I am considering starting to reload my empty 9mm/.40 and .223 brass.
I’ve joined Brian Enos’s forum and checked out his package deals for the 550.
My question is whether or not a Dillon 550 will be too much machine for what I plan on doing. I only shoot a few hundred rounds per month, sometimes a little more.
Would a single stage press be better?
What do you think?
The 550 is perfect for what you want to do. If you are anything like I was when I bought my first 500 you’ll find that the number of rounds you shoot monthly will go up once you start reloading. You could get by with a single stage press but them you’ll be working harder for the same result. The time savings alone is worth the extra up front costs.
I upgraded to a 550 from a Rock Chucker (with the piggyback upgrade to the Rock Chucker as an intermediary step) since the time it took to reload 9mm, 40, and 223 on the single stage was much much longer than it took to shoot them up…
Check out the Hornady Lock N’ Load and the Dillon 650 also.
I like the 550, but wanted auto-indexing and cheaper/quicker caliber conversions (not just the tool head, but also the shellplates and primer system), so I went with the Hornady.
Plus the 1,000 free bullets made my all-in cost about $200 for the press after selling the bullets off. I think you can still get 500 free bullets until Dec 31, and Midway had the LnL on sale for $385.
I shoot about 2K centerfire handgun rounds a month and I reload on a Dillion 550B. I considered upgrading to a 650 but the 550B does everything I need it to do and I like the “feel” that it gives me knowing that I’ve seat a primer correctly. I will say that the one downside to the 550B system is the primer slide, Dillion says they should last 500K rounds but I’ve had to replace mine after 20K.
Before I loaded on my 550B I loaded on my dads. Hell I started cranking out bullets when I was 10 and that was 23 years ago.
Indeed. I’ve since added a single stage to supplement my 550 and take some of the grunt work and special little runs off of it.
It takes 5 seconds to do a complete caliber change on my Locknload single stage. The 550 takes like 5 minutes or more if you switch primer sizes.
I’ve loaded on my Dillon 550 for years without a hitch except for the initial set up when I dropped a spring. Dillon express mailed me a new one FREE OF CHARGE, so I could get my Christmas present up and running. Primarily.45 ACP but started 5.56 and 6.8 SPC with no problems. As to the single stage, I started out with a turret, which I use when working up loads or when doing something that only requires a few (less than 100) rounds. I’ll always keep it (or replace it with a single stage) but the Dillon is the way to go. You will end up shooting more, but gee is that a bad thing?
I just bought a 550. Its nice. Not had the chance to use it other than decapping. Be aware the accesories add up fast, but they should last a lifetime. I’m into it for almost 800 with the press and strong mount and roller handle and tray, a quick change kit, shellplates, extra primer tubes, parts kit. I like it so far. Glad I got it. I can see it will be alot quicker than the single stage I’ve been using.
I believe my bonus will be spent on a 550 package!!! 
If you want more specific info on the dillon 550B, such as tweaks, resolving specific problems, etc., the Brian Enos forums is a good source. Those 3gun shooters, as well as competitive pistol shooters, have messed with the Dillon presses, powder measures, etc, for years and know their shit.
I’ve adopted some of their suggestions, such as chamfering the opening in the powder drop tube, shimming the aluminum tool head to reduce OAL variation, and which powders work best in the Dillon.
You can also order the Dillon through Enos and get a small discount.
Mark
The 550 should work great for your needs. I loaded 468 rounds of 40 S&W in one hour last night with my wife keeping the primer tubes full.
You can’t go wrong with the 550. I load on a 550, a 650, and a super 1050 and I like the 550 best. Dillon no BS warrantee is just that. Anytime I have broken anything, a quick call to dillon and the part is in the mail that day. You can get a good deal on it from Enos.
If you go to enos’s website and are looking for the small discount: Due to Dillon policy, people like Enos, and me, sell Dillon at MSRP. However, we set our own shipping rates so your discount is reduced or free shipping compared to buying directly from Dillon.
I mention this just so people won’t be confused when they go there.
You can’t beat the quality and ease of use and amount of info on B. Enos website. He returns emails the same day. Ships fast. A good place to buy from.
The only reason I would want auto indexing was if I was going to plunk down the cash for a bullet and shell feeder. Otherwise manual indexing is just as fast(you can only grab a bullet and shell and insert them into the shell plate so fast and that will be the limiting factor on either machine) and a whole lot simpler.
As to the Hornady having cheaper/quicker caliber conversion, thats not quite true. Buying a 10 pack of bushings for the LNL(2 calibers) runs you 50 bucks. Buying 2 tool heads for a 550 are 40 bucks, 2 tool heads for a 650 are 50 bucks. So pretty similar there. Shell plates for the LNL are 40 bucks, a caliber conversion kit(shell plate, powder funnel, and locator buttons) are 45 bucks or so, so again, pretty similar there.
As far as how quick they are to change, I have no experience with the Hornady, but I can change my 550b out in about 10 minutes and that is with cleaning everything up and re lubing what needs it and anything else that needs to be done.
The thing I like about the Dillon stuff, and really Brian Enos, is that he sells stuff for caliber conversion by itself. You can re-use the shell plate for several different calibers depending on what it is(9mm plate works for .40 and a few others as well, same with .223 working with a few different rounds also).
The Dillon dies are more expensive, not the most expensive, but more so than Hornady or Lee dies. I have only Dillon dies because I thought the quality was worth the extra money for the 3 main rounds I load. If I get something that I am not going to shoot alot(.44mag for instance) I will probably pick up some lee dies or something cheap like that.
As for the 550b, its a great machine. I have thousands of rounds loaded on mine with almost no issues. The two things that pop up from time to time are the primer feed system screws up, but that is usually a quick fix of taking the system apart and cleaning it up. I have had spent primers land down on the primer slide and then it cant go back far enough to pick up a new primer. The other problem I have from time to time is that the cotter pin that holds the little door on the primer shoot in place gets bent and then the door jams up and pushes things out of alignment. Now that I know what causes it, as soon as I see it I pull the cotter pin, straighten it out, and throw it back in. I have read on the Brian Enos forums to get a large safety pin and put it in there, I havent done that yet.
And prepare to spend double what you thought on accessories. I have about 2000 total into my setup for .223, .45, and 9mm. Most things are not expensive, 50 bucks or so, but they add up. I have the electric trimmer setup as well, which for me, was well worth the cost. I also got a Dillon Super Swage, but I never really got it setup right and just end up using my hand reamer for the primer pockets.
Two things I definitely recommend is the roller handle and a second powder throw with the rifle powder bar in it. Powder bar is a PITA to change(its not that bad, but I dont want to do it every time I switch form pistol to rifle). You can get a deluxe caliber change kit(I think thats what it was called) with a powder thrower, caliber conversion kit, tool head, and tool head stand.
Dillon dies are not as bad when you look at the cost of separate crimp and seating dies from the other brands.
And the reversible easy to change seating stem for pistol dies. And if you load lead, the fact that they come apart easily without losing their setting so you can clean out excess lube, lead shavings, etc.
And that they are made for progressives with the wide radiused mouths etc. I upgraded some RCBS dies I was using to Dillon because of that alone. Redding also makes progressive die sets with separate seating and crimping dies and they are in line with Dillon pricing.
Your right I forgot about the differences in the Dillon dies and why they were a little more expensive. I guess I havent used any other cheaper dies so I forget that they dont have the reversible plug as well as the separate seating and crimp die. I did not know that the mouths were larger than regular dies specific to the progressive machine. Thats good to know.
Dillon lock rings suck though.
how so? I’ve been using them for years and they work just fine. I have in fact replaced other cumbersome brands with Dillon ones.
The Dillon dies seem to be quality but it would be nice if the lock ring had a set screw to hold it in place. It’s not a huge deal but it would be nice. I’m still happy with the ones I own.