Dillon

[Luv the lever]

I’ve only been reloading a couple of years but here’s my dilemma.

1st press was an open box Lee 4000 that never really went great. Alignment issues, I think I bought a bent unit but it was cheap and pushed me to learn.

Next is a Lee Six Pack that has had some minor issues, mostly me learning. I felt confident it was set until I ran off 250 of 45acp. First 75-100 flawless, next 50 indexing issues and by the time I was done it was indexing by hand only.

I’ve called Lee and they have upgraded parts that they sent out within minutes of my email requesting help, that was really refreshing. Super nice, super fast and answered all my questions.

Obviously I'll change out the parts but before I get aggregated do I just buy a Dillon?

Is it worth the money?

Thanks

[Travlin]

Do you shoot several hundred rounds a week? Do you have a lot of $$$ for primers powder and bullets? If yes then a Dillon may be what you need. If not then you could get by with a good turret press that can be changed for other calibers easily and doesn't have as steep a learning curve or set up time. Plus the $$ difference will allow you to buy more components .

[BigAl52]

Do you own a single stage press? What calibers are you mainly wanting to load? Dillons prices have gone through the roof like everything else. Ive owned Dillon presses for over 20 years. My Dillons are the Square Deal B presses. I have 2 of them. At one time I had 3. Are they worth it yes in my opinion. I see now there over 600.00. I bought my first one I paid 184.50. The presses I have will only load pistol calibers. If you are wanting to load rifle calibers you will need to look at the 550.

[rickhem]

I started reloading before I was in my teens, back in the very early 70s. My dad had a Ponsness Warren 375 and we loaded 12 gauge on that for trap. That press now sits on my loading bench, and continues to perform without very many issues through the years. Parts are still readily available for it too. I bought a Dillon Square Deal B back in the mid 1980s when I started getting serious about shooting NRA Bullseye, and that led to a second Square Deal, so one was mostly .38 Special and the other .45acp, one for large primers and one for small. Both of those are now bolted to my current loading bench and are used regularly. I've done .38, .357, and 40 S&W on the small primer press, and .45acp, .44 Special, and .44 Mag on the large primer press. Dillon has supplied anything I've ever needed no charge on those. The Square Deal presses only do pistol ammo, so there is that. When I started shooting Service Rifle, I bought an RCBS Rockchucker package, and that has loaded more rifle calibers than I want to write out, along with my .45 LC ammo. With a good single stage press, you can load anything, rifle or pistol, and you can mix-and-match your dies and other accessories. I know that I have stuff from almost every manufacturer of reloading equipment, and it all has it's place.
Your current press is probably the best place to start, unless you are shooting large volumes of ammo. Still, all I have ever loaded my service rifle ammo, high-power silhouette ammo, practice ammo, and hunting ammo on is that rockchucker, and it has not held me back in the least. The old "buy once, cry once" phrase seems to fit here, and I think that is why you're asking in the first place.
You won't regret getting a Dillon, or any other press really. They hold their value pretty well. And as is evidenced by my assortment of equipment, these things are overbuilt and they last. Your issue now, is to decide how much ammo you're planning to need, and let that help guide the decision between the different types of presses.
I'll also add that a progressive is the best for cranking out large quantities of a specific load, but changing over to another cartridge is a bit of a pain. That is how I ended up with a second Square Deal. Changing over to something else on a single stage press is much simpler, but the loading process takes longer for a given quantity of ammo.

[BrokenolMarine]

I too have a Dillon 550B press I have had for YEARS. I bought it when I was shooting 10,000 rounds a year in practice and competition in PPC. I was loading 38 and 45acp; and later added 9mm and 40 to the mix. The interchangeable tool heads made things a lot simpler and I set up the press with complete tool heads for 38 wadcutter, 38 semiwadcutter, 9mm, 40, and 45acp. The press will load rifle calibers but I found it cheaper to buy 223 by the case. As someone else stated, Dillon parts and components have gotten expensive, but so have all the other reloading supplies. But, Dillon stands behind their products.

For example, my digital reloading scale was twenty years old and died. I suspected the power supply was bad and called to see if I could order a new power supply. the Warranty on the scale was ONE year. Dillon didn't replace the scale for free, but did sell me one at their cost, to replace the bad scale I sent in when they diagnosed it as DEAD.

Never regret my initial investment. But... if I was only loading small amounts of ammo at a time... I'd have stuck with single stage presses.

[The Happy Kaboomer]

Geez.......The questions they throw at you.......If you like reload trash that Lee stuff(except the dies) and get a good press such as a Dillon/Hornady/Rcbs. Doesn't matter whether you load a 100 rds a year or 1000's of rds a year........Since the 80's I've been loading on Dillon/RCBS and MEC with little to no problems.

[Luv the lever]

Thanks for the thoughts. I'm loading 45acp, 9, 38 and 357 mostly on the progressive press. Some months I am able to shoot more than others but maybe 500 rounds a month.

The 38, 357 and 45 are costly so reloading seems to be the answer but 9 seems to be cheaper to buy right now.

I do load 30-30 but prefer to use the single stage I have set up.

[Mr. Neutron]

Try to keep it short here.....

In the 90s, my friends and competitors shot a variety of matches (steel plates, Action Pistol, bowling pins). We all shot quite a bit then, because it was affordable. I shot between 800-1000 rounds a month with practices and matches.

I started with a Lee auto press that I *think* was called the Lee LoadMaster?? When I had a problem with it, Lee was great to work with as far as getting replacement parts to me. Usually just for shipping costs. But I'll be honest, I did have quite a few problems with that Lee auto press. Now, a friend of mine had, and still uses for rifle, one of the Lee Classic Turret presses. The kind where you can select whether to have the press index the turret for you, or do it yourself manually. This would be an ideal solution (IMHO) for someone who loads and shoots, say, 50-250 rounds a month or less. I'm kinda looking into one of these for myself.

Most of my buddies used the Dillon Square Deal press, with really good luck. I eventually went with a Dillon XL650, thinking I might wanna try loading rifle rounds with it someday. That day never came, but the press remains set up for .45 ACP. And it works really well for that. I did need some parts for it a year or two ago, and Dillon did charge me for the parts + shipping. Fair enough I guess, for a 28 yr. old press, but I'd always heard how great Dillon's customer service was. Most folks got stuff replaced no questions asked. I guess that's changed for now? As Big Al has said, Dillon's prices have definitely gone up noticeably.

[Luv the lever]

Try to keep it short here.....

In the 90s, my friends and competitors shot a variety of matches (steel plates, Action Pistol, bowling pins). We all shot quite a bit then, because it was affordable. I shot between 800-1000 rounds a month with practices and matches.

I started with a Lee auto press that I *think* was called the Lee LoadMaster?? When I had a problem with it, Lee was great to work with as far as getting replacement parts to me. Usually just for shipping costs. But I'll be honest, I did have quite a few problems with that Lee auto press. Now, a friend of mine had, and still uses for rifle, one of the Lee Classic Turret presses. The kind where you can select whether to have the press index the turret for you, or do it yourself manually. This would be an ideal solution (IMHO) for someone who loads and shoots, say, 50-250 rounds a month or less. I'm kinda looking into one of these for myself.

Most of my buddies used the Dillon Square Deal press, with really good luck. I eventually went with a Dillon XL650, thinking I might wanna try loading rifle rounds with it someday. That day never came, but the press remains set up for .45 ACP. And it works really well for that. I did need some parts for it a year or two ago, and Dillon did charge me for the parts + shipping. Fair enough I guess, for a 28 yr. old press, but I'd always heard how great Dillon's customer service was. Most folks got stuff replaced no questions asked. I guess that's changed for now? As Big Al has said, Dillon's prices have definitely gone up noticeably.

I was thinking about the Dillon 550, it has primers on demand, hand indexes but comes in at about $600. I can hand index mine seeing this is the only issue I have as of now. The 750 is the update to the 650 and chimes in around $730. It has the same issues and costs of running as the 550 but the ability to crank out some ammo, should I need to.

I have to admit that I've only dealt with Lee once and the support has so far been overwhelmingly pleasant but it sounds like I'm in for more and more. This press was $300, affordable. Just wondering if the extra money is worth it.

Would you still buy that 650 today?

Thanks

[CT_Shooter]

I have Lee equipment and for what it's worth...

I only reload .38 and .357. I've been reloading since 2014 with a Lee Breech Lock Challenger Single Stage press that I bought from Amazon as a Kit.

I keep all of my cleaned brass primed (by hand) and separated by headstamps in boxes of fifty cartridges. It's part of my routine after a trip to the range. Clean the brass, prime it, and store it in it's box where I also record the number of times that it's been reloaded.

With primed cases, it takes about an hour to weigh the powder and reload fifty rounds. I visually and physically inspect every round at each stage of the process. Never had a mistake... knock wood.

I've only had to contact Lee for support when a piece of plastic on the hand primer broke. They were on par with Henry. Quick service, no issues, and no charges.

I've never considered changing my system and likely never will. Keep it simple. It works.