I am thinking about gettign the Dillon basic 550 loader to do my large caliber rifle rounds on. Does anyone have one of these and have any insight ? I really love my XL650 and was kinda wanting a basic progressive to do the stuff that i've been doing on my lee single stage.
I have had a 550b since 1995. It is as close to fool proof as it gets. One thing I would caution about it, get the roller handle, that gear shift knob will put blisters in your palm. I have 2 RCBS presses and the 550, and it doesnt get any better. Get a tool head for each set of dies, get them set and if you want to change out, simply pull the pin pull out one caliber and set it on the stand and slide in the next one, replace the pin and go. On .45 ACP or .45 Colt, you can easily do 400 per hour if there is no distractions. You need your loading bench where you can lock your door and have no distractions until you are finished. I am a firm believer in locked doors to avoid distraction ever since my failure to lock a door allowed a person to come in behind me and slap me on the back when I was making a cut on the table saw and I shoved my hand through the blade and cut off the end of my left index finger. Basic safety begins with concentration on what you are doing and no possibility of anyone distracting you. Of the thousands of loads I have done on the 550 I have not had a squib or a double load. If you have the 650, you already know about full stroking the handle. [ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bzrvZ0MLkwI[/ame] A picture of my bench is on the last page of the lets see your bench thread up above.
Thanks WC,, nice set up you have there.. Mine is on the page before yours.. The 650 would look great with a 550 like yours mounted next to it. I really like the interchangeable heads, its soo nice to leave everything set up including the powder drop and all. Pull two pins and swap out the shell plate and voila yer done. I have it down to about 800-1k rounds and hour now if I load the primer tubes first. If I am just poking along and taking my time 6-800 is easily achieved per hour. For anyone that shoots a lot I would highly recomend the XL650.
I have multiple tool heads now but for my hunting loads ect I like to weight each powder charge and seal the primers. I prefer to handle each one through the process and coddle them. Thats why I was thinking the 550, I can leave my dies set up in the tool heads and just swap shell plates.
I have a 550-b and LX-650 and like both but you are right about the 550-b . You can stop any place look at the hull/bullet or powder and still load a bunch of ammo .
Go back and re-read Quantrill's post. several times. I don't even allow a radio or stereo in my shop when reloading. I'm 68 years old. I've been reloading since I was 21. I still have both eyes and all ten fingers. Safety precautions and paying attention to what you're doing works.
Did I miss something ?? I have read his post but did something lead you to believe otherwise.. Like i try to reload in a room full of dancing women with party rock going on Or was that just a generic statement to the basic safety of reloading ?
Cant be too safe these days. I have the 2 Rock Chuckers set up for loading my critical loads. I found them at pawn shops for $35 each, and I just leave the dies in them, and I dont have to change them, unless I change calibers which isnt often, because I weigh and tinker with each load anyway.
