I'm lost

[2tuf4u]

There is no programming required by the user. The tablet interface is very simple to use.

[V2plus25]

The Mark VII is easy to use and is there for you to fine-tune the autodrive.  Don't worry, it's easy to work with.

 

With guys maybe jumping on the new Mark VII presses or the Dillon 1100 you may very well find Super 1050s for sale at a reduced price.  In fact there is one in the classifieds right now set up for .40 with a Mark VII attached.  Wish that was around when I was setting up mine.

 

Having loaded thousands and thousands of rounds on the 550, when I jumped to the 1050 I honestly was pissed that I hadn't done it sooner.  The 1050 is just such a better quality machine to pump out many consistent rounds of the same caliber.  And if you need to switch calibers, the caliber change is well worth it in order to not have to readjust the dies.

 

Regarding it only having a 1 year warranty vs the 550/650/750, I believe that it is manufactured to higher tolerances and therefore doesn't need a lifetime warranty.  I understand that over time everything will break, but once you operate the 1050 and see the consistency of the rounds it produces, you'll be happy with your choice.  As always, buy once cry once

[2tuf4u]

I believe a casual survey of commercial reloaders ( which I am not ) would show the Dillon 1050  --hopefully soon 1100 --- provide the best $$ paid/ output provided ratio of the prosumer/light commercial machines. If the rl 1100 is as good as the rl 1050 you will be making a good investment. It won't have the " zing" of a Mark Vii Evolution/Revolution but it should be quickly resalable thanks to the  widely known Dillon reputation at a price point that won't break the bank......still waiting to see the RL 1100  

[Alkyshooter]

Thanks for the replies. I've decided on either the 1050 or the Mark VII. How's that for making a rock solid decision? I just need to spend a bit more time before buying.

[V2plus25]

1 hour ago, Alkyshooter said:

Thanks for the replies. I've decided on either the 1050 or the Mark VII. How's that for making a rock solid decision? I just need to spend a bit more time before buying.

 

The biggest thing the Mark VII has going for it is the availability of adding the primer collator.  Holy crap that thing is awesome!  You'll never have to load another primer tube.

 

Both presses are awesome.  I can only speak for the 1050 with the Mark VII though.  Awesome press that produces consistent ammo time after time.  It's easy to tear down to clean and lube as well.

Edited September 20, 2019 by V2plus25

[m700]

With 6 caliber changes you may be better off buying 2 presses. Setup the 750 with your least amount of loading per month calibers. Also for the rifles Id recommend 2 tool heads per, One for prep one for load.

[rustybayonet]

On 9/13/2019 at 8:38 PM, Alkyshooter said:

 

 

I have ruled out the 550 because I'm not flipping the shell plate 2000 times to do 500 rounds.

 

 

With a 550 you only click the plate 128 times for 500 rounds.

550 cheaper and faster caliber changes.

[teros135]

2 hours ago, rustybayonet said:

With a 550 you only click the plate 128 times for 500 rounds.

550 cheaper and faster caliber changes.

 

Well, once you have the shell plate full, you get a completed round every time you click it (advance it).  500 clicks, 500 pulls of the handle ... 500 rounds.

 

Edited October 6, 2019 by teros135
Fat thumbs...

[Sarge]

2 hours ago, rustybayonet said:

With a 550 you only click the plate 128 times for 500 rounds.

550 cheaper and faster caliber changes.

[trickg]

I'm probably way late to the game on this thread, but from my perspective, the 1050 or Mark VII might be overkill.

 

I tried to go to a progressive setup with a Hornady LNL AP, and was frustrated with that press from the start - it just didn't seem to want to run well for me.  I fiddled with it a bit to try to get it to work well, but I couldn't do more than 5-10 rounds before I had to tinker with something on the press.  I finally sold it and went with a Dillon RL-550C.  I realize that the 650 was probably more in line with what the Hornday LNL AP was supposed to offer, but I figured for my rate of ammo consumption (not nearly what the OP has stated with the estimated 5,000 rounds per year) and the fact that I reload in:

 

38/357, 9mm, 40 S&W, 41 Mag, 44 Mag, 45 LC

 

and I plan to start reloading:

 

223, 25-06, 30-30, 30-06, 35 Whelen

 

For me, the 550 seemed to be a better fit, especially when considering that a tool head, plus a powder die, plus a conversion kit, is roughly $100 at current prices - it's a fair bit less than the 650/750.

 

But let's talk about a couple of other things - one would be rate of reloading, the other would be indexing the shell plate.

 

Quote

For the record, I need to load 9mm, .40,  10mm, .45, .223 and .308 and my minimum right now is ~ 2500 rounds a month. A year from now, that may double.

 

As for rate of reloading, the 550 ostensibly can do 550 rounds/hour.  Personally I think that's a bit optimistic - maybe 400+ if you aren't pushing things.  I typically reload in small batches of 100-200, and I know that I can do 200 rounds in less than 30 minutes, which is more than 4x faster than when I was reloading single stage and at best I could only do 100 rounds/hour.  Simple math dictates that the RL-550C is easily capable of 400 rounds/hour, but that means 12.5 hours sitting at the press per month, or 30 minutes an evening.  (and that's minimum - that doesn't account for any of the other tasks or time pre or post that goes into reloading) 

 

Can you do it on a 550?  Sure, but the 650 with a casefeeder and bullet feeder are going to be MUCH faster.  At a minimum, if I was shooting that much, I'd get a 650/750 over the 550, and I'd invest in both the case feeder and bullet feeder, and probably a faster primer tube loader too.

 

Regarding manually indexing the shell plate, you get to a point where you don't even think about it.  At this stage, I'm manually feeding a new case as well as adding a bullet, so it's a simple four step process: add case, add bullet, pull handle, seat primer, index the press.  However, given the OP's situation, it's kind of a moot point - if he's got the budget for any of the machines, I don't think that the 550 is the best option for him.

 

Edited October 7, 2019 by trickg

[rustybayonet]

On 10/5/2019 at 9:14 PM, teros135 said:

 

Well, once you have the shell plate full, you get a completed round every time you click it (advance it).  500 clicks, 500 pulls of the handle ... 500 rounds.

 

Sorry, your right.

I went full rotations.

So it would be 505

[blindshooter]

On 9/14/2019 at 11:58 PM, Alkyshooter said:

 

 

This is is where I'm heading. I have the money to buy a 1050 and two extra caliber changes. That will get me going. RA is a miserable thing. I'd rather pay more and hurt less so I can still shoot. If I kill myself reloading then I have less feel good time to shoot. And I want to reload and shoot for as long as I can

 

Thanks for the replies.

This^^^

I have some shoulder, neck and back problems and so far the 1050 is a lot easier on my worn out body parts. I'm still considering automation for the same reasons.

[benos]

On 10/5/2019 at 3:40 PM, rustybayonet said:

With a 550 you only click the plate 128 times for 500 rounds.

550 cheaper and faster caliber changes.

On that... In the time it takes the right hand to let go of the handle reach for a new case, the left hand has already indexed the shellplate and set the next bullet on the case - so the time "loss" (for indexing the shellplate) is zero.

[Yondering]

19 hours ago, benos said:

On that... In the time it takes the right hand to let go of the handle reach for a new case, the left hand has already indexed the shellplate and set the next bullet on the case - so the time "loss" (for indexing the shellplate) is zero.

 

That's my experience as well. Indexing the shellplate becomes automatic and doesn't take any extra time or thought. 

[Alkyshooter]

20 hours ago, benos said:

On that... In the time it takes the right hand to let go of the handle reach for a new case, the left hand has already indexed the shellplate and set the next bullet on the case - so the time "loss" (for indexing the shellplate) is zero.

 

Its not a time thing for me. It's the motion of doing another step. I met a guy on another forum who owns a 550 and he let me come over and try it. 

 

That at was a complete disaster. I have relatively big hands and fingers. On top of that, the RA is taking a good part of my dexterity. So the press feels cramped. I kept banging my hand trying to feed a case. Always bumped it on something. Hit my left hand on the bullet feed tray quite a bit. I did about 100 rounds in an hour. At that point, I had to give up. I had to drive home and didn't want to call the wife and have here come get me. At that point, I could barely use my hands. Some of it may be how the owner had it laid out. But it just felt cramped.

 

After that, I decided I need to run a 1050 before I drop the coin on one. If it's as cramped as the 550 is I'll need to go another direction. I was also told to buy a 750 and use the  case feeder (that would be a HUGE plus because handling the cases was not fun) and then get a bullet feeder to eliminate that situation.

 

But...if the 750 is only marginally bigger than the 550 with one extra station, seems like I'll be back where everything is very tight around the tool head. I suppose that will be the case with anything at this point.

 

I'm to the point where I may just say to hell with it and stay with my single stage press and live with not shooting as much.

 

I'm also sure many of you can't understand my delimma but when your knuckles constantly hurt, and are swollen most of the time, anything you do to irritate them reduces you to tears in pretty short order.

 

Or, I need to suck it up and just buy an Evolution and get on with it.

 

Thanks for letting me vent.

[ultimase]

 

The 1050 is not as cramped as the 550. The "stage" is much wider, and since the 1050 auto indexes you will not be moving the prop to rotate the shell plate. For the most part on the 1050 you'll just be positioning a bullet on the belled case and moving the lever. As you can see in this forum you can mitigate that quite a bit with a bullet feeder or even by automating the press. IF you're RA is severe enough I'd go ahead and try a 1050 with a bullet tray, but maybe even go even further and try a 1050 with a bullet feeder. At that point you'll just be cranking the press and keeping it fed. 

[sauza45]

Having loaded on both 650 and 1050 the 1050 is so much better to load on. Yes the caliber conversion is a lot more but in the end you will happier with the 

1050 for the amount of ammo you are loading. Your arm will thank you.

[78Staff]

I faced this decision a few years ago, was considering 2 650's or one 1050 ( coming from a 550).  I still have the 550, and use it for revolver rounds where i don't go through as much ammo, and went with the 1050.  I also have a bit of a degenerative shoulder/elbow issue, so ease of use was a concern for me as well - in face here's my thread on it from a few years ago, which has some good responses and is probably worth a read - 

 

 

I went with a single 1050, and mainly load 9mm, 10mm, and 45acp on it - plus i have been putting together setups for 223 and 300BO.  I also have a coax for precison ammo loading in 223, 308, and 6.5.  As mentioned before, I keep the 550 for revolver rounds - 38/357, 45AutoRim, and 44Mag.  I've been happy with my decision, but be prepared to spend on conversions.  Obviously you'll need dies and the conversion kit, which will run $160-$200 for each caliber depending on the dies you use.  I mainly stuck with Dillon dies, although am considering some of the latest flavor of months like the MA decap dies, maybe a Redding Comp Seater, which I tried once before but maybe didn't give it a fair change... Anyway, quick change kits/toolheads make changing calibers so much faster/easier,  but add $275 for each caliber.  So, bear this in mind as you can spend as much on a few caliber conversions as another press!  Then if you add bullet feeding, ie the MBF, you'll need setups for each caliber there as well (although this would apply to either press really).

 

All in all, consider 4 full change kits, you'll be in 2K for the press and another 2K in caliber changes.  You can do it cheaper, but if you're buying into the 1050 mindset, you might as well go all the way.  Then add the MBF and an RF-100 or two as well while you are at it.

 

 

 

[Hockeycor22]

If you are reloading that many calibers you might want to look at the 650/750 (same machine just different primer mehinism) I have heard most people who have the 1050 get it calibrated for one caliber and leave it so no adjustments are needed.

i run a 650 with a few different calibers .i just load a few thousand then switch and it’s not too bad.