Which reloading setup?

[RichL025]

Curious as to what people here are using.

Way back when, when I was a young team medic and discovered I couldn't hit $hit with my issued pistol, I bought a Sig and started practicing every weekend we were in garrison. That led shortly to the purchase of a Dillon Square Deal B which I cranked out several thousand rounds through - I didn't keep a log, but probably close to 10,000 rounds with no problems at all.

I sold the Dillon when I started college & had no time for shooting - I was diving all the time then.

Now I'm thinking about getting back into reloading, not so much for the quantity of ammo, but the quality. I noticed that with even the slightest attention to quality control, my old SDB would make more accurate ammo than most things I could buy from the factory.

Now I'm thinking about 223 also, in addition to 9mm and .40 - the SDB can't do rifle rounds, so I've been looking at other Dillon presses - thinking real hard about the 550.

Anyone here have one? Like it?

Anyone really a big fan of something else?

I realize a single-stage press is the epitome of accuracy, but I'm not looking at winning any National Match competitions here, I'd like a nice combination of higher throughput and accuracy.

[rubberneck]

I bought a 550 two years ago and love it. Dillon still has the best customer service around and their product will last a long time. I have gotten the point where I can load anywhere between 350-400 rounds per hour.

Calibers can be changed in less than 10 minutes, quicker if they use the same sized primers. If you are reloading multiple calibers I would suggest having dedicated tool heads and powder dies for each caliber. It adds to the cost but will save you time and help you avoid a good deal of aggravation when you change calibers.

[HOLLiS]

I have two 550s, problem is they are addictive and you will find you spend a lot less time reloading.

[blue02hd]

I have been using a Dillon 650 for the past 4 or 5 months, and it is treating me pretty good. I do think however I would have gone with the 550 knowing what I know now. I simply don't use the extra die space offered for the powder check/ safety feature with the 650, as I have made it a habit to eyeball each round as it rotates out of the powder station.

At a slow pace, I can usually drop 250 rounds an hour. I haven't attempted rifle yet, but the 650 can do both pistol and rifle, just like the 550.

[Paslode]

I picked up a RCBS single stage press kit to try my hand at reloading before investing in the Blue Koolaid and now wish I would have just spent the little extra on the Dillon 550 from the git go. I also wanted to see a Dillion 550 in person to see it work and more so how it was made......it puts the Hornaday Lock-N-Load to shame IMO.

My 9mm and .40SW pistol rounds I can do 100 per hour on the single stage, so I figure the Dillion ought to triple that. My 5.56 rounds take considerably more time because of swaging, trimming and crimping.

The Dillion 550 is on my wishlist.

[optactical]

Hornady Lock and Load AP, came with 1000 free bullets and it works just fine for me. A few Dillon owners have switched to them and written comparative reviews. Do a Google search for reloading forums and start to read up on the different systems. Certain communities tend to use certain brands, ie Military and Dillon, this doesn't mean it's the best, it's just a paradigm within that community. Also check webstores that allow feedback on products, such as Midway USA, a lot can be found there as well.

Avoid Lee presses and dies like the plague, this seems to be the concensus anywhere you look.

[cold1]

Originally Posted by optactical

Avoid Lee presses and dies like the plague, this seems to be the concensus anywhere you look.

I gotta ask why?
I used Lee for years, 45, 30 carbine, 270, 25-06, 30-06, 45-70, 45 LC, 44Mag, 45 auto rim. I reloaded all those with Lee presses and Dies, never had an issue. No I was not reloading for competition or quantities, I was doing it for plinking and hunting ammo. I still turned out a better round than factory ammo.

I dont think you can beat them for cost vs quality for single stages and dies.

[Peregrino]

Dillon has THE BEST calendars! I've had my 550 for 18(?) years. I've had my RCBS Rockchucker for 28(?) years. They compliment each other well. Nowdays the RCBS is mostly used for rifle ammo - case prep, working up loads, and long range ammo. Everything else comes off the Dillon. If I ever win the lottery I'll get more Dillons and set one up for each caliber I reload! Since I'm not likely to win anytime soon I'm looking at getting a 650 (for my short range/plinking rifle ammo) and adding the case and bullet feeder accessories. With luck we'll see what they're demo'ing at the SHOT and make a better informed decision. (Might be smarter to just get a 1050 for the .223 and leave everything else as it is.) Otherwise I'm with everybody else. Just make sure you are an educated user/consumer - reloading requires an up-front investment in durable "infrastructure". Buy the right stuff up front and realize long term ROI or spend years tinkering (and wasting money) before you give up in disgust because it would have been cheaper (probably safer and better QC too) to shoot WW White Box from WalMart. Don't forget the risk assessment/ mitigation and the safety brief before you start reloading either.

Cold1 - Most complaints I'm aware of for Lee products have to do with their progressive loaders. Personal opinion they can't compete with the Dillons (or the Hornadys - my gunsmith is using his father's presses that have to be at least 40 years old) for durability.

[Blackthorne]

I've got about 10,000 rounds of 9MM on my Lee Pro 1000. Was a bit finicky to tune, but once it's running well, I can do 250-300 and hour.


Thing only cost me around $270 brand new with everything but the bullet feeder (case feeder and agitator, disk powder measure, and priming attachment.

Going to bypass changing calibers altogether and just buy another one for 556.

[Blitzzz (RIP)]

I am happy with the Lee loader I am using I like Lee dies. the Carbides. I load 30-06, 308, 270, 8mm Mauser, 45 ACP, 40 cal, 9mm. 44Mag, 44 Special, and 45-110 BPCR. Yes it's slow going but for me it's ZEN time. Very relaxing.

I certainly can see the advantage to a big progressive machine, so maybe some day for the pistol ammo.. Load on fellows, Blitz

[Soft Target]

Originally Posted by Peregrino

Dillon has THE BEST calendars! I've had my 550 for 18(?) years. I've had my RCBS Rockchucker for 28(?) years. They compliment each other well. Nowdays the RCBS is mostly used for rifle ammo - case prep, working up loads, and long range ammo. Everything else comes off the Dillon. If I ever win the lottery I'll get more Dillons and set one up for each caliber I reload! Since I'm not likely to win anytime soon I'm looking at getting a 650 (for my short range/plinking rifle ammo) and adding the case and bullet feeder accessories. With luck we'll see what they're demo'ing at the SHOT and make a better informed decision. (Might be smarter to just get a 1050 for the .223 and leave everything else as it is.) Otherwise I'm with everybody else. Just make sure you are an educated user/consumer - reloading requires an up-front investment in durable "infrastructure". Buy the right stuff up front and realize long term ROI or spend years tinkering (and wasting money) before you give up in disgust because it would have been cheaper (probably safer and better QC too) to shoot WW White Box from WalMart. Don't forget the risk assessment/ mitigation and the safety brief before you start reloading either.

Cold1 - Most complaints I'm aware of for Lee products have to do with their progressive loaders. Personal opinion they can't compete with the Dillons (or the Hornadys - my gunsmith is using his father's presses that have to be at least 40 years old) for durability.

I've had my RCBS Rockchucker for 28 years. Started developing 30-30 loads for my Contender, metallic silhouettes at Yuma. The single press was precisely what I needed. Now I'm ready to start reloading again and will use this good info to expand my capability. Thanks to all.

[The Reaper]

I have presses from RCBS, Lee, Lyman, Dillon, and Ponsness-Warren.

The answer depends on what you are loading for. A full-time, world-class IPSC competitor would need something different from a 1000-yard benchrest shooter or a casual weekend skeet shooter.

I would get a RCBS Rockchucker or the equivalent for small batch precision loads, and/or a Dillon 550 or 650 for making larger quantities of pistol and short rifle rounds. I went with the 550 because I reloaded for a lot of different rounds, and the caliber conversions were a lot cheaper. Note that the 550 actually requires a third hand or you lose a significant amout of production speed while you try to figure out how to feed a new case, rotate the shell plate to the next station, seat a bullet, and pull the handle all between rounds. I understand that there is a company that makes a foot treadle to pull the handle, which would speed up the process considerably. I have never found an automated shell feeder or bullet feed for the 550, though I have not looked for quite a while. The 650 automated those processes, requiring just a handle pull. If you want to get into it for the absolute least amount of money, the Lee will do it, but based on the two years I spent running one, it is a Rube Goldberg device and not a particularly well built one. Something was always breaking or coming loose. That will not happen with the RBCS or Dillons.

Just my .02, YMMV.

TR

[HOLLiS]

Originally Posted by blue02hd

I have been using a Dillon 650 for the past 4 or 5 months, and it is treating me pretty good. I do think however I would have gone with the 550 knowing what I know now. I simply don't use the extra die space offered for the powder check/ safety feature with the 650, as I have made it a habit to eyeball each round as it rotates out of the powder station.

At a slow pace, I can usually drop 250 rounds an hour. I haven't attempted rifle yet, but the 650 can do both pistol and rifle, just like the 550.

Every now and then, I sort of wished I had a 650. Having 5 stages would make a few reloads easier. When I needed a extra stage, I would combine bullet seating and crimping in one die/stage. A extra stage would be for "filler" for BP loads.

Like you I try to eye ball the powder too. Only problem with the 550, was getting use to the primer feed and getting it set.


Dillon makes a case feeder for the 550:http://www.dillonprecision.com/#/con...t_Large_Pistol


Coolest accessory is the primer tube feeder.

I still have my single stage press. I use it for small loads, and case forming. Both RCBS and Lyman makes a bullet proof press.


As it was mentioned, If it wasn't for friends who used the 550, I might have gone another way. After getting use to it, I really like it.

IMHO, Lee makes some really good and cost effective tools.


Biggest attribute about Dillon that I like, is change over time. one can set up the dies in a tool holder. That saves time for repetitive reloads in that caliber. It also helps if one reloads a number of different calibers. On the last count I reload for around 35 different rounds.

[optactical]

Originally Posted by cold1

I gotta ask why?
I used Lee for years, 45, 30 carbine, 270, 25-06, 30-06, 45-70, 45 LC, 44Mag, 45 auto rim. I reloaded all those with Lee presses and Dies, never had an issue. No I was not reloading for competition or quantities, I was doing it for plinking and hunting ammo. I still turned out a better round than factory ammo.

I dont think you can beat them for cost vs quality for single stages and dies.

I ascertained that from reading around and talking to people, I never said they will make bad bullets, but they (the presses and dies) are the lower end from everything I have heard. Buying a Hornady press and getting the value of the press in free bullets means I don't have to look for the lowest price, my press was basically free. The last thing I can afford to do right now is decide to be the judge of a press a lot of people dislike, so I bypassed Lee when I upgraded to progressive. I test gear, not reloading equipment.

If the Hornady deal (which ends Jan 1) wasn't there I probably would have bought the progressive that goes right on top of my RCBS Rock Chucker, can't recall the name right now.

I've never heard of a brand that produces a bad product, but some are on the low end and some are on the high end, the end product seems to be about the same across the board. I have heard bitching about using Lee's but it's usually from someone who switched, and found out the grass was greener on the other side. IIRC Lee does make the hand held loaders used in SOTIC that cost like $15, that was a great little kit for making single bullets, but I wouldn't use it for mass production.

[blue02hd]

Not sure why I forgot to mention it before, but I still do have my original Lee Turrent Single Case Loader. I kept it so I could maintain my large pistol reloading option without having to break down the 650. I try not to switch caliber on the Dillon unless I have a large cache. For me, it is a pain to swap the 650 back and forth between the 2 main calibers I mass reload for. The Lee is still a great reloader, albeit alot slower than the Dillon.

Whatever set up you get, try not to forget your tumbler, scale, and bullet puller. You'll need them as you work out your kinks. Peregrino nailed it, it is a bit heavy up front. In the long run though, it is nice to reload for 5 cents a round.

Another tip: Don't tell your buddies you reload! The bums are always knocking on my door for more 5 cent crack.