Dillon 550B

[nordaim]

This is in addition to my "A Good First Press" post.

How are the Dillon 550Bs as a progressive? The reviews and all that I read rates them highly and this will also load all of the calibers that I can foreseeably want to reload in both pistol and rifle.

I figure if something happens that I need to load a caliber not available on this that I can move to a single stage (since I am now set on an RCBS RockChucker).

 

[cordex]

The worst thing about the Dillon 550 that I've heard anyone complain about is the priming system. Some people aren't comfortable stacking all their primers in a little tube.

Me, I love it. I doubt I'll buy another press, and if I do it'll probably be another 550.

 

[retiredsgt]

Dillon 550

Ain't nuthin wrong with all them primers in that lil tube. Very similar to the old Star machines. The Dillon 550 is built like a tank, and they have their No B---S--- guarantee. I bought mine in 1985, and after thousands upon thousands of loads, they rebuilt it for FREE. I load numerous calibres on mine. It is hard to beat a Dillon.

 

[m1911joe]

I love my 550 it works great. I don't have any problem with the primer tube
in front of me the shield they have around it will direct and blast away from
you. Unlike some other makes that put them in a round try and then point it at you.
Can you say shotgun!

I have had mine since it was a 450. (1983) And have upgraded it and added a second powder measure and i can sell it for dam near full price.

 

[Edward429451]

The only problem that I've had with the priming system on my 550B is the screws have needed tightened a couple times and the set screw that holds the primer cup in place also. One call to dillon and the guys tell you whats wrong by the symptoms.

A length of 1/2" black gas pipe could be slipped over much of the primer tube up to the low primer sensor at least. Peace of mind only as I was in the other room when a guy I know blew a whole tube of primers in a 550 somehow, it was real loud, did a shotgun action to his ceiling and did not burst the outer tube.

 

[Kcustom45]

I love my Dillon 550B. It was my first reloader, and I am glad I started out with it rather than a single stage. I have never had any real problems with mine and the few times that I have had questions about it, the people at Dillon were very helpful. I have never regretted buying my Dillon.

Get yourself a 550B and don't look back.

 

[HSMITH]

Love my 550, best press in its class by a LOT!!

 

[Mike Kerr]

I agree with HSmith, the 550 is in a class by itself for its price range.

Regards,

 

[parachuterigger]

I highly recommend the Dillon 550B. One advantage to the 550B is that you can load one round at a time, similar to a single stage, until you get the hang of it. I wasn't sure if I would like the manual advance when I first bought the press 6 years ago, but after countless thousands of rounds, I think it is the way to go. I am very pleased with the press and with Dillon's service.

 

[kestrou]

There's only one thing better than a Dillong 550: a Dillon 650

kestrou

 

[cordex]

There's only one thing better than a Dillong 550: a Dillon 650

I've used both. Personally, I prefer the 550. The casefeed system is neat, but was a pain for me to get running. I really dislike the 650 priming system and the autoindexing can be annoying to me.

Others love it, I know.

 

[Johnny Guest]

Another highly satisfied 550 user here.

I've been using mine for around 12 years and my only regret is not getting a Dillon sooner. When I was heavily engaged in IPSC competetion in the early 1980s, I spent two FULL evenings a week loading .45 ACP on a single stage RCBS press. I could have done the same amount of loading in n hour or two with a progressive.

The "No BS Guarantee" at Dillon is just that. You can't do ANYTHING to the press that they won't fix, promptly and free of charge. I've had more than one rep tell me, "If you can break it, we'll fix it."

No doubt about it: There are now other very good progressive presses available, and I know some very satisfied users of those. Most of the others are as a result of following Dillon's lead in the field. (With all due respect to the Star company - - a nod to co-moderator Paul "Fitz" Jones .)

I personally like the manual indexing of the 550B - - It gives me more positive control, and more options in loading individual cartridges for experimentation. As to the primer magazine - - I've owned shotguns with barrels more delicate than the primer shield on my Dillon.

About the only thing I want to change on my loading bench is to obtain a second 550B, so I don't need to go through changing from large to small primer system.

Best,
Johnny

 

[R-Tex12]

Another big "yes" vote here for the 550B. Doubt I'll ever replace it with any other press. I load about 400 to 500 rounds per month of one or another of the following: .45 ACP, .44 Mag, 9mm, .40 S&W, and/or .357 Mag.

R-Tex

 

[Ivanimal]

There are few things I have purchased that exceeded my expectations the 550 b is one of them. Be careful with the powder drop of ANY progressive press. I would never use the powder drop for centerfire rifle hunting cartridges. Accuraccy is within a few grains even with good metering powders. I do use it for 223 plinking stuff, but I do monitor it very carefully and often.

 

[Carlos]

Nothing better than a 550b. Get a separate toolhead for each caliber, and yes, it's best to individually weigh your rifle charges.

I've found my old Lee powder measure to be quite accurate for my rifle loads. Mounted it next to the scale.

 

[Johnny Guest]

With all due respect - - -

- - - to Ivanimal and Carlos, I was quite surprised when my hunting buddy loaded up a bunch of .30'06 cartridges on my then-new 550B. Doug established a good rhythm, checked powder drops carefully, and then loaded up 50 rounds, using IMR 4350 and Remington 165 PSP CoreLokt bullets, using thrown charges.

I figured this would be good for rough sighting-in, before the fine tuning, or for practicing field position shooting. I was stunned when we tried 'em from the bench - - they shot better than any factory ammo we had with us, and as well as any but the selected match handloads. Yeah, I know: 4350 is said to be too coarse to meter well. I also know what WORKED FOR US!

One thing about it - - If you aren't loading super-hot, maximum-plus-a-pinch-for-luck ammo, then plus-or-minus two-tenths of a grain of powder is a miniscule percentage of the charge weight in a rifle load. A zero-to-five mph variable breeze, or a few ounces difference on pressure on the sandbags will make more variation in your groups. And, really, how many of our handgun loads are fired from a Ransom Rest?

All of which being said, yes, I weigh individual rifle charges when developing some new load . . . .

All the best,
Johnny

 

[BenW]

Regarding the primer feed tube: I have a 650, but if the tube assembly and shield on the 550 are the same as on the 650, I think you could have a nuclear primer blast and not worry about getting hit by shrapnel.

 

[larryw]

I load 22 Hornet (H110), 223 (N133), 308 (IMR4895) and 30-06 (H4350) rifle cartridges in my 550B. The only time I weigh charges is when working up a load and first switching calibers, never when in "production" (although I peek in every case after drop). All shoot very, very well. Some longer sticks like IMR4198 don't meter very well in any drop (crunch ) and the Dillon is no exception here.

I've damaged parts on my 550B due to my own stupidity and Dillon flat refused to let me pay for the replacement part, or even shipping. You may pay a bit more for the 550 up front, but in the long run, it will save you a big pile of money and aggravation.

I too prefer the control of the manual indexing 550 over the auto indexing 650.

 

[Langenator]

Dumb question here: I just bought a 550B from an Ebay auction, came with 45acp dies and shellplate conversion kit, geat deal, I think. I followed the set-up instructions that cam with it, but one thing isn't quite clear to me: Is the machine supposed to advance the shells automatically as part of the process, or do I have to push them around the carosel (for lack of a better word)?

 

[larryw]

You need to advance the shell plate manually with each pull. That star gizmo that goes on top of the shell plate is used for this. This is what's known as manual indexing. Auto indexing, such as with the 650 will automatically advance the shell with each pull.

 

[Sven]

There is no dumb question except the question not asked!

You manually advance the shells between stations, moving one 'click' clockwise per cycle.

I've only loaded about a thousand rounds with the 550B (so take this with a grain of salt) but the rhythm is:

Prepatory Steps:

.) Acquire components
.) Clean and prep brass
.) Don Safety glasses
.) Carefully pick up primers in primer pickup tubes, load primer tube
.) Load powder reservoir, tap to settle powder
.) Check calibration of dies - throw a bunch of charges and refill powder container. Then, throw 10 charges and weigh; check seating depth, measure overall length of a loaded round

Load Cycle:

1) Pick up brass with right hand
2) Inspect brass visually by twirling - look for hairline cracks on the rim and check the primer to be sure it is dead. insert into shell holder
3) Pick up a bullet, place in seating stage
4) Pull the handle
5) Advance the stations

Lather, rinse and repeat until your arm is tired or you are out of primers, bullets or powder.

Tips:

-On the handle pull: go for consistency pull to pull. Uniform pulls = uniform powder charges. The upstroke is important - follow through on the upstroke - I believe this seats the primer.

-If you feel ANYTHING funny - stop immediately and back up. Most problems seem to stem from bad shell alignment in the shell holder or a bad component. In these situations, check all shells in the station before continuing, especially the stage in the powder charging step. Same goes for taking a break - be sure to check all stations before continuing.

Watch your powder and primer supplies. After refilling powder, wouldn't hurt to throw 10 more charges and check, eh?

Your press the ultimate slot machine - every pull of the handle gives out ammo!

 

[Langenator]

OK...excellent. Good to know it's working. I still have some thinking and work to do before I can actually use it...the workbench has a crossbeam in a very inconvienient spot. But then I can start cranking out rounds.

I'm going to guess that on the bigger machines like the 1050 or maybe the 650 the shells advance automatically?

 

[Steve Smith]

I am another huge fan of the 550. I use mine for ALL of my match ammo and it works exceptionally well. The priming tube is double walled already, so I am not concerend with an explosion. The ones that have a tray (like a hand primer) are the ones that worry me.

 

[C. H. Luke]

Have had both a 550 & 650. Wound up with two 550's.

Like the manual advance.

If you talk to Dillon they will tell you to consider how much time
you have to reaload in choosing the 650 over the 550.
Hence, you have to really shoot a lot to need a 650 over a 550.

 

[oldolds442]

actually, there is something better than a Dillon 550, its called the Dillon 1050...i did some trading for one a few years ago, and along with my 550.......what a setup..