quote:

Originally posted by Tailgunner:
One thing to remember is that while all the other Dillons come with their "no BS" warrenty, the 1050 does NOT. Dillon considers the 1050 to be a commericial production machine, and as such dosn't offer the same "lifetime" warrenty as all the rest carry (industrial usage vs hobby usage kind of thing)
Not saying it's not as good a machine as their others, just pointing out a small detail.

Tailgunner is right, the Super 1050 does not come with a lifetime warranty. My regular 1050 does come with a lifetime warrenty, it is on the back of the instruction manual. The only thing that has worn or broken is the plastic primer tube ends, and one of the plastic shell locator button tabs. I put the regular long one in the station next to the handle, and the handle sheared it off. Dillon replaced both items for free, and sent me spares to boot. Not bad for a press that I have used since 1989.

Is there a reason to buy the Dillon dies, or will RCBS dies that I already have work good enough?

The Dillon dies in handgun caliber are the best bet for a few reasons. On the FL size die there is a larger radius. With the RCBS dies ever 20 rounds or so The case mouth would catch on the die leade in requireing a little jiggle of the case to get it to enter the die. No big deal just breaks the rhythm. The RCBS crimp die for 45 colt would bottom out before crimping. Also Dillon dies come with seperate bullet seat and crimp dies, which is what I prefer. I started with RCBS dies in mine but now only use the RCBS seater die. The size and crimp are Dillon bought piecemeal. IT would have been cheaper and easier to buy the Dillon set at the outset. I can't discern that one produces better ammo than the other, at least in 45 colt and 357 mag. Long story short, the Dillon dies seem to be optamized for use in a progressive.

Thanks for the input on dies. Have you used the Dillon .223 dies? Any issues?

If you are using a progressive press, you will want the Dillon dies. They are designed for high volume and won't slow you up. Regular dies, such as RCBS and Redding are great dies, but don't have the features needed for high volume.