Thinking about upgrading to a progressive press

[JamesIII]

I am tinker'n with the idea of getting a progressive press. Is what I want to know is how you guys with progressives handle case prep? I currently deprime, run them through a sonic cleaner, resize them, check/clean the pockets and then expand the cases. As you can see I spend a lot of time handling brass, most of it done in large batches. The only way I see a progressive working and saving me significant time is to either iliminate cleaning or clean the cases before depriming and for-go the primer pocket cleaning. Maybe I am just being to picky about my case prep for pistol ammo!  Any info would be helpful. JamesIII

[sk330lc]

I updated to a Dillon 550b about three months ago and love it.  I tumble my brass until bright and clean
sort it by head stamp, primer size and look for any flaws.  then I dump it on a towel and give it a good wipe to remove dust, I use Hornady one shot lube to lube all pistol brass.  I then start loading.  I don't worry about the primer pockets until the brass has been loaded four or five times. In that case I deprime in my rock chucker with a depriming die, clean primer pockets, check case length, trim, chamfer inside and out then I load. the 550 has been worth the investment to me.

[OldSchoolRanger]

I've had the Dillon Square Deal and the 550B for years.  I use carbide dies, and only use them to reload pistol ammo, and straight wall rifle cases.  My process is similar to that used by sk330lc.  I clean the brass then reload, until recently, I didn't even sort by head stamp.  Now I do have to sort for different primer size when reloading 45acp.

I usually reload my rifle calibers using a single stage press.  I've been thinking about reloading 223 ammo with the 550B, but haven't thought it through yet.  I have to figure out what powder to use, that won't bridge in the powder measure.  Anyone have suggestions on type powder that would work good for this caliber in a progressive press.  I also would like to hear how you guys handle case prep for rifle calibers to be used on a progressive.

[Lloyd Smale]

550 dillon. You wont do better.

[geezerbiker]

I bought a Dillon 550b about 20 years ago.  I only use it for loading .45 auto but maybe one of these days I'll consider loading rife rounds on it.  But since 06 and 308 use the same shell holder as .45 auto, sometimes I use it to prime rifle cases.  I leave the tool head off for this.

I've moved twice in the past 7 years and it's been that long since I had my Dillon set up.  I'm getting antsy to get it set up because I have a dedicated reloading area now...

Anyway when I first bought my 1911, I bought a box of 500 cast bullets.  I took me a year to load all those.  Later on I got another box of 500 and I managed to load the those over a few months.  When I bought my 550B, I bought a box of 500 bullets at the same time and I loaded all of them over the weekend while learning how to use the press.

Tony

[sk330lc]

I've had the Dillon Square Deal and the 550B for years.  I use carbide dies, and only use them to reload pistol ammo, and straight wall rifle cases.  My process is similar to that used by sk330lc.  I clean the brass then reload, until recently, I didn't even sort by head stamp.  Now I do have to sort for different primer size when reloading 45acp.

I usually reload my rifle calibers using a single stage press.  I've been thinking about reloading 223 ammo with the 550B, but haven't thought it through yet.  I have to figure out what powder to use, that won't bridge in the powder measure.  Anyone have suggestions on type powder that would work good for this caliber in a progressive press.  I also would like to hear how you guys handle case prep for rifle calibers to be used on a progressive.

AA2230, H335 and BL-C(2) all work well in the Dillon .

[rdmallory]

Dillon 550
Still prime by hand
I use a Lee powder drop on it.
Works for me for everything from 5.7x28 to 30-06

Doug

[lrrice]

If my cases are clean, I run them through the press.  If they need cleaned, I tumble cases and run em through.  If I'm feeling particular, I stick the lee universal deprime in, feed all the cases through with the other stations empty, then tumble check primer pockets and run them through.  I have never had a FTF in pistol that was caused by a dirty primer pocket.  If I was worried about quality and exactness of the load, I would load them single stage like I do my rifles.

[Land_Owner]

Lotta good data and most Dillon 550 fans. 

I went another way.  I converted my RCBS Rock Chucker to Progressive with the Piggyback II.  It was a logical upgrade on a budget.  Family first, reloading second.  Had I the money at the time, a true Progressive press would have been purchased and the Dillon 550, the Cadillac of presses, would have been the selection.

I have had to learn the idiosyncrasies of the PBII and can turn out impressive volumes of handgun and .223 Remington rounds in short order.  Last Saturday I loaded 200 x .357 Magnum and IMR 700-X powder; changed heads and loaded 400 x .45 Colt and IMR 700-X powder; changed heads and loaded 400 x .223 Rem. and IMR 4227 powder.  All of that took a leisurely four hours while discussing shooting and politics with Dave, my deer hunting partner. 

The PBII likes to be kept clean, squeeky clean.  If not, hangups and headaches will result.  Dave believes the PBII is an "afterthought" to convert the Rock Chucker single stage to progressive and certainly not a true progressive from the get-go.  I gotta go with that explanation for lack of a better one.

Still, never having been blessed with the opportunity to turn cases into rounds on a Dillon, I perhaps don't know what I am missing but am still making a lot of my own very good ammunition on the RCBS PBII, in which I am now, over decades, heavily invested.  I got here slowly, invested as I was able, know my machine, and can make rounds with the best of 'em.  I don't need one thousand rounds per weekend, every weekend, and perhaps four times per year shoot my entire arsenal. 

Depriming and initial sizing are done, by choice, on a single stage press and priming is by hand only on every case.  My PBII is used for final case sizing, combining partially prepared components with automatically thrown powder charge, stuffing bullets in powdered cases, and crimping.  So, short of true "automation", the PBII has its usefulness in my reloading regime and my investment, while substantial, is short of the Cadillac, but I am OK with that.  It works for me.

[lrrice]

I got a screaming deal on a Dillion 550 and promptly traded it off when I figured out how much it was going to cost me for each caliber.  All the little parts like tool heads and powder adapters add up fast when you have lots of calibers.  Later I picked up a Lee Pro 1000 with dies for $20.  If kept clean and handled properly it cranks out ammo just as good as the Dillon (actually better cause mine didn't have an auto advance and was really easy to double charge).  It's not the same quality and won't last forever, but if your budget doesn't allow for something fancy it will work just fine and you can change calibers for less than the cost of a Dillon tool head alone. 

[Cheesehead]

I have had a 550 for almost 20 years. Adding one or two calibers a year makes it affordable. You do not need to buy caliber conversion kits for every cartridge. For example you can move the dies from one tool head to another for cartridges in the 30-06 family if it is a budget issue. The technical support from Dillon is very good and many parts are replaced for free. I currently am set up for 13 different cartridges with my 550, so very convenient and reliable. If my 550 disappeared tomorrow, I would replace it with another 550 the same day.

Cheese

[Old Fart]

I'm currently running 2 of the Dillion and 1 Lee. While the Lee probably isn't quite as indestructible as the Dillions it does make good amm. I'm setup for 38/357 and 9mm on the Dillions and 45acp on the Lee. Everything else I still use my single stages for. I've heard a lot of folks loving thier Hornady's also. I guess you use what you can and learn to like them.        

[rdmallory]

I went with the Dillon 550 basic ($259) Prime by hand and use the Lee powder drop. My dies are mostly Lee so that kept the cost down. I just purchased the plates and pins and several of the calibers use the same plates.

Doug

[Cheesehead]

I went with the Dillon 550 basic ($259) Prime by hand and use the Lee powder drop. My dies are mostly Lee so that kept the cost down. I just purchased the plates and pins and several of the calibers use the same plates.

Doug

A good choice since it is very upgradable.

Cheese