Dillon Super 1050?

[Once Fired]

Hi all

I am getting into reloading. My dad is giving me a spare single stage press he hasn't used in years, so I will be learning on that. I've already got the first two most recommended books and am turning into a human sponge with those. I intend to use that to keep my costs low and my round count at the range high since I am a new pistol shooter and need lots of practice.

However, I know for certain that I want to move directly to the progressive when I have the funds - something I am already budgeting for now. Since I don't have to buy a cheaper press, I can invest my entire reloading effort into a really nice progressive instead of buying multiple presses as I gear up in my knowledge.

It seems the Dillon Super 1050 is the holy grail of consumer level presses - in terms of speed for a particular caliber, but it appears less well suited to frequent caliber changes. I believe that's how I will be operating, where I will very rarely alter the dies, primer sizes, etc. My wife and I, as well as many of my friends all tend to shoot 9mm and 223, so I figured I can justify the higher cost when I pool all those shooters together. Especially when my wife saw the ammo purchase price for hitting the local range 2x-3x a week. hahahhaha

And I've read a lot about the ergonomics of 650 vs 1050, etc. I am certain 1050 is what I want.

I am having trouble, however, finding anyone who has one for sale locally. Used ones are basically non-existant, and I imagine there is a waiting list a mile long just among folks on this board alone all hoping for the unlikely event one does pop up as available. But even finding one new in a store is very difficult. I want to SEE what I am purchasing, not just look at a picture before I lay out that kind of cash.

Any recommendations on where I can find one on display in the Austin TX area?

ZAG

[Waldog]

The 1050 is a NICE press and I have loaded on one. It is, however, considered a commercial press and is not covered by Dillon's lifetime warranty. Not sure exactly but, I think it is warrantied for 12 months. Caliber conversions are a real pain compared to other presses and they are expensive. I truly believe there are better choices for you. The Dillon 650 or the Hornady LNL is a far better choice in reloading for your family. Caliber changes are MUCH cheaper and easier to accomplish.

Go here:www.ultimatereloader.com
You can view the operation of just about every progressive press available, except the 1050. It's worth a look.

[jmorris]

I can load 100 rounds of 223 in 2.5 minutes on a bullet fed 1050, crimped primer pockets are swaged as part of the normal process. All the others are slower but cost a lot less.

Not a lot of folks stock them because there is no mark up. You can buy one direct from Dillon as cheap as a store can. Hornady allows the dealers to make a profit, the "ammo plant" that sells at Cabelas for $1299 has a dealer cost around $865. What machine would you rather sell?

Oh, if your pockets are deep enough to consider a 1050 as your first press, just get a different press for each caliber you own. If nothing else you need two so you don't have to swap primer systems.

[Jim Watson]

I have one. I leave it set up for .45 ACP and load the other stuff on a 550 or single stage. Caliber changes are much more involved for the 1050 than others.

Since you have your mind made up, I won't point out that you could get two 650s or Hornadys dedicated per caliber for the price of a 1050 and the necessary caliber change parts.

Since you are "getting into reloading" I WILL point out that loading for friends means assuming a good deal of liability. A friend with a wrecked gun and some powder tatoos becomes a plaintiff. And if you were charging him for ammo, the BATF will become interested in you for doing business without a license.

[Once Fired]

I hear you on the retailers carrying a press they make $$$ on. That's a no-brainer. Anyone in Austin have a 1050 I can come see instead?

For me, I only have 9mm in the house at this point, plus our 12ga. That plus friends etc being the same caliber - I am focused on the 9mm for now. But, as I understand it the 9mm and 223 share some common components, as do 38/357 and maybe 40/45 iirc. Since my next firearm will be an AR, it seems that I am OK to reload on both of those with a single conversion kit.

As for liability among friends - that's a risk both of us would have to take. My risk management would need to be making high quality rounds. Their risk management would be choosing whether to have faith in me, or not.

RE: selling, what I have planned at the moment would be simple trades. I get X amount of brass that I have reliable knowledge is once-fired, and they get a smaller amount of ready to shoot ammo. Once I have enough experience, get the ITAR & FFL sorted out, plus insurance, I could get into sales. I don't want to have to retool in order to do that, should I choose to do so. I'm a big multi-purpose guy - I want to reuse what I have every time I can.

I also looked at the ergonomics of the presses. The 1050 not having to do anything on the upstroke, and having it all happen on downstroke, is better engineering in my book. It's simpler on that level. And, the 650 with all the bells & whistles (which is what I would want) is already right in the same price territory as 1050.

For the warranty, as I understand it, Dillon is only going to give me a hard time if it's clear by the problems I am having that I am using the press in a commercial type setting - i.e. riding it hard & putting it away wet. I don't imagine I'll be putting that kind of mileage on it, as a whole. If I do go commercial, they're built tough as it is and my warranty would instantly be gone anyway. I don't imagine I'll go commercial in less than a year.

Finally, I run several small businesses and have a family. I have minimal free time, so it is important that I have very high per hour capacity. The more fun it is to use will also be a direct psychological benefit.

Plus, the difference of $2000 vs $1500 over a 20 year period seems really small. It hurts more up front, but my guess it it'll feel a lot better over the years.

ZAG

[Valerko]

I'd say you have it all figured out and looking more for "push to go ahead" then advice. I'm semi novice myself and I sure with I'd listen more on the beginning. Would've save my brand new Stag arms upper from exploding.

[noylj]

Once you've used a 1050, you aren't going to happy with less.
Dillon has given me excellent service on all three of my 1050s. Biggest problem I have had is the case feeders--and they aren't 1050-only models. I would certainly prefer a 1050 without a case feeder than a 650 or 550 without one.
If you are going to load a number of different calibers, get a L-N-L. The press is less expensive and caliber conversions are inexpensive and very fast.
If you only load one or two calibers and need to load a lot of ammunition for them, get a 1050.
A 1050 will easily load 200 rounds in 15 minutes without trying very hard--even without a bullet feed and having to load primer tubes.

[jmorris]

20,000 147 grain bullets at dealer price run a tad over $1600, not to mention primers, powder and brass. Looking at a total loss of money on that level makes $2k in reloading equipment that will be around for decades seem like a great deal.

If you have the extra tool heads all set up it's really not that big of a deal to convert the 1050, if you have one for small primers and another for large.

[jmorris]

I'd say you have it all figured out and looking more for "push to go ahead" then advice.

This video should do it.

[Waldog]

For me, I only have 9mm in the house at this point, plus our 12ga. That plus friends etc being the same caliber - I am focused on the 9mm for now. But, as I understand it the 9mm and 223 share some common components, as do 38/357 and maybe 40/45 iirc. Since my next firearm will be an AR, it seems that I am OK to reload on both of those with a single conversion kit.

The only common components in your proposal is:
- 9mm, 38/357, 40 and 45 MAY use the same powder within specific parameters.
- 9mm 38/357, and 40 use SMALL pistol primers
- 45ACP primarily uses LARGE pistol primers, although some 45ACP cases have small primer pockets.

There are no rifle reloading components, that I am aware of, that can be shared with your listed pistol cartridges. The 223 uses, SMALL RIFLE primers and a powder that is not compatible with any of your listed cartridges.

[eldorendo]

I own a 650 with case feeder, but have loaded on a 1050. For my purposes, the 650 wins, hands-down. If I loaded a lot of military-crimped cases, the 1050 would get the nod.

[BDS-THR]

For the price (to factor in caliber changes), instead of one 1050, I would get two 650s ...