I am thinking about a new progressive or turret press to load for my .40 S&W pistol. I need a press that will load cast bullets. I dont need a huge production rate but would like 300 rounds an hour or more. I dont know if a turret type press will put out this volume of ammunition. I'd like to keep the cost reasonable, but get a quality piece of equiptment I can use for a long time. I'm considering the Dillion RL 550B.

I also load 4 rifle calibres in small volume (200 rounds a year) 300WM, 25-06, 243 Win and .223. If I can get a press that will allow me to load theses rifle rounds that would be beneficial. If I load for these rounds the press has to have some way of changing from one calibre to another in a few minutes. Has anyone used this press? How easy is it to adjust or swap calibres and or powder weight? Any other presses you would reccomend?

Dillon is the progressive press of choice and the 550 will do everything you're asking and a bunch more. A little more money than other presses for sure, but you'll not regret buying it -something that can't be said about other "progressives".
I don't own a turret type press, but if I did it would be a Redding.

+2

You are on the right track thinking of the Dillon 550. I wouldn't even consider another brand of progressive press other than Dillon after wasting several hundred dollars on other companies products.
Most of the people that start with the Square Deal seem to want to upgrade later. The 650 is a great machine but costs enough more that it might be better served for higher volumn shooters that require a case feeder.
Dillon supports their stuff long term. You might buy a progressive from a company that makes good reloading equipment but doesn't specialize in progressives and find that you can get parts a couple years down the road to keep it working - it happened to me.
Stick with Dillon and the 550 sounds like it best fits your needs. Also go ahead and buy their dies with the press even if you already have 40 S&W dies. The Dillon dies are optimized for progressive use and will save you hassles later (another lesson I learn the hard way)................................DJ

I definitely would NOT buy an RCBS Green Machine. Not unless you also were into boating and wanted a fancy anchor.

I had two in .38 Special and .45 ACP. They were useless! In fact worse than useless!

The old Star Progressive is good, and "on speed" for your needs. I had one in 9mm Luger. It produced superbly accurate ammunition. The old CH Autochamp (?) Progressive was also good. Both with manual bullet placing, so cast, lubed, bullets were not a problem.

I bought a Dillon RL550B in 1990.
To this day I consider it the best money I ever spent

Just ignore the people who will tell you that the 550 is a "semi-progressive" because you have to manually
index it.

It really does become reflex to operate it.
My personal record for churning ammo out on it was with a large lot of 9mm ammo I was helping a friend load...
we churned out 1500rounds in just over 2-1/2hours.

And it's reasonably easy to set it up for other cartridges when you feel the need.

Lastly, and this is extremly important, Dillon service is second to none.
And I'm not just saying that I've gotten twice as much free stuff as "safety upgrades" as I've bought for replacing the few parts that have worn out.

I broke some part on the original powder measure and called to order another and as soon as they determined which powder measure I had they stopped me from giving them my list of parts and told me they would send me a complete (newer type) powder measure, "Would I like to order anything else to be shipped FREE with my warantee parts?" Uhhh... yeah!


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A turret press will get you about 175rds / hr if you have a good routine. The 550B will easily do 400rds+. The 550B also allows just about any rifle or pistol round to be loaded. If you are mechanicly inclined, one of the Lee progressives will be cheaper but they seem to have more problems than the 550B. Your money v your time.

My loading bench has eight progressives. Three are Dillon, one an RCBS grand, a Horndy L&L AP, a Hornady 366, and two MEC 9000-G in 20 and 12 Ga.

IMO when it comes to shotshells, the game belongs to MEC.....metallics game belongs to Dillon.

However.....the Hornady L&L-AP is a pretty good machine.

quote:

IMO when it comes to shotshells, the game belongs to MEC.....metallics game belongs to Dillon.

yep my thought exactly

quote:

Originally posted by vapodog:IMO when it comes to shotshells, the game belongs to MEC.....metallics game belongs to Dillon.

+2

No question here, the Dillon 550 wins hands down for all metallic cartridge loading below commercial production levels! I'm on my second Dillon after experimentation with Herter and Lyman turret models, and have loaded nearly everything from .30 Luger to .45-70 on the Dillon 550. (The .45-70 sure makes a racket every time a completed round drops into the catcher box, and .308 or .30-06 cartridges can fill the catcher in a serious hurry.) The "worst" feature I can think of with a Dillon is the mesmerizing effect of punching out so much ammunition. I usually find I have to stop when I run out of a component, like primers, bullets, or brass. Then there is Dillons outstanding service policy that is like no other in the industry. Once you own a Dillon you are a customer forever.

You will not kick yourself for buying the 550. I purchased a 450 in 1983; the only setup it's had was for .38 Sp match, and I've loaded over 30K through it (no problems). I also use a 550 for pistol and revolver and a Bonanza Co-Ax for rifle.

With the 450, you had to make sure you kept on task. Otherwise, if you were thinking about anything else, there was a potential to miss a powder throw (everything was a manual operation) and you could potentially have a squib load. The 550 virtually eliminates this possibility. The removeable head makes for a quick change over to another caliber. As others have said, Dillon's customer service is second to none, and if you purchase, you will recieve their monthly "Blue Press" (very nice).

Spend an extra ($100?) and rest assured that you will only need to purchase it once. With close to thirty years of satisfying customers, Dillon will not disappoint you.

Another plug for the Dillon 550. I bought mine in the late 80's I think. It's always given great service and although I'm not sure exactly how many rounds it's loaded, I'm confident it's over 50K, mostly pistol with some 223's. It's a nice setup and customer service is the best.

John

I've got five Dillons. One 650, three Square Deals and one 300. All are set up for pistol calibers. I load all of my rifle calibers on a Co-Ax. I have no problem loading 100 - 200 rounds of rifle ammo in an evening with the Co-Ax, starting from cleaned, decapped, trimmed cases.

Jim

Thanks to everyone for all the replies. I bought the Dillon yesterday.