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  • Baldwin

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    I've been reloading a couple of years on a turret press and looking to move to a progressive. To me, Dillon looks like the best option. You Dillon guys who purchased your press new, did you buy direct from Dillon? According to their site, the closest dealer to me is 150 miles away. Any info will be appreciated.
     

    levi3

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    Dillon all the way. Bought my 650 a little over a year ago. Ordered direct from Dillon. Hell you can order from amazon.com. straight from Dillon to your door. And you get the extra insurance that amazon provides.
     

    Baldwin

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    Dillon all the way. Bought my 650 a little over a year ago. Ordered direct from Dillon. Hell you can order from amazon.com. straight from Dillon to your door. And you get the extra insurance that amazon provides.

    What were you using before you bought your 650? As I mentioned, I'm still pretty new to reloading and all I've ever used is a turret. In fact, it's the only press of any kind that I've seen run in person. I feel like the 650 is the way to go, but I have to admit I've watched some videos and I'm a little intimidated. And I find the blonde in the videos on the Dillon site distracting.LOL

    Thanks for the info.
     

    spongemonkey

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    I started off with a Lyman single stage press than went with a Dillon Square Deal B. Sped up the ammo reloading tremendously. The only drawback to the Square Deal is that only handgun ammo can be loaded on it so if you want to load rifle ammo also, go with a 550 or larger number Dillon. The set up and operational manual Dillon provided with it was very thorough and easy to understand. I no longer own it because I no longer shoot enough to justify reloading ammo. I ordered it direct from Dillon.
     

    Baldwin

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    I started off with a Lyman single stage press than went with a Dillon Square Deal B. Sped up the ammo reloading tremendously. The only drawback to the Square Deal is that only handgun ammo can be loaded on it so if you want to load rifle ammo also, go with a 550 or larger number Dillon. The set up and operational manual Dillon provided with it was very thorough and easy to understand. I no longer own it because I no longer shoot enough to justify reloading ammo. I ordered it direct from Dillon.

    Thanks.
    I only load 9mm and .45acp and probably 3 times more 9mm than.45. I don't plan to load bottle neck cases, but you never know. I'm no where close to deciding which Dillon, but if it's the 550 or the 650 I will definitely need to sell my turret to recover some cash. I might could swing getting the Square Deal in 9mm and keep my turret press for .45. I'm not sure that makes sense. My nature says get the 650 and not risk having regrets after getting one of the others.
     

    spongemonkey

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    Thanks.
    I only load 9mm and .45acp and probably 3 times more 9mm than.45. I don't plan to load bottle neck cases, but you never know. I'm no where close to deciding which Dillon, but if it's the 550 or the 650 I will definitely need to sell my turret to recover some cash. I might could swing getting the Square Deal in 9mm and keep my turret press for .45. I'm not sure that makes sense. My nature says get the 650 and not risk having regrets after getting one of the others.

    True on the 650. Why buy twice when you can get almost every thing you need in one machine.
     

    RussSurfs

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    Thinking about reloading in the near future. Will primarily be loading 9mm and a little 45 and 38. Would also like to be able to load 223 and maybe some 6.5 creedmoor in future. What is the advantage of the 650 over the 550?
     

    spongemonkey

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    Thinking about reloading in the near future. Will primarily be loading 9mm and a little 45 and 38. Would also like to be able to load 223 and maybe some 6.5 creedmoor in future. What is the advantage of the 650 over the 550?

    To the best of my knowledge unless things have changed over the past years, with the 550, you must advance the shell case holder plate manually (by hand) to the next station where as the 650 does it automatically.
     

    Baldwin

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    To the best of my knowledge unless things have changed over the past years, with the 550, you must advance the shell case holder plate manually (by hand) to the next station where as the 650 does it automatically.

    That's correct. And the 650 gets you a five hole tool head instead of four. This allows the use of Dillon's powder check die. Brian Enos has a lot of good info about the different Dillon presses. Link below:

    https://brianenos.com/pages/dillon
     

    bbentley40

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    I lucked out and found my 650 used and in great shape. Figure with Dillons warranty I dont have much to worry about. I spent years reloading on a Lee Turret press, but I got tired of it taking me close to a hour to load 100 or so rounds. If youre going with the 650, go ahead and save up a little more and buy the case feeder too... you wont regret it!
     

    TennJeep1618

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    I'm late to the party, but I'll offer my $0.02.

    I started out on a single stage, quickly moved to a turret, then jumped up to a 650 before upgrading to a 1050, all in the span of 3 or 4 years. Granted, I started shooting a lot more and my time got significantly more valuable during that time period.

    If the volume you're reloading and/or the value of your time can justify it, a 1050 is the way to go for 9mm (and any other cartridge where you run into crimped primer pockets). I definitely understand that it's a big investment and is not suitable for everyone. Caliber conversions for a 1050 are pricey.

    A 650 is nice, because it's auto-indexing. A case feeder is a must (IMO) for this press and a bullet feeder (Mr. Bullet Feeder) comes in a close second, if you want to maximize efficiency. I don't care for the priming system, but that's just my opinion. There are some relatively inexpensive upgrades that can really make the press better, but they're not absolutely necessary. Caliber conversions are less than a 1050, but more than a 550.

    I've never used a 550, but they seem to be pretty solid all-around presses. You have to manually index the shellplate, which I don't prefer. Options for case and bullet feeding are limited, but the caliber conversions are cheaper than the 650 or 1050.

    If you can swing it, keep your turret press for small batch loading and working up new loads. You can work up new loads on a progressive, but it's a lot easier and simpler to do it on a single stage or turret press.
     

    Stagman

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    I've learned the hard way about not getting what you want the first time and buying something less expensive only to end up selling it at a loss to get what you really want. Buy once, cry once!!!
     

    Jester896

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    TennJeep1618 summed it up pretty well. I have never used a 650, I have a 450 that has been converted to 550, and have access to 1050s. I use mine for smaller quantities of 9mm, .45ACP, and .300BO. I don't think you would pick up that much speed with a 550 but the case and bullet feeder on the 650 would certainly pick up speeds. I am not talking fast...just the round count in the same time.

    Any time I have spoken with someone at Dillon it was an absolute pleasure
     

    fargo007

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    Keep in mind, you can still use a progressive press just like a single stage in any regard, so there's no need to have both. I throw charges with my rcbs chargemaster, then place it in the 650 and load it.
     

    ChrisC

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    The Dillon 550 is a good all arounder. Simple to operate and easy to swap calibers. It can crank out a lot of rounds in a short time. It is beginner friendly as there are less parts compare to the higher end models.
     

    Gas Port

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    I normally use a 550 for load development and loading rifle calibers. I have had up to three Square Deal B's to load my three main pistol calibers. I hate swapping tool heads and having to calibrate the new round. I feel the 550 is a good all around press. If I try and pump out rounds I usually make mistakes that is counter productive.
     

    B52

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    I bought 2 550B used. Both were in great shape. Dillon replaced any parts I needed free. If you buy a 550B without the hard stand You can save money with better after market items from Inline Fabrication. https://inlinefabrication.com. I am happy with their products. Also once I get everything setup I can make 300 round per HR.
     
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