Help me spend my money

[tanks]

...I would only go 650 if I REALLY needed the production capacity. I don't. I load 500 at a time.

Yeah, but it takes 1.5 hours on the 550 and 45 minutes on the 650. How much is your time worth?

[NorCalFocus]

Help me spend my money

It may not matter, but the fact that I'm using a 30 year old Hornady press may help sway your choice.

[MarikinaMan]

Yeah, but it takes 1.5 hours on the 550 and 45 minutes on the 650. How much is your time worth?

That's what I meant by capacity. How many can you make in a given amount of time and does it meet your needs?

When I need to make 300 rounds for a match next weekend, I can say that I need a 10 minutes to load the cases into a tumbler and 15 minutes to separate them and set them out to dry. When I come back to the cases in 3 days, I'll need 2 hours to do the 300, put everything away and run the product through my case gauge.

My time is worth a lot, but I don't kid myself that I need a 650 when I don't.

How many rounds do you usually need, and how much time do you want to allocate to make them. That's how I think. My number is 300 rounds, in 2 hours.

I'd buy a 650 if I shot my Carbine a lot more and I wanted to run a trimmer during reloading. If I did that, I'd add a case feeder and bullet feeder too. Loading 5.56 would be just as quick as 9mm, except I'd still have to swage. Because I don't want to turn my single progressive reloader into a dedicated 5.56 unit, I make do with a single stage for case prep and a 3 way trimming head for my motorized trimmer.

I've met people with multiple 650s and 1050s who use them as dedicated to a caliber so they don't have to reconfigure.

[Mot Mi]

Dillon 650XL it speaks for itself

[tanks]

...

My time is worth a lot, but I don't kid myself that I need a 650 when I don't.

How many rounds do you usually need, and how much time do you want to allocate to make them. That's how I think. My number is 300 rounds, in 2 hours....

Well, if all you are shooting is 300 a month, then 550 should do the job. If it is 300 a week then while 550 can do the job as well you are encroaching on the 650 territory.

It takes me about 15 minutes per hundred on the 550. 9 minutes on a 650 with a case feeder and about 5 minutes if you also add a bullet feeder. Loading 5-6K of .40 a month a few minutes per hundred adds up quick. I started shooting my 9mm as well lately. So bought a 1050 with another bullet feeder for .40 production and will convert the 650 to 9mm.

[stranded1980]

Considering you don't have an unlimited budget, my suggestion for you would be the Dillon 550. I would then get 3 caliber conversion kits - 45 ACP, 40 S&W, 380 ACP, and then the "B" Funnel if you want to do 30-06 using the Dillon powder drop. That puts you at $570.30 before shipping if buying new.

Big Hint: Don't buy new! Especially for the caliber conversion kits, go to gunbroker.com or ebay and search "Dillon".

You'll note that I suggested buying a 380 ACP caliber conversion kit, that's because the Dillon 550 conversion kits have 3 parts: the shellplate, the buttons, and the funnel. Several kits have overlapping parts. The 40S&W and 9mm both use a number 5 shellplate. No need for 2 of them. By getting the 380 ACP, you'll get the number 3 shellplate, the number 3 buttons, and the "F" powder funnel. Mix and match, and you'll have the necessary components for reloading 9mm. Plus, if you decide to eventually load 223, all you need is the "A" powder funnel.

Same goes for the 45ACP and the 30-06. The only difference between the two is the powder funnel (45 uses the "E" powder funnel, and the 30-06 uses the "B").

Check out page 19 of the Dillon 550 manual for a better idea of how to mix & match the caliber conversion kits to get the biggest bang for your buck.

[stranded1980]

In response to Waldog's post: I've owned both the Hornday LNL AP, the Dillon 550, Dillon 650, and a Dillon SDB. I sold the Hornady because of the constant tinkering it required, either on the primer shuttle or the pawls. I was not alone in having these problems. I'm not mechanically stupid, but couldn't get it to remain trouble free. So I sold it.

That being said, there are many Hornady users that have not had problems with the tinkering. If you get one, my recommendation is start reloading on it immediately, adjust the pawls once if necessary, and if you still have problems, return it and ask for a new one.

Yes, the Hornady was cheaper, and I had high hopes for it, especially considering the innovative bushing system, the awesome powder drop, and the fantastic spent primer tube. However, I disliked the half-step movement of the shell plate, the time tinkering with the pawls to get everything perfectly aligned, and the primer shuttle getting occasionally stuck without me noticing until it was too late. In the end, my time was more precious than the value of the 500 free bullets or the $200 I thought I saved.

I run Dillon progressives because they do not require tinkering after making the initial adjustments. I like that. Currently, there are 2 Dillon 650's on my bench, one Dillon 550, a Forster Co-Ax, and a Lee Challenger.

If I could only have one progressive, it would be the Dillon 550. It's versatile, and I've never had a problem with the priming system (although some others have). The powder drop system is plenty accurate enough for mass produced rounds, and if I wanted, I could always use the Hornady powder drop on my Dillon, or most any other company's powder drop for that matter. For my precision rifle work, I weigh the charges, and drop it in station 2 of the Dillon 550 using their AT-500 powder die funnel.