Dillon SL 900 SHOTSHELL RELOADER VRS RCBS The Grand Shotshell Press

[w296]

Dillon SL 900 SHOTSHELL RELOADER VRS RCBS The Grand Shotshell Press

I have an old Mec 650 and thinking about upgrading. Appreciate any input. Thanks

 

[IMtheNRA]

I have The Grand. Fast, smooth, easy, reliable. The advantage of the Dillon is that it will come with a case feeder. Frankly, I don't miss it because this is fast enough for me. I don't think you can go wrong with either of these two options.

 

[GE-Mini-Gun]

Been using a 900 since about the time they came out…cannot speak to the RCBS as I came from a Hornady 366 and the difference was night and day. Wish I would have taken a picture before I started loading…anyway started with three Rubbermaid containers, one 20-30 gallon full of 12ga hulls, one 10-15-20 gallon full of 20ga hulls and one same size with 28ga hulls. Started Friday evening and will finish all hulls sometime this week…probably Wednesday, approx. 10k total give or take. Couple things I don’t like about it…it only likes to load one hull type at a time…AA, STS, Gun Club, etc., if you mix hulls it can cause issues…split or crushed hulls, spilled shot, doesn’t happen often but when it does it normally starts a chain reaction…you’ll get couple dozen; so I only load AA’s. Another issue; doesn’t hold enough powder…just under 1lb, also the hull feeder has a small capacity as well, maybe 200 hulls and I’m really pushing that number. The capacity issues are mainly how I load…I load a couple times a year everything I have, so having to stop to put more powder or hulls in gets old after about the 6th time. I can purchase an extended powder reservoir, but that only doubles the capacity and for me that isn’t enough…4-5 lbs. would be ideal, again for me and how I load. The feeder issue can be “fixed” by adding additional height to the rear and back of the “bowl”, I just haven’t gotten around to doing it, as every time I think about doing it I’m just starting to load. Other than those issues it’s a great machine…again these are issues for me as I load EVERY empty hull I have at one time over a couple days. If one were to load a couple hundred at a time I cannot see any issues…powder lasts about 200 hulls and the hopper holds close to that number.

 

[George P]

I had the Grand; it is my understanding that RCBS has discontinued it, so check first, especially about spare parts. There were some plastic parts that were deliberately designed to fail in the event of something going wrong so as to not do damage to the entire unit. Those parts are always free with RCBS' Mine also had the 20 gauge conversion kit. I wish I had kept it, but I didn't know about Inline Fabrication press riser mounts at the time and since the unit is big and heavy, the only place I had to reload was a garage with no heat or air. It was also only offered in 12 and 20 so if you also shoot 28 and 410, you'll need a second machine.
All that said, it was a GREAT machine and one I should not have sold. It blows my MEC progressive out of the water with features and ease of operation. Never a powder or shot spill as in no hull, no drop (unlike MEC)
I have never used the Dillon, but I know they are much more expensive.
If money is no object, a Spolar is the Rolls Royce of shotshell reloaders - but NOT cheap. It will come ready to go out of the box for the load you want when you tell them at the time of order.

 

[w296]

Thanks for your input . You are correct, the RCBS Grand has been discontinued. And the Dillon 900 is out of stock, so I suppose I will be using the Mec for a while longer. The Spolar is not in my budget.