Dillon 1050 as beginner to reloading?

[Handloader109]

I've only been reloading a couple of years now. I started with a cheap Lee single stage press. (oh,btw, I still use that press for sizing my bullets as I got into casting....) I was able to purchase a new 650xl that the prior owner had set up but never loaded a round with. Was over his head... I had a pretty hard time with the 650xl at first. Took me a bit to get all the moving parts in my head and how they interact. Luckily I never have set off a tube of primers, just spilled powder. I would truly suggest that you walk before you run. Spend a couple of hundred on a ss press, buy that good scale, and good dies that you can put on the 1050. Get all of the accessories that you will need, good bench, etc and load up and shoot a few hundred rounds of your favorite caliber. Get some of the basics down and if you are still hot for the 1050 and reloading,buy it!

[Scott_Sweeney]

Look I'm going to get a lot of flak for this but I would say the best press to start out on is a lee pro 1000. It's a three die press, with a simple and easy case feed, easy primer feed, easy powder feed, easy setup, loads 300 rounds an hour. Runs about 149-179 with a roller handle and comes setup in whatever caliber you want.

Run a single stage lee with a factory crimp die for final finishing.

This allows you to feel every round produced with your hands before chamber checking. Next up chamber check and go/nogo all rounds produced. Shoot and enjoy.

Once you've loaded about 10k rounds on it you'll know what features you need and how many stations you'd like to have.

For reference I now load on a 650 with Mr. Bullet feeder and run about 1000 rounds an hour on it.

Edited March 27, 2016 by Scott_Sweeney

[wimms]

It doesn't matter how you start. The only valid point raised is that you won't be making rejectless batches until you master every step of the process. How you learn to do that isn't defined by what presses you own along the way, but only that you pay due attention to every step. Having 1050 just compresses the learning curve into steep one, but even then you can learn it one stage at a time.

All in all you'll produce about the same amount of rejects over the course of learning whether you start with single stages and go with the upgrade path, or just go for the top of the line press right away.

It may just happen that you spend pointlessly money on the other presses along the way. On the other hand, you may find that you want to have a single stage press besides the 1050 for some specific tasks. All that understanding will come as you learn.

I started with XL650 without any mentor. Only later added Lee single stage for bulge buster setup. Now looking back I could aswell have started with 1050 right away. And now if I upgrade, need to resell my 650 or demote it to collecting dust. Yes I gained experience with 650, but in retrospect its a pointless waste of money if you can afford the 1050 from the start.

If you enjoy the long path and gaining experience with all the intermediate upgrade steps thats a different matter, then the waste of money becomes valuable.

In summary, I wouldn't discourage starting with 1050, only caution that it will take longer to understand and master and you would need to approach it with understanding that you are compressing learning curves of multiple single stages into single machine.

[Beastly]

It doesn't matter how you start. The only valid point raised is that you won't be making rejectless batches until you master every step of the process. How you learn to do that isn't defined by what presses you own along the way, but only that you pay due attention to every step. Having 1050 just compresses the learning curve into steep one, but even then you can learn it one stage at a time.

...

In summary, I wouldn't discourage starting with 1050, only caution that it will take longer to understand and master and you would need to approach it with understanding that you are compressing learning curves of multiple single stages into single machine.

THIS.

You can drop a single case down the case feeder tube on a 1050 and then run even a Mark 7/Mr. Bullet Feeder in Single Cycle mode, just like you were pulling the handle.

[RayUSPSA81]

I have heard the 1050's tend to need more maintenance. I load on a 550 and its flawless. Yes its not as fast, but I don't have the headaches that come when a 1050 isn't running smooth. I will be buying a 650 soon.

[Foxbat]

Kinda like getting a BMW M3 for your 16th birthday!

Take it, don't ask any questions!