M-bear’s post #43 is spot on for the Dillon presses based on my experience. Too bad he didn't continue to particpate. He's a good writer. I have never owned any Hornady press so have no opinion on them. Friends stated me reloading on their equipment in the late '70s when virtually everyone used single stage equipment. The first press I bought was an RCBS Jr2 which I purchased in the early '80s and still have. I got my frst 550 in 1991. At one time I had two 550s. Because of the high volume of .40 S&W I was consuming, I sold one and bought a 650 because pretty much everyone I shot with (USPSA, steel plate and ICORE) used a 650 and was happy with it. Most of them only loaded one cartridge on their 650. Changing cartridges is a little time consuming on the 650 and caliber change kits are pricey. I contemplated selling the 550 that I've had since 1991 and getting a second 650 so there would be one for large and one for small primers. The cost of the caliber conversions became a factor as I have a lot of conversions for the 550. It would have cost several hundred dollars to replace all of the conversion kits on top of the extra to upgrade to the 650 so I opted to stick with the 550.
Many criticisms have been made that the 550 has to be manually indexed. It really is a non-event AS LONG AS YOU DO IT. Failure to do so will result in a double charge and other problems but it really doesn't consume a significant amount of time. I index with my left thumb as soon as the primer is seated and before reaching for a boolit. No big deal.
I envy those who have so much time that speed is not an issue. That is not the case for me. Thankfully, when I went to load for an IPSC match recently, it only took 20 minutes to crank out 300 rounds on my 650. I once pushed very hard just to see how many rounds I could load in 2 minutes on the 650. The count was 50 rounds in 120 seconds. There is no way that is sustainable. Stopping to replenish primers would blow it quickly as would exhaustion and safety issues. It was mentally trying to watch the powder charges going by that fast and the exertion would catch up quickly unless the loader was in the conditon of a high school athlete. OTOH, a pace of one round every four seconds is loafing on the 650. I currently don't have the conversions to load any rifle on my 650 but may add a .223 setup to it soon. I can load anything I own from .380ACP to .30-'06 and .45-70 on the 550. If I'm loading less than 100 rounds I don't mess with a progressive unless the press is already set up for that cartridge. All of my rifle long distance and hunting ammo is still loaded on the Rock Chucker which is equipped with Hornady L-N-L bushings for every caliber loaded on it and I love them. It is also used for low production handgun rounds like .44 Mag, .45 Colt (Ruger/Contender only loads) and snake shot in .45 Colt and .38/.357.
Maybe I've drifted too much but the point is that there is a correct press for every situation and no one press will do everything. I'll stick with the Dillons for progressives because I've learned what to expect from them and know that the 550 primer slider has to be maintained in order to work right and I accept that. This thread has exposed pretty much every weakness of the presses discussed and is a good guide for the new buyer help decide. Another consideration might be to buy what the people you know use bcause they will help with the kinks in your press.
David
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Originally Posted by Whistler
