What reloader is best for reloading 223 ammo?

[mailman206]

Hi everybody..I tried doing a search in this forum for this particular question. But couldn't find anything. So since I am a newbie I thought I'd start right here. I have seen a Dillon RL 550B in action at my cousin's house. But he reloads ammo for his 45 cal. I also reloaded a few to get a feel of the machine. I really like the ease of it. I was wondering if anybody has had any experience with reloading 223 ammo on the Dillon 550? And if so would this be the machine to get for reloading 223 ammo.? Any info GREATLY appreciated. Thanks from the new kid on the block..

Edited June 2, 2010 by mailman206

[AlamoShooter]

I think the 650 is more popular with most. But I did load on a 550 several years ago for 308 and got sub MOA groups.

I load 223 on a 650 now and get sub MOA groups and i know first hand of six other setups that do the same

spend the extra cash for a 650 if you can swing it , but the 550 is good too just a bit more fuss setting the cases in.

[mailman206]

Thanks AlamoShooter your info is greatly appreciated. I'm looking around the forums reading other post on Dillon's. You say the 550 will work but is a fuss setting the cases in. Why is that? And what is the difference with the 650 in setting the cases that the 550 is more of a fuss?

[Fullauto_Shooter]

I use a 650 for all my reloading and much prefer it to the 550 I used to own. The recently available option of a casefeeder for the 550 makes it a more capable machine than it used to be, but the added step of having to manually rotate the 550 shell tray still adds time to the operation compared to the 650.

I also use a dedicated 650 toolhead for case prep - Station 1 (deprime / resize with RCBC Small Base X-Die), Station 4 (Dillon Electric Trimmer) - and can crank out close to 800 cases an hour without trying too hard. I've found the actual reloading of rifle ammo isn't nearly as big a PITA as the case prep - and the 650 makes case prep pretty easy.

Both the 550 and 650 are easily capable of producing match-grade ammo (sub-MOA) if the reloader does his part and is appropriately anal with QC.

Hope this helps.

Edited June 2, 2010 by Fullauto_Shooter

[smokshwn]

There is a lot of .223 brass out there with crimped primer pockets. Also with the increase of 9,40, and 45 ammo going to non toxic primers that have a little crimp. To ease the gigantic pain the ass that these cause when seating primers you either need to get the super 600 swager to accompany your 550 or 650 purchase and add in the extra step of swaging that brass......

Or that primer pocket swaging station makes a 1050 mighty attractive...just sayin

[Religious Shooter]

My vote goes for the 1050 because of the built in swager.

I have a 650 and needing to swage the primer pockets as another step is a pain.

[Graham Smith]

Preface: I'm not a reloading expert.

Regardless if you use either the 550 or the 650, you are going to have to make two passes. The first pass to size and the second pass to load. Between those two steps, you have to trim and swage. I use a 550 and I had the need to make up a bunch of ammo recently so I bought a Dillon trimmer last week. Over this past 3-day weekend, I was able to load over 1000 rounds starting with once fired brass with time to spare.

Unless you have a lot of money burning a hole in your pocket, you can skip the 1050. That leaves the 550 or 650. Many people will opt for the 650 but I'm not one of them. I prefer the 550 as it is a lot simpler to operate and, frankly I simply don't need or want a case feeder or auto indexing.

So, what I have is a 550 with two tool heads, one for the sizing die and trimmer and one for the loading. I also have the Dillon Super Swage. Right there, you've got quite a bit of cash outlay.

[Pro2AInPA]

I'm very happy with my Hornady LNL AP for pistol and rifle ammo. YMMV.

[mailman206]

A BIG THANKS to all that replied back with all the useful information. I'm more leaning towards the Dillon 550B to start with. Now I really need help with what I all need to start reloading 223 ammo. My cousin has a 550 but he only loads pistol ammo. He has no idea reloading rifle ammo. He always refers me back to the brian Enos forum. He says that if I get the components for the Dillon for reloading 223's That I can use his Dillon till I get the hang of it and get my own Dillon. Im a serious noob when it comes to reloading. I've reloaded pistol ammo at my cousins which seems fairly easy to do. But from what I'm getting is that reloading 223 ammo takes a bit more time and more prep work.

Now can someone tell me or point me in the right direction of what I will need to get this party started. Im confused with trimming and swage and what dies to use to how and what order to prep the ammo. Why are people switching out dies and not using the Dillon dies? I want to save money and order all the right components to get started. Maybe someone can share their setup with me. Sorry if I sound like a serious NOOB but hey I gotta start somewhere. And what a better place to ask than here.

[Loves2Shoot]

Best thing to do IMO is to give Brian Enos a call and then you can get your questions answered and order placed with one call

I went with the 1050 for .223 because it will swage the primer pocket. I will admit I'm also a huge fan of priming on the down stroke also, and my elbows only have so much left in them that I would rather save for shooting and not loading ammo.

[Sean Gaines]

if you plan on pumping out some rounds on your 550, you might want to get the 2x powder hopper, because you will go through powder quickly. Just a thought.

[Jman]

My vote goes to the venerable Rockchucker for rifle ammo.

[steel1212]

My vote goes to the venerable Rockchucker for rifle ammo.

Granted I do all my reloading on a 550 including rifle. In doing so I have to do it in a few steps. I have to size and trim in one tool head. Then deswage all the mil stuff. Then load the ammo on another tool head. If money was no object I would either get a 1050 or a 650 and buy processed brass.

[calishootr]

swaging is forthe primer pockets(assuming you run into a lot of mil spec brassthat has crimped in primers) you can get a lil RCBS hand tool to do it, but its kind of a pain in the butt, as for swapping out dies and such, that is personal preference forthe individual, before i bought my 550b i was using a lee single stage(groans) ammo production was 100 rds in about 3 days if i was lucky, and i have dies from all the big makers, either bought or given to me, it doesnt really matter, they all serve a purpose

[BradGannaway]

I suggest starting with a 550. It will get the job done, it's easier to keep up with as a new reloader, and you can always sell it and upgrade later.

You'll notice that Dillon products have a great resale value due to the quality and the no questions asked warranty.

I trim mine with a Lyman Universal trimmer with a hand drill attachment.

The only thing I wish I had was a super swager, which I'm going to get soon.

BSG

[benos]

Hi everybody..I tried doing a search in this forum for this particular question. But couldn't find anything. So since I am a newbie I thought I'd start right here. I have seen a Dillon RL 550B in action at my cousin's house. But he reloads ammo for his 45 cal. I also reloaded a few to get a feel of the machine. I really like the ease of it. I was wondering if anybody has had any experience with reloading 223 ammo on the Dillon 550? And if so would this be the machine to get for reloading 223 ammo.? Any info GREATLY appreciated. Thanks from the new kid on the block..

Have you seen:

Dillon FAQ:

http://www.brianenos.com/pages/dillonfaqs.html

“Which Dillon”:

http://www.brianenos.com/pages/dillon.html#which

Check 'em out if you haven't.

be

[slavic09]

Mailman -

Six months ago I was in the same spot you're in. I elected to go w/ the 550 and have been pretty happy with it. So far I've loaded 9mm and .223 and am able to easily make sub-moa loads with .223. I have a separate swager but find I don't need to use it all that much - the vast majority of cases with a crimp will still take a primer just fine. YMMV.

[gohuskers]

650 all the way. Auto-indexing is very nice.

[Glockman1000]

Hi Mailman206,

Your cousin if giving you the benefit of using his 550 as a starting point. It would be well worth the time to think about your desire to load .223 and the decision making involved. The 550 is a great loader for all types of ammo and is a great starting point for beginners as it teaches you the fundamentals. A 650 has more moving parts and a full understanding of how those parts work together is a must before you attempt any type of reloading on that type of machine. If you run into a problem, I'm sure you want to be able to find where or what you can do to rectify the issue. If you have never seen one in operation, I suggest you try and find an oppurtunity to examine one close up and in action to help you make a decision. The 550 you have access to gives you the basic function of progressive reloading, and time can be spent to study it, as you said you have loaded on one already.

Myself I use 2 550s I acquired over the years, one set up for small and the other for large primers. They look all beat up, but I can load pretty much for whatever I own. I know the inner workings quite well and the manual index makes me stop to check everything is in order. So yeah I'm a 550 guy. As for upgrading, cost is the biggest issue, so I never felt the need to get a 650 and the extra tooling involved thinking that I would be tempted to set a personal speed record for rounds per hour and maybe overlook something. I would rather have more control over what my loaders are doing so if anything happens, I have no one to blame but myself. If I wanted to blow out a lot of ammo, I will set up a time that will be comfortable for me to load as much as I need without distractions or schedule constraints.

Sorry for the long post, but when I first started loading rifle, it felt like a daunting task at first, but doing a lot of research beforehand will save you a lot of time, expense, and hopefully prevent a dangerous situation.

Edited July 7, 2010 by Glockman1000

[Glockman1000]

A BIG THANKS to all that replied back with all the useful information. I'm more leaning towards the Dillon 550B to start with. Now I really need help with what I all need to start reloading 223 ammo. My cousin has a 550 but he only loads pistol ammo. He has no idea reloading rifle ammo. He always refers me back to the brian Enos forum. He says that if I get the components for the Dillon for reloading 223's That I can use his Dillon till I get the hang of it and get my own Dillon. Im a serious noob when it comes to reloading. I've reloaded pistol ammo at my cousins which seems fairly easy to do. But from what I'm getting is that reloading 223 ammo takes a bit more time and more prep work.

Now can someone tell me or point me in the right direction of what I will need to get this party started. Im confused with trimming and swage and what dies to use to how and what order to prep the ammo. Why are people switching out dies and not using the Dillon dies? I want to save money and order all the right components to get started. Maybe someone can share their setup with me. Sorry if I sound like a serious NOOB but hey I gotta start somewhere. And what a better place to ask than here.

First thing I would suggest if you don't already have them is to get a couple of reloading manuals that gives you as much detail and information on the caliber you will be loading for. Don't cut corners here learn as much as you can about the cartridge you want to reload. For example, Sierra's manual lists the .223 and 5.56mm as separate types. This can be quite useful if you are using military or commercial brass. Read up on it first. Military brass has crimped primer pockets, you will need to either swage them or some use a hand tool like a primer uniformer. Mil brass most often has a smaller powder capacity compared to commercial brass, they can vary from 1 to 2 grains IIRC. Inspect and sort the brass you intend to use, the basic rules apply, no cracks, split necks, or whatever you feel may cause a problem.

What type of gun will you be loading for? Semi-Auto, bolt action. I ask because I believe it is generally accepted that semi-auto ammo should have a crimp, and bolt gunners prefer to have no crimp to improve accuracy. Also the twist rate of the gun can help you determine the bullet weights and types you can use.

Before you go any further, just be aware that you may need more tooling to get started reloading rifle, everyone has their picks of equipment and steps of what works for them. Read a good manual and if you have any questions about some of the tooling used or a term you unsure about come back and take a look at the posts regarding loading rifle. Get familiar with what you will need first. A 550 or 650 by itself will not be the only things you will need.