Where's the best place to get a Dillon 550? And which one do I need for 5.56 and 9mm?

[Stopsign32v]

I'm finally just going to go for a progressive press and heard way too much good about the Dillon 550. So where is the cheapest place to get one and which one do I need for really churning out 5.56 and 9mm?

[JimB..]

To really crank out these commn calibers I went with a 650 with a bullet feeder. The 550 is rock solid, but you can’t beat auto indexing and bullet feeding.

It’s tough to find a great deal on a new Dillon press, I don’t think that they put in enough margin for the retailer to really discount.

[jessdigs]

Brian Enos' site makes it easy if you want new

Amazon has free shipping and decent prices if you want new.

I bought mine new at Scheels. I was there, and didn't have to pay shipping.

If you want used there are two 650s and a 550 on Calguns forum.

They sell on Brian Enos' forum used often too.
I prefer the 550 because I change calibers 2 to 4 times a session and it's easier. I have quick changes for every caliber I load. Takes 3 minutes to change if I keep the same primer size. 6 minutes if I change primer size.
If you want a 650, might as well get the 750. Won't find one used yet.
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[toallmy]

Study what your ordering before buying , just to make sure your getting everything you want with the press when comparing price .

[dverna]

Define "churning out".

For 300-350 per hour, the 550.
For 500-550 per hour the 650/750

Lots of people run these machines faster but I like to check powder drops during a run. Caliber changes on a 650/750 are slower and more expensive but the cost is a one time hit so not a big deal unless you intend to run a lot of different calibers. With only the 9mm and 5.56, I would go with the 650/750 if you want production.

[pergoman]

I went with the 650 more than 25 years ago and have never regretted it. I added the case feeder after a few years and now wouldn't be without it. The most recent upgrade was a Mr. Bullet Feeder. This also has become a great asset. I use the case feeder on my Case Pro 1000 roll sizer and the Mr. Bullet Feeder on my Star sizer where the time savings is incredible. If it is in your budget, make the big investment and get all of the add-ons right from the start.

[sparky45]

I'd sell you my 650xl with casefeeder if'n you lived a little closer, don't think you'd want a road trip to SE KS though.

[Petrol & Powder]

jessdigs in post # 3 answered the OP's question.

I've used the Dillon SDB, the 650 & the 1050 but I have the most time with the 550.

I've loaded tens of thousands of rounds on my 550 and I actually prefer that press over the 650 (which appears to have been superseded by the 750). I prefer the manual index and I don't need 5 dies in the tool head.

The 550 is a rock solid machine.

[6bg6ga]

I have both a 550 and a 650 reloading press. Like others have said for really cranking out the rounds you cannot beat the 650. yes, the caliber changeovers for the 650 do cost more so there is a slight trade off you pay more for the ability to produce more ammunition per hour. So, you need to ask yourself what your time is worth. I reserve the 550 for reloading calibers that I don't shoot that much of and in my case that would be the 44magnum and 45LC along with anything I'm not going to make a lot of.

I would highly suggest that you visit a friend that owns a 550 and a 650 and twist their arm into letting you try the machines which is the only sure way you will know which machine you want to walk away with.

[dverna]

One other significant advantage of the 650/750 is the fifth station. It allows adding the powder check.

[fast ronnie]

I just bought a new 750. I purchased directly from Dillon. I bought the case feeder from one of their dealers. but from now on, I'll buy direct.

[Drew P]

Whatever press you get, I suggest the Dillon dies at least for the pistol cals.

[6bg6ga]

I have a mixture of both Dillon and RCBS dies for both my 650 and 550 presses. I also use the Hornady powder measures along with my Dillons. I will say that the Hornady measure is more accurate than Dillons sliding bar setup. I can keep my charge at within +1 tenth of a grain minus zero on powders the Dillon simply cannot measure accurately. The RCBS pistol dies while requiring a little more setup will and do work fine in the 550 and 650 presses so there is no need to think you have to replace everything with the Dillon dies.

Having owned a square deal and the 550 and 650 I will say I have had no primer malfunctions with my 650 while I have managed to dump a 1/2 trays worth of primers on the floor with both the square deal and the 550. I think that going to the 550's priming system on the new 750 is a mistake but then again it satisfy s the bean counters wishes to save a few dollars.

[JimB..]

I have a mixture of both Dillon and RCBS dies for both my 650 and 550 presses. I also use the Hornady powder measures along with my Dillons. I will say that the Hornady measure is more accurate than Dillons sliding bar setup. I can keep my charge at within +1 tenth of a grain minus zero on powders the Dillon simply cannot measure accurately. The RCBS pistol dies while requiring a little more setup will and do work fine in the 550 and 650 presses so there is no need to think you have to replace everything with the Dillon dies.

Having owned a square deal and the 550 and 650 I will say I have had no primer malfunctions with my 650 while I have managed to dump a 1/2 trays worth of primers on the floor with both the square deal and the 550. I think that going to the 550's priming system on the new 750 is a mistake but then again it satisfy s the bean counters wishes to save a few dollars.

I also prefer the 650 priming system, but it is more difficult to predict when you’re going to get your last primer.

Did you have any issues making the hornady measure work on the dillon press? I converted to Dillon a year ago and was loading with Bullseye for the first time last night, don’t recall my Hornady measure leaking it but the Dillon sure does.

[MrWolf]

I only have the 550b and I also prefer to use Dillon dies. I bought mine from Brian Enos but would probably buy direct from Dillon if doing it again. Figure out what you will be reloading for and research the conversions. If you can swing it the quick change stations are great. Set it up once and just remove it and replace with the next caliber. I personally prefer the manual index but everybody is different. Good luck.

[6bg6ga]

Actually if you use the black plastic rod in conjunction with the low primer alarm and reload primers immediately when the alarm goes off you will have zero problems. Simply count the cycles after the alarm goes off and write it down to get an accurate idea of how many are left after the alarm goes off.

No problem after learning how to adjust the Hornady correctly. Its a flawless powder measure and if Dillon were to adopt a variation of it I believe people would be more satisfied. H110 and H335 are hard to drop consistently with the Dillon powder measure but drop very accurately in the hornady. Red dot is another which is all over the place in the Dillon which drops fine in the Hornady.

[Petrol & Powder]

To build upon what others have stated:

Dies - The Dillon dies are fine and the newer two piece Dillon dies can be handy on occasion. However, any 7/8" standard die will work and I run Dillon tool heads with an eclectic mix of dies. My 550 tool heads are equipped with Dillon, Redding, RCBS and other dies.
The Dillon Powder funnel [Powder through Expander] is ok but it tends to be undersized for some cast bullet applications. I strongly endorse the powder funnels made by Lathesmith (a member of this forum). If you intend to load cast bullets for handgun cartridges, the Lyman "M" die style powder funnel made by Lathesmith is a very good upgrade.

Priming system - The 550 primer system uses a plastic follower to activate the empty primer alarm. My primer alarm broke years ago and I just tossed it out. I watch the plastic follower as it descends and when it bottoms out, you have about 2 primers left in the tube. You can either add more primers at that point or finish out what's in the primer magazine. The lack of an alarm is really a non-issue.

Powder measure - The Dillon linear, bar type, powder measure works very well with most ball type powders. In fact, it works well with most powders but there are some exceptions. I've never been comfortable running it with Unique. I have the larger powder bars for the 550 but I don't need them. The smaller powder bar works fine for handgun applications. The Dillon measure will hold charge weights within 1/10 grain with most powders after it settles down. When the measure is first loaded and operated, it may throw a few erratic charges for the first two/three cases before it settles down. I weigh those first few powder charges and return the powder to the measure. After it settles down, it will throw very consistent powder charges with most powders. A drum type powder measure may be better for some applications but the Dillon is generally more than acceptable.

4 die tool heads verse 5 die tool heads - The 4 die head works fine and I've never had even the slightest need for a powder check die. The 550 tool heads and cartridge conversion kits are less expensive than the 650/750 kits. The 4 hole tool head allows the seating and crimping operations to be separated out between two stations and I don't know what other operations you would need to separate out?

Manual index verse automatic index - This is a personal thing but I've used both and I actually prefer the manual index. YMMV

[6bg6ga]

I guess part of the choice is are you comfortable setting up a reloading press and running one that rotates. I have a neighbor that I wouldn't trust with a 30 yr old push mower because he would figure someway to screw it up. I watched in horror as he crushed a bullet that didn't drop correctly on a case mouth. Yup, he just went ahead trucking and didn't seem to understand that if the operation doesn't feel right you stop and investigate before preceding. Some are like that so if you have a tendency to have your head up your *** I would suggest going the manual route.

[C.F.Plinker]

I replaced the plastic rod on the small primer feeder with a brass rod to give additional weight to make sure that there were no primers hanging up in the tube. This also meant that when the last primer was used the rod would keep the primer slide back in the rear position and tell me that the last primer had been fed. I decided I didn't like this so I put a couple of turns of masking tape around the top of the rod and threaded a nut onto the tape. Then I adjusted the nut so it would rest on the top of the tube when the last primer was fed. This means that the rod will wiggle back and forth when there are primers in the tube. I also marked the rod to show when there were 5 and 10 primers in the tube.

I too had problems measuring the super fine powders such as H110. As you know these powders can infiltrate into the gaps between the spacer and the sliding part of the powder measure which will jam it. I tried putting shims of different thickness between the top of the spacer and the body of the powder measure. A .005 brass shim was way too thick as was a .004 shim made from a pop can. I finally settled on a single thickness of masking tape. This still allowed the the powder bar to move easily and stopped the leaking.

Use good lights and a mirror if necessary so you can look into the cases to see that there is no powder in the case coming into station 2 and only a single charge in the case that is leaving station 2. If anything at all interrupts your rhythm stop and remove all cases from the shellplate. Then find out what was causing the problem. Once that has been corrected dump the powder from the cases that have been primed and resume loading. This will help to insure that you don't double charge any cartridges. Since the 550 is advanced manually YOU have to get into the habit of advancing the shellplate each and every time.

[rbt5050]

I would just buy from Dillon. I don't think their is much price difference unless you can get free shipping. also check out ebay. I got a good price on a Dillon 1050.

[chumly2071]

Titan Relaoding has a Dillon press sale going on until 12/31. Worth investigating (makes a 9mm 550c $450). I have also seen posts that Dillon will be raising prices on 1/1/20, so you may want to make your move soon.