Hard to beat a 550

[Lloyd Smale]

I just got done loading over 4k of 9mm, .40 and 10mm on my 550. It never once gave me one iota of problems, Not even a primer misfeed. Ive got 3 lnl progressives and used to have 4 square deals and have loaded alot of ammo on 650s and even 1050s and i dont think a single one of them comes close to the reliability of a 550. Sure there a bit slower but id bet by the time you fool with a lnl that its not much slower if any.

[lbaize3]

I have to agree with you 100 percent...............

[mktacop]

I know I'll never sell my 550.....it's like the Energizer Bunny (without the sickly pink color) ;-)

[seagiant]

Hi,
I had one for a couple of years and always had primer issues. I'm usually pretty good getting things to work but even after a few calls to Dillon it never really got better??? Finally sold it and moved on,could of just been that machine but I lost confidence in it. Admittedly Dillon makes good stuff,just bought an RL-300! I like the older stuff anyway! Glad you are enjoying it!

[Jack Stanley]

My five fifty has been running nicely since the mid eighties . I've had a few parts that started to show some wear and a call to Dillon got a new part sent to me along with a thank you .

It's been used so much the part of the frame the primer shuttle slides on is getting worn . I'd send it back to them for rebuild but I'm afraid they'd turn it into a "B" model :smile:

Jack

[Firebricker]

Yes I too agree with that statement. My first progressive was a loadmaster because that's what my favourite dealer stocked. Well even after I got the bugs worked out I still wasn't real happy with it. That dealer quit stocking LMs because of the problems and went LNLs. I would guess that if they had the LNLs when I went for a progressive I'd probably still have it. Now that I have the 550 I see no reason to switch. FB

[hiram1]

I like mine and a sq deal is a real good loader.but i use the 550b most of the time chang over time is faster than on a sq deal

[Alvarez Kelly]

My five fifty has been running nicely since the mid eighties . I've had a few parts that started to show some wear and a call to Dillon got a new part sent to me along with a thank you .

It's been used so much the part of the frame the primer shuttle slides on is getting worn . I'd send it back to them for rebuild but I'm afraid they'd turn it into a "B" model :smile:

Jack

Don't send them you powder measure... just the rest of the press. The "550B" has a failsafe return bracket under the shellplate platform and a "primer slide bearing" (which is really just a spacer) under the primer slide. Both are easily removed if you don't want to use them.

Don't let that little problem worry you if you need a press overhaul.

[lbaize3]

I also had primer problems with one of my 550s, limped along for several years watching the primer feed closely. Finally tracked the problem down to the primer cup being a couple hundred thousands too high. Fixed that and no longer had primer problems. It helped when I downloaded and printed the 550 manual from Dillon Precision and followed their trouble shooting guide.

[Jack Stanley]

Thanks Mr. Kelly , Even though I've kept it clean and lubed with dry lube the amount of use I've given it is starting to show up . From the start I made a habit of watching the moving operation so it has never been a problem if something stops or doesn't feed quite right .

More use won't replace the worn metal but it's good to know I can still get what I'm used to .

Jack

[jmorris]

I have a bunch of Dillon's from the SD up to the bullet fed autodrive 1050 as well as other manufacturers progressives. None are as reliable as a Lee hand loader but all of them load faster.

[Doc Highwall]

My only complaint with a 550B was changing the primer feed. I solved that by buying another one, and now I have one set up for large primers and one set up for small primers. This also gives me another whole priming set up for both sizes of primers in case I need to fix something.

[Love Life]

Have to agree with you. Great press. After about 500 rounds or so I pull the primer feed assembly and clean it. Don't really have to, but I have been doing it for so long I don't even know why I still do it.

[engineer401]

Not only is the 550 a great machine, Dillon and others make accessories to help it perform even better. I couldn't be happier with it.

[quasi]

the 550 is probably the most tested press design in the world. I wonder how man
y rounds 550's have loaded?

[dauntlessdave]

I've had a couple L-N-L's and enjoyed them but never developed the confidence factor that I've gained over the years for my 550's. No doubt they're faster (when you don't have to fiddle with something) but all in all I believe the hiccup-less performance of my two 550's is such that I can turn out more ammo over a period of time........with 100% less aggravation and I'm reasonably handy to where I can fix most things.

I also love my Dillon Square Deals.......they're good at what they do! I've found all the customer service for Hornady, RCBS, and Dillon to be superb but no one outshines Dillon in my book.

[keyhole]

I've had mine about 5 years, purchased new. Initially had A LOT of problems with primer arm aligning with the shellplates. After finally determining that the shellplates must have been out of spec and convincing DIllon service dept. that this was a possibility, they sent me new shellplates. This more or less cured the problems with .45 ACP. The new shellplate for .38 Spec works very smoothly, but the one that came with the machine was not made correctly. Dillon was dismissive of this possibility but I sent them a drawing showing that dimensions from one position to the next were not uniform.
I had to diagnose the problem myself. Dillon tech service was frankly not very helpful. The 550 is a beautifully made machine but the problem with the shellplates caused me a lot of grief and buggered up primers.

[bbqncigars]

The 550 is a great machine for almost all cartridges. I couldn't get mine to stop mangling the occasional precious short bottleneck case (.30 Mauser and 25-20WCF) despite trying everything Dillon tech support suggested. I moved on to a LNL AP, but haven't sold the Dillon yet.


Wayne

[Kicker96fs]

I've had mine for about a month now, made a little over 1k of .380 and I must say I love this machine! I upgraded from a Lee Pro 1000 and there is no comparison, what so ever!

I wanted to do the bearing kit but felt that 30 bucks for 8 bucks worth of material was silly so I made a 40 thousands washer out of UHMW and went with that to smooth out the turning of the plate.

[Dale53]

I have two 550B's. The first one I have was from the first year or so of manufacture. The second one I bought about three years ago (one for large and one for small primers). I believe, that if you load both rifle and pistol, there has never been a better loading press. On my first press I have loaded, probably, about 100,000 rounds.

FWIW
Dale53

[Old Caster]

It is possible for the base that the shell holder sits on to be out of adjustment if you have consistant primer problems. Dillon has a pin made to insert into the press to guide it to the right place while the allen screws are tightened on the bottom. It is pretty unlikely that this adjustment is wrong but dropping the press could certainly do it. Usually when primers are a problem the edge of the primer cup is catching the edge of the base as it is coming down. If catching on the side, this adjustment is the problem. If catching on the front or back the adjustment that stops the priming slide is incorrect. Either of these problems will cause a primer to flip upsidedown or sideways. If it doesn't hit in this area and is clean it will work.

[LUBEDUDE]

My press is well over 25 years old and has been rebuilt.

When I have priming issues, 95% of the time I just have to clean that coated metal spacer plate under the priming system. Then all is fine.

[keyhole]

It is possible for the base that the shell holder sits on to be out of adjustment if you have consistant primer problems. Dillon has a pin made to insert into the press to guide it to the right place while the allen screws are tightened on the bottom. It is pretty unlikely that this adjustment is wrong but dropping the press could certainly do it. Usually when primers are a problem the edge of the primer cup is catching the edge of the base as it is coming down. If catching on the side, this adjustment is the problem. If catching on the front or back the adjustment that stops the priming slide is incorrect. Either of these problems will cause a primer to flip upsidedown or sideways. If it doesn't hit in this area and is clean it will work.
-----------
Old Caster, your description of the symptoms I experienced is right on. The primer cup was not aligned perfectly with the holes in the shellplate. I did the primer slide adjustment several times. It made no difference because the shellplates were of incorrect dimensions. I could not load .38 Special w/o a lot of screwed up primers. The new plate that Dillon sent works fine. The whole press works very smoothly for .38 Spec.
Thank you for your comments.

[r1kk1]

I too have had mine since the mid to late 80s, can't remember. Nothing but excellent service from both Dillon and the machine. I used to have a shell counter but it broke during a move. Never did replace it. I couldn't begin to estimate how many pistol/rifle rounds were loaded on it over the years, not to mention how many friends come over to reload for their stuff. My wife and I are going to load 38 spl, 9mm, 327 Federal, 44 Spl, 45 LC and a few others since we are out and do batches in 1k increments.

take care,

r1kk1

[Nanook]

My only complaint with a 550B was changing the primer feed. I solved that by buying another one, and now I have one set up for large primers and one set up for small primers. This also gives me another whole priming set up for both sizes of primers in case I need to fix something.

I had the same issue, and was also pressed for time due to job time and distance traveled. I got tired of messing with it, and bought another 550 in December. One for LP and one for SP.

Can't beat that.

I use a single stage for "mission critical" rifle loads, but I believe it may not be necessary. Time will tell.

[r1kk1]

I had the same issue, and was also pressed for time due to job time and distance traveled. I got tired of messing with it, and bought another 550 in December. One for LP and one for SP.

Can't beat that.

I use a single stage for "mission critical" rifle loads, but I believe it may not be necessary. Time will tell.

I incorporate the use of the single stage occasionally with the 550. It's not hard to switch primer sizes as I will start the allen head screws in the bar and line up the bar with the shell plate, push handle forward and tighten allen's. Works well.

Both presses get a workout. I've used the powder cop in station 3 and crimp on the single stage. I use CH4D or Lyman M-dies in station 1 and either a full length sizer or neck sizer on the single.

Just crazy stuff I do.

r1kk1