Any Dillon 550 users here?

[71velle]

I just scored a used 550 set-up to replace my lee turret press so I can spend less time loading. It came with a case feeder but not sure if I am going to use it since I load 3 calibers and not sure if its with dealing with. The case feeder came with only one caliber so it would cost about another $100 to get the conversion parts I would need. It doesent look like it would be easy to disable the case feeder and load the brass in manually so it looks like an all-in or all-out thing. Any thoughts would be great!!

It came with the conversion parts to do 2 of the calibers I load, and was wondering it the Lee dies work well with this press since I already have them.

Any and all tips and tricks would be great. If there are any accessories that you think are good to have please let me know.

Thanks

 

[Jmac00]

I have two 550b's. One is dedicated to my 40cal race gun. there have been days where I decided to go shoot a competition and found out I only had 100 rounds, ran down stairs and 30 minutes later came up with 200 more, the only thing I did change with the race gun press was I went with a Evolution Gun Works "full length sizing/decaping die"

The other I load 44mag, 30-30, 380.

I have found that once you get a rhythm going, you can crank out a boatload of ammo in no time. I also use a "statistical process control" for quality control. That simply means that once you set up the machine, and your happy with what you have, you make 50 pieces and then pick 10 random rounds and check every aspect of those 10 cartridge. if each cartridge is IDENTICAL to the others, then I will press out 100 rounds and then check 10 of those, and so on.

I have never used a case feeder, so I have no clue whats involved in removing it? Did yours come with an instruction manual?

You can call Dillion Precision, they have AWESOME customer service and when they say "no bullshit guarantee" they absolutely mean it

One other thing you should be cognizant of, keep the primer feeder slide clean and dry. after a couple thousand rounds they tend to get gummed up and they stop feeding smoothly.

 

[71velle]

Cool thanks!!!

Yes I did get the all the manuals. I figure once I get it running I will make enough ammo to hold me over for a while and try the case feeder with the 9mm since I have all the parts. I dont load as many of the other calibers so I dont know if the feeder would be worth it in the end.

Without the case feeder I think I will be able to double my production rate compared to the old press so I may not need the added speed the case feeder provides anyway.

 

[Mosinitis]

Get comfortable with the press first, go slow. There are a number of pitfalls, small and big. If you snap shellplate too fast, the powder can fly out of the top of charged case. Just an example.

 

[togmaster]

It's easy enough to remove the case feed if you don't want it but its a great option to help speed up production. I'm considering adding one to my 550 so if you decide you don't want it let me know. I'd be interested in buying it from you.

 

[71velle]

It's easy enough to remove the case feed if you don't want it but its a great option to help speed up production. I'm considering adding one to my 550 so if you decide you don't want it let me know. I'd be interested in buying it from you.

Will do. I plan to start with out it to get going and then try it with the 9mm. If I like it I will get the accessories to do 38 and 45.

 

[71velle]

It's easy enough to remove the case feed if you don't want it but its a great option to help speed up production. I'm considering adding one to my 550 so if you decide you don't want it let me know. I'd be interested in buying it from you.

What kind of load rate are you able to get?

 

[togmaster]

I'm not a speed demon but including the time it takes to load primer tubes, case gauge (I only check about 10% of my reloads like @Jmac00 ) and box the ammo, I do about 200 to 300 rounds of pistol ammo per hour.

 

[Jmac00]

I'm not a speed demon but including the time it takes to load primer tubes, case gauge (I only check about 10% of my reloads like @Jmac00 ) and box the ammo, I do about 200 to 300 rounds of pistol ammo per hour.

Depends on how late I am for the shoot, LOL I can pound them out pretty fast. But I have had this press for 20+ years, so Im VERY familiar with it. I also have 6 Small pistol primer tubes pre-loaded and I have at least 1200 40cal cases all cleaned and ready to go.

Pour in the powder and Im rock'nroll'n in no time.

 

[71velle]

Well Im sure I will need some help from you guys to get the final tweeks

 

[wizrd]

buy some extra primer tubes - speeds the reloading. 400 - 500 per hour on straight wall pistol cartridges, without the auto case feed. Parts that break? Not often, - get lost? - Wear out? - Dillon's got you covered, their no B.S. guarantee is gold. I've got parts replaced overnight before - no charge - I still don't know how they did it.

 

[Shoots100]

Mid 80's I bought my first 550, than a 650 in the mid 90's. Sold the 650 and bought another 550 dedicated to load 9mm, with a case and homemade bullet feeder.
Replaced the Manual Mini Mr bullet feeder with a 3D printed motorized bullet feeder.
I can easily crank out 600 quality rounds an hour now.
I usually load a couple hundred rounds and prep the primer tubes, case and bullet feeders afterwards, for the next nights reloading session while listening to the Yankee's game or Music.
Switching calibers will take awhile to do and while it's easier to change calibers on a dillon 550 than most presses, it's still takes some tweaking to get it to run without issues using the case feeder, that's why I dedicated one of my 550's to load 9mm solely and load all of the other cals on my other 550.
Extra Primer tubes.
Primer flip tray or an auto primer filler.
I have an old PAL filler that was a lot better and cheaper than the Dillon auto filler, but they don't make them anymore.
Don't waste your money on buying a cheap primer tube filler.
Mini Mr Bullet feeder and the Seat/Crimp die, plus extra magazine tubes.
You can find parts to spruce up your 550 on E bay, such as the roller bearing upgrade for the primer feeder and a shell plate bearing kit to cure the powder spilling issue when cranking out rounds.
The roller handle is nice, but I prefer the factory handle.
Shock bottle case checker, if your loading in volume.
The main thing is to make the press rock steady.
I also mounted an LED light kit.
Have Fun and take it slow.

SJC

 

[71velle]

I made some 9mm rounds and they tested ok so I made about 250 more and now I need more bullets. The only real problem I had was a broken decapping pin, so I pulled the pin out of the 45 die to finish up. Since I was out of 9mm bullets I ret up the 45 tool head and mad some test rounds.

The machine works very nice and once I can get a rhythm going the ammo will be flying out. Fumbling and bumbling andI was a couple of minutes faster for 100 rounds than what I could do flying on the turret press. Most importantly I did not need to pull the lever 4 times to get 1 bullet.

When I get some 9mm bullets its time to tryout the case feeder, it will be nice not to take my right hand off the lever to feed the brass in.

 

[prambo]

Used to reload .45 ACP (for bullseye and training), .45 Colt for cowboy action, some .41 mag, .308, 5.56 and .444 Marlin. Used a 550B for all of it. Out of all that now, and the firearms and reloading stuff all gone.

There's great advice here. The 550B is an incredible piece of machinery - well designed and manufactured, with amazing customer service.

As others stated, keeping things clean is a must, as well as multiple primer tubes and individual tool holders for all calibers. I used exclusively Dillon die sets except for .41 mag and .444 Marlin. For those I used Redding dies, which are outstanding and strangely enough are made in NYS.

ebay is a great place to both buy and sell accessories for the 550B. After I sold the base machine locally I sold all the rest on ebay. Everything was gone at the Buy It Now price within less than an hour.

 

[45acpskng]

Congrats, GREAT press! The only chink in the 550's armor, is the priming system. If you have hang ups, that's where it will be. Stick with Federal primers, me and a buddy who also has a 550, learned to stay away from Winchester primers the hard way. Don't try and rush the process, you'll be surprised how many rounds you make, just taking your time, relaxing to some music. Enjoy!

 

[Mosinitis]

Congrats, GREAT press! The only chink in the 550's armor, is the priming system. If you have hang ups, that's where it will be. Stick with Federal primers, me and a buddy who also has a 550, learned to stay away from Winchester primers the hard way. Don't try and rush the process, you'll be surprised how many rounds you make, just taking your time, relaxing to some music. Enjoy!

I had hang ups in 550B priming system for a number of years. Then I marked the positions on a shell plate where it happened. Turned out to be the same 2 positions. At that point I knew the problem was timing on a shell plate. Replacing shell-plate solved the problem. I can't say how common or rare are misaligned shell plates, but this is what is causing primer hang ups. I don't get them anymore.

 

[alistair]

Not a 550 operator, but i run a Dillon Square Deal B to reload 9mm; I love it.
Customer service from Dillon is second to none. Rather than fix a couple of very minor issues myself (broken screws, bend pin) I have sent it back to Dillon twice for a free repair. I have received my press back fully serviced and cleaned.

 

[Jmac00]

when it comes to the 550, you MUST keep the primer assembly clean. If the primer slide sticks, it messes everything up.

 

[togmaster]

KMS Squared - UFO 550 Reloading Press Light

I just installed one of these on my 550. What a difference it makes. I wish I did this years ago.

 

[Robin]

Years ago you probably didn't need it.
Robin

 

[togmaster]

Years ago you probably didn't need it.
Robin

I see what you are saying