550 or 650?

[awdxtc]

I have been thinking about getting a progressive press and I was wondering what the main differences were between the dillon 550 and 650?

[atbarr]

I have been thinking about getting a progressive press and I was wondering what the main differences were between the dillon 550 and 650?

Give Brian a call, I wanted a 650 with a case feeder. We talked for a while and he said that he would NOT sell me a 650. He said the 550 was all I needed. He was right! It's not often a company will take the high road and lose $$. But he sells to sell again. http://www.brianenos.com/store/dillon.html

[Youngeyes]

Welcome to the forum. You'll love a Dillon press. There are so many reasons to get a 550 or a 650. +1 to asking Brian. You are now a member and have search privileges. Tons of info. (OMG I've become a member of the search police!)

[Scoobb]

I would say do some research. I don't even own a dillon and could probably tell you every single difference just from doing some research. If you go to dillons website it lists the features of both side by side and you can see the differences.

[Unregistered]

Is this your first press, or first progressive press?

Either way, call Brian!

[kalaur]

Instead of telling you to search, I'll just tell you to get the 650. You'll end up upgrading from the 550 at some point anyway :-P

[ChuckS]

Read this: http://www.brianenos.com/pages/dillon.html

[awdxtc]

This will be the first press I own myself but I have been using a single stage for awhile.

[Sarge]

This will be the first press I own myself but I have been using a single stage for awhile.

In that case anything you get will be a quantum leap forward. I comfortably load 400 rounds an hour on my 550 but sometimes I even think of selling it to get a 650. I'm just not sure I need one. Even if you get one and decide you want the other you can sell it for what you paid for it.

[Mark K]

First, you will like either, but for the very few dollars difference, get the 650. I don't think I have ever heard of someone say, "Damn, I wish I had bought the 550 instead of this 650." The opposite side of that is heard often.

Mark K.

[bkeeler]

I have a 550 have had it for about 10yrs or so. I got to tell ya a don't want a 650. I personally do not like the auto index. I have a case feeder for my 550 that I put on last year and love it. Now I wouldn't mind the 1050....but don't need it.

[Hi-Power Jack]

This will be the first press I own myself but I have been using a single stage for awhile.

how many rounds a month of each caliber do you

shoot? what calibers?

[diversmith]

First, you will like either, but for the very few dollars difference, get the 650. I don't think I have ever heard of someone say, "Damn, I wish I had bought the 550 instead of this 650." The opposite side of that is heard often.

Mark K.

This is the same thing I gathered when making my decision between the two....more people said get the 650 because of the casefeeder and auto index if you really want higher volume. You will realize you want it down the road. As a pretty new reloader, I started on single stage to "learn the ropes" and start slow. I soon realized single stage was painstakingly slow for the volume I shoot and I had to decide on the 550 or 650. I went 650 just for the casefeeder mainly. If doing any decent type of volume, the casefeeder is priceless to me. Especially so when you reload 5.56/223 and you want/need to do separate case prep. Pour cases and get to rockin!!! The only thing I really need to focus intently on is looking in the case before I set a bullet just to have a for sure powder check. YMMV

[awdxtc]

Right now I only shoot 10mm 38 special and 9mm. I shoot 10mm the most about 700 rounds a month but if I were to get a progressive press that would easily double. In the future I would like to load either 300wsm or 338 lapua.

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[codemonkey001]

This will be the first press I own myself but I have been using a single stage for awhile.

i just started myself, and i must say, i like the fact that w/ the 550 it's manual indexing. i go slow and i make sure everything is ok before i go to the next step. also, with the 550, it's much cheaper to get conversion kits. and finally, i think it's very easy to change the primer setup for the 550.

for the 650, i see myself using that later on and of course the case feeder is going to be part of the main attraction to it. but another great feature of the 650, since you're likely to load faster with it, is that it has 5 stations and one could be used for powder charge measure (no more too low or too high powder charges).

[EkuJustice]

I say get the 550. It is easier and cheaper to switch between calibers on the 550.

[awdxtc]

So far I have been hand weighing all my charges...are there any problems with powder dispensing with powders such as 800X?

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[atbarr]

I say get the 550. It is easier and cheaper to switch between calibers on the 550.

Exactly!

Give Brian a call, he might tell you a 650 is right for you.

[benos]

Read this: http://www.brianenos.com/pages/dillon.html

Thanks!

And also:

Dillon FAQ:

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

[sdm74]

Sixfity

[awdxtc]

Those links were really helpful, thank you. One question I have is I have heard people say not to bother using the 550 in conjunction with the case loader....why is that? One thing that is swaying me to the 650 is that I load mainly 10mm and if I get a progressive press I will load 1000-2000 rounds before switching to another caliber. My girlfriend shoots 38 and it would be nice to load up 500-1000 rounds of that so I can concentrate on making my ammo. I don't load a ton of different calibers as I really don't think reloading 9mm is cost effective although I could be wrong but on a single stage press it's not worth the time:money ratio. Another thing is it would be nice to add a bullet feeder down the road, can you use one with the 550?

[Sarge]

Those links were really helpful, thank you. One question I have is I have heard people say not to bother using the 550 in conjunction with the case loader....why is that? One thing that is swaying me to the 650 is that I load mainly 10mm and if I get a progressive press I will load 1000-2000 rounds before switching to another caliber. My girlfriend shoots 38 and it would be nice to load up 500-1000 rounds of that so I can concentrate on making my ammo. I don't load a ton of different calibers as I really don't think reloading 9mm is cost effective although I could be wrong but on a single stage press it's not worth the time:money ratio. Another thing is it would be nice to add a bullet feeder down the road, can you use one with the 550?

With your visions of what you want in the future get a 650. As Brian told me in regards to case feeders etc on a 550,"The beauty of the 550 is it's utter simplicity". In other words leave it alone and crank out good ammo. The 650 is made to run with the case feeder and is the way to go if you are even thinking of adding a bullet feeder.

And for the record, I load 9mm MAJOR ammo for around $14 per hundred. Any ammo is worth reloading if you shoot more than a few hundred a year.

[awdxtc]

Thats the way I am leaning. Thanks for your input.

[benos]

Those links were really helpful, thank you. One question I have is I have heard people say not to bother using the 550 in conjunction with the case loader....why is that? One thing that is swaying me to the 650 is that I load mainly 10mm and if I get a progressive press I will load 1000-2000 rounds before switching to another caliber. My girlfriend shoots 38 and it would be nice to load up 500-1000 rounds of that so I can concentrate on making my ammo. I don't load a ton of different calibers as I really don't think reloading 9mm is cost effective although I could be wrong but on a single stage press it's not worth the time:money ratio. Another thing is it would be nice to add a bullet feeder down the road, can you use one with the 550?

With your visions of what you want in the future get a 650. As Brian told me in regards to case feeders etc on a 550,"The beauty of the 550 is it's utter simplicity". In other words leave it alone and crank out good ammo. The 650 is made to run with the case feeder and is the way to go if you are even thinking of adding a bullet feeder.

And for the record, I load 9mm MAJOR ammo for around $14 per hundred. Any ammo is worth reloading if you shoot more than a few hundred a year.

What Kevin (and I) said.

The caliber I sell the most reloading equipment for, by FAR, is 9mm. So it must definitely be cost effective to load 9mm.

On a Bullet Feeder for the 550, I would just forget about it. Like Kevin said, if you have to have a Casefeeder, and will want a Bullet Feeder at some point, then the 650 is the way to go.

The "rounds you will load before changing to another caliber" info here:

http://www.brianenos.com/pages/dillonfaqs.html#550650

... IMO pertty sums up the decsion.

be

[glynnm45]

Sixfity

I think you mean to say Sixfitty!!