CASE FEEDERS

I don't have one on my 550 and never will. I watched one in action and they are very noisy. Almost need ear protection. Way too distracting. Reloading is my "quiet time". Watch one in person and then make your decision. Might be able to hear how loud they are by watching a You Tube on the subject.

I have one on my XL650. Would not be without it. Love it!

My 650 has one and I believe it makes the press. Sizing rifle brass is so easy, just load the hopper and keep pulling the handle until its empty.

Same for pistol. Too dang easy

I have had one with the 650 and Super 1050. They are kind of noisy but only because of all the casings rolling around which is to be expected. I think they work really well and i'm sure it would speed up your process quite a bit.

I started with a 550B and didn't have a case feeder, never felt the need. When I went to the 650 and 1050 the case feeder was needed as the press is just to fast to hand feed cases.

why don't we answer the question....hes wondering about a case feeder for a 550 not 650 or 1050.....trying to confuse him or what

Slight change of direction in that it's not Dillon.
I have the one that came with my Lee Pro1000 press and just uses the manual collator. This way it isn't running a motor so it is quite quiet and with a cheap mod it feeds both 9mm and 380 very reliably. Personally I have used this press both with and w/o the case feeder and am not sure it's really any faster one way or the other the way I use it. When I do put it on it does take a bit to get routine changed and during that time it feels awkward. So if nothing else be prepared to make adjustments in your routine. Hope you find your answer.

I don't own a Dillon but do follow them. From what I have read, the 550 was not designed around the brass feeder like the 650. Some say it troublesome the way it interfaces. Personally I don't know. Some compare it to the Hornady's, problematic.

I have one on my 550B. Not noisy, and when it's adjusted properly, (I'm not saying anyone doesn't adjust), it's just that it really pays to tweak it! Mine works very well, since I installed it. I only do pistol with it. 40 S&W and 45 ACP.

Is it worth the money? I don't know. I just wanted one! I probably don't load enough to justify it, but oh well!

I don’t have one on 550’s but that’s my “fast conversion” press, do use them on my higher production 650’s and 1050’s.

Even made one on a lark for an SD but that was just to prove it could be done.

I reload on my 650xl just fine without a case feeder.... until I bought one... and now I can't imagine reloading without it! Mine isn't really that noisy, it only rotates a few degrees per case. Even when it is rotating for a few minutes while filling up the tube I don't really notice it. Not having to worry about hand feeding cases allows me to concentrate on the rest of the reloading process better... reducing the chance of mistakes. It is also definitely a lot faster!

I have been trying to avoid a bullet feeder... but the nagging feeling that a bullet feeder might be as handy as my the case feeder is getting harder to ignore!


P.S. The one frustration I have with using a case feeder is when I dump a load of 9mm or 45 acp in the feeder and I get a 40 S&W mixed in. The 9mm case slips inside the 40 or the 40 slips inside the 45acp and It jambs the press which gets frustrating... I just need new friends that don't shoot 40's!

If you are loading with a need for the production a blue press can output it isn't "quiet time" and you will love the case feeder. I never thought of mine as noisy though, hardly much noise over the clicky clank of my 650.

marchboom said:

I watched one in action and they are very noisy. Almost need ear protection.

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On my Hornady, noise was cut down by adding a (12"?) tempered glass frying pan cover. Dampens the noise significantly. Just be careful not to drop it.

[H/T to some unnamed contributor on one of the THR threads for Rube Goldberg fixes.]

MikeInOr said:

I reload on my 650xl just fine without a case feeder.... until I bought one... and now I can't imagine reloading without it! Mine isn't really that noisy, it only rotates a few degrees per case. Even when it is rotating for a few minutes while filling up the tube I don't really notice it. Not having to worry about hand feeding cases allows me to concentrate on the rest of the reloading process better... reducing the chance of mistakes. It is also definitely a lot faster!

I have been trying to avoid a bullet feeder... but the nagging feeling that a bullet feeder might be as handy as my the case feeder is getting harder to ignore!


P.S. The one frustration I have with using a case feeder is when I dump a load of 9mm or 45 acp in the feeder and I get a 40 S&W mixed in. The 9mm case slips inside the 40 or the 40 slips inside the 45acp and It jambs the press which gets frustrating... I just need new friends that don't shoot 40's!

Click to expand...

You need https://www.shellsorter.com/

MikeInOr said:

I have been trying to avoid a bullet feeder... but the nagging feeling that a bullet feeder might be as handy as my the case feeder is getting harder to ignore!

Click to expand...

I resisted this urge for a long time as well, and finally bought a Mr. Bullet Feeder this year. Greatest addition to the XL650 since the case feeder!!!

Definitely a great addition, better than I expected. I used to say "It's no big deal to add the bullet by hand, it gives me a chance to check everything visually on the deck." Forget that nonsense!!! The bullet feeder is amazing!!! I totally love it, and would buy one again tomorrow if it broke.

The only downside for me is that I lost the power check die.

Truth be told you don't need a case feeder on a 550. I believe it does 500 rounds an hour output which is why I never missed a case feeder. Never felt the need till I got a 650 and 1050 when I did a lot of shooting. The 550 without a case feeder did fine for me for 2 years. If the 550 has a flaw it is the fact that you can't add a powder check die.

Noise issue can be slightly mitigated by operating it intermittently - fill the tube, switch off the feeder, load up most of the cases in the tube, switch on to re-fill tube. Not consistently with really fast production, but if you're just casually cranking out a hundred or so, most the time can be quiet with just brief bursts of noise. I don't think it's anywhere near "need ear protection," but it is brass cases rattling around a big plastic shell. It's a slight annoyance if you're trying to listen to music or follow dialogue while loading.

I certainly wouldn't want to be without one on my 650. I have no view about how well they work on 550's.

I've mentioned before that I don't have a case feeder for my 650 and don't miss it. At a minimum one must stop every 100 rounds anyway. I'm uploading a picture of my system on the 650. It's at full resolution and cropped and compressed so that it's not huge, but the good parts are visible. Note the coupler on top of the stock case feed tube. It's turned from plastic, but could just as easily be made from wood dowel with a couple drill bits. The top tube is 36" long and holds 47 9mm, 25 300BLK, or 20 .223 cases. Yah, stopping every 20 for .223 is a bit too often, but I shoot 20x as much 9mm. For 9mm (one pass loading, unlike 2 pass for rifle) I inspect the inside of each case to get those stepped cases out. So each case gets handled and dropping them into the tubes isn't a problem. I have 4 such tubes and a rack for them. Been using this setup for around 4 years now with no problems other than one: Don't use acrylic tubes, they're too brittle and don't like being cleaned with isoproponol. Use polycarb tubes. The tubes idea should be adaptable to the 550 as well with a few parts from Dillon.

hotshot357 said:

I've got a Dillon 550 and I am thinking about installing a case feeder on it. If you have one or not I would like to hear your opinions, pro or con. Would it be worth the money? Also if you do have one, what is the is the height from the top of the bench to the top of the feeder.

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If your press is mounted directly to the bench the feeder is 34" from the press base to the top of the hopper.
With the press mounted to the Dillon Strong Mount as mine is, it's 45".

I used to use a CH Autochamp with tube case feeder, no tube filler, like that.

Blue68f100 said:

I don't own a Dillon but do follow them. From what I have read, the 550 was not designed around the brass feeder like the 650. Some say it troublesome the way it interfaces.

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This mirrors everything I've ever heard about adding a case feeder to the 550. Plus...

► A case feeder would severely complicate caliber changes on a 550, and quick caliber changes are one of the 550's strongest attributes.

► A case feeder is fairly noisy. I thought it might be OK because it would drop 15 cases, and then shut OFF for several minutes. This is NOT the way they operate. They turn ON and drop 1 case, then turn back OFF, so the noise is continuous throughout the loading session.
.

I don't like that, either, so I just switch mine off until the level gets low, then turn it on and try to keep up with it.