Single stage to progressive

[Navy_shooter]

I've been reloading with a Rockchucker for 20 years now and am looking to get into reloading with a progressive press for higher volume output. Any suggestion on brand/model for this transition?

Edited December 28, 2023 by Navy_shooter

[perttime]

First instinct for progressive brand: Dillon.

 

Model would depend on what kind of volumes we are talking about and what calibers you'll want to produce with it.

[RJH]

Without knowing your exact needs, I'd probably do a 550

[old558]

I have Hornady LNL's for metallic reloading and have been very happy with them. Customer service has always been excellent. I also have a Dillon SL 900 shot shell re loader which has also been excellent and customer service is again outstanding.

Wish I could make your choice easy. For me it was what was available locally at the time. I don't think you can go wrong either way.

Others will be along soon to help.

Edited December 28, 2023 by old558

[Squirrel45]

3 hours ago, RJH said:

Without knowing your exact needs, I'd probably do a 550

Yup, can't go wrong with a 550. Iv got square deal(s), a rock chucker, 750, and a 550. The 550 can do all, from a 380 to anything short of 50 bmg. If doing both rifle and pistol I think it's the best choice. If doing lighter rifle a 750 Is a good choice but more complex then a 550 for sure. Either way Dillon is my choice 

[Navy_shooter]

I'll be reloading for 45acp, 9mm, & .38/.357. I have rcbs dies, digital scale and such. Aside from the press itself, is there anything else I will be needing?

[perttime]

If you already have dies, a Dillon 550 should work well. I use a Square Deal B but that uses small proprietary dies.

 

For changing calibers, you'll need shellplates that fit. For small and large primers, you'll need parts that suit both. Either a complete assembly or just small parts to switch. Most like to have a toolhead for each caliber, so you don't have to adjust the dies every time you change. Many like to have powder assemblies that stay with the toolhead.

 

Dillon has individual parts or different caliber conversion kits. If you are not sure what you need, Dillon's customer service usually responds quickly.

[motosapiens]

9 hours ago, Navy_shooter said:

I'll be reloading for 45acp, 9mm, & .38/.357. I have rcbs dies, digital scale and such. Aside from the press itself, is there anything else I will be needing?

i recommend 550 because it is easy and quick to switch calibers. you’ll need 2 extra shellplates. i find it is worthwhile to have a dedicated powder measure for each caliber.

[HesedTech]

On 12/28/2023 at 11:17 AM, Navy_shooter said:

Any suggestion on brand/model for this transition

Do not stop at Lee, Frankford, or the 550. Go right to 750 or Mark 7.  Why? Parts, service and reputation for ease of use. 
 

 

[ddc]

One question to ask yourself is do you want to index the shell plate manually or do you want the machine to do it for you automatically during the lever pull.

 

550 = manual, 650/750 = auto

[xrayfk05]

6 hours ago, HesedTech said:

Do not stop at Lee, Frankford, or the 550. Go right to 750 or Mark 7.  Why? Parts, service and reputation for ease of use. 
 

 

Recommending a $2500+ press and expensive conversion kits for someone who loaded on a single stage for 20 years, only on the Benos forums.

 

Seriously any progressive will be a massive upgrade, even a 550. (No matter how much I dislike the 550)

Without knowing how many more rounds "higher volume" is it's hard to recommend anything.

Any of  the recommended presses will work for a few thousand rounds a month, LnL AP, Dillon 650/750 or even the 550. 

 

If you want  to to faster/do more I would invest in a primer filler first, bullet feeder 2nd and only go for a more expensive/complicated press if I need the swaging. (assuming you buy a press with case feeder)

 

Do keep in mind the 550 has some limitations if you decide to go that round, only 4 stations and no official case feeder

[IHAVEGAS]

5 hours ago, xrayfk05 said:

Recommending a $2500+ press and expensive conversion kits for someone who loaded on a single stage for 20 years, only on the Benos forums.

Depends on the questioners personal situation and reloading goals. For many buy once cry once might work out best.

I still have a 550 and likely will never sell it but after a few years of getting sick of reloading I eventually broke down and bought a 1050 & case feeder & bullet feeder. If I was only shooting maybe 3-5,000 rounds per year or something like that then the 550 would have been enough to keep me happy. 

 

[HesedTech]

6 hours ago, xrayfk05 said:

13 hours ago, HesedTech said:

 

Recommending a $2500+ press and expensive conversion kits for someone who loaded on a single stage for 20 years, only on the Benos forums.

Yes. Spend the money. 
 

A person will spend far more “working” themselves into a full progressive press than just making the investment upfront. Wasted thousands on economic approaches and I should have made the leap based on others recommendations. 

PS

A 750 is not $2500. 

 

Buy once cry once. 

Edited December 30, 2023 by HesedTech

[mmc45414]

Volume and frequency of cartridge changeover are sometimes competing issues.

• A 550 would be a very nice baby step:
  • Work with the dies you have
  • Very simple to use, really like a single stage ganged into four stations
    • Doesn't index, so care needs to be taken on double charging, especially with 45 and 38/357
    • No room for the powder checker
    • Can easily load a single cartridge at a time, a nice training wheels transition from a Rockchucker
  • Change kits will be a minimal cost
    • No case feed components
  • Cartridge changes are simple and quick
    • No case feed to fiddle with
  • If you upgrade it would be handy to keep around so you do not have to swap around to do lower volume cartridges
  • If you upgrade and want to sell it, a 550 with change overs for 9/45/357 would be as easy to sell as a used Honda Civic in a college town

But what is your volume?  If you are currently buying 1k 9mm a month that would be a bunch to churn through on a 550.

 

And what is your mechanical aptitude?  I often recommend people start with a single stage, so you already know the score.

 

For most people this will be an evolution, in my case I transitioned as my buying power increased over the last fifty years:

• Rockchucker
  • I was fifteen years old when my dad bought it, and this was before Dillon was a thing.  I can still remember trying to churn out ammo in the morning so I could go shooting in the afternoon
  • Still have it, use it frequently
• 550
  • Loaded a buttload of ammo on this one
    • 380/9mm/38/357/40(lots)/44/45(lots)/223
  • Still have it, don't use it a bunch, but it is handy
• Second 550
  • I never liked being in the midst of a batch and needing something else
• 550 Case Feeder
  • These do exist, and it helped make things more relaxed
• SL900 in 20ga
  • This thing opened my eyes to indexing...
• 650 (Sold second 550 and case feeder)
  • Planned to do my higher volume loading on it and keep higher volumes on the 550
• Second 650
  • The more I used it, the more I wanted to use it, wanted to leave the other one setup in 9mm while I did other projects on 650-#2
• Bullet Feeder
  • This was a huge improvement, only currently use it for 9mm
• RL1100 (Sold second 650, moved bullet feeder)
  • WTH, I am not going to live forever...
  • Had a bunch of crimped cases that had polluted my supply, rather than sort through them I bought the press I wanted anyway 

So this is not like picking out China patterns that you are going to be locked into in a monogamous situation till death do you part.  Although I did factor my lifespan into the RL1100 decision when I figured out every year I delayed was at least 5% of the time I would have to enjoy it.

 

IMO there are also good products from other manufacturers, but if you plan to evolve the Dillon stuff flips in a heartbeat.  OTOH it sounds like you stick with things, so maybe your entry could be at the 750 level.

Edited December 30, 2023 by mmc45414

[xrayfk05]

3 hours ago, HesedTech said:

PS

A 750 is not $2500. 

 

I was obviously referring to the Mark7, not the 750.

It happens a lot on Benos to just throw money at a problem, no matter the size of  the problem.

 

I agree entirely with buy once cry once, but no need to cry harder than needed.

Edited December 30, 2023 by xrayfk05

[motosapiens]

6 hours ago, mmc45414 said:

 

But what is your volume?  If you are currently buying 1k 9mm a month that would be a bunch to churn through on a 550.

 

? thats like 15 mins every 3rd day.

 

most of the rest of your post seemed very helpful and sensible.

[mmc45414]

15 hours ago, motosapiens said:

? thats like 15 mins every 3rd day.

 

most of the rest of your post seemed very helpful and sensible.

Yes, doing the math you are correct, it wouldn't be that much, and as I indicated I have loaded a ton on a 550.

Though I do think if that is the start point a person would begin to wonder if there might be a better way fairly soon.

 

I have one friend that hates to reload and refuses to reload 9mm, he has never evolved beyond the SDB he started with and I think there might be a correlation there.  In this case the OP has been using a single stage for 20yrs, so anything will be like using a chain saw for the first time!  

[ranger]

Dillon 550. If you need faster later add a 650/750. Use the Dillon 550 as a transition. 

[Joe4d]

550 will work great for the OP, Will use his existing dies, just need a couple caliber conversion kits, and I'd pick up a powder measure with them as well,, although you can get by with one. 
Once you get the hang of it,  and with normal non crimped primer brass cleaned, no problem cranking out 500 rounds in an hour or 2... 
Far as add ons,, The strong mount is pretty much a must have.. and the bin for catching loaded rounds.. Mount will give you a place to mount a bullet ben on the left side,, your brass bin goes on bench on lower right,, and the loaded rounds fall in a bin upper right..
Insert brass with right hand, bullet with left, crank roatate.. brass bullet crank rotate,,,,, repeat.

[Squirrel45]

 

 

The Double Alpha case feeder for the 550 works well to. I use mine for 38 short and spl. 

[99mpower]

based on needs, definitely Dillon...

 

550 would be first instinct, but I absolutely love my 650, and have had a few 650s before I started upgrading to 1050/1100/2000s. Not a huge fan of the 750, with all the primer feed issues Ive heard of, and i understand some people dont like the 650 primer system, but ive had very few issues, as i keep mine clean/maintained. 

 

Definitely blue though, no matter which model you choose

[broadside72]

On 12/28/2023 at 12:14 PM, old558 said:

I have Hornady LNL's for metallic reloading and have been very happy with them. Customer service has always been excellent. I also have a Dillon SL 900 shot shell re loader which has also been excellent and customer service is again outstanding.

Wish I could make your choice easy. For me it was what was available locally at the time. I don't think you can go wrong either way.

Others will be along soon to help.

 

Other than not being able to automate my LNL, I have been very happy with mine. I make 12-15k of 9mm per year on it with the Mr Bullet Feeder and Hornady case feeder. I like to use an RCBS lock out die so I am stuck with a combination taper/seater die but it works. 

 

Caliber changes are easy enough. I have a powder drop setup for each one also, so I can just swap that out along with the dies. Only adjusting the case shuttle and pivot is the most difficult part for the different case sizes. Everything else is easy.  

 

Mark7 will be my next one if I decide I need another machine, but I would never suggest anyone start out with one. 

[IVC]

Do you want something that is "single stage plus," or you want something that you set up, QC and then get consistent ammo out of it? In this situation, you get what you pay for, but you still get to decide what it is that you *need.*

 

Personally, I would go with the setup that will allow you to grow, where you can use it to process brass or load, where you don't have to perform multiple operations with one die due to limited number of available stations. Dillon 550 is certainly a very capable press, but I'm not a fan of those types of presses - if you want to produce ammo in quantity, it's not the optimal setup and the only reason to go with it is to save a few bucks upfront; if you want to go slow and one at a time, a single stage is the way to go. It's almost that it's a middle ground where it's the worst, not the best of both worlds. And it's by no means cheap after you add the missing parts. 

 

Disclosure: My main press is 1050, but I also have a Forster Coax next to it. I considered getting a cheaper progressive to dedicate to, e.g., brass processing, but didn't find anything that would work well - a 550 gets expensive quickly when you add basic automation (case feeder, bullet feeder, etc.), while still lacking quite a bit of crucial elements compared to the 1050/1100. 

[Wanna_Go_Fast]

Another vote for Dillon here but which one totally depends on volume.  If you’re only shooting a few thousand rounds a year the 550 would probably be fine.  If 5,000 or more,  you’re probably better with a 750.  If over 15,000 then def consider investing in a 1050/1100 with the auto drive. 
 

as far as accessories go, you could add the case feeder and the bullet feeder to the 750 to up your output.   Takes a bit to dial it in, but once you have everything set right, you can pump them out. 

[perttime]

Or... if you only foresee loading pistol ammunition with the machine, and only a few thousand a year, consider the Square Deal B.