button Posted January 7, 2011 Report Share Posted January 7, 2011 hi,am new to this site and just started reloading 6 months ago,anyway i use a rockchucker press and am quite happy with it at the moment,i have now been offerd a dillon 550b progressive press,my questions are 1.what would be a fair price to pay for one?2.are they any good? and 3.can anybody give any advice on there pros and cons?atb Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
baldie Posted January 7, 2011 Report Share Posted January 7, 2011 Hello Button and welcome to the site ! I have both a 550b and a 650. Dillon,s are the finest progressive reloading press bar none.When set up correctly, they run like a swiss watch. I used one in the shop that started work back in the pistol days [ a 650 ] and its still running now loading .357. That press must have loaded hundreds of thousands of pistol rounds over the years, with very few replacements. They are best suited for bulk reloading of large use ammo such as the pistol calibres for lever actions, i load .223 on my 550 for my ar15. I load .30 carbine on the 650. You can reload anything on them however. Have a look on their site. Drawbacks ? Cant think of one. Couldn,t tell you what one is worth s/h as i cant remember what i paid for mine new. It wasn,t a fortune, it was the shipping and tax that hurt. I recently paid £250 for the 650 s/h and spent another £200 on it, on parts , dies etc. If you have a need for volume reloading, its the only way to go. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ronin Posted January 7, 2011 Report Share Posted January 7, 2011 I bought a 550b from a pistol shooter who gave up when the ban (post Dunblane) took place - it cost me a tenner. Best press I own for most calibers I load for, I get less run out than with my Rockchucker and although I use it as single stage only, it is so versatile I will never part with it. The 550b requires a calibre change kit if you decide on using non .473" case head cartridges, which is about 50 gbp from the states and there is (as far as I know) no UK importer. Although ive bought parts, powder funnels etc from Dillon direct, i'm not sure if they still will deal with the UK.. If you have a few calibres to load for buy a few tool heads and attach one calibre (size die and seater, body die etc) to each head, making it a second or so to change calibres. Price for one secondhand, I guess circa £100 at least is a fair price for one in good used condition - they are over $350 each now... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
6.5shooter Posted January 7, 2011 Report Share Posted January 7, 2011 Hi Button, I bought a new 550 last year with case feeder, four sets of pistol dies, tool heads etc. Off the top of my head it was all around £800. If you are going to reload vast quantities of ammo at a time its worth its weight in gold. No other progressive press even comes close to these machines. Dont reload rifle through it but i might consider 223 for making up foxing loads. Garry Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
baldie Posted January 8, 2011 Report Share Posted January 8, 2011 My set up in the loft. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
button Posted January 8, 2011 Author Report Share Posted January 8, 2011 many thanks for the replies,i've decided to buy it,even if i don't set it up for a while,i don't see to many advertised second hand,i like baldies set up,is there any particular way a reloading bench should be set up or is it just a personal preference?atvb Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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