What Automatic reloader for revolver?

[fffffg]

  I Probably would need to reload about 200 rounds per setting, and that many in  a week..  Not much more than that..  What company and model reloader is reliable, cost effective in that number of reloads a week.. Ive seen a dillon that costs about 380 dollars that seems in the right direction and i was wondering what make and model  you guys were using?  thanks  dave... 

[Lloyd Smale]

I use dillon square deals for most handgun ammo. Ive got 5 set up in differnt calibers and the rest of my loading is done on the 550. Square deals are a neat press but if a guy only can have one progressive and might do rilfe ammo too a 550 is the way to go.

[Cheesehead]

Lloyd is so right about this. I only have one reloader and it is the 550. I have had it about 15 years and I am still impressed. Just yesterday I stamped out over 300 rounds in short order. Dillions warranty and technical support is the best in the business and that is priceless.

Cheese

[Graybeard]

If you are only wanting to reload 200 rounds per week a progressive is not needed at all unless you are really really limited in the time you want to spend doing it. I've NEVER owned or used a progressive for centerfire reloading even in the days when I shot tens of thousands of rounds per year. I have many times thought of getting one but just never made the leap. I think if I were to get one for straight wall handgun cases it would be the Dillon Square Deal. I've come close several times of getting one and really wish I had back when I was shooting far more rounds than I do now. Now I mostly shoot skeet and even at that I don't have a progressive for that either.

[Cheesehead]

The 550 is also convenient when multiple calibers are involved with the quick change tool head. I load 15 assorted rifle and pistol calibers and the 550 really shines in that department.

Cheese

[stimpylu32]

Dave

There are some other things to think about here .

What round are you going to loading for ?

Do you plan to load more than 1 pistol round ?

Do you plan to ever load rifle rounds with this press?

While the Dillon is a great press , i spent the last 25 years loading on a Lee 3 hole turret for both handgun and rifle , everything from 32 S&W to 30/06 with very goods rersults .

With extra turrets , changing cal. are just a matter of swaping turrets and shell holders . Just something to think about . and yes i have a Dillon also .

stimpy

[GRIMJIM]

I'll throw another vote in for the square deal. I've had mine for many years and have loaded thousands of 9mm and 44 mag without a hitch.

[fffffg]

  I want to load .45 lc without alot of time invested.. I can afford it, and think i would shoot more if i had the press...  Winter is comming and  i need something to do, so i dont sit at home so much..  It would be for bad weather..  I hunt in fall, and fish in winter when weather permits...   I will be loading 250 grain pure lead hollow base bullets from the rapine mould that i order...  They shoot well in any gun with any low velocity powder including black...  No i wont load black in the dillon.. I had a 1926 colt that was pinched the barrel at the frame and a small muzzel, with a large bore in the middle..  Leaded at the cylinder forcing cone and was a mess..  the pure lead hollow based bullets cured that and my other .45lc gun problems.. They will shoot around a corner(crooked cylinder alignment), bump up and hit the mark, and clean the other bullet type lead out of the gun....If you have jacketed junk in the bore all bets are off..  I think they are pretty close to what was originally used in the colts...  dave

[fffffg]

  heres what they show in thier lineup now...  the rl550b   http://www.dillonprecision.com/Dillon_Reloading_Machines-8-1.html        is that the new version of what you would recomend?..   What add ons are nessesary? ill probably use the dies i have.. I dont think ill need the height addon... Dave

[Lloyd Smale]

a little hint if you want a dillon. Buy it used. There waranteed for life and they will completely rebuild your press for free if you need it done. You should be able to pick up a good used square deal for about 200 bucks. Most of the guys that sell them do it because they dont use it. Ive got square deals with many a hunderd thousand  rounds loaded with them so dont worry about them being wore out.

[LaOtto222]

I feel about the same way Gray Beard does. I load quite a bit and I am still using a single stage press. Maybe I feel a little different than a lot of folks do. 1. I really do enjoy my time at the bench. 2. After case cleaning I remove the primers and then clean the primer pockets. - no advantage to get a progressive yet -. 3. I full length or neck size and do this by the batch. 4. I seat new primers with a hand prime press(in batches) 5. I set up my Charge Master and weigh powder and seat bullets in one step. I look into each case after the powder charge is dumped in; and then seat the bullet. While I am verifying the powder level and seating a bullet, I am weighing out the next powder charge. It takes just a little while for the Charge Master to weigh up a charge and then it goes through a routine to tell which cartridge number was thrown among other things. I wait for it to do its thing before dumping it into the case. Some times the ending weight is not the same as the target weight. I dump those and start over. While there is no doubt a progressive is faster than what I do, I believe I have more control over what is going on inside of the cases and unless you are reloading a whole lot, there is not THAT much difference in time. If you do not remove spent primers and clean the pockets in a separate step, you will save even more time on the progressive, but so would I. Stimpy said he had a case that overflowed due to a difference in case capacity. What if that happened while using a progressive but he was not running near full capacity with the powder he was using. You would have over charged a case and never knew it. That is my biggest gripe about progressives. I just do not feel I have near the control over what is happening. This applies to sizing cases, bullet seating as well as powder charging. I started hand loading to save money. What a fool I was. After I invested $100's I made the discovery that I was not saving any thing, in fact I was spending more on reloading supplies than I would have if I never loaded a single round and bought everything. I just shot more. Since that revelation I have spent even more on equipment. But like I said I do enjoy my time at the bench and do not feel like it is a chore. I realize that some feel it is a chore and want to get it over as fast as possible. Please be very careful if you feel this way. Just my 2 cents.

[Cheesehead]

My Dillon 550 has grown with my rifle/handgun collection quite nicely. If there is a chance your collection will grow,,, the 550 will grow with it, both in rifle and pistol calibers. It is the best option in my opinion.

Cheese

[myronman3]

if you plan on one caliber only for pistol, get a square deal.  if you plan on or there is the possibility of multiple calibers in the future, get a 550.  i have a sd set up for 44 mag and a 550 for 45 auto, 357, 30-30, 223 and a few others.   i have bought 4 dillon presses and like was said,  that is the way to do if because dillon backs it whether you bought it new or used, it just doesnt matter.
   if you are not in a hurry, look for a used one.  if you are,  dont feel bad buying one new,  they are worth every penny.  you simply cannot go wrong with a dillon press.

[teddy12b]

I have a Dillon 550B.  That's the only progressive press that I am familiar with and can comment on.  I love it.  It wasn't cheap, but after I got it set up and started reloading, I couldn't help but think about what a great decision I made buying it.

[Questor]

Mine is the Dillon 550. Excellent. If I were doing it again, I'd just get the Square Deal because I only load 45acp with a progressive. Respectfully disagree with Graybeard on this one. 200 rounds per week on a single stage press is just too much work. I was loading 100 rounds per week before I got the progressive and I was totally sick of reloading and was ready to give up shooting bullseye because of all the time spent reloading. The progressive makes reloading tolerable.