Dillon 550 or 650/

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tyromeo55

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I'm getting fed up with mt Lee 1000 and am wanting to get a dillon The 550 seems real popular on the boards but it is real tempting to buy a 650 and go fully automatic. Which do you recommend and why.
 

Oklahomabassin

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You will have to have a tax stamp to go fully automatic. Ha Ha JK. Depends on the time you have and how much you plan to reload. If you are going to reload a 1000 a week you will notice the difference. Reload a 1000 a month or less, I would save and get the 550 and spend the extra on different heads for different calibers.
 

alank2

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Hi,

I would say it rests on whether you want a casefeeder. YES = Go 650. NO = 550.

The manual index of the 550 doesn't bother me at all, I like that I have control over when to advance the shellplate.

I've got a 550 and love it.

+1 on the brianenos info, he has a great comparison page and free shipping if you order from him as I did.

Good luck,

Alan
 

tyromeo55

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You will have to have a tax stamp to go fully automatic. Ha Ha JK. Depends on the time you have and how much you plan to reload. If you are going to do a 1000 a week you will notice the difference. A 1000 a month I would save and get the 550 and spend the extra on different heads for different calibers.

Even though I am planning on winning the raffle for the machine gun (look in NFA forum for details) it is not my intention on trading up. I really enjoy reloading. It's a stress release. for x-mas i asked for a dillon and got a Lee. I hate it. Some people have good luck with them but I am not one of those people.
 

1911user

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Another way to think about it: If you think 1000 cases is a lot to load, buy a 550. If you think a 5 gallon bucket full of pistol brass is a nice start, get a 650. That is direct from a dillon service manager on another forum. 550's are cheaper for caliber changes. 650's are better for bigger runs of fewer calibers.

IMHO a 550 is a better choice for most people because most people honestly don't shoot that much consistently. If you shoot 1500-2000 centerfire rounds every month (cold weather months count too) then maybe a 650 would be better.

550 caliber changes cost about $65 plus dies. 650 caliber changes cost about $100 plus dies plus any needed casefeeder plates. These costs include the caliber conversion kit plus a toolhead and powder die only. For low volume calibers, it is often cheaper to keep a single stage press handy; conversion costs are just dies and a shellholder. It's nice to run everything through a progressive press, but for 100 rounds a year of something (hunting ammo for example) single stage loading makes more sense.

In the interests of disclosure, I have a dillon 550 progressive press and a rcbs single stage press with no intention of changing the reloading setup anytime soon.
 

jwsargent

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I went with the Dillon XL 650 and I love it. I didn't know if I should get a Dillon 1050 or a 650 and I talked to Brion Enos in AZ and he told me the 650 is hard to beat...I wound up buying the 650 and all the extras so my first reload 9mm bullet cost me about $ 1350.50!!! ( That also includes gun powder, primers, and bullets). At the rate ammo is going up in price at the stores if the Dems take over the White House, the reloading will seem like a bargain. I am stocking up on extra powder and primers from PowderValley and bullets from Montana Gold and once fired brass from a fella in Utah on the gun broker website. Reloading is my "quiet time" and with that 650 you can make quite a few bullets in very little time at all. Good luck
 

Oklahomabassin

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Another way to think about it: If you think 1000 cases is a lot to load, buy a 550. If you think a 5 gallon bucket full of pistol brass is a nice start, get a 650. That is direct from a dillon service manager on another forum. 550's are cheaper for caliber changes. 650's are better for bigger runs of fewer calibers.

IMHO a 550 is a better choice for most people because most people honestly don't shoot that much consistently. If you shoot 1500-2000 centerfire rounds every month (cold weather months count too) then maybe a 650 would be better.

550 caliber changes cost about $65 plus dies. 650 caliber changes cost about $100 plus dies plus any needed casefeeder plates. These costs include the caliber conversion kit plus a toolhead and powder die only. For low volume calibers, it is often cheaper to keep a single stage press handy; conversion costs are just dies and a shellholder. It's nice to run everything through a progressive press, but for 100 rounds a year of something (hunting ammo for example) single stage loading makes more sense.

In the interests of disclosure, I have a dillon 550 progressive press and a rcbs single stage press with no intention of changing the reloading setup anytime soon.

Thank you 1911, that is what I said as one of the first replies.
 

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