For those of you that have done so, Dillon 550 versus 650 comparisons?

[BN]

I don't have a 650, but I do have a RL1050 with a Mr Bullet Feeder and a 550. The 1050 is usually set up for 9mm. The 550 is used for various other lower usage calibers. It is set up for .45 ACP right now. Loading primer tubes etc. all take the same time no matter which press you have.

I started each test with primer tubes loaded and bullets, cases etc loaded in feeders etc. 100 rounds of 9mm on the 1050 took 4 minutes and 18 seconds. 100 rounds on the 550 took 10 minutes and 58 seconds. This is at a somewhat leisurely pace.

I will usually load for about 30 minutes at a time and take a break. I can get 500 rounds easily on the 1050 or 200 rounds on the 550. I have had both presses for a long time.

[LittleLebowski]

Dibs on your 550 [emoji3]

Never! It was a gift and it's still way too versatile, plus it's not slow.

[flux]

I have a 550 and load 9mm and 223. I have access to a 650 nearby but barely use it. 9mm takes me 15min per 100 rounds,eye balling each case for powder. I'm a cautious loader. 223 takes slightly longer. I use Lee dies with no issues. For me, the 550 is fast enough but I do see the speed advantage of a fully setup 650, but at a cost.

[Trigger]

I had a 650 with casefeeder and powder check system for 14 years. I bought a 550 6 years ago. I find 650 is better suited for pistol reloading, the 550 for rifle reloading.

I sold the 650 and bought a 1050. For me, the primer swage capability alone is worth it. I find the 1050 works better with loading and priming on the downstroke, is more stable (less spilled powder), and my load rate is 25% (or more) faster than the 650. Since my high-volume reloading is .223 and 9mm, the capability to swage primers during reloading is worth it. I tried to swage a bucket of .223 brass in front of the TV one night, and I did not enjoy the experience.

To address your original question: 550 for rifle reloading, 650 with casefeeder for pistol reloading. Speed is at least double on a 650 compared to a 550. If you can swing a 1050, you will not regret it.

[nwhpfan]

It can be almost twice as fast* with a case feeder. I don't have a bullet feeder

But it has some drawbacks. Cases upside down will stop your whole operation and they are fairly common. If (when) the priming system gets jammed you have to clear the priming system.

It is much more suseptible to maitenence; clean and lube.

I'll save you the headache. Keep it clean check the grease points and it is very, very fast and reliable.

[jeep45238]

It can be almost twice as fast* with a case feeder. I don't have a bullet feeder

But it has some drawbacks. Cases upside down will stop your whole operation and they are fairly common. If (when) the priming system gets jammed you have to clear the priming system.

It is much more suseptible to maitenence; clean and lube.

I'll save you the headache. Keep it clean check the grease points and it is very, very fast and reliable.

This is true - my buddy has issues with his case feeder, actually his whole 650 - mostly because he doesn't want to learn it and lets other people set up everything (including the dies) on it, and won't learn to maintain/adjust on his own (or why said adjustment was needed to fix blah problem).

I had 1 upside down case from my case feeder - solution was add slightly less brass and tighten the screws for the clutch. My only issue now is an occasional fleck of tumbling media makes it down the case feed 'tube' and won't let a piece of brass drop.

I give it a brush down everytime I start and end, just to make sure I didn't miss any powder flakes/etc. If you look at the support rod for the case feeder, there's a hole there - I put an old allen wrench through it and hang a paint brush there, makes it easy to clean.

Just like any piece of machinery, the cleaner/more lubed it is, the better it will run. It will be tolerante of crap to a point, but not beyond that.

[Luke]

Didn't read the thread*



I've loaded on a guys 550, owned and 650 and a 1050. There would be Absolutely NO way I'd buy a 550 over a 650. The speed is slightly better but the big advantage is less things for you to screw up/do/focus on. You can load and only worry about pulling the lever and looking st the powder as younplace a bullet.

This is my personal opinion and just like glock vs X this opinion is Guaranteed to wad some panties.

[mmc45414]

I never really kept any solid stats, but another way to consider it is I think the 650 is more relaxing. Your hand stays on the handle, and all you have to do it fetch a bullet and the charged case is sitting there waiting for it. You are thrashing around doing three things (case, bullet, index) on the 550 while you just grab a bullet on the 650. It is mellow by comparison...

[GuanoLoco]

Depends on your cost per round, what your current pace is vs. the new, and equipment costs/which drive you pick. My cost per 100 rounds is $4.15 right now as a reference, I cast my own bullets.

If I bought jacketed/plated bullets, I'd save up for a 1050 and Mark 7 over a few years - I've seen those things cranking out over 1000 rounds an hour without a sweat. That leaves me open to filling supplies and doing QC at the same time, vs. stopping loading to keep another thing going. Get some buddies over and run it like a team-weapon system and you'll make a lot of ammo in a hurry.

From what I've seen, I'd likely do a 2-step with the 1050, a processing and then loading phase, with universal decapping for the loading phase. More time up front, but you can max out on the processing RPM since there's no powder, and the system will run far more effeciently with less stoppages on loading if everything is uniform going into the press. The stoppages while loading take away any/all automation advances, be it feeder/auto drive/650-1050.

In all reality, I can do 100 rounds in less than 5 minutes on my 650 taking my time. It's the stupid .380 cases that I miss that mess me up the most right now. I wouldn't do a 1050 if you're going to do caliber conversions and still use the bullet feeder (unless you can afford a different collator for each different bullet). Too much of a hassle to get it running perfect every time you change bullet profiles.

Too many people take a devil-may-care attitude with their brass and then deal with all manner of stoppages while reloading. The usual comment I hear is: "Oh, I jsut handle it as I go." For me, constant failures to dto brass issues is maddening, so I go to some trouble to avoid issues. For example:

Sort
Magnet check
Wet Clean
Dehydrate / dry thoroughly.
QC - Pour 9mm cases by hand into a MTM 40 case while shaking it. Cases mostly fall head down.
Remove upside down cases, eyeball from side and remove .380, 38 super/super comp, and even 9x18 cases
Remove cases with berdan primers, obstructions, dinged case mouths, or dezincifies brass
Once done pour 9mm 'clean' brass from hand to hand and listen. Split cases, missed 380's, etc. will not ring true
Hit with a little one-shot as a lube/anti-tarnish

IF you have automation (not worhtwhile for manual):
Preprocess - Lube, size or preferably U-Die re-size, Decap with optical decapping sensor to minimize issues with decapped primers sticking to the decapping pin and getting sucked back in to the primer pocket, Swage primer pockets.
Seal in a 5 gal bucket with a gamma lid. It will keep indefinitely and you will have much more productive loading sessions.

QC's and/or Fully Preprocessed brass loads more reliably. For automated processes, cartridges can be loaded at faster rates with much lower clutch pressure settings. This is much easier on the machine / parts. You will understand after you replace a lot of broken parts, particularly with the powder measure.

[bofe954]

Too many people take a devil-may-care attitude with their brass and then deal with all manner of stoppages while reloading. The usual comment I hear is: "Oh, I jsut handle it as I go." For me, constant failures to dto brass issues is maddening, so I go to some trouble to avoid issues. For example:

Sort
Magnet check
Wet Clean
Dehydrate / dry thoroughly.
QC - Pour 9mm cases by hand into a MTM 40 case while shaking it. Cases mostly fall head down.
Remove upside down cases, eyeball from side and remove .380, 38 super/super comp, and even 9x18 cases
Remove cases with berdan primers, obstructions, dinged case mouths, or dezincifies brass
Once done pour 9mm 'clean' brass from hand to hand and listen. Split cases, missed 380's, etc. will not ring true
Hit with a little one-shot as a lube/anti-tarnish

IF you have automation (not worhtwhile for manual):
Preprocess - Lube, size or preferably U-Die re-size, Decap with optical decapping sensor to minimize issues with decapped primers sticking to the decapping pin and getting sucked back in to the primer pocket, Swage primer pockets.
Seal in a 5 gal bucket with a gamma lid. It will keep indefinitely and you will have much more productive loading sessions.

QC's and/or Fully Preprocessed brass loads more reliably. For automated processes, cartridges can be loaded at faster rates with much lower clutch pressure settings. This is much easier on the machine / parts. You will understand after you replace a lot of broken parts, particularly with the powder measure.

Have you added this process time into your rounds per hour calculations? I don't ask to be a smartass (mostly), but this is what drives me crazy about the rounds per hour claims that I read. I'm the devil may care guy for the most part and am thinking about more brass QC. Probably not to your level. I don't think it would save me time, in fact my guess is it would make me slower, might be less annoying though.