Dillon 550 case feeder

[sukivel]

I'm trying to load some pistol a little faster and have been weighing my options of buying a Dillon 650. I have a 550 with several conversions and toolheads all set up so it kind of pains me.

Anybody run a case feeder on a 550? Does it work as well as a 650 w/ cf? I have also seen that removing the cf from the 550 is a chore. Any truth or thoughts there?

I know the cf for the 550 is only for pistol, but has anyone modified parts to use it with 223?


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[1911aug]

I run the case feeder on my 550 and I personally like it. I have never run a 650 so I can't give you a comparison.
I only load handgun on my 550, but I have seen that a few guys have modified the green 9mm conversion tube and use the 380 shell plate to run 223 cases
with the 550 case feeder and seem to be very happy with it.
When I load 380 auto on my 550 w/ case feeder I just remove the drop tube from the case feeder and drop the cases down in front of the plunger with the
9mm locator plate and let the feeder push the case into the shell plate. I don't remove the case feeder assembly if loading something not designed for it.
I was at the same crossroad that you are at now, and decided for myself that I could not justify the 650 with what little rifle rounds I load.

[SWANEEDB]

We run case feeders on 2 Dillon 550's, bought the first complete case feeder from Dillon. Then we bought the bottom case feed parts from Dillon, made a bracket to hold Lee 4 tube feeder, it works great. The past few days I needed to load quite a few 380's. Took the Lee set up off from the upright bracket that is held on by 3 screws. Made a case funnel for the 380 brass, 9mm one was to large and many 380 cases would fall over, funnel I made is very short and inside dia is just big enough for the case to drop thru and case did not have to drop very far, we use an ''D" locater plate. Worked just fine, out of several hundred 380 cases only a very few fell over, this improved load rate by quite a bit.

[hporter]

I bought a 550 case feeder years ago with 5 different caliber conversion kits because I already had the 550 and was happy with it. I was also hesitant to plunk down the money for a 650 and its case feeder when I could merely install a case feeder on my 550 and be in business for much less money.

Right of the bat, I hated the fact that once it is installed you have to be a contortionist to load rifle rounds into it. It takes more effort to remove the case pusher assembly than would be worth it in my opinion. You should probably download the instructions for the 550 case feeder from the Dillon website to see how much effort it would take.

The 550 with case feeder works fine, don't get me wrong. But the inconvenience trying to load rifle and pistol rounds on the same machine drove me to eventually purchase a second 550 to load rifle rounds on. I purchased the second 550 with the logic that I already had over a dozen caliber conversions for that machine and a second 550 was much cheaper than a 650 with a case feeder....

I was content, until curiosity got the better of me a few years later and I bought a second hand 650 to try out. The first hour using the 650 convinced me to pull the case feeder off the 550 and leave it off. It was much easier to get into a rhythm with the 650 when you are just pulling the handle and loading bullets, rather than pulling the handle, loading the bullets and also spinning the shell plate. At the time I was working out of town, and was loading 500+ rounds every weekend to take with me to shoot during the week. So the speed and ease of loading with the 650 was refreshing.

I also felt safer with the 650, because with the 550 if you are going full steam ahead and then forget to rotate the shell plate - you "will" double charge the case. I realize that we all strive to be very careful, and pay particular attention to the cycle. But to me, not having to worry about manually indexing the shell plate is a tangible safety benefit. Especially since the 550 is only a 4 station machine and you can't install Dillon Powder Checker on it. When you are trying to achieve higher output, faster doesn't equal safer. There are lots of things happening quickly and more items to pay attention to.

I still have my 550's, one set up for large rifle primers and the other small rifle primers. But I load most of my frequently shot calibers and all handgun rounds on the 650. I find myself buying the caliber conversions for the 650 that I already have for the 550 (so much for my initial logic on sticking with the 550 because I already had the conversions).

So my advice to you would be to consider these few points in your decision. Looking back, I wish I would have just bought the 650 and invested in that system, rather than eventually purchasing duplicates between both platforms. I am tempted to sell the 550's and just buy another 650 so that I can have one set up for large primer and the other for small. And that brings up a last point to consider. I was able to get 100% of my money back out of my 550 case feeder and conversions when I sold them. Dillon equipment holds it value very well. So if you feel like giving the 550 case feeder a try, you are likely to be able to get most if not all of your money back out of them. Look on that auction site for completed sales, just for a reference.

I hope I addressed a few of your questions. I was motivated to respond because you are asking yourself the same questions I did at one time. Good Luck!

[dverna]

I bought a 550 case feeder years ago with 5 different caliber conversion kits because I already had the 550 and was happy with it. I was also hesitant to plunk down the money for a 650 and its case feeder when I could merely install a case feeder on my 550 and be in business for much less money.

Right of the bat, I hated the fact that once it is installed you have to be a contortionist to load rifle rounds into it. It takes more effort to remove the case pusher assembly than would be worth it in my opinion. You should probably download the instructions for the 550 case feeder from the Dillon website to see how much effort it would take.

The 550 with case feeder works fine, don't get me wrong. But the inconvenience trying to load rifle and pistol rounds on the same machine drove me to eventually purchase a second 550 to load rifle rounds on. I purchased the second 550 with the logic that I already had over a dozen caliber conversions for that machine and a second 550 was much cheaper than a 650 with a case feeder....

I was content, until curiosity got the better of me a few years later and I bought a second hand 650 to try out. The first hour using the 650 convinced me to pull the case feeder off the 550 and leave it off. It was much easier to get into a rhythm with the 650 when you are just pulling the handle and loading bullets, rather than pulling the handle, loading the bullets and also spinning the shell plate. At the time I was working out of town, and was loading 500+ rounds every weekend to take with me to shoot during the week. So the speed and ease of loading with the 650 was refreshing.

I also felt safer with the 650, because with the 550 if you are going full steam ahead and then forget to rotate the shell plate - you "will" double charge the case. I realize that we all strive to be very careful, and pay particular attention to the cycle. But to me, not having to worry about manually indexing the shell plate is a tangible safety benefit. Especially since the 550 is only a 4 station machine and you can't install Dillon Powder Checker on it. When you are trying to achieve higher output, faster doesn't equal safer. There are lots of things happening quickly and more items to pay attention to.

I still have my 550's, one set up for large rifle primers and the other small rifle primers. But I load most of my frequently shot calibers and all handgun rounds on the 650. I find myself buying the caliber conversions for the 650 that I already have for the 550 (so much for my initial logic on sticking with the 550 because I already had the conversions).

So my advice to you would be to consider these few points in your decision. Looking back, I wish I would have just bought the 650 and invested in that system, rather than eventually purchasing duplicates between both platforms. I am tempted to sell the 550's and just buy another 650 so that I can have one set up for large primer and the other for small. And that brings up a last point to consider. I was able to get 100% of my money back out of my 550 case feeder and conversions when I sold them. Dillon equipment holds it value very well. So if you feel like giving the 550 case feeder a try, you are likely to be able to get most if not all of your money back out of them. Look on that auction site for completed sales, just for a reference.

I hope I addressed a few of your questions. I was motivated to respond because you are asking yourself the same questions I did at one time. Good Luck!

An excellent post.

BTW I won a 550 case feeder and never installed it. Sold it for 85% of new price. At the time I had two 1050's, 650 and 550. After reading the instructions, it seemed like changeovers were more effort than I was willing to make.

Good advice in another post to download the instructions to help you decide.

Only you know how much time you want to invest in doing changeovers, the number of calibers needed, and your finances. It is a balancing act.

When I downsized, I kept one 1050 and it does 9mm, .38 Spl and .40 and I never need to change primer setups. I kept the 550 for shorter runs and to load .223's. The rest of my rifle loads are done on a Co-Ax

Don Verna

[sukivel]

You answered all my questions and, hporter, summed up my exact line of thinking. Before I get in much deeper with the 550 I should go all in on the 650.

So...My 550 has about 7-8k thru it with 7 conversion kits, 9 toolheads, and 4 powder dies I can part with. What do u guys think a decent package price would be to sell it?


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[Pee Wee]

I'm trying to load some pistol a little faster and have been weighing my options of buying a Dillon 650. I have a 550 with several conversions and toolheads all set up so it kind of pains me.

Anybody run a case feeder on a 550? Does it work as well as a 650 w/ cf? I have also seen that removing the cf from the 550 is a chore. Any truth or thoughts there?

I know the cf for the 550 is only for pistol, but has anyone modified parts to use it with 223?


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I have done 380s,223s and 300 blackouts
sent you a PM with the you tube links of the 380 and the 223 being loaded on the 550 with casefeeder.

[hporter]

If you have a flea-bay account, I would sell each item you reference as a separate auction item - if you want to get the most money you can out of them. You will probably get far less money if you opt to sell it as a package, though I understand that it would be much easier to sell it that way.

I typically knock 25-30% off what the cost of buying it new from Dillon would be, when I attempt to sell used Dillon equipment in excellent condition. On the auction site, it will get bid up from there. Given current market/auction pricing that I see, that is a fair starting point. If you are too high and it doesn't sell, you can always come down. On the other hand, if you start too low, you will never know what you could have gotten for it. It all depends ultimately on how fast you need to sell it. Dillon's lifetime no BS warranty is the real deal, and people know they can count on it when they purchase used Dillon equipment. I think that is what keeps the resale value high on their equipment.

[dverna]

You will regret selling the 550. So unless you really need the money, keep it for a year. If after a year you find no need for it, you can easily sell it.

If is was me, I would set the 650 up for SP and the 550 for LP (but that is my mix of usage). Then again I abhor doing primer change overs.

Don Verna

[sukivel]

You will regret selling the 550. So unless you really need the money, keep it for a year. If after a year you find no need for it, you can easily sell it.

If is was me, I would set the 650 up for SP and the 550 for LP (but that is my mix of usage). Then again I abhor doing primer change overs.

Don Verna

I would like to have both presses, and for that reason...but if I buy another 1000.00 plus setup, I'll be looking for a place to live...


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[dverna]

sukivel,

I understand...been there. I had an understanding wife at the time....and like a fool divorced her.

Anyway, think it through. Caliber changes on the 650 will take more time than you think...I had one and only ran two calibers in it, but I had other machines set up. That "wasted" time can be justified if you load a lot at a time.

For example. Say it takes 30 minutes to do a changeover on the 650. The 650 will load about 600/hr. Change over on the 550, about 10 minutes and it does about 400/hr.

If you load 200 rounds, it will take 50 minutes on the 650, and 40 minutes on the 550. Advantage 550
If you load 400 rounds, it will take 70 minutes on the 650, and 70 minutes on the 550. No advantage
If you load 1200 rounds, it will take 150 minutes on the 650 and 190 minutes on the 550. Advantage 650

Don Verna

[sukivel]

sukivel,

I understand...been there. I had an understanding wife at the time....and like a fool divorced her.

Anyway, think it through. Caliber changes on the 650 will take more time than you think...I had one and only ran two calibers in it, but I had other machines set up. That "wasted" time can be justified if you load a lot at a time.

For example. Say it takes 30 minutes to do a changeover on the 650. The 650 will load about 600/hr. Change over on the 550, about 10 minutes and it does about 400/hr.

If you load 200 rounds, it will take 50 minutes on the 650, and 40 minutes on the 550. Advantage 550
If you load 400 rounds, it will take 70 minutes on the 650, and 70 minutes on the 550. No advantage
If you load 1200 rounds, it will take 150 minutes on the 650 and 190 minutes on the 550. Advantage 650

Don Verna

Very good points. With all those conversions I have I really only use about half of them...I guess what i am wondering now is the three I mainly use are 9,45,223...everything else gets the Crusher II. Kind of seems the 550 is not giving me quite what I need/want in terms of quantity for those three, but I am quite set up with the 550...

I guess the worst that happens is I eventually get the 650, and if the 550 continually sits then I can sell it. Or I continue to use it...decisions...

A goofy question...do guys load 'precision' rifle on their 550's? I always wanted a Redding T-7 for precision .308 and 6.5 creedmoor. Set it and keep it. I could just do that on the 550. I guess I have the not loading precision rounds on progressive press syndrome.

I think, with ya'lls help I am talking myself into making do with the 550 until I can buy a 650...

Thanks for the advice!


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[dverna]

Mr S

Currently all my rifle loads are done on a Co-Ax. Even when I had over 6 progressives, I never used one of them for rifle. I will try .223 on the 550 this year and see how rounds loaded on it compare to the Co-Ax. I will post results as it could be of interest.

My son wants to get into shooting AR's so thus the desire for higher production. But the accuracy comparison will be done with a bolt action rifle.

Don Verna

[castalott]

Another goofy question... What if you had a pristine 450 that you dedicated strictly to 38 special? You put a case feeder on it and never changed it? Do you think that would run ok?

Thanks and sorry if I drifted the thread

Dale