what press???

[navyguy]

I hate to be the guy to ask " hey im new to this and need all your help" guy but Im stumped. Ive read for about a year on reviews and youtube videos but I want to just ask.
Im working my budget to start reloading, I know I want to reload a bit because Im spliting the costs of the press with 2 other long time friends.
I know I want a case and bullet feeder 100%, Im just worried that ill get a press and be limited, Im a guy who gets into a hobby and goes a little over board with it.
I heard somewhere that the dillon xl650 cant do 30-06? true?
The main thing i want to reload is 45acp, .223, .308, and 30-06, maybe 300 mag

will the 650 cover the bases or could i use a the hornady lock n load? maybe the RCBS pro 2000?

[Clownpuncher]

I wouldn't do -06 or 300 on a progressive. I doubt you would be shooting enough to warrant it and, for accuracy, a single stage is much better for those rifle calibers and other calibers typically used in a bolt gun.

For 223 and 308 a progressive is good if you have an AR platform but if they are bolt guns, the above would apply.

As for which press, good luck. There are many many things to consider and the first thing you need to do is determine cost. Not just start up but additional costs such as caliber changes, shell plates, tool heads (if applicable) and many other things.

All of the presses mentioned will work and you will hear from fanboys of all colors. But, considering the calibers you are looking to load perhaps a turret press that you can turn the indexing off and use as a single stage may be best for you.

[XDRoX]

Congrats and welcome to the club. Any of those presses will do it. You're going to get a bunch of different opinions. Pretty much whatever someone owns they will suggest. The 1050 is the only press that can swage on the press. It would come in handy for 223 and 308. A lot more expensive but since you're going in with other guys maybe something to consider.

[CGT80]

1050 toolheads are around $200 each
550 tool heads are $20+ each

I have both machines

The 650 would be great, because it is made to feed rifle brass through the case feeder. I made my 550 feed 223 through the case feeder. Rifle is much faster on a progressive, but still not like loading pistol cases. For non-precision shooting, the progressive will be nice for rifle. When sizing rifle brass, spray lube it and throw it in the casefeeder. On single stage, you would have to load and unload the shell holder with every stroke.

After you trim and do any other prep work on the cases, just throw them in the feeder and finish loading them. Some people trim on the dillon as well.

The 1050 is awesome for swaging 9mm primer pockets. I can load 100 9mm rounds (with a bullet feeder) in 3 minutes. It can be expensive to change to a different caliber and it could take a while.

The 550 is the most versatile. I have 15 toolheads setup for mine. It is fast and less expensive to change over. It is not auto indexing.

The 650 would fall in the middle, and is what my brother and another friend are both looking at getting. It is auto or manual indexing (depending on how you set it up).

Dillon warranty is great and the machines are well built.

Single stage is good for learning or doing oddball stuff, but it is just too slow. I still use mine sometimes. It is good for resizing 243 and 30-06 brass as it is a huge cast iron beast (1935 Hollywood with a 12 hole turret).

[alfred1222]

Hornady lock and load...

[thomashoward]

a lot depends on how much shooting you do.You will shoot more when you reload but,probably not justified spending money on a progressive.
Considering you "go overboard with hobbies" Start with a single stage for learning if all goes well move up. just my
OCD can work for you or keep you broke,I know.

[GeoffLinder]

I wouldn't do -06 or 300 on a progressive. I doubt you would be shooting enough to warrant it and, for accuracy, a single stage is much better for those rifle calibers and other calibers typically used in a bolt gun.

For 223 and 308 a progressive is good if you have an AR platform but if they are bolt guns, the above would apply.

As for which press, good luck. There are many many things to consider and the first thing you need to do is determine cost. Not just start up but additional costs such as caliber changes, shell plates, tool heads (if applicable) and many other things.

All of the presses mentioned will work and you will hear from fanboys of all colors. But, considering the calibers you are looking to load perhaps a turret press that you can turn the indexing off and use as a single stage may be best for you.

I agree with this. Do .308 and .300 single stage. Better process control.

I would recommend the Dillon 550B, especially considering that you are new to reloading. Much better starting system and will load .308 in progressive mode if you wish too. .300 is best kept single stage as noted above.

Best place to buy Dillon is from Brian Enos. His 550 EZ-Buy packages are the way to go IMHO. Read the information at following link carefully then call Brian, and ask his advice, he will be able to guide you very well. He does not recommend a 650 for anyone new to reloading, I agree 100%. The 550 will not be a limiting factor. Case feeding and auto-indexing are not that important, you will be much better served by a 550, especially if you want to change calibers frequently.

http://www.brianenos.com/store/dillon.ez.550.html

[koehn,jim]

I agree on buying the Dillon 550, learn to walk before trying to run. The more things a press does the easier it is to make mistakes. You can also get some good deals on used equipment. remeber Dillon and RCBS are lifetime warranty and they mean it.

[navyguy]

Thanks for all the info guys. Hopefully i can start soon.

[BigBronco]

If progressive I would not go with a 550 Only 4 station. Go with the Lock AP and load if you are just a normal guy. Get a 650 if you are the engineer OCD kinda guy. You want the fifth station for a powder check die. They are great insurance against squibs and double charges.

And yes you will want to add a single station also. Get a rock chucker.

[Whiterabbit]

Hi navy guy.

I have no recommendations for your progressive stuff. good luck!

I know you'll be buying a single stage press in addition to the progressive. There's never a point in messing up the machine setup just because you have to run a single operation on 10 pcs of brass.

I have a recommendation for that single stage press. You'll be shopping for one sooner or later.

Simple recommendation: Hollow ram. Can't recommend that enough.

[call-in]

How about getting a single stage like a Classic Cast or Rock Chucker to learn the basics, when you have a good understanding of the whole process then get a Dillon XL650.

[Thatguy80]

How about getting a single stage like a Classic Cast or Rock Chucker to learn the basics, when you have a good understanding of the whole process then get a Dillon XL650.

This is the way to go. I went from the Rock Chucker to the 550. While I love my 550 the 650 would have been better.

Plus like everyone else here stated. The Single stage is the way to go for quality not quantity IMHO.

[nokarma]

Do you really want a bullet feeder?
To get a good bullet feed is going to cost you a lot.
I know the Mr. bullet feeders are 9 plus months back ordered.
i would not put a bullet feeder on anything less then a 1050 that was dedicated to one caliber.
The XL650 is listed in 30-06 on the Dillon website so i don't think that is a worry for you.

[Lead Waster]

OP said 100% certain on casefeeder and bullet feeder. Where Dillon is concerned that means a minimum of the 650. Yes, the 550b has a casefeeder option, but apparently it's a bit of a hack.

Bullet feeders I think can fit any machine, most are aftermarket though.

But you need caliber specific plates and stuff for all those feeders.

You want these things (progressive, bullet feeder and case feeder for 4 caliber) but are on a budget. I hope your budget is massive.