Opinions on new press to replace single stage LEE

[padawan]

Talk to Bobcat or keep an eye for some used gear. We started with a Hornady Single stage then found a Hornady LNL AP complete setup that was barely used. The guy was getting out of reloading. It was all timing. Probably saved 40%. Good luck.

 

[Kmcinnes]

It really comes down to how much is your time worth? Some say I can come home from work and load up 200 rounds in an hour, and thats 1,000 a week and that may work for them and their lifestyle, or you can go with a good progressive and load up close to 1,000 rounds in an hour not rushing, and that leaves me time to spend with my wife and kids or doing other stuff. Disclaimer......My son shoots competitively and last year he went through 20,000 rounds, most people are not going to be loading up that much for average shooting. But that all said, a good progressive will pay for itself relatively fast when you consider the time you spend in front of it. I do love the blue, but it might not be the right option for you but I can tell you that I wish I would have gone blue a long time before I did.

 

[Sirshredalot]

Case feed and bullet feed are over rated imho....those items are usually what cause the most frustration.
I manually feed every case and hand seat every bullet....gives me time to inspect the case and verify powder and I can still churn out 300 to 400 rounds in an hour if I've done all the prep work...and I reload leisurely....I'm getting older, fatter, and slower and don't really do anything quickly anymore....besides eating and....um....er....other things that are quicker than they used to be.

Dillon 550b...the manual indexing is one of the best features....did I seat that primer enough?....back up the shell plate and check.....the dillon also allows you to remove any cartridge from any position at any time by pulling the location pin.....other presses require you to cycle through every case in the shell plate to get to the one you want.


God bless
- Shred

 

[Snipercop]

Customer service and warranty is extremely important to me. I have had great experience with Dillon and RCBS. I drink the blue kool-aid and I'll admit that, but I drink it because it's great and I love it. Been down the road with my options and never looked back. Purchased a 650 and built it up slowly. Bought Dillon dies and realized while they are good, there are better and cheaper options out there. To this day, I still load my extended case tube with casings manually. It slows the process down so I can pay better attention to what I'm doing, yet I still load faster than I did on my 550. If you plan to start out with a single caliber, buy the 650 set up for the caliber you want. If you ever need anything, call them and they'll help and/or send you replacement parts. You just don't find good customer service anymore, but you do with Dillon.

 

[bigeric08]

Got a demonstration today on 550 im in love

 

[bigeric08]

Well im very interested in finding a used Dillon 550 but I don't think im going to get that lucky. Hell Idunno really where to look for a used press if anyone does please let me know

 

[bigeric08]

Im going to try to find bobcat on here and see whats available. I purchased some extreme bullets from him at the 1500

Talk to Bobcat or keep an eye for some used gear. We started with a Hornady Single stage then found a Hornady LNL AP complete setup that was barely used. The guy was getting out of reloading. It was all timing. Probably saved 40%. Good luck.

 

[ZbornacSVT]

Just closed a trade that involves us getting two 550s.....should have them late next week.

 

[deseag007]

I went to Bobcat today and made the transition. I went from a Lee Single stage I got back in the 80's to a Dillon 550. I am definitely looking forward to giving it a workout. Give Kimball a call. He was on the phone with me a worked me up a quote on Friday and today I stopped in and picked the majority of the items I purchased. He had a great powder and bullet selection on hand as well.

 

[bigeric08]

I think im pretty dead set on a Dillon 550 my inlaw has 2 550's I went there today and fell in love with his 550 I kinda lost a lot of interest in anything lee anymore lol I decided on the 550 because I can use the die sets from my lee single stage on it but im still a little confused as to what a "die conversion kit" is and how much that will cost me or if it comes with a new press. Everything about the 550 said quality to me compared to my little old lee single stage. I cranked out a dozen or so rounds and was thinking the whole time that I could really make some ammo rather quickly. The deprime and prime was smoother too I could see the powder thrower being so much more consistent than the plastic lee thrower im used to. When I first decided to look at getting a progressive press I thought that a bullet and case feeder was a must have but after using the 550 today that's not even auto indexing I don't think auto feeders will be necessary. even the small amount of time it takes to place a case in the press and a bullet on top of the case its going to be 10 times faster and smoother than my old setup. I thank everyone for the input and opinions now I hope the IRS sends me the funds for the Dillon 550 soon I feel like a young child on Christmas eve I think when I get it I will load more ammo than I will shoot and most of my play money will be spent on reloading components lol If anyone knows of a used 550 for sale or where I should be checking please let me know. If I cant find a used one I would order new but prefer to purchase from a store or individual if anyone knows of a shop near Seymour that would have 550 in stock let me know. Thanks again everyone

 

[ZbornacSVT]

We aren't that far from Seymour....and in case you missed my above post, we'll have some used 550s late next week.

 

[bigeric08]

Hello just followed you on instagram I don't have facebook lol. Any ideas what all comes with the 550's and asking price? I would PM but I don't have enough posts on here yet

Just closed a trade that involves us getting two 550s.....should have them late next week.

 

[ZbornacSVT]

Hello just followed you on instagram I don't have facebook lol. Any ideas what all comes with the 550's and asking price? I would PM but I don't have enough posts on here yet

PM sent over on Instagram

 

[bigeric08]

I have looked at the sdb but I may eventually get into loading 223

Be glad to help out any way that we can!

I am supposed to be getting a Used Dillon SDB in 9 and 45 any day now. If you aren't looking to do any rifle cartridges, the SDB may be right up your alley.