650 Conversion Vs 550

[5Shot]

I did a quick search but didn’t find anything.  Looking at a setup for 308.  I could buy a BL550 for the same price as a complete 650 conversion, including primer mechanism.

 

Granted I get all the bells and whistles with the 650, but I won’t be shooting thousands of rounds of 308 either.

 

Any reason to pick one over the other, outside of the case feeder and priming system?

[HesedTech]

6 hours ago, 5Shot said:

Any reason to pick one over the other, outside of the case feeder and priming system?

The basic 550 works fine, but you will be wanting the priming feature of the full 550 or 650 really soon.  Also 650/750 has another space on the tool head.
 

550 is a good press, it just depends on your budget. Get the most you can afford. 

[mmc45414]

I looked at this at one point and the cost delta over a 550 just seems too slim.

 

The prices have changed and I may be making a goof, but 550 is only $140 more and comes with a $130 powder measure you might use or could easily sell.  The idea of anything progressive that does not feed a primer seems arduous, and the primer feed is another $125? 

 

Seems like the option to be additionally considered might be a nice single stage press, maybe even used. 

[rishii]

I would get the basic conversion kit, minus the powder measure and any other parts you might already have

if you already load 45acp, you have the shell plate

if you’re like me and have dedicated powder measures for your pistol calibers, you have the rifle powder bar sitting in a drawer, I have those set for my rifle loads and swap out the powder bar from my pistol powder measure, fine tune and load

 

[Old3GNR]

OP, How much .308 do you shoot in a year?

[5Shot]

500 rounds

[Sigarmsp226]

I wish (to late now) I had bought a BL550 when I first looked at this reloader. That was several years back when they were $249.99.  My thought was to hand prime my brass and then use the BL550 to drop my powder charge (manually - which I like) and then seat and if necessary taper crimp the case - allowing me to manually move the process myself.  IMO - if I was only reloading 308 and only reloading 500 rounds a year - I would seriously consider the BL550.  The caliber conversion kit for the 550 is a little less than they are for the 650……Just my thoughts…

 

And now I am going to look again to determine if I should reconsider buying a BL550 before they go up another 10% come January 1, 2024 (Dillon usually increases their product pricing between 5-10% each January 1st)…..

Edited October 14, 2023 by Sigarmsp226

[5Shot]

Currently, the BL550 with the conversion kit is actually a bit more than buying a complete conversion with powder measure and priming system for the 650.  If it was only $250, that would be a no brainer, since I could use it for other calibers that I don't shoot a ton of.

[m700]

I personally dont like my bigger rifle stuff on the 650/1100 I like it on the 550. I have tried it many ways but I run my loading in this order for 6.5/308

 

Deprime/size/trim dirty and lubed through a 550 head

Wet clean and dry.

Prime on press

take off at station 2(or run through 100 or so on press)

Drop auto trickled powder

put back in station 2 and put a lubed head on top

seat/crimp

 

[jejb]

On 10/14/2023 at 12:41 PM, Sigarmsp226 said:

I wish (to late now) I had bought a BL550 when I first looked at this reloader. That was several years back when they were $249.99.  My thought was to hand prime my brass and then use the BL550 to drop my powder charge (manually - which I like) and then seat and if necessary taper crimp the case - allowing me to manually move the process myself.  

Just bought a RL550C for my 6.5CM. I was tempted to go with the BL, and should have in hindsight. I knew I was going to drop the powder using a funnel in station 2, so don't need another powder measure. I have several of them already for my 650 and 1100. But I thought the auto primer would be worth it. For the extra money, I still feel like those extras justified it. But it's not doing a great job of seating primers (CCI BR's) in my very clean or new 6.5CM brass, so I went back to hand priming them anyway. 

 

The main reason I went to the 550 is the much more consistent OAL, which it has done a great job of. I don't want to go to a single stage, so this is a nice compromise. 

 

[5Shot]

After thinking about it some more, I think I am headed towards the 650 upgrade.  I would like to have the case activated powder drop, which I obviously don't get on the BL550 and a priming system is a plus.  The RL550 is way over my budget anyway.  That being said, I would probably want a strong mount and a roller handle, which is another $200 and change.  That would put the basic BL550 several hundred more than a 650 upgrade with case feed plate, powder measure, and a priming system set up for large primers.  I'm not shooting benchrest, so I think I'll go this route.

 

For the few rounds that I do want to trickle powder for, I can do that on the single stage.

 

Thanks for the input.

Edited October 18, 2023 by 5Shot

[flyinverted]

I had a 550 for many years and HATED the primer system. l'm one of those weirdos that love the disc style primer system on the 650. Along with the other obvious upgrades (extra station, case feeder,etc), I never looked back or wished I had a 550.