Upgrade to 650 from 550

[Butterpuc]

12 hours ago, Rubric said:

 

Butterpuc, I'm just curious, but did you have a 650 before owning a 1050? If so, do you have any regrets? I still may decide to save for a 1050 regardless.

 

 

10 hours ago, Rubric said:

Not to sound naive, but where would you suggest that a guy look for a used unit? I have recently discovered the classifieds on this forum, but aside from joining other forums, the only thing I can think of is eBay, Gunbroker, and local ads (You are hard pressed to find a good deal locally when you live in Wyoming).

 

I personally did not "own" the 650, my best friend did.  It was the first reloading machine I ever used.  I loaded many thousand rounds on his.  It is a fine machine.  I did finally buy a reloading machine... I made the mistake and bought a LNL with Casefeeder, because it was so much cheaper.  It was a good machine, but not nearly as nice as the 650.  I finally got fed up with tinkering with the LNL and sold it and bought the 1050.  At this time in life I was really shooting alot, and I could really justify it.  Time behind a reloading machine does have value.  I can remember reloading my first 100 rounds on my 1050, I think I giggled a little bit.  I don't shoot nearly as much as I used to, but I have no regrets buying a 1050 and I would buy another one.

 

I think you are looking in the right places for a used 1050.  I would say BEnos is probably the best place to look.  Like Sarge mentioned, there are just shooters that are getting away from shooting for whatever reason and offloading good equipment.  You will need to be patient.

Edited February 25, 2019 by Butterpuc
grammar and spelling

[ezra650]

I got a 650 (no casefeeder) and 2 toolheads complete for $480 at an estate auction last year. This past November I picked up a MBF from a friend for a good deal... The 650 is still sitting on my back bench unused. I'll have just over/around $1k in my 650 when it's ready to load. When I'm able to shoot 1k rounds a month I'll finish setting the 650 up, but for now the 550 is still my workhorse. I may never own a 1050, but I believe the ideal setup would be a single stage, 550, and 1050 for competition reloading and any thing else misc. relaoding 

[AHI]

1 hour ago, ezra650 said:

but I believe the ideal setup would be a single stage, 550, and 1050 for competition reloading and any thing else misc. relaoding 

this is  my set up  and I agree 

[Jay1957]

On 2/22/2019 at 10:13 AM, Jay1957 said:

Just bought a 650 with casefeeder. Kept my 550 for lower production stuff. Very happy.

650 has been great! Essentially got way ahead on .40. Liked it so much I am ordering conversion for 9mm.

[Jay1957]

On 2/22/2019 at 10:13 AM, Jay1957 said:

Just bought a 650 with casefeeder. Kept my 550 for lower production stuff. Very happy.

650 has been great! Essentially got way ahead on .40. Liked it so much I am ordering conversion for 9mm.

[Rcknease]

I have a 650 for multiple calibers but use two 1050's for my competition ammo. I think the 1050 is way superior to the 650.

[hlpressley]

I upgraded from a 550 to a 650 a couple of years ago and will say the difference was well worth the price paid. The 650 has been much more efficient for me. 

[Dane460]

Had a 550 and 650, ended up selling the 550 to get another 650, just much smoother the case feeder option is awesome and can just put out a lot more rounds

[191138sc]

On 2/24/2019 at 9:00 AM, Gomar83 said:

I’ve used the Redding Comp. seating die for several yrs. it makes for easy adjustments

This has also been my experience. I love the precision during adjustments especially when changing bullet profile. I load  40 cal exclusively on my 650 and  lower round count sizes on my 550.

[nate89]

I loaded on a Lee pro1000 for a few years before deciding to upgrade to a Dillon.  I went with the 650 because it seemed to load a decent volume, and was something I could afford.  I have since loaded tens of thousands of 9mm on it, and have been very happy with it.  I don't regret the purchase, but the allure of the 1050 with the inline swaging and single pass 223 brass prep is sounding more and more appealing, especially since I have started shooting more 300 blackout and could use more converted brass.  I'm pretty set on getting a new pretty within the year, but I'm trying to decide between looking for a deal on a used 1050, or waiting for the new 1100 to start shipping.

[bigwes]

I started out in the early 90's with the 550 under $300.00 back then. Later on I picked up a SDB for $75.00 set up for 45 acp, and just last year I picked up a 650 w/ case feeder , 308 dies 45 dies,  powder , primers , brass, strong mount, low powder sensor ,and a bunch of other stuff primer tubes etc. for $1300.00. I still have them all and tend to load pistol ammo on the 550 and 223/308 on the 650. All 45 acp is done on the SDB. I like all of the presses I own. I'm sur the 1050 would be cool, but I don't really see a need for it. I believe I have all my bases covered. lol

Edited March 19, 2019 by bigwes