Nirvana Found

[standles]

Hello from the ultimate skeptic.

I have been reloading for some time now (read years and years) but only recently purchased Dillon equipment. lets not get ahead of the storyline just yet.

For years I toiled at single stage lyman presses with manual powder measures and non carbide dies. Hunched back trying to read scales and load primers one by one. Then one day a a bolt of lightening hit me. If only I would go progressive I could load better ammo faster.

I searched far and wide looing at Lyman turrets, RCBS,Lee Loadmasters, and Hornady projectors. Yes I did see the Dillon equipment out there but fully belived that the Dillon following was a cult. It had to be, nothing was that good or had that feverent a following unless there was koolaid involved.

So I bit the bullet and bought the ..... Hornady Projector press. Now I was ready and could load with the big boys. It started almost immediately. The new wonder press would bind up and cause powder spillage with uncanny regularity. The shell plate needing infernal adjustments constantly to keep smooth feeding. Finally the little things took thier toll and reloading once again became a chore I had to endure to shoot. The pain was so great that when I moved and packed thing up the reloading stuff stayed packed for 4 years until I started competition shooting again.

When I surveyed the odds and ends of my reloading life I decided to see what I could upgrade to this time. Once again the ferveor of the Dillon cult was running rampant. This time I also had local shooters that had been lured into the cult pulling at my figurative coattails to "join us or die".

Well I decided I was going to show them how misguided they were. I purchased a 550B setup and resurected my old support equipment. I also decided my eyes were bad enough without having to read the balance scale so I got a Dillon scale as well. Hmm setup was easy and the manual indexing allowed me plenty of options in case of a screwup. The buttons replaced the sping of the projector so I could handle station specific problems. without undoing the world. The primer system was slick compared to old and actualy functioned.

My first reloads were for Chono work so each round was removed and charge weighed. Speed was not a desired outcome but after 300 or so rounds in 3 different calibers this got slow fast. I also decided to purchase 2 more quick change kits with powder measures. The end result of my chrono loading for 3 calibers was I now had dies setup for each.

Now the fun began. I changed from my last loading of .40 to .45 in under 5 minutes. I setup to crank rounds and was able to load them at 350 rnds/hr. In this time other than stopping to replensih suplies the only failure to perform was one upside down primer and since I hand put one in that escaped I will assume it was my fault.

So long story short I am a fully satisfied customer. Once again I am enjoying reloading and all that goes with it. My daughter even wanted to learn and I taught her. She now reloads under my supervision. Here in lies my current problem.

It's my relaoder dangit and I want to reload. Everytime I start she wants to butt in and reload for me. I have regulated her to loading primer tubes but that won't last for long. I guess I will have to give her the 550 and get me a 650.

Now pass the kool-aid and welcome your newest cult member. The projector and all its shell plates were donated to the local club for a dorr prize. I plasterd a note on the box that read simply. You are going to wished you would have bought a Dillon. Long Live Dillon.

Steven

[rick t]

Amen to that! How many of us can say"Been There Done That"

rick t

[RogerT]

I can....

[sturmruger]

I have a question about the 550 when you say that you have to "manually index" what exactly does that mean?

I am starting to shop for a progressive press and would like to learn more of this lingo. Also so I can understand things could you list the step by step process for cranking out one loaded round on the 550 assuming all of the components are topped off.

THANKS

[Matt Cheely]

Place case in 1st station, crank handle and case is sized and deprimed. Push forward on handle and primer is inserted. Rotate shell plate by hand.

Place new case in 1st station. Crank handle and case in position 2 is belled and filled with powder. Push forward on handle & rotate shell plate.

Again with the new case, and now place the bullet on top of case in the 3rd station. Crank handle and the first case now has the bullet seated. Push forward on handle & rotate shell plate.

Again with the new case and bullet. Crank handle and the case & bullet in the 4th station is crimped. Push forward on handle & rotate shell plate. Your loaded round will now drop into the tray.

Repeat, repeat, repeat.....

[CaseyJ]

+1 on the been there done that, and seen way too many people go buy cases of ammo for 10x what they can make it for. I stopped a club member that is new to ipsc at sportsman's warehouse the other day and he had a whole case of ammo in his cart, i asked what is that for? his response was.. to practice with! ARRRHHHH! so now that he is conviced into buying a press i just gotta have him buy me another one for saving him so much money!! and giving him another hobby!

oh yeah and reccomend the 650 for you and give her the 550 as long as you watch over her alright and make sure she knows what to do incase of... well i will leave the parenting to you and go back to my shooting.

[Micah]

I can honestly say that I have not BTDT...thanks to reading these forums first and taking the advice of a few good USPSA friends.

How did you get your daughter into reloading? My wife pisses and moans when I ask her to "help" me sort brass

[benos]

I have a question about the 550 when you say that you have to "manually index" what exactly does that mean?

I am starting to shop for a progressive press and would like to learn more of this lingo. Also so I can understand things could you list the step by step process for cranking out one loaded round on the 550 assuming all of the components are topped off.

THANKS

Which Dillon? and Dillon FAQ

[dajarrel]

Well, I made my journey throught a Lee progressive. It would load good ammo until..... Well any number of things would make it puke.

I bought a 550 and two years later, my wife and son gave me a 650. They sit side by side. The 650 is the workhorse and the 550 makes my lesser shot rounds.

Pharaoh, the trick to getting the spousal unit to assist you is never to ask. Make it look like more fun than it actually is, ala Huckleberry Finn, and when you least expect it, she might say...."let me try that"

Then again, she might not

FWIW

dj

[Chris Keen]

Dillon is good stuff

[hitman]

Your Dillon shirt, hat and a pair of new shoes are setting on your cot.

Please change as the Dillon black chopper will be flying over soon to take us all to the factory.

Welcome to the cult.

[Punkin Chunker]

Dillon is good stuff

I gotta echo that . . . plus I just got doubly impressed with the service.

After multiple thousands of rounds, I had a part break on my 550 -- the "Roller Activator Shell Platform," or something like that. One of the little ears broke off.

I called Dillon; they (the proverbial, "they." Actually, it was Lee. Really friendly, helpful) asked my customer number.

I explained I didn't have one, probably because I bought the press used.

No problem for Lee -- he asked my address so he could mail me a replacement. That was it. No, "How did it happen?" No, "The part's free, but shipping and handling will be $X.XX." Just, "I'll need your address so we can get another one in the mail to you."

I don't know if other companies provide the same service, but to tell you the truth, at this point, I really don't care. You can take my Dillon when you pry it from my cold, dead hands (or pony up enough cash so I can upgrade).