Dillon 550B vs Lee Pro 1000

[CalTeacher]

They will try to squeeze your .452+ down to exactly .451.

I assume you're talking about the Lee Factory Crimp Die. In which case this is true. I had nothing but problems with the one I tried.

[Germz]

dillon anything vs lee anything is like comparing Goliath and David.

[MrElectric03]

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

Hey having another press never hurts!

[CGT80]

You can load a single piece of brass at a time on the dillon 550. I use it like a single stage or even a turret when setting up dies and doing test loads. You control what goes on with the press. I do the same with the 1050 dillon with a bullet feeder.

The 650 has some great advantages, but the 550 is the most versatile and will work with a smaller budget. I added the casefeeder to my 550 and then modified it to run 223,30-30, 30-06, etc. rifle brass through it. Toolheads are $200 each plus conversion kits for the 1050. It was far more economical to keep using the 550 for everything other than 9mm.

For great info on reloading and on specific info on dillon or other reloading equipment, check out the brian enos forum. It is less social than calguns, but may really help a new person figure out the process. It is also home to many competitive shooters, which I also do. Castboolits is a great source of info as well. They know reloading equipment and cast boolits can be very economical and perform as well as many jacketed bullets for quite a few people.

[1HitaQuita]

Hey having another press never hurts!

True. If anyone wants to buy me a Dillon 650 so that I can compare it to my Loadmaster I'm more than willing!

[dartbrandx]

True. If anyone wants to buy me a Dillon 650 so that I can compare it to my Loadmaster I'm more than willing!

HA! There really is no comparison there.

[Gunsrruss]

Cheap is expensive

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.

I have both. I bought the Lee because I was trying to save money( bad move ) Then a friend gave me a 550B so I could do reloading for him ( Best move ever ) I know there more money, but you get what you pay for many times over. When buying reloading equipment never go cheap. You will just regret it in the end and have to buy the good stuff.

[1HitaQuita]

HA! There really is no comparison there.

I think you missed the point of the post

[Cowboy T]

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.

Laurence, congraulations on your purchases, and yes, I hope you do find reloading a lifelong, rewarding hobby. I shoot .45 Colt, so reloading is basically a necessity to avoid a steady Top Ramen diet. :-) Just remember to take it slowly at first. This is not a race, and safety comes before anything else. That means *anything* else.

Regarding dies, if your press doesn't come with them, you would be well served by Lee dies on your 550 or LnL. Jeff Quinn over at GunBlast.com uses them on his 550 and has reported very good results. This can help you same some dough on cartridge changes. However, leave the "Factory Crimp Die" alone. You don't need it, and if you're using cast bullets, it will swage them down, which, with one corner-case exception that I can think of, is always counterproductive. Get the 3-die set and a Powder-Cop (or Lock-Out, in RCBS terminology) die instead, since that 550 has 4 stations.

[dartbrandx]

I think you missed the point of the post

Just joking around!

[bruce381]

I started progressive on a Pro 1000, it was ok but needed fidling with all the time, sold it for a 650.

Is like Kim k compared to whoppie goldberg

[dartbrandx]

Laurence, congraulations on your purchases, and yes, I hope you do find reloading a lifelong, rewarding hobby. I shoot .45 Colt, so reloading is basically a necessity to avoid a steady Top Ramen diet. :-) Just remember to take it slowly at first. This is not a race, and safety comes before anything else. That means *anything* else.

Regarding dies, if your press doesn't come with them, you would be well served by Lee dies on your 550 or LnL. Jeff Quinn over at GunBlast.com uses them on his 550 and has reported very good results. This can help you same some dough on cartridge changes. However, leave the "Factory Crimp Die" alone. You don't need it, and if you're using cast bullets, it will swage them down, which, with one corner-case exception that I can think of, is always counterproductive. Get the 3-die set and a Powder-Cop (or Lock-Out, in RCBS terminology) die instead, since that 550 has 4 stations.

Well said. I do believe that YOU where the only one that kept me from throwing out my pro 1000! Thank you for that!

I love my 650 (1HitaQuita, I'd buy you one if I could!) I run Lee dies on it. They seem to do well for me.

You'll love the 550. Get the casefeeder.

[CGT80]

You'll love the 550. Get the casefeeder.

I have that, and there is one problem with it. It is only made for pistol calibers. You have to either remove it to load rifle, which is a royal PITA (as is putting it back on) or you have to modify the casefeeder system to work with rifle brass.

I chose the second option. It doesn't work perfect, but I like it better than feeding brass by hand or taking the unit on and off. The cheapest route is to take the feed tube off the casefeed assembly and just drop a shell in front of the case feed plunger, one at a time. You will need an aluminum track that will fit the rifle brass. Some of the pistol tracks will fit the rifle brass. 45 acp will work with 308, 243, and 30-06. I think 9mm works with 223 and 30 carbine IIRC. You could order the plate for the 650 in that caliber, but you have to grind it down to fit. It is a bit of work to do a good job on grinding the aluminum and each piece costs around $16 plus shipping.

If you also buy the plastic colored adapter for the case feed tube, you can drop brass in the tube by hand and have a handful or more of brass lined up and ready to go. If you get the right shell plates for the feeder, you can run that as well. I ended up with all 4 shell plates. Sometimes a spacer is required on the plate. The 550 and 650 directions indicate when to use a spacer.

If you choose to run rifle brass through even the lower case feed assembly, you will need to buy a second case feed cam plate and grind it so that the brass is pushed into the press faster. The stock cam doesn't get the brass in quick enough and it hits the frame of the press or the sizing die/decapping pin. 223 is barely doable without the modified cam but the decapping pin has to be set so it barely protrudes from the die. I made my own cam but it wasn't all that easy and the angle is off just a little.

If you plan to run much rifle brass, I would run the 650 or use the 550 without the casefeeder.

[budah1999]

I am new to reloading also I bought my first press this past Christmas I went through countless threads like this were everbody argues over who has the best or cheapest equipment. Before I bought one I had it narrowed down between hornadys progressive wich was somewhere around a 1000 dollars or dillon wich after all the extras came out to around $1200 dollars roughly.i ended going with the blue team! For one I thought the color looked cool! I know that does not matter but if I'm going to be sitting in front if it for hours I at least want it to look cool right! the quality of the machines is extraordinary compared to a lee or rcbs hornady had some quality as well but I heard they were temperamental as far as progressives go. The expensive part about dillon is the dies and caliber conversions plate set ups so far I've only bought 9MM and .223" dies I've reloaded about 600 rounds of 9MM and about 200 rounds of .223 and I'm happy with my DIllon. Sure it was more expensive so far I've spent around $2600 on reloading equipment and supplies definitely not a cheap hobby to get into. Oh and you can use that extra press you bought for a decapping only if you want to go that route.