Finally turned blue...

[kyle2086]

I've been kicking around the idea of getting a couple Dillon 650's, one large and one small primer, and after seeing the new 750, I went all in and ordered it, the deal breaker for me was the priming system, way too much work to have to go back and forth on, and I was debating on how much money it was worth to me to save a little bit of time and aggravation, and most of the adjustments needed for progressive presses seem to be involving the primer system.

I've been doing okay with my RCBS turret for the past 4 years, but since everyone I shoot with knows I reload, I can't keep up with how much brass I'm getting, doing 500 rounds a session of 9mm just to try to make room for more brass is getting old, and it's getting old faster on a turret press. I kept checking the other brands and kept coming back to the conclusion that Dillon is the "buy once, cry once" brand. I ended up buying 2 other pocket swagers before I finally wised up and got the Dillon. I thought about all the time I wasted on the other ones, and how I didn't want to do the same thing with a progressive press.

Obviously the turret press is still useful to me, but has anyone else gone through a few brands and was it worth it to learn different methods, or were your other progressive presses just something you grew out of? I just really hope I'm not missing out on anything by jumping straight to the 750, also is there any reason why their presses don't all come with the roller handle by default? I can't picture anybody liking the straight handle out of the box.

[Colt562]

You will have no regrets going with the blue. I dont see the advantage of two presses for a 10 minute change but to each their own. Right now I have a 550b and a Lee single stage. Plenty enough for me. When I reload, I take my time. Maybe do a couple hundred rounds at a time. I enjoy the process and the time it takes, so to just pull a handle for hours is boring. I enjoy touching each brass/bullet, watching each case fill with powder.

For me, everyone says they love to reload. But tend to go for round count per hour, rather than fun per hour. My time valuable, I should buy ammo rather than reload for how much I actually shoot but its a hobby that I enjoy.

[kyle2086]

The new ammo laws really pushed me towards volume, I really don't like the idea of a list of the bullets I own being available to fall into the wrong hands, and out of principle I don't like the idea of having to pay for something already paid for by dros fees. I ordered a ton of bullets prior to online sales being halted, but it's never enough. I still want to load small batches for certain guns, but my pinker ammo is what the dillon is for, and ten minutes here and there adds up, especially with 45acp and two different primer sizes.

[anyracoon]

Way back when after owning several RCBS progressive presses I bought a fully loaded 650. Added a couple of 550's a year later. The 550's for small batches and the 650 for large runs of 223 and 9mm. Lot's of extra tool head/quick change units, Just a couple of minutes to switch out calibers. by the way I have 2 brand new quick change units with dust covers for sale if your interested.

[kyle2086]

Way back when after owning several RCBS progressive presses I bought a fully loaded 650. Added a couple of 550's a year later. The 550's for small batches and the 650 for large runs of 223 and 9mm. Lot's of extra tool head/quick change units, Just a couple of minutes to switch out calibers. by the way I have 2 brand new quick change units with dust covers for sale if your interested.

I ordered extra toolheads, dies and conversion kits for the other calibers I planned to load, figured I'd just get it all in one shot. Going to start off with pistol rounds til I get the hang of it then move on to rifle, I'm mostly concerned about getting the shell plates dialed in just right, only because it seems like it's done more by feel than anything else.

[the_tunaman]

The 750 now uses the same priming system as the 550, correct? Primer changes on the 550 are quick and easy.

[kyle2086]

The 750 now uses the same priming system as the 550, correct? Primer changes on the 550 are quick and easy.

From what I've heard yes, I'll find out Friday.

[Mustard]

Where/ when is the best time to buy a dillon? I'm turning blue soon and was hoping to cash in on a sale or something, but it seems like it's only smaller vendors that sell dillon and i'm not sure if they do black friday sales

[bruce381]

I have never seen dillion "on sale" other than a few dollars off here or there

[kyle2086]

Where/ when is the best time to buy a dillon? I'm turning blue soon and was hoping to cash in on a sale or something, but it seems like it's only smaller vendors that sell dillon and i'm not sure if they do black friday sales

It was something like 10 percent off the press only at titan reloading, I thought about it for a while and read another post on this forum about not really buying Dillon machines, you just rent them since they hold their value so well, so 10 percent was a good enough excuse for me. You might be able to find a 650 on sale somewhere since they're all being replaced but I kinda doubt it, Dillon said they were still going to support them and make parts for them, which isn't much since the new presses share most of the same parts. I just got the dies today, and I wish I would have just bought them to begin with, I'm really impressed with the seater die in particular, and the way the decapper rod is assembled.

[ar15barrels]

Where/ when is the best time to buy a dillon?

Before you waste money on lesser quality presses.

[kyle2086]

The 750 now uses the same priming system as the 550, correct? Primer changes on the 550 are quick and easy.

It's more or less the same system, I'm not sure if they're 100% parts compatible, I did notice the indexing seems smoother than the 650, which is nice, I went nice and slow the first hundred rounds or so then picked it up and got in a decent rhythm. Very happy with it so far, I'll see how I feel after a caliber change though.