Which Progressive reloader for pistols?

[Leaddog]

Dillon. Been running a 550B for 11 years now. If I were to buy again, it would be the 550B. I load .45acp and .40 S&W.

 

[Alex Wheeler]

Hope i'm not hijacking. If you loaded say 5 calibers, some rifle some pistol, and only did batches of say 300. Would that change opinions? Looks like dillion wins for pure volume, but what if you changed calibers everytime you used the press?

 

[oldhoward]

Hi, I have, must be close to 30 years old rl550, and I can recommend this machine. It is durable, although the powder measure can be a pain once in a while( needs an overhaul). I can and do change calibers often take me 15 to 20 minutes. Changing from small to large primers less than 5 minutes. Buy extra die holder plates makes life much easier. Great product support.
Rcbs makes great products and and has great support as well. If your doing lots of shells the Dillion wins.
Sorry to say the last 6 or 7 Hornady product I have used had quality control issues and I no longer use their products unless it is absolutely necessary no alternative available.

 

[Forum Boss]

Hope i'm not hijacking. If you loaded say 5 calibers, some rifle some pistol, and only did batches of say 300. Would that change opinions? Looks like dillion wins for pure volume, but what if you changed calibers everytime you used the press?

When I purchased my RCBS 2000 I loaded six cartridge types, but rarely more than 300 rounds at one time: .380 ACP, .38 spl, .357 Mag, 9mm, .44 mag, .45 acp, .223 Rem, and .45-70. At the time the cost of shell-holder-plates and extra tool-heads was considerably cheaper with the RCBS. That may have changed somewhat today. The ease of switching primer types and changing powder settings was a big plus with the RCBS vs. Dillon 550/650. However, as others have noted, there is a third-party micrometer assembly for the Dillon tool head. It's not as smooth and accurate as the RCBS micrometer (because it still is attached to a crude sliding bar), but it works better than the standard set-up.

Dillon Micrometer for powder assembly: http://www.uniquetek.com/site/696296/product/T1231

Having used all three progressives (Red, Green, Blue), I still encourage any potential buyers to work with each, and try to really understand what's involved in setting powder quantity, changing calibers, and changing primer set-ups. Also you may want to consider getting an RCBS lock-out die (this will work on a Dillon too). It was not uncommon for me to swap calibers/primer types every loading session. This was a breeze on the RCBS. Not so easy on the Dillon.

 

[jp]

Guys I want to thank you for all your help with this adventure. Here's what I decided to do. taking in consideration all of the info. I am going to get 1 of the RCBS units and one of the Dillon's 650XL's. That way I can honestly see for myself, how the 2 presses work.

Once again thank you all very much for all the input and links..

JP

 

[Forum Boss]

Guys I want to thank you for all your help with this adventure. Here's what I decided to do. taking in consideration all of the info. I am going to get 1 of the RCBS units and one of the Dillon's 650XL's. That way I can honestly see for myself, how the 2 presses work.

Once again thank you all very much for all the input and links... JP

Joe, that's quite a financial investment, but you'll be certain to end up with the machine that best suits your needs. Let us know what you think of the pros/cons of each machine. This will be of great interest to other forum members I'm sure.

 

[jp]

Will do.. thx again.. I figure after couple of months using each , I will know more about them and be able to give an Honest feed back from my point of view for what it is worth..

Joe

 

[OldDoug]

Owned a Dillon 450 and then bought the early 550. I almost wore out the 550 loading 45 and 9mm for subguns. The link arms originally did not have grease channels. Dillon replace the links and I installed them and upgraded to 550B. Now have a second 550B. Used the original in large primer and the newer with small primers.

Last 8-10 years I have loaded a "LOT" of 223, 22-250 and 6mm Rem for Prairie Dogs. I resize sith Redding Deluxe dies on a Forster Co/AX. I do all my case prep/prime and then drop powder and seat bullets on the 550B.

For the money, the Dillon 550B cannot be beat.

For pistol cartridges, I deprime, tumble and load completely on the Dillon 550B.

Mike Dillon Rocks. Old Doug

 

[Forum Boss]

I wanted to add that RCBS now offers a simple gravity-fed PISTOL bullet feeder for the RCBS 2000. It costs around $35.00. This will feed lead, plated, or jacketed 9mm, .38/357, 40sw, or 45 acp bullets. This means you can pull with the right hand and pick up brass with the left -- and not have to grab the bullets. That makes the machine almost as fast as a Dillon with a case feeder (because the Dillon without feeder requires the right hand -- your handle pulling hand -- to pick up the case). What I mean here is that, with the RCBS and bullet feeder, your left hand can do what the Dillon case-feeder does, with no slow-down.

 

[jp]

Forum Boss, I have my RCBS set up and have made a few rounds. I now am considering the bullet feed tube upgrade as you have in the pic. Will let you know how it goes, on both machines.

thanks for the help...from every one...

 

[Forum Boss]

Forum Boss, I have my RCBS set up and have made a few rounds. I now am considering the bullet feed tube upgrade as you have in the pic. Will let you know how it goes, on both machines.

As with any progressive, I would recommend some "dry runs" until you get the "feel" and the muscle memory down -- so you do a complete stroke down, then push forward (to prime) every time. I found it useful, in the beginning, to speak the following out loud: "Case in", "ram goes up" (as I pulled handle down), "Primer goes in" (as I pushed handle forward). You want to make you never forget the primer phase. The other tip I have for the RCBS is to check the screws for the powder measure linkages before each sessions -- after hundreds of rounds there was one screw-in knob that tend to come loose.