Dillon - Expertise requested

[MTA]

Accessories are IMHO user specific.
Depending on bench height and loading preference (standing or sitting) you may want a Strong Mount riser (or fabricate your own to height desired).

My must have list:
Case Feeder- Can't imagine a progressive without it (with small/large rifle and pistol plates as needed).
Roller handle- You'll be glad you did if you do any volume at all.
Primer downtube conversion- I think that was the very first thing I changed (that little tray sucked).
Lighting- KMS is by far the best and brightest I have found.
Spare Parts Kit- One is a must, two is better (you will need it)
Powder Alarm- You will want this (get it you will be glad you did).
Primer Alarm- Can't remember if this comes with the machine or not (if not, get it)

Optional:
Quick Change setup-Makes caliber changes so easy and quick.
Bullet Feeder-If doing any volume loading, these rock (with caliber conversions for Quick change setup).
Trimmer and trim dies-Quick and accurate case trimming for volume batches.

Other:
Large/Tall Powder Hopper- Just makes life a little easier (especially in rifle caliber)
PrimaFill- If loading tubes in volume this takes the dread out it (if you have your tubes laid out and primers out of the box and staged you can fill 10 tubes in well less than five minutes).
Canned Air- Trust me on this one.

There will be lots of little mods you will find to try but are for the most part relatively inexpensive.

Using a progressive is a different animal and takes some getting used to.
A lot happening with every pull of the handle.
Setup is everything-if you are fighting it, something is not right-another thread for that one.

My setup:

View attachment 408492 View attachment 408493

What are those black racks you have up against the wall holding all the yellow bins??

 

[Dermako]

They are wall mount bin racks or panel mount bin racks.
I think you can get them in a lot of different configurations.
A number of years ago was at a customers facility and they were unbolting and throwing away probably 70-80 table mounts like the picture below. I was able to snag a few complete and I unbolted about 10 of the bin racks from ones that were going in dumpster.
The bin rack on this one is on the right.
Some were all bin rack, some were all peg board and some were a mix.
Also some were blue and some were gray.
Bins were not included, but still freeish (kinda a buddy deal with the facility guy)

I really despise the pegboard side.
Should cut a piece of plywood and put there and go with magnets.

 

[Brains]

You can get cheap plastic versions at Harbor Freight. Just don't put a bunch of weight in the bins.

30 Bin Wall Mount Parts Rack

Amazing deals on this 30 Bin Wall Mount Parts Rack at Harbor Freight. Quality tools & low prices.

www.harborfreight.com

 

[OldPhart]

Ditto on the 550C.

They (Dillon) are the Cadillac and super reliable.

Dillon shipping on dies, etc is very very quick. And if you break a primer decap pin or any other small items, they used to send them out for free. Their cust service is unparalleled.

Blue Dillon is intense to set up, but once you got everything assembled and adjusted, you are golden.

BTW, do you have case gauges for all your calibers?

Also, I use a digital scale, a cheap Franklin, but I have a RCBS manual scale I crosscheck as a backup. Check your powder drop every once in awhile.

The light to look inside the case after powder drop and before bullet seating is super important. I've loaded a bunch of squib shells because I didn't notice a malfunction of a dirty Dillon expander/powder drop causing a failure to drop powder.

This is a good reason to move up to the 750 (I've got the older 650). It has a 5th station for a powder checker. It detects both under and overcharges. Simple to set up and pretty much fail safe.

 

[Kopterdoc]

What are those black racks you have up against the wall holding all the yellow bins??

The RL550C is the one that can accommodate the most calibers. I have had the older B but I have to disassemble the arms in order to fully grease the pins. The C version has grease zerts. That would be the one I would get if I were in the market. Besides they have a no BS warranty.

 

[Polkwright]

I think you just need a 550. I have what I call a 500. Because it's my old 450 converted to a 550 frame. The 450 was the older model that didn't have the interchangeable tool head. The 450 also had a manual primer feed. Even with the manual primer feeder that I still use I can do 200 rounds an hour loafing. I can do 300 but it's not a relaxed pace. I usually end up with about 250 rounds an hour. So on a rainy Sunday morning I can push out 1,000 rounds after breakfast, and before lunch. You don't need all the fancy stuff. It adds not only cost but complexity.

I load .38/.380/9mm/.41 mag on the Dillon. I also load 9mm Makarov but don't use the Dillon. I don't shoot enough of it. I don't bother setting up the Dillon for .357 either as I don't shoot much of that either.

I'm cheap so I don't buy Dillon measures, plus I prefer fixed disk measures. I use Lee Auto-Disk measures on them. Look at the cost difference.

 

[Deavis]

I am wanting to step into the world of Dillon but honestly, its fairly daunting.

It's not bad, really.

There website has way too much going on and there are tons of accessories. I know a bunch of you have been down this road before so I wanted to ask a few things before I really get into the weeds of research myself

What press / accessories do I need to do the following:

1. Load 200-400 rounds per loading session (1-3 hours? never used a turret press before)

You always underestimate what you will load, espeically for high volume calibers

1. Reload the following calibers: 9mm, .38 special, .45acp, 5.56 and .308

All high volume calibers for normal reloaders

Dont need anything too fancy, but I am really after the accessories you need to make it do the above without too much manual interaction or having to unfck things. Which dillon accessories can you not live without?

Scheels sells the 750xl and alot of accessories. Id prefer to walk into a store to get what I need if possible

750 or 1100 for the calibers you list, anything else is buying a compromise for no reason. For volume, you'll grow out the smaller machines like you would with a 500cc sport bike. Feels big at first and then you realize you made a terrible mistake by underestimating your needs.

Required accessories? Look at the Deluxe Kit and you'll see what you want to buy for machine accessories. Case feeder, bullet tray, sensors, roller handle, etc. It's what you want for those calibers so you can crank out a couple thousand rounds in the 3 hours you dedicate to loading. Grow from there by caliber with toolheads, worth the time savings with 5 different calibers. Scale, lube, book, that stuff you can ignore but all the hard goods for the press are good options.

 

[Polkwright]

Curious if you ever made a decision on this.

 

[MTA]

Curious if you ever made a decision on this.

A member on here donated me some older presses (750x1, 650x2) that just needed some tuning up. I renovated the 750 and its up and running for 9mm and I am currently focusing on getting one of the 650s up for .223. The plan for the last 650 is to leave it as some what modular for .308 and for sizing & priming other calibers that I load on a single stage.

I think I will send in the last one for the dillon refurb but I have enjoyed breaking the other two presses down and replacing everything myself. Overall, I am very impressed with Dillon and I wouldn't have had any regret if I bought all of this myself. If you do go down this road, definitely buy a casefeeder. Its worth it

I just brought the 750 inside yesterday

 

[Polkwright]

Thanks for the update. I've had a Dillon for 40+ years and it's all I need. Dillon is great to deal with.

 

[robertc1024]

Gotta give some kudos to vmax. Gave me some great advice tonight. I started out with a press Vaquero gave me, which I've passed on to another newbie reloader.

 

[Vaquero]

Gotta give some kudos to vmax. Gave me some great advice tonight. I started out with a press Vaquero gave me, which I've passed on to another newbie reloader.

That was the only stipulation.
When you outgrow it. Pass it on.
I'm happy for both of y'all.

 

[Polkwright]

You can get cheap plastic versions at Harbor Freight. Just don't put a bunch of weight in the bins.

30 Bin Wall Mount Parts Rack

Amazing deals on this 30 Bin Wall Mount Parts Rack at Harbor Freight. Quality tools & low prices.

www.harborfreight.com

Yeah, those are only rated for like 2-3 pounds. Industrial ones are usually rated at least 10#, but of course they cost a lot more.

Wall Mounted Storage Bins in Stock - ULINE

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www.uline.com

 

[Wiliamr]

Just got my 550 back from Dillon with the refurbish. for 85 dollars, plus I bought their box so total was 144. They listed 294 dollars in repair value as warranty in the email. They even repainted the frame! Feels like a new machine. For the last 40 years Dillon has been keeping me happy. Hard to beat those people.

 

[Texasjack]

I bought my 650 from one of the TGT members. It's an amazing piece of equipment. They are built so solidly that they can be kept running for decades. One day I hope to pass it on to another reloader on TGT that can put it to good use.