Adding Hangun reloading

[DocRDS]

I am adding handgun calibers to the fold in the reloading room and the ol single stage may have to stick to rifle.

The standard in a Dillon 650/750, however I tend to switch around a lot. Probably loading 5+ handgun calibers. Is a 550 more an appropriate choice? I worry about the manual indexing. But I also rarely would load more the 200 at a time. (maybe if I get more involved in handgun comps--I just like to mess around with big revolvers)

Or perhaps just a turret press?

I did do the inline fab to quick swap presses, and its been awesome so far, so time to extend the stable of equipment.

 

[simonp]

I load handgun on 650(s) one is set up for small and one for large primers.

 

[Threadcutter308]

I am adding handgun calibers to the fold in the reloading room and the ol single stage may have to stick to rifle.

The standard in a Dillon 650/750, however I tend to switch around a lot. Probably loading 5+ handgun calibers. Is a 550 more an appropriate choice? I worry about the manual indexing. But I also rarely would load more the 200 at a time. (maybe if I get more involved in handgun comps--I just like to mess around with big revolvers)

Or perhaps just a turret press?

I did do the inline fab to quick swap presses, and its been awesome so far, so time to extend the stable of equipment.

Swapping calibers on 650’s is more time intensive than Dillon would like you to believe. If you’re only doing 200 rounds at a time, a 550 may well be the better choice.

 

[simonp]

Swapping calibers on 650’s is more time intensive than Dillon would like you to believe. If you’re only doing 200 rounds at a time, a 550 may well be the better choice.

Time intensive? Maybe if changing primer sizes but if just swapping tool heads it’s 15 minutes tops

 

[SERE8541]

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[SanPatHogger]

I load 9mm on a Lee 4 hole turret press. I have the reverse rotation case ejector, it really speeds things up.
If you are going to load multiple calibers you can get an additional top. Cheap setup and works good.

Case ejector system for the LEE Classic turret. (Reverse rotation) - Inline Fabrication

Demonstration video below. This system ejects your cases for you, allowing you to leave your right hand on the...

inlinefabrication.com

 

[thedude824]

I load 9mm on a Dillon 750. Once you figure out all the things that CAN go wrong and address them, its ridiculously fast. My last addition was an RCBS lock out die to ensure I dont get squibs or double charges. You've got to watch the primer arm each time to ensure its feeding a primer. On the relatively rare occasion that it doesn't and I short cycle to go back and grab one I worry about something getting by. I BELIEVE I check for powder before seating a bullet, but for $48 its obviously prudent. Im SUPER slow and I still crank out 500+ rounds an hour. I just finished my 9mm set up so I haven't set up any other calipers. Im using different tool head for each caliber. Other than swapping tool heads I only need to swap the case plate, case funnel, and the case ramp thing. I wouldnt think it would be more than 5 minutes to swap to another caliber.

 

[MarshallDodge]

For 200 at a time, get a 550, unless you want a case feeder.

You can load 200 on a 550 in 30 minutes. A 750 with case feeder is probably 20 minutes.

 

[Gustav7]

I am adding handgun calibers to the fold in the reloading room and the ol single stage may have to stick to rifle.

The standard in a Dillon 650/750, however I tend to switch around a lot. Probably loading 5+ handgun calibers. Is a 550 more an appropriate choice? I worry about the manual indexing. But I also rarely would load more the 200 at a time. (maybe if I get more involved in handgun comps--I just like to mess around with big revolvers)

What are you worried about with manual indexing?

Based on your description I would say 550 for ease and cost of changeover for calibers. I have both a 550 and 750 and originally had a Lyman turret press. I loaded ~5k 9mm on the turret press and man I was happy to get a 550 after that.

 

[cas6969]

I've always said if you're not going to put a case feeder on it, there's no good reason to buy a 650. (and I guess now the 750, but I have no hands on) Manually feeding the cases around behind the primer feed is counter intuitive IMO. If you do get a case feeder, changing calibers is even more of a fuss.

Don't worry about manual indexing, it's never caused me a problem. Can't say that about auto indexing, which has cased me all sorts of problems, squibs, etc (which lead to a blown up gun).

I have a 650 with a case feeder and a bullet feeder, set up for .45 ACP and I don't touch it. It's dedicated to .45 Everything else I need any volume of gets done on two 550's, one large primer, one small. And with that, I still load lots of handgun cartridges single stage on my antique Rock Chucker.

 

[DocRDS]

I've always said if you're not going to put a case feeder on it, there's no good reason to buy a 650. (and I guess now the 750, but I have no hands on) Manually feeding the cases around behind the primer feed is counter intuitive IMO. If you do get a case feeder, changing calibers is even more of a fuss.

Don't worry about manual indexing, it's never caused me a problem. Can't say that about auto indexing, which has cased me all sorts of problems, squibs, etc (which lead to a blown up gun).

I have a 650 with a case feeder and a bullet feeder, set up for .45 ACP and I don't touch it. It's dedicated to .45 Everything else I need any volume of gets done on two 550's, one large primer, one small. And with that, I still load lots of handgun cartridges single stage on my antique Rock Chucker.

How do you get squids from auto indexer? Does the powder throw not always work?

Case feeder point is a good reminder, I'm probably not gonna do that, so may hold off on the 750 for now. Plenty of room left to grow

 

[Ankeny]

I would go with the 550.

 

[cas6969]

Case feeder point is a good reminder, I'm probably not gonna do that, so may hold off on the 750 for now. Plenty of room left to grow

Short stroking it when having to stop for other issues. All when I first got it and was not used to auto indexing. And prior to buying a powder check alarm (which I did after a few squibs, including one that caused me to blow a barrel in a match)

 

[Gustav7]

How do you get squids from auto indexer? Does the powder throw not always work?

Case feeder point is a good reminder, I'm probably not gonna do that, so may hold off on the 750 for now. Plenty of room left to grow

With auto indexing, you have a lot more to dial in to work effectively. Your process needs to be down and if you use no sensors, there can be a lot to keep track of visually. Since the auto index rotates as you bring the shellplate back down, if you notice a mistake, by the time you stop it may have already rotated. If you're not paying attention and trying to fix something and it rotates, you can miss powder in a case. This happened to my buddy who was helping me load 9mm. He was inexperienced and forgot to check after a mistake threw off his concentration. The squib ended up in his glock barrel and didn't blow up, but bulged his barrel right past the chamber.

I use both the 550 and 750 all the time. The whole reason I got the 750 was for the case feeder, auto index, and 5 positions solely so I could go faster and pump out more rounds. My 750 only does two calibers, 9mm and 223, and it's for volume loading. The 750 is about 2x, maybe 1.8x faster than my 550 with 9mm. But that speed is only really necessary if the 550 is too slow for you.

Everything about the 550 is easier, cheaper, and more intuitive. The manual indexing is quick once you figure out your process and the 550 can be plenty fast if you're only loading a few hundred rounds for the next couple weeks or months. If you're mainly a revolver shooter or pistol shooter, then you have no need for more than 4 positions. Even rifle isn't bad on it, although I do 2 toolheads for rifles on both machines.

Here's 9mm full speed on a 550 for me. I think I could do around 500rds/hr with this provided I had no serious issues or something.

 

[r50140]

Have a 550 set up for 9mm only, an older 650 set up for 45acp only. My oldest 550 is used for everything else, by changing tool heads. I would start with a 550.

 

[6.5SH]

The "550" in the model name is for 550 rounds per hour, which is entirely doable if going balls to the wall with a good rhythm. I prefer to make SURE I have powder in the case and also place my left index finger over the case mouth after powder drop as I index to the next station to prevent slinging powder out of the case. I can easily do 400 rounds an hour this way.

 

[siscoe308]

My advice would be to get a light kit on whichever press you go with.

My 550b with a lights helps a ton with visually checking for brain farts.
After you get more experience & reps you can feel it something isn’t right but until then the light gives you a chance to catch your mistakes before they become expensive or dangerous.

I picked the 550 for the manual indexing (it was my first press) for smaller volume it is perfectly fine. Runs of a couple hundred are painless with the biggest slowdown being filling primer tubes.
I’m sure the 650/750 would be quicker but with my reloading speed isn’t the name of the game….especially when first starting up.

 

[6.5SH]

My advice would be to get a light kit on whichever press you go with.

My 550b with a lights helps a ton with visually checking for brain farts.
After you get more experience & reps you can feel it something isn’t right but until then the light gives you a chance to catch your mistakes before they become expensive or dangerous.

I picked the 550 for the manual indexing (it was my first press) for smaller volume it is perfectly fine. Runs of a couple hundred are painless with the biggest slowdown being filling primer tubes.
I’m sure the 650/750 would be quicker but with my reloading speed isn’t the name of the game….especially when first starting up.

The older you are the more the lights are required. I have a UFO light on my 550 and can't recommend it highly enough.