Ok guys I am looking at a Dillon RL 550B, give me the scoop on this press, I want the good and the bad before I buy.
Empty Clip

Medium high volume press suitable for pistols and smaller rifle cartridges. I know people who load up to 30.06 rounds on them but the biggest I use mine for are pistol rounds and 223 sized cartridges. The shell holder plates overhang the ram and that seems to be the weak point to me as the plate is going to flex under heavy load.

I load on a 550B, a 450B, three other turret presses and a couple of single stage presses.

I load on several presses but really like my Dillon 550. You can load nearly anything on it.
Frank,
Now you know some one who loads big bore on a Dillon. I can load from 22Hornet to 500 NE 3in. I have never had a problem. I think the Dillon 550 is one of the best presses out there.
Bill

I don't think they have any weaknesses. The 550 will do a workman like job on any brass in the 30-06 class or shorter. In 24 years I've broken one shell plate, and that was because my lube pad had run dry.

The powder measure is as good as any other. I have a few hiccups when using WW 296, and big stick powder causes some headaches too, but you'll find that it's true with other manufacturers as well.

All said and done, you'll find it hard to beat Dillon equipment and impossible to beat their warranty. There will always be room for Dillon equipment on my loading bench

About the only time I use my 550b in a progressive manner is for pistol and 223. For 260 Rem, '06, '06 AI and 9.3.x62 I use it as a turret press.

To clarify, it for the longer cartridges but do not charge the cases via the powder measure. I either meter with my Harrell's Premium meter or weigh each charge, depends upon caliber, powder and intended use.
Alan

I was unaware of the limitations of the RL 550 B as I have reloaded .380 -.375 H&H

on mine . I now only use it for rifle .222-.375 including .338 Win and Lapua Mags .

I use a 650 for all pistol cartridges now but for umpteen years my 550 did it ALL !.

http://www.dillonprecision.com...3594/catid/1/RL_550B

Flimsy Frank ?. Not mine . The only issue I've ever had was the primer slide and that was because

I wore it out . Dillon sent me several spare parts nylon bushings springs slides and things

I never considered . They charged me ZIP Nothing zero , A NO BS Guarantee beyond the

expectation . I've stuck with them for more years than I care to admit as I have done

with RCBS . I used ( I mean USED a 7 mm Rem mag Die until it wore out ) I stuck another

case in the Die after a couple of days loading and chambering was goofing up . So

I sent it too RCBS so they could remove the case and check dimensions .

3 days later I got a New set of dies ( A Set of Dies I only sent in the de capping sizing die .

A simple note was in the box which I still have to this day .

Yes sir it was stuck and you have obviously been with us for MANY YEARS .

Machine Room wishes to THANK YOU . Even had they charged me I still would be with them .

I don't see those company's with their Palms up and arms out in DC !.

So long as I'm able to reload and shoot they won't have to either !!.

I have used mine for reforming 8x68S and 6.5x68 brass into a the 350 African Express. I used all four stations, each doing a different function for case forming. It worked GREAT! and it saved hours over doing it on my Rock Chucker.

Whatever you do, don't buy a Hornady progressive press. That press is not even in the same League as Dillon. If you want to know more, send me a PM and I will give you all the data I collected on mine. I eventually dumped it for pennies on the dollar, especially since it was just as bad after Hornady worked on it.

I bought a Dillon 450 in 1981. I still have it and two 550s and two 1050s. They are the best investment in relaoding I have ever made. You might also look at the Hornaday Lock N Load press. The Dillon warantee is unconditional for life. That should tell you something about their loaders.
Rustystud

The Dillon 550B is an excellent loading machine in all respects. As a match competitor for lots of years, Dillon 550B has loaded many thousands of rounds and broke one small spring, primer feed, and call to Dillon got me one in couple days and no charge. Hard to beat!

Are you familiar with the modifications to the Dillon powder measure? Some prefer to adapt the Hornady powder set-up with Hornady's case-actuated mechanism. Unless Dillon's manual indexing is attractive to you, Hornady's AP may be a consideration.

I love my 550B. Have no idea how many rounds of .38Spl, .45acp, .223, and .308 it has loaded, and I run it all the way to .45-70 too. Best part about a Dillon is their 100% support!

For any precision loads I still fall back on ye olde RCBS RockChucker, as in making precise hunting loads and all that. In truth, I suspect that .30-06 and 7x57 loaded on the Dillon would be just as good as the RockChucker product.

LLS

I've run one since '96 and quite counting .45 acp at fifty thousand rounds - and that's not all My dad and I load on it! Other than loosing the brass thumb-tack locating pins here and there and a bent cup around the primer ram I never had a problem.

I don't think the manual indexing is a that big of a deal, especially if this is your first progressive. If at some point it is, then that's always a future reson to upgrade to a XL 650.

Here's a detailed comparison of Dillon, Hornady and Lee progressive presses:

http://www.comrace.ca/cmfiles/...ornadyComparison.pdf

If you're the type that buys extended warranties, buy the Dillon. If not, buy the Hornady.

Andy

i bought a 450 (not b ) when they first came out. then 2- b's and a 550b. they are now 1) a 450+, a 475 ( 550b that is manual, no auto function ) one is hanging on a tree (cursed is a press that hangith on a tree) i bought one for parts cause i had so much trouble with dillon on parts. there were 3 different powder measures for the 450-450b presses and three for 550b. i have a friend who loads as much as i do and he has nothing but trouble with dillon too. i had so many parts and stuff for these and so much effort in keeping them going i would not give up. i currently use nine presses, 3 blue ones. i do NOT reccomend anything that company makes. i once sent back everything i had they made to them with instructions to shove it all. they called to ask why i sent it all back (even though some of it almost worked) i said i wanted everyone there to have one piece to shove. they sent it all back "REBUILT". none worked as well as when i sent it. i think i fix their stuff better than do they. i reccomend hornady auto progressive if you are going to really load tremendous numbers of rounds. most guns are shot very little and most reloading gear is used very little so there you go. a p200 ponsness warren would be best for most people as little as most shoot.

Let's see...I currently use a Bonanza CoAx, three RCBS single stage (A-3, & 2 Rockchuckers), a small portable HDS, 2 Star Progressives, a Ponsness-Warren progressive (NOT a 200), and 4 Dillons (a 300, a 450, and two 550-Bs). I've also had (and dumped) maybe a dozen other presses. These, based on my own experience, best suit my needs and give me the best service as reliable tools.

The only tool I have ever had from Dillon which did not work well was one of their very first electronic scales. They changed the chip shortly after I returned mine, and since then they have worked fine, but the very first ones didn't.

I have never had a part break on a Dillon and would recommend them to anyone who will follow the instructions and set them up/use them properly.

For anyone not willing to do their part in making any of the system(s) work, I recommend factory ammo.

I want to thank all that have responded to my post, it has been a great help with all of the honest input. From what I have seen the press will own up to all expectations that I have had about the Dillon line, they speek for themselves in performance! The good far outweighs the overall problems that can arrise.
Thanks again!
Empty Clip

about the only negative about the 550 is that they do make the 650

quote:

Originally posted by Richard Goss:
I want to thank all that have responded to my post, it has been a great help with all of the honest input. From what I have seen the press will own up to all expectations that I have had about the Dillon line, they speek for themselves in performance! The good far outweighs the overall problems that can arrise.
Thanks again!
Empty Clip

Richard, if I were to recommend a press the answer would be twofold -Dillon is the progressive press, and a Co-Ax would serve well for about everything else. With 25+ years of hard use on such machines, I haven't changed my mind.

I must say that Redding and RCBS equipment is excellent also.

I have read the comparison between Lee, Hornady, and Dillon before. I can assure you, having owned both Dillon and the Hornady, there is really no comparison. The throughput using Dillon 550B is easily 3 to 4 times what the Hornady AP can do. This is why Hornady doesn't advertise their throughput - it sucks in comparison to the Dillon.

In addition, I loaded 29 different calibers on both the Dillon and the Hornady. In the Hornady's case, run out would vary dramatically between calibers, while it was very consistent on the Dillon. This turned out to be due to the shellplate not aligning properly to the die. Hornady did fix all the shellplates I had, which left me down for a several weeks. Unfortunately, they also changed the angle of the spring that holds the cases in place and now the cases hit the die in the 5th station. This ruined a lot of cases and really cut into production. The worst part is Hornady didn't want to fix this so I was stuck with the problem.

I do like the older style Hornady powder measure. These had pins through the hopper to keep it in place. The newer ones were just glued in and after some a few weeks of use, it simply fell off one day, scattering all the powder all over the place. I was not pleased to say the least. I ended up using some two part epoxy to permanently mount it in place. For some reason, this newer style had some major static problems which neither Hornady or I was able to resolve. Eventually, I sold off all the Hornady stuff at pennies on the dollar and just took a beating on it.

Hornady did offer to buy it back, but not for money. They would trade me, dollar for dollar, on stuff on their website and I had to pay the freight both ways. By the time I was done paying all the freight and taking a loss, I could just sell it outright, which is what I did with most of it. I mean, really, who wants to pay retail for bullets when you can buy them at a huge discount from most anywhere? Gosh, even my local dealer had a better deal on Hornady bullets than I was offered from Hornady.

I really believe there are folks out there having a great time with the Hornady AP loading pistol calibers and never pushing the limits of the press like I did. But, I did push it and it broke, something which the Dillon never did.

Speaking of pushing limits, I did some major case forming on the Dillon 550B, all 4 stations working at the same time. I never lost a single case and I had to wonder why I kept my single stage press after that. The Dillon press was never designed to do that.

Robert D

quote:

Originally posted by harry carey:
i bought a 450 (not b ) when they first came out. then 2- b's and a 550b. they are now 1) a 450+, a 475 ( 550b that is manual, no auto function ) one is hanging on a tree (cursed is a press that hangith on a tree) i bought one for parts cause i had so much trouble with dillon on parts. there were 3 different powder measures for the 450-450b presses and three for 550b. i have a friend who loads as much as i do and he has nothing but trouble with dillon too. i had so many parts and stuff for these and so much effort in keeping them going i would not give up. i currently use nine presses, 3 blue ones. i do NOT reccomend anything that company makes. i once sent back everything i had they made to them with instructions to shove it all. they called to ask why i sent it all back (even though some of it almost worked) i said i wanted everyone there to have one piece to shove. they sent it all back "REBUILT". none worked as well as when i sent it. i think i fix their stuff better than do they. i reccomend hornady auto progressive if you are going to really load tremendous numbers of rounds. most guns are shot very little and most reloading gear is used very little so there you go. a p200 ponsness warren would be best for most people as little as most shoot.

I was hoping to hear more detail in what you had problems with in relation to your Dillon equipment.
Bill

I load on a pair of 550B. I love the simplicity & druability. The weak points are the priming syytem & powder measure. I would like to see a calibrated measuring system like the Hornady & a simpler priming arm system. If I were buying today, I would probably buy the 650 but when I started, the 550 or SDB were all that were available & I already had dies, so the 550 it was. I'm happy w/ them, loading small pistol on one & large on the other.

By the way, Dillon doesn't make this but a third party does. It is fine adjustment for Dillon's powder measure.

It has been a while since I looked at it but I seem to remember it had a micrometer adjustment on it.

Of course, you could just locknut the adjustment down and keep the one powder measure just for that load. :-)

I agree Fred ; After a Dillon is set properly they work near flawlessly least wise mine do .

The powder measure is precise enough , it's the adjustment as to where or how much or

little the charge is going to be that's frustrating to me . Once set it's repetitious

and accurate mine have NEVER faulted on those points . I have checked each load every 3

or 5 or 10 Th. round and the measure of powder is exactly the same as I set it .

So after cycling 4-5 dummy rounds I rarely bother to check now days .

You don't get the "Blue Press" every month with a Hornady or Lee! Oh yeah, I own a 550B. I'd give up my Forster Co-Ax before my Dillon.

This is a special response for harry carey:

If you tell the restaurant chef to stick his filet mignon where the sun don't shine because it wasn't done to your liking, don't wonder why there's a big yellow loogie sitting on top when it's returned from the kitchen. Harrumph

Just as an update. I had a little accident with my Dillon over Thanksgiving. I had company over and was showing a friend who doesn’t reload how the Dillon worked.
I had taken the powder measure off and laid it on the bench. Well it didn’t stay on the bench. I ended up with a broken powder tube. I finally got around to calling Dillon on the 12th of December and had a package waiting for me when I got home on the 17th .
I also picked up a powder measure adapter. This allows me to use any powder measure with a threaded base on my Dillon. I had several items on the invoice the best one was item 13691 Powder Meas Hopper Tube Price $0.00.
harry carey,
I am still waiting to hear DETAILS on what is so wrong with your Dillon’s. I am also wondering why if they are so terrible why did you keep buying them? Some times its not the tool.
Bill

I only have one Dillon machine. I bought it new in 1981 and it is a 450, it's not a "B" model. It's one of their first run from the first 6 months they were produced. I was later told this by a Dillon tech because mine still has the "small" ram head on it, and they switched to a larger ram head later in the 450 production. It still takes the same shell plates as the later model press, and the 550B, but when I load 45-70 ammo with it, I can't rotate the shell plate because the rim of the brass case sticks out past the loading port on the ram.

I used to shoot service rifle competitions with a 30-06 garand. I loaded thousands and thousands of rounds of 30-06 on this press in a few years worth of competing, I wore out 2 rifles and 3 barrels worth of ammo loaded on it. When I started using mine, I didn't know any other competitor that used one. When I stopped competing years later, I didn't know any other competitor that DIDN'T use one. When I started loading 45 acp for pistol competitions, I used my 450. It loaded many, many thousands of 45 ammo in the 5 or so years I shot pistol. I got burned out on that sport when it got all gamey and stupid.

I still use that same press today. I use it for everything from 38 spl up to 338 Win mag and 375 H&H. I have never, not once, not one time, EVER broken any piece or part on my press. Mine still has the original powder measure and primer mechanism on it. The 450 press was "all manual" and didn't have auto powder drop and primer feeds. I could always "update" it, but I've used it "manual" for so long, it's as natural as breathing.

Would I recommend Dillon? Well, it works for me.

I do use an RCBS Ammomaster single stage press also. I mostly use it for load development, and my large capacity black powder cartridges, like 45-70, 45-90, 45-120, 50-70, and 50-90. There are so many "steps" to the process of making the BP ammo, that it's a moot point to load on a semi-progressive anyway. I also can't get the 50 cal stuff in the ram of my press, as well as Dillon doesn't make shell plates for it for the same reason.

I also still have my old original rock chucker press that I bought in the 70's when I started reloading. I now only use it to take along on prairie dog shoots and make ammo in camp at night.

I also believe, without trying to sound rude to Harry, that there must be something drastically wrong with the methods he was using to load on his machines?? Like loading with a sledgehammer??

Dunno on that one, ONE bad machine, maybe I blame the machine... THREE bad machines, need to blame the reloader staring back in the mirror....