Getting a press.. How does this list look *Update*: Order placed!

[mikeyr]

changing calibers on a 650 especially when going from small primers to large is time consuming. A 650 is only worth it when you are loading LOTS of rounds in one caliber before changing over to the caliber. For example, I load all my brass of 1,500-2,000 of 9mm, then change to 357mag and load all my brass (about 1,000) before going back to 9mm. 45Colt I do on my single stage Hornady because I only have 200 brass for it.

I did buy a conversion for the 45Colt and used it exactly once before I got out my old Hornady single stage and sold the 45Colt conversion on ebay.

I would not have anything but the 650, its a great press but I almost (note I said almost) consider it a single caliber press because of the time it takes to swap. The quick change is worth every penny just to have the powder dump correctly set for each caliber. But the quick change is NOT a caliber conversion, I didn't see that on your list.

The cost of a Dillon is a one time thing, you will forget the cost soon enough and your heirs will enjoy its quality for generations.

[Capybara]

One of the best things about Dillons are also that they hold their value pretty well too. If you change your mind or find reloading isn't for you, you can sell and do okay.

[Frozenguy]

Two caliber conversion kits will add ~$156 Up close to $2k now..

$20 for a primer flip tray? Guess there is a sucker born every minute.

You are also not going to want to reload 30 06 on a progressive, it's a *****.

Yeah it seems overly marked up like some other stuff on there.
$39 for a case feeder plate? Just seems excessive.

I blew $3300 on my 1050 setup so dont feel bad

Nice, that's how to do it haha

You are missing trim dies for your RT1200.. need one per caliber (50.95-58.95), and caliber conversions for each caliber (77.95).

Also if you order from http://www.brianenos.com/store/dillon.html he throws in free shipping. Brianenos drop ships from Dillon, took 5 business days for my 650 to show up from Dillon ordering from Brian last month.

Check out brian enos's dillon website. He has alot of FAQ's, package and information on his pages. Not to mention his forums... but lots of competitive shooter weighted information.

Team blue was never said to be cheap.

Ugh, trim dies?! So the trimmer for .223 and 30-06 is $268 + ~$110

Thanks for the suggestion on Brian Enos. Lots of information on that site.

And free shipping is cool

[Frozenguy]

Reading your post, I'm going to assume you are new to reloading. If so, a progressive press is big step. There is a lot going on all at once & can be a bit much. A single stage press is slower, but is easier to learn the different steps involved w/ reloading. Not to mention a lot cheaper. Having said that, Dillon is good equipment, just a bit pricey.

Yes this will be my first press along with what I'm now thinking will be a single stage for at least my 30-06. Either I'll start loading with the single stage and I'll do my 45 acp one case at a time on the 650 until I get the hang of things.

I respect the learning curve but feel this should be sufficient.

Single stage your 30-06. That will save a few bucks

Still thinking on this.
So many decisions.

Your list looks good. Go with the dillon casefeeder. I use one toolhead on my 550 to size my rifle brass and then another to load it. It is much faster to load the rifle ammo on the dillon than to do it single stage, even if you don't use a lot of it. I modified my 550 to run rifle brass through the casefeeder. I sized a big coffee can full of brass in 30 minutes or so. I trim with a CTS trimmer on a homemade base, but I would love to have the dillon trimmer.

The 650 is a great choice, but I haven't used one. The additional position for an extra die is good on the 650 as well. I do ok with 4 positions on the 550, but running rifle brass by hand was not OK.

Good info thanks.

[klewan]

I bought a progressive press because I wanted to make ammo that cost less than new. That was almost 20 years ago. I looked at the 650, but I wanted to load 6 calibers and it was ridiculous what that was going to cost. And you couldn't buy a case feeder back then. Now a case feeder costs almost as much as the press when you factor in all the small/large/rifle plates you need.

Going to take a LOT of ammo to get to a break even point at $2K...

Check out the Hornady LNL, probably come in about half of what the 650 costs. Caliber changes are fast, don't cost as much.

I bought a Loadmaster 20 years ago, still chugging along. I had it for almost 15 years before I started looking at gun forums and found out people had trouble with it. It's not for someone that doesn't have a clue when it comes to mechanical reasoning; you know, the people that operate on the "if it don't work, get a bigger hammer" mind set. And you can buy a LM for less than $250 delivered to your door; the Loadmaster forum has a lot of info on how to tweak it, none of which I've ever done. If you don't like it, you can sell it on Ebay for $200 everyday. So you're not out much if you don't like it. I've PM'ed multiple PO'ed Loadmaster owners that were ranting about it, offering to buy it; all of them still had it and didn't want to sell. Never understood that...

[stilly]

I've been looking on dillonprecision.com recently to price out my press and accessories and I feel like I'm getting suckered into something.

I have a cart of stuff for $1805.19


Check this over and point out what's wrong.

-- XL 650 - $566.95
-- Case feeder -$219.95
-- (2) quick change caliber conversions - $215.90 total
-- 45 ACP dies, carbide - $63.95
-- .30-06 dies, steel - $66.95
-- .223 dies, steel - $66.95
-- (4) large primer pick up tubes - $23.95
-- (4) small primer pick up tubes - $23.95
-- Case feeder plate for large rifle - $38.95
-- Case feeder plate for small rifle - $38.95
-- Powder check alarm - $68.95
-- Primer flip tray - $20.95
-- Aluminum roller handle - $45.95
-- Primer system early warning - $25.95
-- 1200B Case trimmer - $267.95

TOTAL $1755.20
+ tax and shipping: $1804.18

If I don't get the two caliber conversion kits or additional feeder plates, that's about a $300 savings. which I can put towards a different press for rifles like a single stage?

I don't plan on loading a ton of .30-06, but I do plan to load a bunch of .223 and 5.56 on top of a bunch of 45 acp.

Perhaps I can use the 650 to trim/prep rifle cases as set up in AR15barrels thread and load them up on a turret press?

Wow. Buy once Cry once indeed... Or you could just skip the Dillon and go with a cheaper overall press. I wonder what the LNL AP would cost vs this...
Money is certainly an issue. Even if you were rich and spent this for lunch, it is still a waste to drop a lot of cash for something if it will not be used, or if it will be under utilized.

Not that a reloading press is ever really under utilized, but just sayin...

[Bumslie]

Here's a question.

Do you have any hands on experience with the xl650?

I almost did the same thing you are doing a few years ago with a 550b on Brian Enos. I was $1400 in my cart with no clue on how to reload.

Thank god I was able to get hands on experience before buying a progressive. I absolutely abhor the dillons and I would have probably quit reloading because it's left a sour taste in my mouth.

Wether you go red, blue, green, or lee, get some hands on experience and see what you like before you blow your wad.

[the86d]

I started on the XL 650 about 2 years ago, and if you are even moderately-mechanically-inclined you should have about ZERO problems after about 2 lots of 100 that don't chamber because you didn't drop the dies far enough for bottle-necked cartridges.

youtube videos were helpful, and I never physically saw anyone reload before it arrived.

I do 9mm and 5.56.

[propman07]

Here's a question.

Do you have any hands on experience with the xl650?

I almost did the same thing you are doing a few years ago with a 550b on Brian Enos. I was $1400 in my cart with no clue on how to reload.

Thank god I was able to get hands on experience before buying a progressive. I absolutely abhor the dillons and I would have probably quit reloading because it's left a sour taste in my mouth.

Wether you go red, blue, green, or lee, get some hands on experience and see what you like before you blow your wad.

so what did you end up going with?

[knucklehead0202]

if you're not an experienced reloader and/or don't need to crank out thousands of rounds, this seems really excessive. I know all the Dillon guys have hard-ons right now but being that you're a beginning reloader, buying the most expensive stuff does not mean it's going to do the job for you, or necessarily any better than something costing half as much. I would do some homework on reloading before investing much of anything in it. I would say a single-stage or at most a turret press would be a good starting point. I've been reloading for most of my life and still only use a cheap old lee single-stage. my press, over a dozen sets of dies, brass, projectiles, primers, powder, tumbler, etc... cost a lot less than that list of stuff you're looking at. I'm not saying the Dillon isn't a good machine or that you should under no circumstances buy it, but try walking before you run, even learning the boring, slow, old way will teach you lessons that'll come in handy later when/if you decide to go progressive. good luck either way.

[Frozenguy]

Here's a question.

Do you have any hands on experience with the xl650?

I almost did the same thing you are doing a few years ago with a 550b on Brian Enos. I was $1400 in my cart with no clue on how to reload.

Thank god I was able to get hands on experience before buying a progressive. I absolutely abhor the dillons and I would have probably quit reloading because it's left a sour taste in my mouth.

Wether you go red, blue, green, or lee, get some hands on experience and see what you like before you blow your wad.

I don't think I've ever even seen a reloader in person.
Why do you abhor the dillon?

The first time I was introduced to reloading was Tremors. I was a little kid and I saw the vibrator and for some reason always thought it had to do with cigarette butts hahaha But that scene was my favorite of any movie and I always wanted a room similar in nature to that. But no. No hands on loading experience.

I started on the XL 650 about 2 years ago, and if you are even moderately-mechanically-inclined you should have about ZERO problems after about 2 lots of 100 that don't chamber because you didn't drop the dies far enough for bottle-necked cartridges.

youtube videos were helpful, and I never physically saw anyone reload before it arrived.

I do 9mm and 5.56.

Haha ya I'm expecting a learning curve.
I consider myself very mechanically inclined and can respect territory that is new to me.

[Bumslie]

so what did you end up going with?

I Started with a rockchucker supreme kit first, then went with the Hornady LnL for my progressive setup. It works. I like it. The caliber conversions are cheaper. Set up and changeovers are quick and painless. I don't mass load, I load a few hundred of a certain cartridge at a time then switch. I don't have the budget of some of these guys to load 2-3k+ of a certain caliber before switching over.

[Bumslie]

I don't think I've ever even seen a reloader in person.
Why do you abhor the dillon?

The first time I was introduced to reloading was Tremors. I was a little kid and I saw the vibrator and for some reason always thought it had to do with cigarette butts hahaha But that scene was my favorite of any movie and I always wanted a room similar in nature to that. But no. No hands on loading experience.

.

I'm at work, but I'll respond with a lengthy answer in a few hours.

[johnniezombie]

Buy from Brianenos.com same price as Dillons web but free shipping

[mark501w]

For alittle over 500$ you could get a rock chuck supreme & some accessories & be reloading.