Dillon Precision or...

730dc · Sep 19, 2015

550 may not be a bad idea for you. since your loading mainly for rifle your probably not shooting a few thousand a month. the conversion kit and complete tool head is about $40 cheaper per set up.

just be aware with the 550 it will be possible to have a double charge since its not auto indexing .

also if i were you i would go in to the 550 planing to possible ad a 650 with case feeder down the road if you enjoy shooting the 45 and your at the range every week.

you really need to ask your self what your time is worth. if you can afford it the dillon presses hold there value very well and with there warranty you will never need to do any repairs to it.. heck ive seen rusted up square deal b on ebay sell for over $250.

antco · Sep 19, 2015

Buy once, cry once. Get a Dillon 650 with case feeder and primer feeder and make it pay for itself in savings. If I had the primer feeder, I'd be able to reload just as fast as I can shoot them. It takes some time to get it setup and running flawlessly, but once up and and buzzing it's just a matter of pulling the handle and dropping on another bullet.

BigDaddy · Sep 20, 2015

Bob at Maryland Reloader R is a Dillon dealer. He has had some medical problems and works from home so it an appointment only kind of deal. He will set up your press with you. He's located in Pomfret which is near Waldorf. Like Dillon, nobody says anything bad about Bob, ever.

jimbobborg · Sep 20, 2015

After reading the follow up posts by the OP, either the 550 or 650 by Dillon would work for him. I picked up a 550 off of a guy from Craig's List earlier this year with a ton of extras for $425. After selling the stuff I didn't need and getting missing parts, I ended up paying $320 for it.

Bikebreath · Sep 20, 2015

I have not be impressed with my Hornady LNL Progressive. Depriming/Sizing and Priming have been moved from the press and I do those manually now.

BigRick · Sep 20, 2015

Bob is a good guy. I will be going to see him later today. So if you want a Dillon he's local and should still have both press in stock.

ironpony · Sep 20, 2015

I can speak for Dillon's warranty, I sent them an old 450 for an upgrade to a 550 (2 weeks ago) and they sent me a complete new 550, new powder system, new primer system and threw in a low primer warning thing. It cost me $50 to ship to them and $94.50 for the upgrade frame change that allows changing tool heads. They return shipped free too. I think my shell plate is the only original part!
I will have a Lee Classic Turret press for sale soon (couple years old) if you decide to go that route. It taught me how to reload correctly then I acquired the 450 because I got a deal.

Good Luck, reloading has allowed me to shoot much more and with more understanding of trajectories, velocities, bullet weights and actually many other particulars.

Mdeng · Sep 20, 2015

Dillon or? There is no or. Buy the best once and never look back. Yes it is expensive, Yes each caliber you add will be expensive. You will never regret spending the money on a Dillon press.

I personally prefer the 650 for most of my reloading.

Pinecone · Sep 20, 2015

Before I got my Dillon, I still shot a lot.

I just divided the work up into steps. And you do not have to take all the brass through each step. Say you have 1000 cases, you can do 200 cases in step 1. The move those to step 2, then start another 200 at step 1, etc.

Tumble Brass
Sit at press and Size and Decap a lot of brass.
Sit at press and expand a lot of brass.
Sit in front of TV and prime a lot of brass.
Sit in front of press with powder measure to one side, add powder and bullet.
If needed, sit in front of press and taper crimp.

Traveler · Sep 21, 2015

BigDaddy said:
Bob at Maryland Reloader R is a Dillon dealer. He has had some medical problems and works from home so it an appointment only kind of deal. He will set up your press with you. He's located in Pomfret which is near Waldorf. Like Dillon, nobody says anything bad about Bob, ever.

Bob is great. Dillon is great. I love the gear. I cried a little about the price.

If you don't reload more than about 1000 rounds a year, you may not be able to justify the cost. Hornady, Redding, RCBS, fine gear as well.

One thing about Dillon, the resale is great, because the Dillon warranty is stellar. If you decide you don't like to reload, you won't lose much money.

tylerevans42 · Sep 21, 2015

Traveler said:
Bob is great. Dillon is great. I love the gear. I cried a little about the price.

If you don't reload more than about 1000 rounds a year, you may not be able to justify the cost. Hornady, Redding, RCBS, fine gear as well.

One thing about Dillon, the resale is great, because the Dillon warranty is stellar. If you decide you don't like to reload, you won't lose much money.

If I had one now I think I'd make it to 1000 reloads before 2016. Might keep saving to pick one up

jimbobborg · Sep 21, 2015

tylerevans42 said:
If I had one now I think I'd make it to 1000 reloads before 2016. Might keep saving to pick one up

It took me three hours to crank out 1000 9mm rounds on my 550. I went through 300 rounds of 9mm on Sunday. I'm running out of primers and bullets here :lol:

trickg · Sep 21, 2015

Bikebreath said:
I have not be impressed with my Hornady LNL Progressive. Depriming/Sizing and Priming have been moved from the press and I do those manually now.

I did a ton of reading and research on presses before buying a Hornady LNL AP. If I had it to do over again, I'd probably go with a Dillon. I just can't quite seem to get the Hornady to run smoothly enough to where I'm not having to fiddle with something every few rounds to keep it running smoothly. I don't ever remember my Dad having that issue with his Dillon - a 450, the predecessor to the 550.

I'd have had to spend more money - that was part of the attraction to the Hornady - the idea that I could match quality and get something just as good for a bit less.

With that said, I don't know for a fact that this isn't a dies issue - I've been using my Lee dies, and it's possible that if I'd get the longer Hornady dies the issues I've been having might be partially resolved.

In any case, to the OP, it sounds like you definitely shoot enough that a good progressive press would be a good idea for you, and at this point I'd recommend the Dillon over the Hornady.

Magnumite · Sep 21, 2015

FWIW, Dillon is the standard all other progressives are measured against. You will never have issue selling a Dillon and its accessories. With the exception of a bell crank and a frame change (450 to 550 conversion), my Dillon has been producing ammunition since 1985. And there have been many very busy shooting years in that time.

Bikebreath · Sep 22, 2015

trickg said:
I did a ton of reading and research on presses before buying a Hornady LNL AP. If I had it to do over again, I'd probably go with a Dillon. I just can't quite seem to get the Hornady to run smoothly enough to where I'm not having to fiddle with something every few rounds to keep it running smoothly. I don't ever remember my Dad having that issue with his Dillon - a 450, the predecessor to the 550.

I'd have had to spend more money - that was part of the attraction to the Hornady - the idea that I could match quality and get something just as good for a bit less.

With that said, I don't know for a fact that this isn't a dies issue - I've been using my Lee dies, and it's possible that if I'd get the longer Hornady dies the issues I've been having might be partially resolved.

In any case, to the OP, it sounds like you definitely shoot enough that a good progressive press would be a good idea for you, and at this point I'd recommend the Dillon over the Hornady.

Yep. I hate to bad mouth something when I too am not sure if it's the press or Operator Error. The thing I do like about the LNL, now that I'm used to the quirks, is that I can pick up both the bullet and case at the same time to get them ready to use, with my left hand, while pulling the handle with my right.

Seeing Dillion vids you pull the handle and then pick up a case with your left and a bullet with your right and add, case from the left and bullet from the right. If I had started out with a Dillion I wouldn't care, but to switch now would be a pain.

I no longer deprime/size or prime with the machine, due to issues. Everything else is decent on the LNL.

28Shooter · Sep 22, 2015

My dad swears by his Dillon press and their customer service department.

smdub · Sep 22, 2015

Bikebreath said:
The thing I do like about the LNL, now that I'm used to the quirks, is that I can pick up both the bullet and case at the same time to get them ready to use, with my left hand, while pulling the handle with my right.

W/ the case feeder you should never have to touch a case on either of them. Its a very nice accessory!

paxfish · Sep 22, 2015

tylerevans42 said:
I go through the 30.06 like its nothing and I anticipate I'll be shooting .45's in a similar manner. I make it to the range at least once a week, sometimes more. I know whatever I end up getting will be used quite a bit and very frequently.

What kind of matches are you shooting and what sort of precision do you require? I trickle charge each rifle round, and thus a single stage is the right approach. But I am only shooting a few hundred rounds of each rifle caliber a year. Maybe 500 in 5.56.

Of course, each case is measured every time, possibly trimmed and annealed, primer pockets cleaned out etc.

Pistol and .30 carbine do not get trickle charged on my bench, and thus might lend themselves more readily to a progressive.

Jmorrismetal · Sep 22, 2015

tylerevans42 said:
If I had one now I think I'd make it to 1000 reloads before 2016. Might keep saving to pick one up

You can load 1000 rounds in 3 months on any press.

Dillon machines are the best progressives you can get and I have at least one of every model but I still use single stage and turret presses as well.

I would start looking for a used press for cheap and get started loading. You will have the rest of your life to add more presses if you want.

Jmorrismetal · Sep 22, 2015

smdub said:
W/ the case feeder you should never have to touch a case on either of them. Its a very nice accessory!

With case and bullet feeders you never have to touch anything except the handle.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yl63cR9Y_Y0

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