New reloader

[Mikeski]

Ok so after shooting USPSA for about a year and a half, I've determined I want to start reloading. I used to reload shotgun shells way back in the day but have never loaded pistol or rifle rounds. I was looking at either the 550 or 650 as my loader as I would like to do some hunting rifle rounds later on. I will be using this for 9mm, 38SC Major and 40 major with the 40 being loaded to 1.180 OAL. to feed my DVC Limited. I've read both sides about the 550 vs 650. I was wondering if any first timer could share their experiences. 

Thanks in advance. 

[RiggerJJ]

650 and don't look back. The 550 is great for small runs of just about anything, but the 650 is a mass producer that will feed your habit. Get the case feeder too...

Jmho

jj

[MHitchcock]

650. I would start with one caliber to get the hang of things, then add in the others. Pick what you shoot most, and get set up for that first. 

[noylj]

If you have to buy a Dillon and don't want a 1050, the 650 is the only option left. Yes, it is only worth getting if you get the case feeder.

I can't imagine being happy with only 4 die stations and a manual indexing press, but each to their own.

[Hi-Power Jack]

If you have the $$$ and the mechanical aptitude, go for the 650  

[AzShooter]

The 650 is actually easier to run than the 550.  The auto indexing helps prevent a double charge.  It's definitely worth the money.  Then save for a MRBulletfeeder.  You won't be disappointed.

 

[gransport]

26 minutes ago, AzShooter said:

The 650 is actually easier to run than the 550.  The auto indexing helps prevent a double charge.  It's definitely worth the money.  Then save for a MRBulletfeeder.  You won't be disappointed.

 

I 2nd this. I started on a 650 myself and have now loaded 25k trouble free rounds on it.

[DavidShoots]

Never reloaded until recently and bought 650. I love and learned to use quickly. Buy the 650 with case feeder.


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[hceuterpe]

650 for sure

[gmantwo]

Gotta put in my vote for the 550. I have loaded on 2 for nearly 20 years. I also breifly owned a 650 I bought second hand. After struggling with primer folding, I sent it to Dillon to be refurbed. When it came back, it ran flawlessly. Until I switched calibers, then issues again started. I decided to switch it back and dedicate it to one caliber, but the issues never went away. Keep in mind, I was a very experienced Dillon user, and had several friends close who had even more experience, and none of us could get the machine to run smoothly again. I went back to 550's and have never regretted it. My brother has 2 650's and recently I went to his house, thinking to load a bit faster for the Production Nats. 3 hours later, I left with 500 rounds of loaded ammo. Went back home and loaded 600 more rounds in an hour 15 minutes. HAPPILY!

Yes, the auto index is useful, but paying attention is even more so. If you lift the handle slightly and then lower it for any reason(lets say a round with a too thick rim gets jammed in the case slide going from the case feeder to the size die, which happened to me several times), you've just advanced all the rounds without completing the stroke, SHIT! and dumped a non crimped round into the bin. WHICH ONE IS IT??

To me, the 550 is the most useful all around machine, I load 3 pistol calibers and 4 rifle calibers on mine, with never a hiccup or issue. With a smooth rythm, 500+ rounds an hour of pistol caliber is easily doable, SInce 2 of us are now shooting 9mm(my son shot .40 mostly for years), I've been thinking of making the second machine a 1050, but my primary will always be a 550

[36873687]

If u got the money 650. U can't go wrong either way

[TDA]

I load three calibers on my 650 and have never had an issue.

If I had to startl over again I would definitely go with a 650.

[twodownzero]

It really depends on how many calibers you want to load.  I upgraded from the 550 to 650 after about 8 years of loading, and while the learning curve sucked, I'm happier overall with my 650.  If you're only going to load 2-3 calibers, I highly recommend the 650 over the 550.  But I also recommend that you buy a cheap single stage press for small batches of rifle cartridges, and if you're wanting to load a lot of calibers, you may find the 550 easier.

The 650 is faster and once it's set up correctly, it runs great.  But the 550 is simpler overall, and given the small throughput difference, the 550 is a better choice for some people.

[Mikeski]

For me i will be loading 9/38 Super and 40 to start. It sounds like the 650 is the way to go. 

[nelson1each]

Like others said 650...I bought the 550 years ago and didn't listen to those that said 650....I was wrong and have regretted it ever since..someday I'll get a 650 but in the mean time I'll keep complaining that I can barely keep up reloading cuz I didn't buy the right press 

[Absocold]

If you're mechanically inclined and money is an issue, you might consider starting with a Lee Loadmaster. It's a giant pain in the butt to keep it working smoothly but when the 650 setup with case feeder and gear is almost $900 and the Loadmaster is $300...

 

And if you decide that you want to continue reloading but want to go ahead and upgrade to the 650, the Loadmaster serves as an excellent backup press and useful for side jobs. I use mine for depriming and sizing as well as loading small jobs of other calibers since it's a snap to convert.

 

If you're not handy or hate fiddling, get the 650.

[Ray_Z]

Add my vote to the 650. I started out with a Rockchucker, then went to a SDB, then after almost wearing it and my arm out in 2 years I bought a 650. Will never regret getting the 650. 

[rustybayonet]

I am a 550 fan boy, a 550 will load all but a .50 bmg. If you want to load more than 400 - 500 an hour go 650. I went 550 because I reload .380, 9mm, .45, .556, 7.62, .30 carbine, 30/06, 8x57 mauser all on quick change set-ups, and I still need more.

The only thing better than a 550, is two 550's, one for small primers and one for large!!!

[firewood]

As others have said, start out with 1 caliber at a time. Master it and try to get an understanding of exactly what it is you are trying to do before switching to another caliber. There are a myriad number of things like powder and bullet selection in various combinations to consider. There is a bit of trial and error to find what works for you personally. So in my opinion, throw your money at 1 caliber at a time and also buy the best equipment you possibly can.  

This is especially true if your main thing is handgun and you want to eventually load rifle. With handgun experience, moving to rifle isn't like you are starting from scratch but it's almost like starting from scratch. And it's not just the cost if dies, it's case prep tools, components and just the fact that it takes more attention to details to load bottle neck rifle cartridges correctly compared to straight wall pistol.

Getting everything set up and running smoothly takes time and effort. You are not going to take your press out of the box, bolt it to a table and an hour later leave the room with 500 rounds of 9mm that you will then proceed to win several state championships. There is, in my experience, a certain amount of pain that must be endured before you can shoot your reloads with complete confidence and great accuracy. A case gage costs about +/- $30.00, I shoot some USPSA and IDPA (some not a lot) and my marksmanship skills are not all there but I don't want my ammo to give me fits when the timer is running. So I case gage 100% of my ammo and then do a barrel plunk test just to be certain it will function.

Most of us are getting mentally prepared for the possibility that ammo making components may become a bit difficult to locate in a few months. My crystal ball is out of service at this time but the wise among us have been over the months setting up stores of consumables. As a new handloader you are at a disadvantage because your really not sure what will work for you and buying material that may not totally satisfy in the long run is not a wise choice. But think about how much ammo you consume at this time and factor in the cost of stocks of components with the cost of your handloading equipment. Right now consumables like powder are fairly easy to locate but most of us are still in bunker mode from the last shortage which lasted several years.

If you ask the guys on your squad at the next USPSA match you attend most will tell you exactly how they load, what they use and other details such as seating depth. I have maybe 25K 9mm handloads  under my belt and just this week added a undersize die to my set up to try to minimize bullet creep by increasing case mouth tension. This is about a $30.00 investment that may or may not help but is part of the process. So what 'm trying to imply is get ready to open up that wallet a little more than you might think.

[Livin_cincy]

I looked at this same debate and decison.  You are looking at loading several calibers and that adds up in tooling costs no matter which way you go.   It also might prevent loading calibers until you get all of your calibers tooling purchased.  The incidental costs outside of the press add up as you set up your reloading bench area.  Also many reloaders will tell you that you will always want a single stage for depriming and other case prep duties.  So which press to start with is not a simple question.

I ended up going with the Lee Classic Cast Turret Press as a first press.  They make two turret presses and you want the more expensive one from everything I read.  It works like a single stage, a manual index and an automatic index press depending on how you set it up.   I went thru Brownwells / Sinclair do to their customer satisfaction policy regarding returns if I regretted my decision in the future.

So you can see if you like to rotate manually like on a 550 or not.   That is the only complaint about the 550 that is common.   You can compare it to Auto indexing like a 650 to see if that is preferred.  The 650 has some complexity with setting up the case feed and resolving powder spillage but these have all been solved if you look for the answers or call Dillon.  So you will get a feel for how much you like the auto vs manual indexing.  As you might have gathered from others 550 / 650 is a very individual preference like choosing a modern auto pistol. 

Now the Lee Classic Cast Turret will not produce the quantity of completed cartridges that a progressive press will by any means.  It seems like anywhere from 200-300 per hour is about average for the Lee CCT.  It is also very easy and cheap to switch powder charges between loads and calibers with the Lee Auto Drum.  

It works great to work on load development when you are only making small batches of 10 to test at the range.   This happens when you can't find one of your old components and have to start over developing a load.  Then when you buy some new bullets in each of your calibers you develop the load on your LEE CCT.  Once you have your new load you can then crank them out on your Dillion.  What is nice is that you can use the same dies between Lee & Dillon 550 & 650. So it becomes just handy to have around. 

I give credit for my using a Lee CCT to The Reloader Dude over on YouTube.  He has Lee, Redding, and a Dillon 650 in his reloading bench and talks about why he uses each one and for what.  I found his videos helpful.

The Lee CCT might let you afford to load all your calibers initially do to initial set up and tooling cost alone. Load up a large portion of the brass you think you will need next season this winter. You will know which Dillion type you prefer by then from the manual vs auto index feature on the Lee. Then you can put your savings from reloading into the 550 or 650 you buy in the future.  So during the shooting season you can make 4-600+ per hour easily with your new Dillon.

[jnr88]

Buy a 650 and you will never look back,.

[Kraj]

IF your going to be shooting any large quantities I would go 650, plenty of press to grow with you. Don't worry so much about the initial investment in gear, once you start reloading you'll save that amount in a year compared to buying factory. And then after that point you still have the press

[safeactionjackson]

I'd grab a xl650 setup for the caliber you will shoot most, then add other as needed.

Personally I started with a 550b (350-400 rnds per hour), but out grew it in 6 months.  I had just started shooting IDPA, should have started with a xl650.... but in the end I decided to keep the 550b and eventually add a xl650 after moving my high volume reloading to a s1050.

If quantity is your goal, go xl650.... you could even add a MBF later.  They are great presses, if you know someone who has one, ask them to show you the ropes.

~g
 

[mikeinctown]

Wondering what was decided on?

I got a 650 as my first press and it works as it should. I know for a fact that I would have screwed something up had I gotten a 550 as my first press. Would have forgotten to advance the shellplate and possibly dd a double charge, forgot a primer or something silly, etc. the 650 lets me keep focused on the most important thing, visually checking powder and setting the bullet.

One of the above posters mentioned the indexing advancing and then realizing a case didn't get shoved in place. I'm really not sure how this is possible since you have to phtysically push forward on the handle to seat the primer, and when you do this, the machine pushes the case the rest of the way into the shellplate. So if you can't push the handle and seat the primer, that should be the first indication to stop.

[Mikeski]

I am going to be going with a 650 as my choice. My wife has asked me to wait before I buy, since I am hard to buy for at Christmas time. Apparently I just go buy something if I want it. Go figure that one out. 

I have already started buying Primers and stuff so when i get the press i can just start rolling.