the other calibers... The brass then gets sorted as follows: first check every round for steps inside, and cracks - toss this into the brass scrap bucket. While I have the brass in my hand, I sort them as follows: WIN, FED and RP go into one container = this is the best brass (at least for me) PMC, Blazer, and some brands other go into the second container = my second choice CBC, SB, PPU (NNY in Cyrillic) etc and some other go into the third container, this is the brass I leave at the other range I go to. All other odd stuff, mainly some weird looking and anything military goes into my brass scrap bucket (I get something like $2-$2.50 per pound at my scrap yard). This is my personal selection process...so others may differ. The brass in the first picture would go into my scrap. I do this process for .45 as well, sorting out the .40 and I keep them for a friend.

Bullets and powder might be the easier find, but you need primers as well....hope you either have them already or can find them. Good luck. Have two 550's and like them.

its the price under the box.... 89.99

I have bought all my presses and all kind of add-ons etc directly from Dillon as here in NJ or close by is really (or was then) no local dealers. Never had any problem to buy directly.

+1

Ordered from Precision Delta 6k bullets (a mix of 9 mm, 45 and 38/357) end of last week and the mail man brought them yesterday....poor guy had to make three trips from his truck to my door. I would not order ever again from a company that takes months to fulfill an order.

All the info given here is nice and dandy, but lets get back the original question. Large Rifle Primers will not work in .45 acp without any modification. The rifle primer is higher than the pistol primer. So lets get back to basic and don't get sidetracked with milling out primer pockets or what commands are OK and what not.

Yes, you are right....I got 2k, and as I just saw they sell the new version only as 100 pieces sample packs. Really not sure if they were on the site when i bought mine, might have scrolled down maybe.

Interesting....I used these bullets for years and was not aware that they have a Version 2. Went to their site and could not find anything. But, I just ordered a couple K and hope to get them soon. Got quite a few of the ones left I got earlier this year, so I will compare them.

I use Dillon dies for 38 spl and Lee dies for 357 mag. Both do a good job (at least for me...). The only reason I use Lee is that I used to have a Lee turret press and had dies for 45 acp, 9 and 38/357.

all my 38 spl and 357 brass has small primers.....