Dillon 550 press question

zvezdah · December 23, 2004, 08:13 PM

HI,
I decided to go head and go for a progressive in view of how much ammo I'll be shooting. Toss up is between RCBS and Dillon. I did find I link on hear to the Real Guns 3 part story on reloading which is extremely helpful.

I'm having a hard time figuring out from the dillon site, does the shellplate come with the press or purchased separately?

Thanks
Chris

zvezdah · December 23, 2004, 10:14 PM

answered my own question, but can't seem to delete the post?
CHris

Nnobby45 · December 24, 2004, 02:41 AM

Dillon! The warranty and tech help is too good to pass up. Been loading with my Dillon 550B about 15 years now. The machine will come set up complete with the caliber of your choice. I've purchased extra tool heads set up for my different calibers, so they're ready to go when I change.

RUT · December 24, 2004, 10:48 AM

I have two 550's... one for small and one for large primers. I think they're terrific, and personally, I prefer manual indexing over auto.

Lycanthrope · December 24, 2004, 11:25 AM

Having used BOTH, I'll say they both have strong points. The RCBS changes calibers in under 5 minutes and has a lot better priming system than the Dillon. The Dillon has the auto indexing making it slightly faster and can come pre-set for whatever caliber you want.

BOTH will cover everything by warrantee.

zvezdah · December 24, 2004, 02:39 PM

Thanks for all the input guys, I'm still undecided on which to go for. What exactly is auto indexing?

Also, with the DIllon having 4 station vs rcbs 5 how can you still use a four die set? At which die to you drop the powder (this is one station correct?)
Thanks
Chris

HSMITH · December 24, 2004, 04:44 PM

On the 550 you deprime and size in station one. Station two is belling and powder drop. Station three can be seat and crimp or just seat. Station four can be blank or just crimp. The configuration of the Dillon allows for the same utility as the Pro 2000, both offer the same number of operations with one less index per round on the Dillon. I prefer the Dillon products.

Jbar4Ranch · December 24, 2004, 07:00 PM

The 550 is auto-indexing? My RCBS Ammomaster progressive is auto-indexing, but I'm pretty sure my 550 isn't. I've been indexing it manually ever since I bought it... did I miss something?

**Bud Helms** · December 24, 2004, 09:00 PM

No, Jbar4 ... you didn't miss anything, unless the 550 has been updated to autoindexing recently.

ZWolfgang · December 25, 2004, 05:26 AM

Recently bought a Dillon 550B and love it. I do my own indexing and like it just fine. Great machine.

Lycanthrope · December 25, 2004, 12:19 PM

My error on the auto indexing. That's the 650 series!

December 23, 2004, 08:13 PM	#1
zvezdah Junior Member Join Date: December 9, 2004 Posts: 12	Dillon 550 press question HI, I decided to go head and go for a progressive in view of how much ammo I'll be shooting. Toss up is between RCBS and Dillon. I did find I link on hear to the Real Guns 3 part story on reloading which is extremely helpful. I'm having a hard time figuring out from the dillon site, does the shellplate come with the press or purchased separately? Thanks Chris

December 24, 2004, 07:00 PM	#8
Jbar4Ranch Senior Member Join Date: May 19, 1999 Location: Near Helena, Montana Posts: 1,719	The 550 is auto-indexing? My RCBS Ammomaster progressive is auto-indexing, but I'm pretty sure my 550 isn't. I've been indexing it manually ever since I bought it... did I miss something? __________________ Sometimes the squeaky wheel gets replaced... SASS 47015

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December 23, 2004, 10:14 PM	#2
zvezdah Junior Member Join Date: December 9, 2004 Posts: 12	answered my own question, but can't seem to delete the post? CHris

December 24, 2004, 02:41 AM	#3
Nnobby45 Senior Member Join Date: November 20, 2004 Posts: 3,150	Dillon! The warranty and tech help is too good to pass up. Been loading with my Dillon 550B about 15 years now. The machine will come set up complete with the caliber of your choice. I've purchased extra tool heads set up for my different calibers, so they're ready to go when I change.

December 24, 2004, 10:48 AM	#4
RUT Senior Member Join Date: November 17, 2004 Location: NH, USA Posts: 812	I have two 550's... one for small and one for large primers. I think they're terrific, and personally, I prefer manual indexing over auto.

December 24, 2004, 11:25 AM	#5
Lycanthrope Senior Member Join Date: October 1, 2001 Location: PA Posts: 1,752	Having used BOTH, I'll say they both have strong points. The RCBS changes calibers in under 5 minutes and has a lot better priming system than the Dillon. The Dillon has the auto indexing making it slightly faster and can come pre-set for whatever caliber you want. BOTH will cover everything by warrantee.

December 24, 2004, 02:39 PM	#6
zvezdah Junior Member Join Date: December 9, 2004 Posts: 12	Thanks for all the input guys, I'm still undecided on which to go for. What exactly is auto indexing? Also, with the DIllon having 4 station vs rcbs 5 how can you still use a four die set? At which die to you drop the powder (this is one station correct?) Thanks Chris

December 24, 2004, 04:44 PM	#7
HSMITH Senior Member Join Date: June 21, 2002 Posts: 2,019	On the 550 you deprime and size in station one. Station two is belling and powder drop. Station three can be seat and crimp or just seat. Station four can be blank or just crimp. The configuration of the Dillon allows for the same utility as the Pro 2000, both offer the same number of operations with one less index per round on the Dillon. I prefer the Dillon products.

December 24, 2004, 09:00 PM	#9
Bud Helms Senior Member Join Date: December 31, 1999 Location: Middle Georgia, USA Posts: 13,198	No, Jbar4 ... you didn't miss anything, unless the 550 has been updated to autoindexing recently.

December 25, 2004, 05:26 AM	#10
ZWolfgang Senior Member Join Date: March 31, 2002 Location: Washington State Posts: 254	Recently bought a Dillon 550B and love it. I do my own indexing and like it just fine. Great machine.

December 25, 2004, 12:19 PM	#11
Lycanthrope Senior Member Join Date: October 1, 2001 Location: PA Posts: 1,752	My error on the auto indexing. That's the 650 series!