Question about Dillon 550

[Prodigal]

My Dad & I are trying to get into reloading, he has some experience with it but all from 30+ years ago, and I'm a complete novice. I've been doing some reading on the boards and around the web, and chatted with Chuck a bit at the Moyler's class on Saturday. Saturday night I took a look at the website for the local Christensen reloading that was mentioned here: viewtopic.php?f=37&t=11104&start=0&st=0&sk=t&sd=a as well as Dillon's site, and find myself a bit confused.

If I were to purchase the 550B from Dillon's website itself http://www.dillonprecision.com/#/conten ... /1/RL_550B (I wouldn't in reality, but how they have it laid out is what's confusing me) it makes me choose a specific caliber. It says it does not include any dies. It then says that if you want to reload another caliber that you have to purchase the caliber conversion kit and the respective dies. The part about the dies I figured was a given, but the initial caliber & conversion kit have me incredibly confused. As I understand it a number of folks on the boards have/use these, and I was hoping someone might be able to provide some insight.

At the end of the day, I'm trying to figure out exactly what I need equipment wise to start reloading. I'd rather spend a little more now for nicer stuff that might be overkill for me at the moment, rather than spend more in the long run by replacing lower end or less capable stuff as I get more into it. If I were to purchase this RL550B, listed on Christensen's site for $385, what else is absolutely mandatory in order to start reloading other than consumables?

As always, any other thoughts or advice is also greatly appreciated.

[My Trigger Guard]

eh thats a loaded question,

Would like to point out someone is selling there dillon in the sales area of the website. Now I could be wrong on a little of this, some things can be brand specific etc. I also do not prefer to use a progressive I for my own reasons just pelting out 500 rounds an hour doesnt seem as appealing to me, I want high quality. So anyhow some of my intel could be wrong and someone wil correct me I am sure.

As long as you have a a progressive press that can reload hangun ammunition, then it can reload all general calibers, you just need to purchase the die sets and any accessories for that caliber and progressive bench. Accessories would be things such as the, primer feeder two different kinds, brass feeder, bullet feeder, powder disks perhaps too.

Example, If you are setup for 9mm and want to reload 38 specials or 357 mag or even 380 auto. All you should technically need is the dies for them. Being that the brass, the bullet, the primer and powder all used is almost exactly the same. Slightly different yes but almost the same the accessories should in most instances work the same. However there will be discrepancies where you will need a particular accessory.

If you wanted to move into say the 45 caliber, then you would require a difrent primer setup, brass setup, bullet setup or feeds for them becuase there so drastically different.

However there will be a list of things you need not just a progressive press, some optional some not.

Digital Caliper
Digital Scale
Tumbler
Tumbler Media
Media polish
media remover
powder disks
all i can think of right now
Also this doesnt cover rifle reloading either case trimmer, debur and chamfer tools etc.

Any way you cut it doesnt matter what way you go, there is always going to be little accessories that you are going to forget to tally into the cost or not even know you need till you start trying to pump out the rounds. 10 dollars here 20 dollars there it adds up. A particular quick change bushing, or brass holder, primer cups or feeds etc. So leave some extra cash for those things that crop up 60 bucks ussually covers universal accessories initially.

Sorry if not much help, perhaps a more specific question and I could help out further. I am not the guru of progressive presses this is just my general knowledge and some questions will be specific to the brand of progressive you run with.

GL

[Gyrase]

I was looking into the 550 earlier this year and had the same problem as you. I wound up getting the Hornady Lock and Load AP. I'm not trying to dissuade you from getting the Dillon, I hear they are great, but I know what you are going through and I wish you the best of luck.

I couple tips:

-The 550 is manual indexing, i.e. you have to manually turn the shell plate (the thing that holds the cases as they move from station to station) between each function. The 650 (or whatever the next most expensive dillon is) auto indexes and so the Hornady progressive. I have never tried a manual indexing press but I imagine it slows down the process a bit and complicates your work flow.

-Buy a powder cop. It goes in the spot after the powder drop and gives you an easy way to visualize how much powder was dropped in the case so that you don't doubt yourself constantly and manually check the cases. This is important because interrupting your work flow leads to errors.

-Some may argue that a single stage is better for a beginner but I disagree, if you can afford the progressive then go for it. Once you start playing with it things will make more sense. Progressives really are the better choice unless you are loading for absolute accuracy, in my experience and opinion.

-If you can shoot lead bullets, they are cheap and plentiful. Bruce at Bumble Bee Bullets has great prices and his bullets seem to work great. I have used both his 9mm and .40 bullets. He comes up to Salt Lake frequently so you can arrange to meet him there but he is quite a character and you will have to spend some time talking to him to get your bullets, he is good company though so I didn't mind.

[MarshallDodge]

I have been using a Dillon 550B for over 15 years and would guess somewhere in the neighborhood of 50K rounds. Some of this ammo has been used in competition and varmint rounds and I have seen no issue with accuracy or repeatability. Certain powder measures like certain powders and the Dillon is no exception.

The caliber conversion is not for the dies, but for the powder funnel, shellplate that holds the case, and the locater buttons that keep the cases in the shellplate. You can typically use the same shellplate for many calibers. For instance, the one for 45ACP works for 30-06, 308, etc. so once you buy a shellplate you may just need the powder funnel for your caliber.

The 550 is a manually indexing press which is not a bad thing for someone starting out. It makes it much easier to setup and correct any mistakes while reloading. That being said, TriciaDodge picked me up a 650 last year and production is much faster.

[JAMed]

What MarshallDodge said. There should be a *link* somewhere which shows you which shell plates (the roundabout you put the cases in) work for what calibers. And, depending how many of any particular caliber you plan to load, a whole kit for each caliber might not be necessary. One large and small powder charge kit would be a minimum. I think that would include large and small primer kits, but maybe call and talk to them about your needs. They are pretty good about helping you, or some sellers are. I bought mine through this guy, where I bought a kit, two scales to check, and pretty much everything I needed. Still, buying that kit, even so, was confusing. I wanted to have enough to not be dinking around with every load type and such. I hate hassle. Nice to know I'm not the only one who found the process a bit confusing.

I am happy with the 550, now to get a chronograph! Ugh. It seems never ending sometimes. But I suppose it pays off.