Reloading speed on a Dillon 550

[SLG]

You need to try my 147s. Cost per $1k is $108 assuming you already have brass.

How long does it take you to load 1000?

#Dillon550

[LittleLebowski]

How long does it take you to load 1000?

About 2.5 hours if I prestage primer tubes, but I usually do batches of a few hundred at a time. I'm at 12-15 minutes per 100 depending on cadence and reconstructed elbow and shoulder issues. I could speed it up a little, but I watch primers being fed and powder charge level pretty closely.

[Wayne Dobbs]

I'm about the same, and possibly 10 minutes faster on occasion. Making sure a primer was seated and making sure you have a powder charge are critical and can be done without losing much time. My routine is to load 10 primer tubes beforehand and then do batches of 500 (two practice sessions worth on average). Every 1000 - 1500 rounds I wipe the primer seating assembly down and lightly lube. Seems to keep that seating arm from sticking or failing to pick up a primer.

[punkey71]

500/hr for 147gr blue bullets on a 550. About $90/1000 with my brass.

I usually only do 500 rounds at a time. Anything more and it becomes tedious.

I am tempted by a 650 with case and bullet feeders though. Someday - but I'm not in a huge hurry.


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[rsa-otc]

I'm at about 500 to 600 rounds per hour inclusive of loading the primer tubes. If everything goes well I'm pushing the upper end. If there is a brass or primer issue closer to 500. I load approx 200 rounds in a sitting and it takes right at 20 min.

[shane45]

Man you guys are fast! I must just have a casual pace. Im usually in the 250 to 300 per hour category.

[Wayne Dobbs]

I am tempted by a 650 with case and bullet feeders though. Someday - but I'm not in a huge hurry.

When I make the jump from my 550 (which has over 20 years of service right now), I'm going to jump way up to a 1050. Production will jump, time will be saved and military staked primer pockets won't drive me nuts.

[Hambo]

I watch primers being fed and powder charge level pretty closely.

This is what keeps me at around 400/hr.

[JAD]

For a lot of years my standard practice was to reload a session's worth, 400, in a burst. That would require a couple of primer tubes and usually involved some messing with the tumbler, and always involved QC and packaging. I could always count on getting that whole process done in under an hour.

In the good old days when I was reloading a lot more, I would give it a whole Saturday afternoon. If total time was >6 hours, I could count on hitting a rate of 500/h with all extraneous activities accounted for. I distinctly recall it taking eight hours and a little to get 4K rounds of .45 prepped for a Thunder Ranch class in 2000.

[JCS]

As a new 550 convert I'm pretty slow. Around 250/hr.

There's been some wrinkles to iron out with the press, mainly the priming system.

I think I need to clean the priming arm better. But 3-4 times per hundred rounds I can't get the primer to seat all the way. It's a pain because the primer will be halfway in and I can't rotate the head. I haven't figured out the best way to fix it yet and it usually takes a few mins.

I've noticed that a small piece of the old primer stays stuck in the primer pocket. Any suggestions?

If it would prime consistently I could be a lot faster.

Also, when you guys say that you watch the primers being fed what are you watching? My focus pretty much stays on the powder to avoid a squib or double charge. I have had a few rounds either not get a primer or one was upside down so I think I need to add this in.


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