Charge Master or Dillion 550

[Broken_Reticle]

So after loading up my first 100 rounds of 223 and watching my mom empty those 100 cases in a matter of mins... I am thinking I need a little quicker way to load/dispense powder then the rcbs balance beam scale I am using right now.

Sinclair's has the Charge Master on sale right now for 299.00 and I can find a Dillion 550 online on average around 400ish....

I also load for a .308 bolt gun, but I don't mind the time it takes to load them with the balance scale.

So if you had the $400 dollars would you go Charge Master or Dillion.

 

[Defusion]

Re: Charge Master or Dillion 550

In your case, probably dillon.
You will be able to load up the bulk-ammo on it fairly quickly, and it will be accurate enough for high volume shooting.

You can still keep loading .308 manually as you already have.

However, if you currently spend more time (not amount of ammo) loading .308 than you do loading "bulk" ammo, a chargemaster will help you better.

 

[ChrisGarrett]

Re: Charge Master or Dillion 550

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: Broken_Reticle</div><div class="ubbcode-body">So after loading up my first 100 rounds of 223 and watching my mom empty those 100 cases in a matter of mins... I am thinking I need a little quicker way to load/dispense powder then the rcbs balance beam scale I am using right now.

Sinclair's has the Charge Master on sale right now for 299.00 and I can find a Dillion 550 online on average around 400ish....

I also load for a .308 bolt gun, but I don't mind the time it takes to load them with the balance scale.

So if you had the $400 dollars would you go Charge Master or Dillion.

</div></div>

I've had my 550b for ~17 years and it's still perfect for my needs. I've also had a CM 1500 since late '05, early '06 and enjoy that tool immensely, but it's not the fastest thing on the planet.

If you're doing casual target ammo for distances of <500 yards, or you're just doing blasting/SHTF ammo, the Dillon (and other like presses/hoppers) will work fine your needs and can really crank out 400-500 rounds in under a couple of hours if you have stuff ready and aren't spazzing out.

I've loaded a lot of accurate ammo using the Dillon measure, but now that I have the CM 1500, it's what I use for smaller batches.

If you need to feed the beast and feed it fast, you need the Dillon. If you're not worried about time (which you are) get the CM 1500.

Frankly, if you're loading smaller batches of ultra accurate ammo, you can probably do without the CM 1500, if you have a good scale and take your time.

If you have to crank the shit out in numbers, you have to have a progressive press, IMO.

Chris

 

[insight3b]

Re: Charge Master or Dillion 550

I'd get the Dillon and use ball powder and make sure my cases didn't have crimped primers

 

[Rob01]

Re: Charge Master or Dillion 550

Progressive press for sure with 223 for blasting. Look at the Hornady LnL AP also. 5 station, auto indexing. Nice set up for bulk reloading.

Also as mentioned use a ball powder like Hodgdon's CFE 223 which will feed accurately through the powder measure.

 

[Broken_Reticle]

Re: Charge Master or Dillion 550

Thanks for the info guys.

I have a RCBS Supreme Press and a partner press. So I load my sizing die in the Supreme and my seater in the partner. I size my brass, run it on my RCBS case master setup to clean the primer holes and deburred the necks, toss it in the tumbler for a bit to clean off the lube... Prime the brass then using the beam scale have to manually measure every charge then run it through the seater... My slow down point is putting powder in cases...

So pretty much I could use the Dillion to prime the brass powder the cases and seat the bullets. I would size in the Dillion but some of my buddies that come down and shoot use surplus ammo so I have to check for crimps and such so I have to single stage size anyways...

 

[rrflyer]

Re: Charge Master or Dillion 550

You can do everything on the Dillon but sizing and loading would be two stages still.

Use the standard dump for bulk and your balance beam for long range.

I've been loading my 223 ammo on my dillon 650 with varget powder and its worked great out to 500 yards.