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Old December 19, 2011, 05:42 PM   #1
sigcurious
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Dillon BL550

I've been looking at reloading equipment for a little while now, and my original plan was to get a Lee Classic Turret. But in looking around for deals on the equipment I came across the Dillon BL550. Does anyone have this press, and more specifically have you done the upgrades to turn it into the RL550B progressive?

This press peaked my interest due to this feature/option. For my purposes, it would seem beneficial to be able to add the features of a progressive once I get the process down, vs get a whole new press, to speed things up.
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Old December 19, 2011, 05:56 PM   #2
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I have an antique 450 Jr Dillon. I'd guess it's loaded a 1/4 million rounds. (2-5 gal buckets of spent primers thrown out). The Dillon support and warranty set the standard by which all others follow. I've even called and talked to Mike Dillon about problem with primers. You will never regret getting a Dillon.
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Old December 19, 2011, 06:40 PM   #3
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I have two RL550's , one for small primers and one for large. Never had a problem out of either one.
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Old December 19, 2011, 07:02 PM   #4
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I'd spend the extra $130 AND GET THE 550b

I understand your not wanting a full blown progessive but you can use a 550B as a single stage press. Just do one stage at a time for a batch.

Just my .02 worth. I drank the bleaukoolaid along time ago with a 550B and really like the set-up.
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Old December 19, 2011, 07:53 PM   #5
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I also suggest spending the extra cash and get the RL550b. The upgrades will cost much more than just buying it all at once and you do not have to use them.
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Old December 19, 2011, 08:01 PM   #6
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I would either get the classic turret or the RL550. I believe the BL 550 is the same as the RL550 minus the powder system and primer system. You will need some way to prime and dispence powder so I would get a complete set up.
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Old December 19, 2011, 11:36 PM   #7
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The BL550 is for people who want to jury-rig a much more expensive powder measure to their press in order to throw highly consistent charges. It's not a turret press in the same vein as the Lee. The lee is ready to load rounds with three pulls of the lever. The BL550 won't do that, largely because the priming is done off-press.

I use a Dillon 550 as a turret press, but I went another route. My press started life as a Dillon 450, which is a 550 but with manual powder and primer systems, and a fixed toolhead. I upgraded to the auto-eject system (a must, and standard on the BL550), automatic powder system, auto-priming, and removable toolhead. I realized that I prefer my Square Deal for pistol ammo, and load rifle ammo in a turret fashion, so I went back to the manual 450 priming system. This is really the best turret setup for the Dillon, in my opinion.

So, if I were going to get another press, I would buy the 550, and search for a 450 priming system. But at this point, it's really no better than a Lee turret press. I sort of prefer the cartridge rotating rather than the turret head, but that's just me.

In response to those who suggest the OP get a full 550, the problem is that the priming is automatic with the lever, which you can't really turn off when the cartridge is going through the other stages.

-John
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Old December 20, 2011, 04:45 AM   #8
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Good morning
Got my first Blue 550 in 88 and have no regrets. Dillon will happily help you over any questions you can imagine. Plus if you ever can break something or wear out a part they will honor the garentee. After gazillions of rounds the spring stub on my powder dispenser broke off. Made my own fix.. but weeks later called Dillion and told them all I needed was the slide.. they sent a whole new powder measure.
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Old December 20, 2011, 05:51 AM   #9
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went from a Lee Classic Turret to a 550B and never looked back
and you wont either
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Old December 20, 2011, 10:24 AM   #10
JerryM
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I have never owned a Lee press. I do have a 550 and a 650. While some seem satisfied with the Lee I also read that some are not. I have never known anyone that was not satisfied with the 550.

Go with the Dillon RL 550B and you will be happy in the long run.
Jerry
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Old December 20, 2011, 10:37 AM   #11
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Quote:
In response to those who suggest the OP get a full 550, the problem is that the priming is automatic with the lever, which you can't really turn off when the cartridge is going through the other stages.
There is ne need to turn the priming system off. Once the cup picks up a primer from the tube it will stay in the cup until you seat it in a case. When not seated it will just ride in and out and the rest of the primers will just stay in the tube.
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Old December 20, 2011, 01:04 PM   #12
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Nothing wrong with the 550 press...

The only downside to the 550 vs the 650 model ...is the 650 model has space in the toolhead to add the "powder check die" and to me that's a big deal ...when loading large volumes of handgun ammo.

I'm not saying you can't load good ammo in a press like the 550 - you can --- but the powder check gives you another safety option, and I like having it.
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Old December 20, 2011, 02:39 PM   #13
sigcurious
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thanks for the responses guys. I have a bad feeling that reloading will be like other aspects of firearms for me...ADDICTIVE!

How easy is it to change caliber on the 550? From what I saw on the dillon website it looks like it wouldn't be much harder than swaping the turrets on a lee. but I'm not one to entirely trust what marketing on a website says.
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Old December 20, 2011, 04:24 PM   #14
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You pop out 2 pins on top, pull the tool head, pull out your Allen wrench remove the bolt and remove shell plate, put new shell plate on and re-tighten the bolt, insert new tool head (with Dies), insert pins and go. That's about it if you have multiple powder measures, multiple tool heads and are staying with the same size primer. Even if you have to change out the powder funnel for a caliber change it isn't that bad. The part I don't like to do is the primer swap but again it's not that bad.
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Old December 20, 2011, 05:11 PM   #15
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Swapping calibers - or the large to small primer system is really no big deal - change the case feeder plate and a few parts that are caliber specific.

It takes a few minutes / and its a chance to clean the press up - lube everything ...and go on to the next caliber.

I keep toolheads - with dies already set for every caliber I load ...and powder measures for each caliber installed in the toolheads. It makes the swapout a lot faster - and easier. You still have to check the powder drops and the settings / but you're not starting from scratch all the time.

But honestly ( and I'm not a competition shooter ) but when I reload a caliber, I tend to do a couple of thousand rounds at least ...and then box them up and store them ....and then go on to the next caliber. When I get down to 5 or 6 boxes in a caliber, then I reload that caliber again. So it isn't like I load 200 rds / swith calibers and reload 200 rds of another ...although you can do that if you want...
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Old December 20, 2011, 05:30 PM   #16
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I can change calibers on my classic turret press in 30 seconds. On my 550 maybe five minutes. I wouldn't let that be the deciding factor on which press I bought. This is my opinion. If I was going to load 200 rounds, change calibers and load 200 rounds and change calibers and so on then I would go with the classic turret. If I was going to load 600 to 800 rounds or more between caliber changes then I would go with the 550. I think they are both great presses, just figure out which one fits your needs the best.
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Old December 21, 2011, 08:48 AM   #17
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On the 550, 9mm and .40 use the same shell plate, so there's no need to change the plate when changing between those 2 calibers.
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