Dillon 650XL without Case Feeder?

[dodgeit101]

Hey Guys,

So I got the Lee Turret press and it's great, but it's pretty slow for me. I'm realizing that I don't have a lot of time (girlfriend) and want to be able to turn out as many bullets as I can in a limited time. I kind had wished I just gotten the progressive but it was a good learning and I guess you can't put a price on that.

Anyways, I'm thinking about getting the Dillon 650.

Here's what in my cart

Dillon XL 650
Strong Mount
4-Pack - 2 Small & 2 Large Primer Pickup Tubes
Roller Handle

$682.80

Do you guys have any suggestions on anything else? Is the Bullet Tray really worth $40? I think I'll add a case feeder later at the moment I'm just spending way too much money on materials and SSE stuff.

[Dark Mod]

Sounds good to me! Your output will increase dramatically even without the casefeeder, its just a shame because Dillons case feeder works so well.

Bullet tray isn't worth it by the way.

[mjmagee67]

Go with the 550 and buy it from Brian Enos, get the "As it should be kit" I have a 550 and a Lee Classis Turret, I use the Lee for calibers I don't shoot that often and the 550 for the ones I shoot a lot. I chose the 550 because of it's simplicity and you can change calibers in 5 minutes give or take. I can easily do 500-600 an hours, probably 700-800 if I pushed it.

[dodgeit101]

I was thinking about the 550, but I actually got to use one at a coworkers house for practice before I used my turret press. I don't like the fact that it doesn't auto-index. I could just tell the 550 isn't for me but I would recommend it to people that are starting out.

[Cujo]

I have a 550 and 1050. The 550 is used for primarily rifle rounds and the 1050 for 9mm. If you have the 650, you HAVE to get the case feeder that goes along with it. Auto-indexing with a case feeder works great! Otherwise, it's like buying a nice looking sports car with a 4-cylinder motor.

[Footb82]

I would say if you are trying to increase production, the case feeder would be necessary equipment, because without it you would have to stop and refill the tube pretty often. I would have to guess...every minute?

[Aldemar]

The bullet tray places the bullets in the perfect area to place them on the brass case - very little wasted motion. The case feeder is a must have IHMO. It takes the machine to an entirely different level. I'd also look at the powder check kit. If it saves you just one under or over charge, it's paid for itself.

[ElDub1950]

I was thinking about the 550, but I actually got to use one at a coworkers house for practice before I used my turret press. I don't like the fact that it doesn't auto-index. I could just tell the 550 isn't for me but I would recommend it to people that are starting out.

That always bugs me. Dillon's smaller Square Deal autoindexes and so does the bigger 650. Can't imagine why the didn't make the 550 autoindex.

[dodgeit101]

But wouldn't I still have a increase in production from switching to a 650 even without the case feeder? The way I see it is i'm doing 4 pulls to make 1, where at least in a 650 I can make 1 bullet per pull essentially. I minimize the work needed to make a bullet.

I'm not cutting out the case feeder, i'm just getting it later on. I want to see if it's still increase my production without the need for a case feeder at the moment.

[1HitaQuita]

You don't need the case feeder to increase your production. The 650 will still output at a ratio of 5:1 over the Lee. Actually it's 4:1 cause the Lee is a 4 hole turret press.

[enzo357]

The case feeder is a must. Bullet tray works really well. Had a 550 for years. The 650 saves me so much time.
500 rounds loads really fast.

[bzzz]

I like the case feeder on the 650, otherwise, I would have to refill the case feed tube like every 20 rounds made. You can pretty much crank out 20 rounds on a 650 hella quick. Refilling the case feed tube manually would interrupt the workflow. With the case feeder, you just stop to refill the primer tube every 100 rounds.

[NiMiK]

You could always have your girlfriend drop the cases down the tube for now. Let her know that it's considered quality time together

[9mmepiphany]

That always bugs me. Dillon's smaller Square Deal autoindexes and so does the bigger 650. Can't imagine why the didn't make the 550 autoindex.

Because the 550, actually the 450, came out before the Square deal. It was their 2nd machine after the 1050, actually the 1000

While the Square Deal less expensive, the 550 is considered the entry level machine in the Dillon lineup. The 550 manual advance is more a turret than a progressive, except the shell holder turns, instead of the tool head...it lets you learn how to reload one die at a time.

The Square Deal is for folks who only load handgun rounds and are more interested in shooting than reloading.

[JDay]

I'd skip the strong mount for now and get the case feeder.