I am a firm believer in buying quality, years of reliability in my investments. That said, I have concluded I will be purchasing a Dillon press. My question is this, Is it a good first step in reloading? I will expect to run .45, .223, and .380. I would likely start with one caliber and get comfortable with the process. Any suggestions welcome.
What model dillon are you purchasing?
The 650
Excellent press. Keeps its value well. Also depends on what you want to crank out. I started on the rl550b doing 300blk, 5.56 and 9mm. Now since I load a bunch more 5.56 and tired of my fingers cramping placing bullets I run 5.56 in a 650 with a feeder and 300blk as well as a trimmer. I do 9mm and 45 in the 550. Then 45-70 and the such in an rcbs rock chucker. I am looking at adding 308 to my mix soon to though I may just run them on the rockchucker since I want pure precision rather than quantity.
Yes the 650 is a great choice for a first press because you will have it for life unless it’s consumed by a natural disaster or stolen in a divorce.
People who claim you should really start on a single stage press to learn each step are usually either older and dont know any other way to start, stupid, or some combination. You will learn each step on the initial set up and will load a given number of rounds in much less time then a single.
#1 reason people start with a single stage press is $$$
The 650 is a great press and will serve you well. As a beginner, I started on a 550 and that was perfect as it was easier to backup when I made a mistake. Just starting out, that will be the only issue with the 650 for you due to the auto indexing but it’s not that big of a deal.
+1 If you can, find an experienced reloader to show you the ropes… I started on a friend’s 550, with him watching, and he was able to show me things that I never would have gained from reading the manual.
Great points. I have debated between the 550 and 650, but for the price difference it seems like the 650 is the logical choice. I had hoped to buy it this month, but it might get floated to January. Brian Enos has been recommended as a good place to buy, anyone know where to get the best deal on the setup?
Brian Enos usually has pretty good prices. Not sure what the wait times are now.
As for 550 vs 650, after getting the hang of it, the 650 will be faster with the auto indexing however I still prefer the 550 with a case feeder added. The only problem with the 650 is if you load pistol brass with high volume powders, the auto index can sometimes sling a bit of powder out of the case. Also, tool heads are cheaper for the 550 if you plan on loading multiple calibers.
I didn’t realize the tool heads were cheaper on the 550. I plan to run .45, .380, and .223 initially, adding .357 after I buy the Coonan I have my eye on. I will definitely read the details again and make a better informed decision. Thanks for the replies, info, and advice.
Extra station on the 650.
In the grand scheme of things, not much more. Wouldn’t be my determining factor, but it is there so FYI.
I started on a 550. Great to learn on, but I now have a 650. If you’re going to load a bunch of 556 that’s where it shines over the 550.
If your looking for dillon products contact chadbags. He is a member here and one hell of a good guy. I have not had the best experience when trying to order through brian enos.
Chadbags went out of his way to help me get everything I needed, and I spent a little over an hour on the phone with him talking about loading and just shooting the shit. He also through in some mpro7 products.
I know I have not posted in a while, but I wanted to make sure to let everyone know if you need dillon products you can get them from a member. I can say that from my experience with him I guarantee that you will not be disappointed in your dealings with chadbags.
Good to know, thanks for the heads up. I will give him a shot after my list is together
I messed up the members name. It is chadbag not chadbags.
My start in reloading was on a 550b and I have another 550b on the way. Great press and I recommend getting Dillon’s video on which ever press you end up with from them. Helped to visualize the reloading process. So far I have loaded only .45 and 9mm but I am going to add .38sp and .357mag soon. Rifle in .308 and .223 will be on the second 550b. Good luck.
Go for the 650. I have one and love it. I can easily crank out 400 9mm an hour without trying hard. I had one cam arm break on the powder dispenser- Dillon sent a replacement immediately. I just bought a never-used second hand Dillon shot shell loader very cheap, another finely made machine.
I still have a RCBS single stage set up for specialty loads like subsonic .300 Blackout. It was easy to learn on.
I just started with the RL 550B and love it. The 650 is great with the case feeder. I watched a friend on the 650 crank out some serious rounds. For the total price of the 550 and all of the carbide dies I bought I am extremely happy. After only having everything for less then a week I have already reloaded 500 rnds of 9mm and 500 rnds of 45acp. Next is 556 which is a little more work. Brian Enos is a great help in getting set up.
Even the SDB is a great press. Mine has pushed out probably 5,000 9mm 2,000 .38 Special and 1,500 .45 acp in the 4 months I have owned it. Not a single issue yet, everything has gone bang and all rounds have looked factory loaded. I wanted to go on the cheaper side first just to see if they put as much into their lower line products as they do into the higher end stuff. They Do. The 650 is on order and I cant wait for it to come in. I’ve been into reloading for better than 20 years and other than a bad experience with a Lee pro 1000 have done every round on either a Turret Press or a single stage. The only bad thing I’ve noticed is that you chew through components at a frightening rate. 