Dillon 550 or 650???

[4jorgies]

I am wanting to upgrade to a more reliable progressive press and really like the idea of a Dillon for the warranty and reliability.

I was set on a 650 but don't really go through enough rounds to justify it. I usually only load 500 to a thousand rounds in a session and not as often as I would like. Because of this I started looking into the 550.

In my research I found a couple of guys loading precision 6.5CM on a 550 and spoke highly of it. 6.5guys.com

The 550 is also over $150 cheaper than the 650

550 case feeder only works for handgun cases where the 650 gives me the option to feed 223 or 308

650 gives me an extra hole in the tool head for a little more versatility

I want to have the option to trim large quantities of 223 on the press using the Dillon case trimmer. I would use a Mighty Armory Decapping die in station 1 then FL size die then the trimmer. Does the 550 tool head have room for that?

I'm having a hard time making a decision. Is there anything I'm missing that could help me decide?

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[Shane P]

I'm following

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[WVHillbilly]

IMHO
i have (2) 550s and (1) 650
i use the 650 to load 223 and crank em out. I have a case feeder. I do not trim on the machine
i have the 550s setup for small and large primer.
I still use a forster co-ax single stage a lot and have many other presses
the 550 is handy for changes, cost of caliber accessories and so forth. Cost a good deal more for the the stuff to change calibers on a 650 if you have case feeder.
now my opinion ........
the 650 is great for long runs of any given caliber. Changeovers are a tad a PITA.
the 550 is manual index. Nice if a mistake happens, not close to same speed when doing large runs.
Why do I use the forster?
Years of experince when I want to workup loads, ladders, seating depths, etc.
while I have caliber kits for the 650 ... I have not yet had a reason to change it over fom 223
hope this helps

[4jorgies]

IMHO
i have (2) 550s and (1) 650
i use the 650 to load 223 and crank em out. I have a case feeder. I do not trim on the machine
i have the 550s setup for small and large primer.
I still use a forster co-ax single stage a lot and have many other presses
the 550 is handy for changes, cost of caliber accessories and so forth. Cost a good deal more for the the stuff to change calibers on a 650 if you have case feeder.
now my opinion ........
the 650 is great for long runs of any given caliber. Changeovers are a tad a PITA.
the 550 is manual index. Nice if a mistake happens, not close to same speed when doing large runs.
Why do I use the forster?
Years of experince when I want to workup loads, ladders, seating depths, etc.
while I have caliber kits for the 650 ... I have not yet had a reason to change it over fom 223
hope this helps

Thanks, that does help. Sounds like the 550 is the place to start.

I have a suspicion that as i get more time to shoot and load I will end up with both.

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[Ledslnger]

I like my 550. The auto indexing with some presses imo would make setup harder. If you mess up it’s a quick fix on a 550. My friend says the auto priming feature is sometimes a pain on the 650...can’t remember the specifics on it.