Dillon 550B

[gdeal]

is the dillon 550B the best reloading press to get for a beginner?

[oneounceload]

IMO, a single stage press is the best press for a BEGINNER to learn all of the nuances associated with reloading - QUALITY trumps QUANTITY every time. Until you are sure you won't be making any mistakes than can lead to a kaboom, you might want to slow down and make sure they are all loaded correctly.

YMMV

[putteral]

I agree totally. Start out with a single stage untill your are familar with all the steps, then advance.

[gdeal]

I agree totally. Start out with a single stage untill your are familar with all the steps, then advance.

what about a Lee Turret then? would that be good for a beginner?

[gdeal]

i read that you can use the dillon 550b as a single stage if you want to.

[Farmland]

I disagree and I have disagreed every time this question comes up. There is not one single thing that points to a single press being easier to learn on than a progressive press.

Now if you are just going to open up the box and start to reload as a beginner your in trouble with either press. So prior to buying or operating your press start to read and learn the steps.

So in my opinion I base this on my first experience with reloading which was with a progressive press. I was a self learner and prior to even starting my first round I read and understood the full reloading process and how to set each die up correctly. I found that it was no different you still had to set each die up the same way, the only difference was that on the progressive you have them all set up to work together.

I know some seasoned veterans of reloading my disagree and that is ok because many of them started on the single stage press and that is the way it is for them.

Now is the Dillon the right machine for you? I don't know it is well built but to be honest I like the 650. However for the price the Hornady is well worth looking over the 550.

But it is important not to overlook the single stage press. I have one and it does get a work out, in fact I wished I had bought one a lot sooner than I did.

Another factor is what do you want? If you want a progressive press than that is what you should buy. Do you need a progressive press? Unless you have a need for loading a couple of thousand rounds a month you might not need to invest that much money.

Just remember the press is a tool and it is the operator that is important. I would suggest since you would be new to a progressive press find a model that offers a powder check station to help prevent any double charges. Though if you take the time to look at each case you may not need this.

Quality can be done with a progressive press. Again it is the operator that learns his/her machine that is important.

Here is a link to something you may find interesting. It gives a very basic over view of the presses. I will note the author does disagree with me and does recommend a single stage press. However it is nice to read different view points so you can decide what is right for you.

http://findarticles.com/p/articles/m...g=content;col1

[NWPilgrim]

I think the Lee Classic Turret is a great starting press. You can remove the indexing rod very simply, and use it as a single stage until you are familiar with the reloading steps and factors involved. After a while you can replace the auto index rod and enjoy the convenience of a turret.

For my purposes the turret is all I need. I used a single stage for 18 years and a couple of years ago added a turret press. I load in batches of 100-500 at a time and it is easy to do that in one evening or scattered through several evenings or a Saturday. Or I can just as easily load 20 sample rounds for several cartridges in a coupl of hours.

If you plan to reload more than a few hundred rounds per batch then a progressive would be in order for a future purchase. But right now as oneounceload stated, it is more important to learn how to reload safely and with quality. Quantity can come after you have a firm grasp of those two.

[Farmland]

You can use any press as a single stage press if you want. You would just leave off the other dies. I never thought about it but even my 650 would work as a single stage press if I wanted it too. There would just be some extra bulk and parts that move.

Seriously I enjoy doing single stage work on a single stage press though. But then again I have spent way too much money and time setting up my heads for each caliber so that I don't need to do many changes.

You may want to look at the prices for caliber changes for any progressive press you want if you are doing more than a few different cartridges. The extra expense can add up fast. That is one thing you really don't have to worry about with a single stage press, just the dies and a shell holder.

[gdeal]

find a model that offers a powder check station to help prevent any double charges

which ones have that? which ones have the most check stations is there is such a thing?

[BigJimP]

Dillon's lineup - the SDB and the 550 do not have an option for the "powder check" station.....

and to me that is a deal breaker for a rookie especially - so no, the 550 is not a good press for a beginner in my opinion. I would however, recommend the Dillon 650, with the powder check station ( but RCBS, Hornady and others have presses with the option as well ).

I think you can learn on a progressive press / you don't need to start with a single stage ( they're way too slow ).

I have a 650 / its about 5 yrs old now / and its a press I would buy again.

[Unclenick]

gdeal,

It depends what you are reloading for and what your objectives for the loads are? If you are competing with any pistol caliber, then the progressives give you the highest production. Dillon presses come already set up for one caliber and bullet type. I expect you could buy the bullets and send them a few samples to set the press up with if you didn't want to learn that part the first day?

Rifle loading has some steps, though, that I don't find conducive to progressive loading. Having to interrupt flow to trim cases every second or third loading before putting powder and and bullets in them, for one. Periodic neck annealing is another. I do separate decapping so my tumbler has a chance to clean the primer pockets some before I even get to sizing, and that means a separate universal decapping die operation. I do some case prep on new cases (flashhole deburring and primer pocket uniforming) and that may be part of what you decide you want to do, too? Also, I am mainly interested in highest accuracy, so despite owning a couple of Dillons, I load for rifle on a Forster Co-ax press, which has die quick change ability and seems to produce the most concentric rounds of any of my five presses.

As to the advantages of learning on a single stage, I think that lies mostly in making you spend more time on each round, so you are thinking about them at each stage and not just paying attention to one action while another happens automatically. It also leaves you with less diagnostic work, as most progressive and auto-indexing machines develop hang-ups related to their mechanics that you have to straighten out from time to time (primer jams sideways from the self-feeder, decapper hits a Berdan case and the indexer ratchet won't let you simply withdraw the ram to recover, etc.). The turret lets you see each operation a little better than a progressive, but you still end up pulling the handle four or five times to complete a round, instead of getting one round done with each pull of the handle as the progressive does, so it is four or five times slower. If you get a Lee Anniversary kit, however, you get a single stage press that you can always use for decapping, using a Lee bullet hardness tester, double-stroking for a collet neck sizing die, and so on). When you have it all figured out you will be able to make a more informed choice about what progressive or other press you want for whatever you are reloading?

[jepp2]

+1 on Unclenick.

The best press for you depends on what you are going to load on it, importance of speed (rounds per hour), your budget, expectations, etc.

You can certainly start by using the Dillon as a single stage press, to simplify the process and minimize the potential for problems.

[alfack]

I started off on a Dillon 550b, never had one problem.

You can load one round at a time on it if you want, but you will never be able to load progressively on a single stager. The trickiest thing about reloading is getting the dies set up properly and there is no difference on how you set the dies between the two types.

So yes, a 550 would be an awesome machine to start out on.

[Tucker 2]

I started on the dillon 550b also. I read a lot, and watched utube vidios . Asked questions here and it all went together pretty well. Give yourself some time, be willing to send your mistakes to the can.

This is your friend.

[gdeal]

It depends what you are reloading for and what your objectives for the loads are?

Just .40 S&W. I want to shoot not reload. If 50 rounds were still ten dollars I probably wouldn't even know this section of the firing line forums even existed. but at 30 dollars for 50 rounds, I have to make my own.

[gdeal]

the SDB and the 550 do not have an option for the "powder check" station.....

wouldn't you be able to tell if you put too much powder in a cartridge?
aside for powder check, what other check stations exist on a progressive press? if this is the only critical stage maybe I can always keep an eye on that one. I would think I could keep an eye on all the stages before I pulled the lever each time.

[balin]

Last year I bought the 550 as my first press and am not sorry that I started with it. Yes it is most likely a little more complicated to set up. But the principals are still the same. You can check each round to start with if you want then when satisfied continue to produce at a higher volume.

[Farmland]

If you want to just shoot one caliber and not really spend a lot of time in the reloading room you might want to consider the single stage press or you can speed things up with a Dillon Square Deal.

Brian Enos has a pretty good site that goes over Dillon Progressive Presses, of course he sells them. But I think he is fair and a pretty nice guy. Take a look at the link. However don't rule out a good single stage press and if money is an issue Lee's are pretty good.

http://www.brianenos.com/pages/dillon.html#which

Info on Lee

http://www.leeprecision.com/

[gdeal]

http://www.brianenos.com/pages/dillon.html#which

That dillon square deal B looks pretty hot. now if I can just find one with a powder check station. do I need a powder check station?

[Farmland]

I'm not sure who all makes a powder check die, I think Hornady still makes their powder cop (?) die. Dillon make one with an audible alarm that I like very much.

In any event as long as you have an extra space on the reloader you can use any type of powder check die, normally you would need a press with at least 5 stations. For example you could not use one for the Dillon Square Deal or Dillion 505. However you could use one with the Hornaday or Dillon 650.

Here is a closer look at the Hornady press.

https://www.hornady.com/shop/?ps_ses...7131f0d9a3aa1b

[Farmland]

Do you need a powder check? My bet is that a lot of people never use one. I use them when I am loading hundreds of one round at one setting just as a measure of safety. If my press didn't have one then I would just watch the cases more closely than I do.

For safety reason I mention them but it shouldn't be a deal breaker. The most important safety feature to any press is YOU.

[gdeal]

so the hornady and the dillon progressive presses seem to be comparable. what progressive press out there uses the thing so that you don't need lube? I would be interested in that too.

[Farmland]

If by lube you mean lubing cases then any press used with CARBIDE DIES would not need to be lubed. (handgun cases only)

You might want to buy some good general books or read some reloading information on the internet. This would give you a good solid base of knowledge. If you have already did this then I am sorry for suggesting it. I just don't want to miss telling you something.

[gdeal]

You might want to buy some good general books or read some reloading information on the internet.

I ordered the ABC's of Reloading from Amazon.com. I'm waiting to receive it. After reading it, I will probably get a Lee Turret Press, huh?

[Farmland]

Great to hear, yes a Lee Turret Press would do just fine. I have never had one but I can assure you that my Lee Single Stage Press does just fine. I would expect their Turret to do just as well.