- Thread starter scorpio 25
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I have a spare 550B for sale if interested. Send a message to me and see if we can work something out.
I have a 550, 650 i use the 550 more and caliber conversions are the cheapest In my opinion biggest pro with the 650 is auto indexing
Dillon RL 550b for me. Been using it since about 1995. I prefer the manual indexing. If I had to replace it today I would give a hard look at the 650. Most of my fellow shooters have the 650 and swear by it. Either way, you can’t go wrong with a Dillon.
i have owned a 650, and currently own a 550b and a square deal (auto indexing for pistol calibers).
the auto indexing on the 650 is nice...right up until you have to stop because of the occasional issue. i like that the primer feed system is at a different station which keeps it free of debris from primers getting knocked out. what i DON"T like is that the primer feed system keeps spitting them out should you have to stop and re-start...which wastes primers and grinds on me (i hate wasting components).
the 550b and the square deal, you can just not set the new primer in the case and the feed system doesnt keep cycling primers out. add the additional cost of the 650 and toolheads, and the 550 is the one to have from dillon.
the bottom line is they are all very good presses. the 550 will do what you need to do unless you are looking to load 50bmg.
the auto indexing on the 650 is nice...right up until you have to stop because of the occasional issue. i like that the primer feed system is at a different station which keeps it free of debris from primers getting knocked out. what i DON"T like is that the primer feed system keeps spitting them out should you have to stop and re-start...which wastes primers and grinds on me (i hate wasting components).
the 550b and the square deal, you can just not set the new primer in the case and the feed system doesnt keep cycling primers out. add the additional cost of the 650 and toolheads, and the 550 is the one to have from dillon.
the bottom line is they are all very good presses. the 550 will do what you need to do unless you are looking to load 50bmg.
Xl650 for 9mm,45acp, and 223. Super easy with case feeder. Kind of a pain to tool up for the different calibers but worth it to me due to the machine saving me time.
Because I bought mine almost 25 years ago. No 650s then. I still like the ability to pull pins to check an individual case, mainly at the powder station. I started with it for .45acp but no reason not to use it for rifle as well.
2x 550 and 3x 1050.
The 550s load precision rifle and small volume pistol calibers. The 1050s load high volume pistol and rifle ammo.
The 550s load precision rifle and small volume pistol calibers. The 1050s load high volume pistol and rifle ammo.
Either the 550 or the 650 will work.
I have loaded many 1,000's of match .308 rounds as well as 7mm Rem and .300 WM on my 650. I have also loaded many 10,000's of varmint rounds (.17 Rem, .204, .223, .22-250, 6mm Cheetah) on the same press. You CAN produce VERY consistent and accurate ammo on a Dillon.
It's more of a pain to switch between large and small primers otherwise caliber switching is a 3 minute operation with the tool-heads and dies preset.
I chose the 650 at the time because of the case feeder - the case feeder makes a "YUGE" difference with the auto indexing. Without the case feeder I would say get a 550 but now I understand that the 550 has a case feeder also.
The biggest challenge in either system is the powder measure - it only really works with ball powder for precision reloading. I removed mine and replaced with a funnel and the system would load match ammo as fast as I could dump in a decent powder charge.
Another challenge is FL resizing of .308 and larger cases - tends to rock/bind the press too much for my liking. I found that I got best results by FL resizing larger cartridge brass on my Forster. If you are just neck sizing/shoulder bumping then just dump the cases in and go. I found I could get 300-600/rounds hr. depending on how fast I could accurately pour powder - 500-1,000/hr. if you have a ball powder that works and helpers standing around loading primer tubes.
I have loaded many 1,000's of match .308 rounds as well as 7mm Rem and .300 WM on my 650. I have also loaded many 10,000's of varmint rounds (.17 Rem, .204, .223, .22-250, 6mm Cheetah) on the same press. You CAN produce VERY consistent and accurate ammo on a Dillon.
It's more of a pain to switch between large and small primers otherwise caliber switching is a 3 minute operation with the tool-heads and dies preset.
I chose the 650 at the time because of the case feeder - the case feeder makes a "YUGE" difference with the auto indexing. Without the case feeder I would say get a 550 but now I understand that the 550 has a case feeder also.
The biggest challenge in either system is the powder measure - it only really works with ball powder for precision reloading. I removed mine and replaced with a funnel and the system would load match ammo as fast as I could dump in a decent powder charge.
Another challenge is FL resizing of .308 and larger cases - tends to rock/bind the press too much for my liking. I found that I got best results by FL resizing larger cartridge brass on my Forster. If you are just neck sizing/shoulder bumping then just dump the cases in and go. I found I could get 300-600/rounds hr. depending on how fast I could accurately pour powder - 500-1,000/hr. if you have a ball powder that works and helpers standing around loading primer tubes.
I have always lusted after a Dillon 1050 but was told by a fellow that has 4 650's and 6 1050's the following:
"If you are going to load a million rounds of say .223 get a 1050. If you are going to load a few hundred to a couple thousand rounds of many different calibers get a 650."
FWIW
"If you are going to load a million rounds of say .223 get a 1050. If you are going to load a few hundred to a couple thousand rounds of many different calibers get a 650."
FWIW
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