Hi all, I was looking at various reloaders and trying to figure out, which is going to be the best for my application, without spending a ton of time reloading or money on things. I get that time and money are gonna be inversely proportional... My goal would be to reload 9mm, 5.56, .308, 6.5 Creedmoor and 50 BMG. What is the most cost effective way to do this? The Dillon XL650 or XL750 vs the Hornady LNL look attractive, but I am not sure about how much I would be required to spend on dies and extra parts. It looks like things will start to add up. Open to alternatives. I would say my budget is roughly $1500 for equipment. Not sure if that is reasonable or not. Let me know what you guys think.
https://www.redding-reloading.com/i...le&Itemid=15&id=49:t-7-turret-reloading-press Setting one of these (Redding T-7 Turret press) up after the holidays. Have a couple of RCBS single stage Rock Chucker's now which I'll still use.
Dillon 550, look around you might find one used https://www.dillonprecision.com/rl-550c-reloader_8_1_23594.html
Dillon for any standard type shooting ammo. Turret or Single stage for precision rifle ammo. And a BIG single stage for the 50 BMG rounds.
I'm a universal reloader, aren't you? Equipment does not a reloader make. Regarding presses, my findings are: If you don't need a case collator, the Hornady L-N-L will do everything you need. I used a Hornady progressive since the '70s and finally "retired" it about 12 years ago and bought a L-N-L. Hornady never charged me for repairs or replacement parts (problem was, when they change models, they don't keep spare parts around forever like Dillon, so the old press was retired rather than looking for another old press to swap parts with) If you need a case collator, the 650/750 is the way to go. If you want to be done with questions like this, the 1050/1100 will do everything you will probably ever need to have done. All three of my 1050s have gone to re-visit Dillon and Dillon has never charged my for repairs—but they do charge for lost parts. They say they can tell that mine have never been used commercially.
Dillion 650/750 I'd question using it for the 6.5. Those are generally high precision, and you may find single stage with a measuring powder separately for that round.
My 6mm Remington varmint rig shoots 3/8 MOA with ammo loaded on the Dillon 650, and powder dropped from the measure.
With what powder? Most extruded rifle powder's don't measure consistently enough out of any type of powder thrower. Ball type powder's can be pretty consistent, but I would never trust or waste my time trying to load precision rifle cartridges on a progressive press.
Thanks for the excellent comments, all! It looks like Dillon is the clear winner. Good thing Santa Claus is coming to town.
