Dillon 550B vs Lee Pro 1000

[1HitaQuita]

Dillon 550B can reload all calibers you currently desire, including 308Win.

Also Look at used Dillon's you can get a package deal normally.

Don't be scared at "caliber conversion" costs on Dillon, It is just dillon's fancy word for Shellplate with some extras, like PTX. Dillon 550B caliber conversion is 40 bucks compared to shellplates at 20 bucks, if comparing apples to apples.

Don't forget Hornady LNL AP press as a consideration.. great press and within price range, and shell plates are only 32 bucks.

Dillon costs for all his calibers: $200
Lee costs for all his calibers: $100

I think that's more like comparing apples to grapes

I'm no Lee fanboy or a Dillon fanboy, I'm a cost fanboy. Lee does the same thing at 1/4 the cost. Problems are caused by one of two things; a faulty piece of equipment, or improper setup. I have a Lee LoadMaster and have never had one single issue. I took the time to watch every video I could of people who had issues and what it took to fix them. So during my setup I did all those little things to make sure I had no issues, and so far I haven't. But eventually it's all up to the OP. No matter what progressive press you go with they all will crank out lots of rounds. So whatever decision you make it will be the right one.

[CalTeacher]

Dillon costs for all his calibers: $200
Lee costs for all his calibers: $100

I think that's more like comparing apples to grapes

I'm no Lee fanboy or a Dillon fanboy, I'm a cost fanboy. Lee does the same thing at 1/4 the cost. Problems are caused by one of two things; a faulty piece of equipment, or improper setup. I have a Lee LoadMaster and have never had one single issue. I took the time to watch every video I could of people who had issues and what it took to fix them. So during my setup I did all those little things to make sure I had no issues, and so far I haven't. But eventually it's all up to the OP. No matter what progressive press you go with they all will crank out lots of rounds. So whatever decision you make it will be the right one.

The Lee Pro 1000 is nowhere near the quality of a Dillon 550. Also, a 4 station progressive press that is capable of reloading rifle ammo is more useful than a 3 station progressive press that cannot. There are things the Lee cannot do that the Dillon can. And a 100 dollar difference in the cost of caliber conversions is a drop in the bucket when you consider the total cost of your reloading operation over a period of years.

I can't comment too far on the Loadmaster because I've never owned one and the OP was comparing the Pro 1000 to the Dillon. I will say, however, that I know people that do own them and they complain about the priming system. For the money, the Loadmaster may be a pretty good press and if it floats your boat to load on one then that's the press for you. I just think that Dillon happens to build a much better press than Lee.

[Kevin.st]

I have a Lee turret and if I go pretty fast, I can load about 100/hour. I dont understand how you can do more. Its not a precision tool. The safety primer is the bottleneck, in my experience. But even at 100/hour, I am not complaining. It was cheap.

[asm_]

Holy cow, you just about give the Dillon fanboys an heart attack by putting Dillon and Lee in the same sentence.

Get Lee if that's your budget. I own many Lee products, but not the 1000. In general, Lee products are engineering miracle of in term of cost saving. They may not look the pretties or feel like the most solid and substantial machine, but they always work as advertised. For any working man on a budget, Lee is perfect.

Now, if you have the cash to burn. Get a Dillon. It cost more and pretty much does the same thing.

.

[orangeusa]

Well this thread didnt go the way I would have guessed.

I have a Lee 1000, it is a POS.

I do have a LCT, which works very well for me. In my opinion Lee got a big black eye by making weak progressives. Their single stages, dies, and turrets are great. The other items are hit and miss. I like their manual primer tool a lot.

Just like with guns, try what you can.

If I did more rounds, I have been tempted by Hornady LNL.

.

[Brave Sir Robin]

I ended up placing an order on the Dillon 550B. I also purchased a Hornady Lock n Load Classic Kit as a single stage backup so I can focus on each stage slowly before I get into the progressive game. If it wasnt for Hornadys promotions which will eventually get me 700 bullets, I wouldnt even had considered it. All in all my wallet is pretty light right now, but all that will pay off within about 6 months by my estimate. I will be shooting alot more now that I can supply my own 380, 9mm, and 45. I have a pretty nice stockpile of .308 and .223 so im going to hold off on those until I can save some more cash. Now on to my next challenge, finding powder. I had no idea that powder was such an issue right now. I can't find any Hodgdon, Winchester, or other major powder manufacturers to save my life. I've given gunbot.net a look and noticed quite a few powders are available but I have to do some research on them and see if they will fit my handgun needs. Thank you for all of your responses and I am looking forward to what will most likely become a lifelong hobby. I'd like to mention that I do not roll around in cash and have been saving for this investment for about 2 years now. I got a sweet tax return and that justified me buying the Hornady Classic Kit as well. From what I hear, I can expect a very long wait before I receive my promotional bullets, which I will choose 500 of 150 gr .308, 100 of 185 gr 45 ACP XTP, and 100 of the 9mm XTP. You get 500 for the Hornady kit, and 100 for each set of dies you purchase. They used to give away 1000 bullets for the purchase of a kit, but guess 500 is better than nothing. Just a head up, MidwayUSA is offering $45 off of a $300 or more purchase right now...another factor in my purchase of the Hornady Lock N Load Classic kit!

[CalTeacher]

Sounds like you made a solid choice. Now join the rest of us in the epic hunt for powder.

Don't be scared to ask for help if you run into troubles gettin your presses to run. Enjoy!

[gemoose23]

I ended up placing an order on the Dillon 550B. ..

I forgot to PM you the Dillon conversion website...

Since the conversion kits per caliber have a mix of dillon parts.. you can mix and match and not buy multiple conversion kits..

for instance, if you own the 9mm Luger/Super 38 Conversion to reload 380 Auto all you need to purchase is the #3 Shellplate to have all the parts that are included in a 380 Auto Conversion....

http://gunwiki.net/apps/calconversion/index.asp

[Brave Sir Robin]

I forgot to PM you the Dillon conversion website...

Since the conversion kits per caliber have a mix of dillon parts.. you can mix and match and not buy multiple conversion kits..

for instance, if you own the 9mm Luger/Super 38 Conversion to reload 380 Auto all you need to purchase is the #3 Shellplate to have all the parts that are included in a 380 Auto Conversion....

http://gunwiki.net/apps/calconversion/index.asp

That's good to know. Im going to take it pretty slow at first and probably won't even touch the Dillon for a month or so. I'm not exactly on a mission to push out as much ammo as I can, I really just want to do this for the relaxation and enjoyment. But eventually I know I will want to speed it up, and the Dillon will be ready when that time comes.

[at_liberty]

I am considering purchasing my first progressive press. After a lot of reviewing Lee, RCBS, Hornady Lock n Load, and Dillon I have boiled down my choices to either the more expensive Dillon 550B or the Lee Pro 1000 for about half the cost of the Dillon. From what I have read, the Dillon is the superior product at least based upon the reviews and forums that I have visited. I do not shoot a lot though, and only go to the range about once a month if that. I shoot maybe 200-300 rds each visit to the range. For someone in my position, should I shell out the extra cash for the Dillon and invest in the more expensive Dillon accessories, or should I start of with the cheaper Lee Pro 1000 which is offered on MidwayUSA for around $200 with the 45 Auto plate and dies that I'd like to start off with? I will be reloading 45 ACP, 9mm Luger, 380 Auto, .223 and 308 Win if that information helps any. To start with though, I will only be reloading 45ACP and 9mm, because I simply can't afford the other dies, primers, shell plates and whatever else is required for caliber changes. If there are any other progressive presses that do not exceed $500 that are better than these, let me know. Also, I am only interested in progressive presses as I have reloaded with my friend's single stage and am willing to invest a little more to go progressive.

The Dillon does not include dies, while the Lee caliber packages do.

Neither provides 5 stations, which is what I enjoy when loading lead bullets on an LnL AP. That would work well on a Dillon 650 XL also. Neither of those include dies.

With a $500 budget, Dillon is beyond reach. Within that limitation, the Pro1000 is a handy tool but does not have enough stations to do the whole job. I would skip the decapping/sizing and the priming, done on a small, cheap single stage, and just load primed brass on the Pro1000. That would be expand/powder charge, seat, and crimp.

Note that the Lee dies are near worthless on lead bullets. They will try to squeeze your .452+ down to exactly .451.

[the86d]

If you are contemplating a Dillon, why not spend the extra ~$90 (I think it was the last time I checked) for the XL 650, compared to the 550?

With the ability to upgrade to the case-feeder at a later time, why not keep your options open for 400rd+/hr in the future?

[at_liberty]

If you are contemplating a Dillon, why not spend the extra ~$90 (I think it was the last time I checked) for the XL 650, compared to the 550?

With the ability to upgrade to the case-feeder at a later time, why not keep your options open for 400rd+/hr in the future?

I just priced out a 650 with two extra caliber conversion kits, Inline Fabrications high mount and lighting and ergonomic handle...no dies and no case feed loader...for just under $1000.

The Hornady is not much more forgiving, since its caliber conversions are about $55-65 each (4 LnL bushings, a shell plate, and a PTX).

[MrElectric03]

Id go with the 550. Because a lot of guys are buying 650s and 1050s the caliber conversions can be found used for good deals. Just looking for caliber conversions for my 650 has made me consider buying a 550.

[1HitaQuita]

Id go with the 550. Because a lot of guys are buying 650s and 1050s the caliber conversions can be found used for good deals. Just looking for caliber conversions for my 650 has made me consider buying a 550.

Wow. All that money spent on a Dillon & you still have to spend more money because you can't find parts. SMH!!

Sent from my Samsung Galaxy Note II using Tapatalk

[Gardian]

To me its like buying Ryobi or Makita, even if all I need is a Ryobi I'm buying the Makita, quality counts I'm crazy like that... jmo