[Jhamblen]

I currently have a Lee single stage press that was given to me along with a scale. I have considered moving up in the world and getting a more efficient press. Any ideas? I have really taken a liking to the Dillion brand. Any and all input along with experiences are welcome. Thanks ahead of time.

[dustinoif3]

I'm on the dillon wagon. My first dillon was the square deal b because I didn't think I was ever going to do rifle cartridges. The press worked great. I pumped a lot of ammo of it. The auto indexing to me initially was a sweet deal but when I'd run into something like not seating a primer because it didn't feed the thing would index it was a pain to back up the process. Another thing i didnt care for was how small it is. The distance from the toolhead to the shellplate is short. Its hard to get your fingers in there to do anything. Like change shell plate. I mean its hard to complain when its designed for pistol ammo only. The press by design doesnt have to be tall i suppose. Anyways about 8 months in I decided to load rifle (of course) and after talking with a few people I decided on the 550b. One of the first things I noticed out of the box was how big it was. Tons of room to work. The press does damn near all calibers and a lot of the shell plates and buttons interchange with other calibers. You can obtain a caliber cross reference sheet online that shows everything. Caliber swaps are fast and about the same price as the square deal b. It accepts standard dies from all manufactures opposed to having to use special dies from dillon made for the square deal b. The press is also a manual index which means you make the shell plate move when your ready. At first I thought it would slow the process but now it's second nature to move the shell plate with my left hand while grabbing brass to insert into station 1. While I'm inserting the new brass I'm getting a bullet set into station 3. After the first couple hundred rounds I feel like I'm just as fast with the 550b compared to the sdb.
Another plus with dillon is the customer service. I've called multiple times with little problems I couldn't figure out and it doesn't matter who you talk to they are all very knowledgable and were able to help in minutes. They also offer a no bull*hit warranty no matter who owns it so if anything breaks they will replace it. Dillon also offers a le and military discount. Saved me 10% which is decent chunk on a 430 dollar press. In closing I will say that there presses last a lifetime. I constantly hear of people still cranking ammo out on a 20 year old press and if you don't plan on loading rifle ammo now you may decide to later like I did. Save yourself some money and get one that will handle everything you may or may not wanna load.

[locutus]

You can never go wrong with a Dillon. It's the Rolls Royce of reloaders.

[25-5]

I have had a Dillon 450 for 30 yrs. put in some upgrades so its close to the 550 w/o the die head. Load all my pistol cal. Rifle too except the powder. I do that on a scale. Run some 70M through it. Don't go so fast you screw up. No one is watching you race.

[cottontop]

RCBS Rockchucker. You'll know what I mean if you get one.
cottontop

[ryguy00]

dillon. cry once. then smile for life. i've had four friends order one after using mine for an evening. four so far... i have a 550b. all four of my friends have bought 550b's. i load 9mm, .40, .45acp, 38/357, and .223 (for the ar) all on my dillon. I still load for my bolt rifles on a single stage. On my dillon, I'm able to crank out around 100rds in about 20 minutes without rushing.

[25-5]

Originally Posted by ryguy00

dillon. cry once. then smile for life. i've had four friends order one after using mine for an evening. four so far... i have a 550b. all four of my friends have bought 550b's. i load 9mm, .40, .45acp, 38/357, and .223 (for the ar) all on my dillon. I still load for my bolt rifles on a single stage. On my dillon, I'm able to crank out around 100rds in about 20 minutes without rushing.

If you use your 550 for sizing, depriming, seating, and taper crimping, you will save a lot of time. I prime and charge separately.

[sdiver35]

I have an RCBS turret and love it!

[Jhamblen]

Thanks everyone, so it looks like Dillion and RCBS are neck and neck for the lead. What are the main differences between the brands? Versatility and ease of use are a big factor for me. As I will be doing pistol and moving into rifle as well.

[25-5]

Originally Posted by Jhamblen

Thanks everyone, so it looks like Dillion and RCBS are neck and neck for the lead. What are the main differences between the brands? Versatility and ease of use are a big factor for me. As I will be doing pistol and moving into rifle as well.

Suggest you call Dillon & RCBS. I have seen RCBS but have only used the Dillon. Dillon has the removable die bar which is a plus. No resetting of dies when changing cal. I don't know if RCBS has that. Both are great companies.