Question about Dillon Presses

[Prc329]

I am contemplating picking up a Dillon press to do bulk 223 and 45acp. I am already reloading with a single stage press as many of you may know so I have a set of 223 dies. Do I have to use dillon dies with the press or can I use my lee/forester dies I already own?

[Waldog]

You can use any dies that have the 7/8" threads that fit the tool head. Do your self a favor and do some research on the Hornady Lock and Load Auto Progressive presses. You might like what you see. The Dillons are outstanding presses and have a strong following. The Hornady LNL is also an outstanding press and has a strong following as well. Beware though! Comparisons between the two presses bring passionate responses.

Contact me if you are in any way interested in the LNL. I have some web stuff that I found when I was trying to decide which to buy. Otherwise you will certainly be happy with the Dillon.

[Rule .308]

You can use regular dies.

Mark

[kmca]

If you buy the 650, you might want to consider using the Dillon deprimer/sizer die (it can be bought separately). It has a more generous radius on the bottom so the cases feed better.

[ocabj]

As long as you don't get the Dillon Square Deal press, you can use any standard dies. Get the 550 or higher.

[Prc329]

I'm leaning twoard a 550B. I was thinking a 650 but from my reading (las time and today) I think the 550 will do me better since I will not be buying a case feeder and it appears to be easier to change calibers.

[kmca]

Changing calibers on all of the Dillon presses is about the same. It's change the primers that's a pain. The advantage of the 650, IMHO, is the 5th die position. The auto advancing is nice too.

[ar15barrels]

I'm of the opinion that the 650 is a safer press than the 550 due to the automatic indexing and especially if you add the powder check die.
These two items make it nearly impossible to produce a squib or a double-charge.
I loaded around 70,000 rounds on 550's before I got my 650's and 1050's

I never had a double charge, but I did have two squibs.

Reloading is a single-person endeavor.
You have to be totally concentrating on the task.
No TV.
No music.
No conversation.

I'm quite certain that both the squibs I loaded can be attributed to someone walking up to talk with me and me not watching where I was in the process which let me index the press an extra time.

I have never had a squib or a double charge from a 650 or 1050.

The 1050 will give you "pepper shakers" though if your brass is not capable of holding a primer.
The 650 gives you the tactile feel when seating primers and this is a good thing because you can stop and pull out a case that did not feel right.
You lose that with the 1050 because it primes on the upstroke.

[Prc329]

I really gotta put some more thought in to this one.

[Scouter]

after seeing Randall's production line display of presses I was sold on the 650. His setup is no less that phenomenal, and his knowledge and willingness to share it is just as equal. Great guy, took me step by step showing me how each of the presses operated and functioned!

The reason why I decided on the 650 over the 550 Randall already stated, you can't screw it up, I always have a million things racing in my mind so eventually I'm sure I would double prime something unknowingly, the 650's auto loading and auto indexing feature is just what I would need, and I don't have alot of time so even saving 30 minutes is a lifetime for me.

Thanks Randall

[Paratus et Vigilans]

The 650 gives you the tactile feel when seating primers and this is a good thing because you can stop and pull out a case that did not feel right.

+1 on that! Every now and then, with my 650, I get one of those "that just didn't feel right" moments when seating the primer, and I stop right then and there and pull it out to check before taking the next stroke and raising it to the powder die. It's really easy to check the primer status at that point of the process since the Dillon 650 has a spring-loaded case retainer at that stage. Sometimes all that's needed to fix a not-quite-seated primer is to put the case back in the shell plate and give it one more gentle primer seating stroke, which you can do without causing the shellplate to advance, and then you can get right back in the groove and keep on going.

[grammaton76]

Glad to see you went for the 650 over the 550. Now, for the guy who was talking about changing primers sizes being a pain:

You can order a seperate primer assembly from Brian Enos. That's what I did... I've got one permanently set up for large primers, one for small, and changing between 'em is just a matter of removing two bolts and swapping the assemblies out! Really fast.

[PistolPete75]

550 is much easier to change between calibers.

hey Nayt, if your gonna buy a new 550. I have a powder dispenser I'll sell to you. I have an extra one that is brand new.

[ar15barrels]

Now, for the guy who was talking about changing primers sizes being a pain:

You can order a seperate primer assembly from Brian Enos. That's what I did... I've got one permanently set up for large primers, one for small, and changing between 'em is just a matter of removing two bolts and swapping the assemblies out! Really fast.

It does not end there.
I started with just one 550.
I added a second complete press and split out all the large primer cartridges to one press and small primer cartridges to the other.

You can see where that got me...

[grammaton76]

Heh, I thought about doing a second 650 for a while... then decided that my next press would be a 1050. My job, at present, is to ensure that the 1050 is a long ways off.