Redding T-7 or Dillon 550

[terryt]

Hi:

A friend of mine is thinking of buying a Redding T-7 press. He says it willcost about $ 500.00 for the press, powder measure, powder measure activator,some powder funnels and a spear turret head. The Dillon 550 is $ 439.00. Ithink the Dillon ( I have had and used one for 15 years)
He feels he is saving money by buying the T-7 and he says he will be able toload ammo just as fast on the T-7 as you have to manually rotate it as well asthe Dillon.

I have a Dillon 550 that my friend has used and I disagree with him on this purchase.

Any though or experience with both of the press's?

Thanks,

Terryt

[dudel]

Well, there's no way he's getting one round with each pull of the handle with a T-7. Speed advantage to the 550b.

T-7 is a very nice press; but it's no progressive. Plus, unless he springs for the primer system (extra cost), he's feeding one primer at a time by hand.

[dilly]

I don't think there's any way an argument that a turret is as fast as a progressive can hold water.

However, maybe he just prefers the turret. I have a progressive and a lot of times I wish I had a turret in addition. I guess I'm never satisfied. :)

Some people want what they want and they don't want nothing other than the want that they want to want.

[noylj]

Neither. When I was considering a progressive back in the late '70s, I concluded that I had to have at least 5 stations and auto-indexing. Since the 550 meets neither requirement, it was never on my list (I think it was the 450 back then).
A turret press, other than Lee, is simply a place to store dies. It made some, but very little to me, sense before die bushings were introduced. Now, the time it takes to index the turret is about the same time it takes to remove one die bushing and insert another.
Thus, to me, the choice should be between the Lee "very semi-progressive" turret or the Hornady L-N-L AP--or, if rich, a Dillon 650 with case collator. Even the Lee single-stage O-press, with die bushings, would make me happier than a C-press turret.
Thus, we are all different, and what I find unacceptable, others find ideal. There is no accounting for taste...

[NSB]

I have both. The cost analysis if flawed here, some of the listed parts for the turret press aren't required. I use the turret press for about 90% of my loading. The primary purpose of the Dillon is for volume production of handgun ammo. It's faster but the turret offers some advantages for load development, which I spend a lot of time at. It really is apples vs. oranges here. It kind of depends on what your goals are using it.

[tigweldit]

I've been using a Dillon RL 550 B for many years, several thousand trouble free rounds loaded. I also have a T-7,RCBS 4x4, and several other single stage,progressive and turret presses buy most of the major manufacturers. The Dillon is the one I like the best. You can not beat their customer service. I am just a novice, with only about 350,000 reloads over 52 years, the Dillon still impresses me. TIG

[Mohillbilly]

I like my two 550bs for what they do . I also have a couple of Lee hand presses for load development at the range , and a big Lee cast classic for chore work , trim , forming , and the possible work of loading .50 BMG . I thought the same about wanting auto index , but now prefer manual index . I have a system of " put a brass on , put a boolit on , push all the way down , pull all the way up , press primer in , and click . I watch the powder slide work as I do the pulling . For a hundred rounds I pull a hundred times , not the three or four hundred times the other way . I can take my time and easly do 250 to four hundred an hour . Things do not bind up and I don't have to piddle with getting the indexing adjusted . Since I have two 550bs I don't mess with large and small primer change over. Four stations are enough for my uses , although I thought five would have allowed me to trim , size , prime , in station # 1 . Station #2 does the bell , and powder drop . Station #3 does the seat , crimp . #4 is open or another crimp . In my way 4 stations is a plenty . I do a lot of different cartridges so I have no use for case/bullet feeders , as that would waste my time in change over .

[Guardian]

I agree the that the T7 vs 550 argument is apples and oranges. I have a T7 and it would be the press I kept if I had to pare down to one (not likely).


A turret press, other than Lee, is simply a place to store dies. It made some, but very little to me, sense before die bushings were introduced. Now, the time it takes to index the turret is about the same time it takes to remove one die bushing and insert another.

I fail to see the distinction of the LEE turret. The T7 requires the same number of pulls to produce a loaded round as the LEE. The turret spins like the LEE. The only advantages I can see are the auto indexing (which seems prone to failure) and starting back at the first die.

The turrets are much faster than swapping dies on a single stage, even with the bushings. Why? You are handling each piece of brass for every step. Run as intended, you don't do that on a turret.

Back to the OP. I don't have a 550, but have used one on different occasions. I'm in the 5 station camp. I don't need that 5th station all of the time, but do occasionally need it. I ended up with a Hornady LNL. I like the progressive for volume, but it really takes the pleasure out of reloading, in my opinion. The turret is a good compromise between the progressive and single stage. You lose some of the speed of the progressive and some of the leverage of a Rock Chucker. That may fit your friend's needs perfectly, I can't say.

Most of the time we use our own needs/wants to solve the problem of someone else, when the reality is few of us have the same situational constraints.

Your friend is likely not realizing the potential of the 550 in his comparison if he thinks a T7 can keep pace with a 550. Ain't gonna happen if both operators are competent, as you're comparing 1:2 (T7) vs 1:1 (550) rounds:strokes at best. Pistols would be in the 1:4 (T7) vs. 1:1 (550) range, assuming separate crimp. Is your friend assuming he would only feed one case at the time through the 550?

What cartridges is your friend planning to reload?
Is he new to the hobby?
Is reloading a labor of love for him or a chore?
How many rounds is he expecting to consume in a given time period?

Those answers may help you get more applicable answers to your question.

[Echd]

I have a 550, 650, and a couple turrets... I like them all and use them all for different things.

If its something I shoot in high volume it goes on the 550... if its something I shoot in insane volume on the 650... and everything else goes on turrets.

[terryt]

Hi:

Thank all of you for your input. I know my friend is looking at this thread.
He is planning on loading for 4 pistol caliber and 6 rifle caliber and he has been using my 550 for about 3 years know.planning to reload?
He plans on shooting around 5000 rounds a year.
A salesman at a local gun store told him he could get set up in the T-7 for less money than a Dillon 550. I did a cost compearision and the Dillon was not that much more for what he is going to shoot than the T-7.

thanks.

Terryt

[r1kk1]

I own a 550 and it's been a great machine for me over the decades. My only complaint is I wish I could use whatever lock ring I want on all the stations. Minor pet peeve. I'm drawn to the T-7. I have the Ultramag with a LNL bushing installed. I'm also drawn to the LNL AP.

There are some fine features to the robust T-7.

Decisions. Decisions.

I really don't care about price. I tend to keep presses. Amortized over the decades, the 550 has paid for itself and then some. Reloading is a personal thing. For me, I load many obsolete and wildcat cartridges, so understand, there are very few ways to do this particular activity cheaply. I look for certain features. I don't know what your friends time for loading is like.

I agree that this is an apples to oranges comparison. Both are fine presses that have been around for a very long time.

Take care

r1kk1

[Echd]

Hi:

Thank all of you for your input. I know my friend is looking at this thread.
He is planning on loading for 4 pistol caliber and 6 rifle caliber and he has been using my 550 for about 3 years know.planning to reload?
He plans on shooting around 5000 rounds a year.
A salesman at a local gun store told him he could get set up in the T-7 for less money than a Dillon 550. I did a cost compearision and the Dillon was not that much more for what he is going to shoot than the T-7.

thanks.

Terryt

You can definitely get set up with the T7 for less than the 550. Not a whole lot less unless you're on a really tight budget, though.

Not having to pay for cal conversions is nice, but if you want separate toolheads (and honestly its not a big deal with quality lockrings nowadays) then the T7 is going to stay up there in price.

I'd go 550 before i went t7- but both have their place. Honestly, if cost was a factor at all and he was leaning turret I'd go Lee Classic Cast Turret and dump the money into something a lot more tangible than the press. The press itself barring any major flaws is pretty far down the list of accuracy factors.

[TMenezes]

I say let him get what he wants. He has the advantage of having loaded on your 550 if I read your first post right. I to strongly considered the T7. Why? The way I load ammo is not necessarily conducive to loading on a progressive. I rarely load tons of rounds that are the same. Instead I load lots of smaller batches of various powder charges and different bullets in LOTS of different calibers. I finally did order a Dillon 550B a few days ago (haven't got it yet) and will have to slowly add all the different caliber conversions as my budget allows. A turret press like the T7 probably would be easier and cheaper to do the type of loading I do. Why did I buy the 550B? Well that was partly my brothers fault, he wants lots of ammo and is helping to fund the 550 to get ammo for himself. He wanted the 650 initially, but in the end 550 is the perfect compromise to what we both need.

[freebullet]

lol this thread title reads like hyundai vs. lamborgini vs. monster truck.

t7 would be great for rifle. the progressive is the pistol master. only choice get both.

[rbuck351]

I would get the 550 with 4 tool heads and a good single stage press. Set the Dillon up for the four pistol rounds and use the single stage for rifle. 5 Dillon heads if one of the rifles is 223. Dillon tool heads are cheap. The conversion sets, not so cheap. T7 tool heads are spendy. The Dillon comes with a very good powder measure and a very good auto primer system. The T7 does not come with anything. The Dillon will put out 400/500 rounds per hour fairly easily. The T7, maybe 200. I have a couple of turret presses that I use for load development and for loading most of my small quantity loads. Anyone getting into loading and shooting 5000 rounds a year is going to want a single stage or turret as well as a progressive. I find little real advantage of a turret over a single stage. Swapping out a die takes less than a minute if you set up your dies and lock the die locking nut and you only do that a couple of times during a loading secession.

[MtGun44]

Two 550s and a R-7 sit on my bench. Perfect for my needs. Lg and small primer setups, swap in all my
die sets for the ones that I load in quantity - .45 ACP, .38 Spl, 9mm, .44 Mag, .223, .308. All the others
go thru the R-7. Very convenient when doing load testing to do a batch of 7x57 and then a batch of
.35 Rem without having to move any dies around.

Bill

[Petrol & Powder]

I've put 10's of thousands of rounds through a 550 and it's still going strong. The Redding T-7 is an outstanding press but in terms of speed, not the equal of the Dillon. I'm a firm believer in having a single stage press as a companion to a progressive but the T-7 is not cheap. They are both excellent presses but I think it's an apples & oranges type comparison.

[Garyshome]

Just have him get 1 of each.

[David2011]

As has been stated many times before, the manual indexing of the 550 is a non-event as long as it gets done. It happens with a flick of the thumb while the other hand is putting a cartridge in the first position. I'm not sure it impacts the speed at all. I have a 550 and a 650. While I have not used a casefeeder on my 550, I doubt the 650 would be much faster than the 550 if both had the casefeeder installed.

David

[Mike Kerr]

I could not believe the initial query of the thread because the two presses are so dis-similar regarding indexing speed. One is like a very nice John Deere Tractor while the other is like a fully functional versatile passenger car. To anyone who thinks the 550 is slow because of manual indexing, you are very incorrect. Just a flick of the thumb as you are seating the bullet takes care of indexing. It can and will do 500 rounds and hour, for pistol, if you want to push Yourself that fast. Its faster than a Square Deal B on pistol rounds, for most folks, because of hand clearance and tool head room. Really. No BS. No fooling. Roger that.

A 550 is ofen used as a multi purpose reloader because it is. If you are using it for rifle reloading you may have extra steps compared to pistol reloading but it is still faster than a deluxe turret of any Mfgr because of the ability to perform multiple functions with one pull of the handle. The T-7 is may be the king of the turrets (sorry Lee Classic Turret) if its equipped with the priming tube accessory but it is not a progressive. Isn't now, won't be next time this thread topic pops up, and was not the last time the topic reared its head.

Both presses are great for reloading, but its silly to compare the two regarding speed.

[Mike Kerr]

I could not believe the initial query of the thread because the two presses are so dis-similar regarding indexing speed. One is like a very nice John Deere Tractor while the other is like a fully functional versatile passenger car. To anyone who thinks the 550 is slow because of manual indexing, you are very incorrect. Just a flick of the thumb as you are seating the bullet takes care of indexing. It can and will do 500 rounds and hour, for pistol, if you want to push Yourself that fast. Its faster than a Square Deal B on pistol rounds, for most folks, because of hand clearance and tool head room. Really. No BS. No fooling. Roger that.

A 550 is ofen used as a multi purpose reloader because it is. If you are using it for rifle reloading you may have extra steps compared to pistol reloading but it is still faster than a deluxe turret of any Mfgr because of the ability to perform multiple functions with one pull of the handle. The T-7 is may be the king of the turrets (sorry Lee Classic Turret) if its equipped with the priming tube accessory but it is not a progressive. Isn't now, won't be next time this thread topic pops up, and was not the last time the topic reared its head.

Both presses are great for reloading, but its silly to compare the two regarding speed.

[me_stephans]

I have several pressesby Dillon, Lyman and Lee. Each one has a specific need to fill. Many people like to do load devolpment on a turret style press,personally, I load a handful of rounds to find what I like on a single stage then use either the 550 or 650 to load a thousand at a time for pistol rounds. If it's a rifle round I process it on the 1050 then finish load on the 550 but I also made special toolheads to adapt the 650/1050 powder check assembly onto the 550 toolhead. I realize that conversion kits get expensive but a lot of the pins, shellplates and powder funnels can be interchanged resulting in the need for less kits and the need for more parts. You can look in the middle of the dillon catalog to see what fits what, I printed a copy off and laminated it to use as a reference sheet. If you do a large amount of reloading between large and small primers I would eventually get a second press and set each one up for different primers.

[gpidaho]

I own both of these presses. If it is your goal to build a lot of ammo in a hurry and you enjoy shooting much more than time at the bench reloading the Dillon is a great press. If on the other hand you enjoy tinkering with loads as I do the Redding is a much better choice. I have never been disappointed with products from either company and believe Redding and Dillon to be the best of equipment. Now in retirement with much more time on my hands I opt for the Redding T-7 GP

[bbqncigars]

The 550B is a great press for most cartridges. It has too much slop for certain short bottlenecks (.30Mauser, .25-20WCF). Yes, this can be corrected with various modification$, but they wouldn't be needed if it were designed/manufactured correctly in the first place. I ditched my Dillon for a LNL AP, which loads everything I have without mangling a single precious case. I also run a Co-Ax, Classic Cast (.50BMG), and Walnut Hill. The Dillon is nice, but not a precision press by any means. Yeah their customer service is good, but so is Hornady's.

[me_stephans]

Another selling point is Dillons warranty. I bought a used press that was literally seized together to the point it would not work, sent it back to Dillon and 2 weeks later had a completely rebuilt press sitting on my front porch free of charge.

[johnny_xring]

Wow,

A hard call to make too (if I was starting out). For qualification, I have two RCBS Rockchuckers (one set up with the Piggyback conversion), a Dillon 550 with a couple of toolheads, and an old RCBS A7 (?) which is a single stage and could do huge cases (haven't checked how big yet) but not in service due to restructuring of the reloading area. I have a Lee single stage for depriming with the Universal die.

I'd go for the Dillon. I have made "match grade" ammo on mine (High Power Rifle/Service Rifle Category and made Expert until my hiatus) and it does make accurate ammunition. He is familiar with the machine but would have to purchase additional tool heads/shell plates for each caliber. Big deal, he can choose which ones he shoots more of and then select accordingly. Dillon, and Redding will both stand behind their products and are well made. My 2 cents worth.

JX

[liliysdad]

I have had Dillons, a 450, 550, and Square Deal...each of them went away. I know have a turret and a single stage. I will eventually buy a Square Deal in each pistol caliber I shoot, but I dont really have any use for the 550.

[Geraldo]

Hi:
He feels he is saving money by buying the T-7 and he says he will be able to load ammo just as fast on the T-7 as you have to manually rotate it as well as the Dillon.


I have both and the T-7 isn't anywhere close to as fast as a 550.

[deepskyridge]

I also own both Presses, as others have said they are different. I use the T7 for rifle cases as it allows for quick changeover for different calibers. The Dillon is setup for pistol calibers and is faster if you want to produce lots of rounds.

Gary

[omgb]

I too have a T7 and two Hornady Lock-N-Loads, one with a Case feeder. The T7 is my go to press for 45-70 and 45-90. It's hard to beat the multiple die stations and the clearance above the ram. That being said, it's no progressive. With a case feeder it's hard to keep up with the LNL press and pistol cartridges. I use it for .223 and 06 as well but save 38-55, 30-30 and 32-20 for the T7. I like the extra margin of accuracy and the ability to "monkey" with loads. Look, your buddy means well but his lack of knowledge of what a progressive can do verses a turret press is pretty obvious. Let him find his own bottom as they say. The T7 can do what the 550 can do but not as fast. The 550 can do what the T7 can do but not as accurately nor with as much ease of change. It really is apples and oranges. Let him go with the T7. He won't wind up with junk and who knows, he may like it better based on the ease of learning.

[terryt]

Hi:

My friend went with the T-7 as he shoots mostly rifle and is in no hurry to load a boat load of ammo fast.
Thanks to all of you for your comments.

Terryt

[Weaponologist]

I have the Dillon 550B and a RCBS Single Stage Rock Chucker press. I started with the RCBS and now that I have the 550 I wish I would have started with the T7 for Rifle and Round R&D which is what I use my Single stage for now. There is a company that makes a quick change plate by where you can change out your presses in seconds. So you don't have your bench over crowded with presses.. here is a link..<http://inlinefabrication.com/collections/quick-change-press-mounting-system> a great invention.

[Kevin Rohrer]

Apples and oranges. There is no comparison between the two presses. The Dillon is lightyears faster than ant turret.

[Nanook]

I own 550s and the T-7. While I really like both systems, the speed of the Dillon is superior to the turret. I use the turret for my bolt guns mostly. High volume stuff such as handguns and the AR are done on one of the Dillons.

As mentioned above, no comparison in speed. But with the T-7 you gain in convenience with the turret. I have two turrets and have six different sets of rifle dies setup ready to go. Change out is one bolt to switch turrets. I can load .308 on the 550, for a Garand in .308, but I do the bolt guns on the turret.

No experience with Lee's turrets, all I've used from them is the Auto Prime and their powder scoops. With so many using their presses, they must have something going for them.

[wiiawiwb]

Question...if this thread has been framed that a T-7 is for precision rifle loading and the 550b for a large volume of handgun rounds, then why in the end wouldn't the OP have selected a Forster Co Ax? His decision was apparently centered around taking his time to produce precision rifle reloads. Everything I've read has told me that the Co Ax is the best precision rifle press out there.

[L Erie Caster]

The Co Ax has its good aspects and its bad aspects, just like all other presses. There is no press that is the best for everyone. Always is a trade off of one good thing and one not so good thing. The T-7 is perfectly capable of loading ammo just as good as the Co Ax. Regardless of what anyone says.

[EddieNFL]

Question...if this thread has been framed that a T-7 is for precision rifle loading and the 550b for a large volume of handgun rounds, then why in the end wouldn't the OP have selected a Forster Co Ax? His decision was apparently centered around taking his time to produce precision rifle reloads. Everything I've read has told me that the Co Ax is the best precision rifle press out there.

Maybe the best "mass produced" press.