Finally took the blue pill

bigblue said:
When you find Dillon caliber conversions for $70 let us know: A full quick change with dies is closer to $300, $400 with carbide dies.
Click to expand...

Caliber conversion is about $75
Deluxe quick change kit with tool head and powder measure is $110
Dillon pistol carbide die set is $65 (some rifle dies may be more)
If you need to change a casefeed plate size thats an additional $40

You're looking at $250 for the most popular pistol calibers, about $100 more for bottleneck dies.
Some people may already have a die set in the caibers they reload. That saves some cost. They may also not feel the need to have a dedicated powder measure, or even a dedicated tool head for every caiber- that would be a substantial cost savings.
 
SJan said:
Caliber conversion is about $75
Deluxe quick change kit with tool head and powder measure is $110
Dillon pistol carbide die set is $65 (some rifle dies may be more)
If you need to change a casefeed plate size thats an additional $40

You're looking at $250 for the most popular pistol calibers, about $100 more for bottleneck dies.
Some people may already have a die set in the caibers they reload. That saves some cost. They may also not feel the need to have a dedicated powder measure, or even a dedicated tool head for every caiber- that would be a substantial cost savings.
Click to expand...

My numbers are based on loading .223 and come straight from the Dillon site. I suppose you could switch without the quick change but that really sucks. I also didn't include the cost of switching primer sizes.

It's not like I'm exaggerating or making shit up. Could you do it with $75 IF you already had stuff? Yeah and you can reload 77 grain Sierra matchking if you already have the bullets but most people would include that in the cost of reloading the round.
 
bigblue said:
When you find Dillon caliber conversions for $70 let us know: A full quick change with dies is closer to $300, $400 with carbide dies.
Click to expand...

OK. I did not look that hard honestly. Once I saw that number on the Dillon site for a black Friday sale I stopped looking. I'm just a cheap bastard I guess. lol. The RCBS was middle of the road for me and will do what I need. The thing is built like tank. I called customer service to ask questions and they were great as well.
 
Caliber conversions are expensive no doubt usually over $250. But there is something great about having your tool heads dialed in and ready to rock in minutes. I can go from a large primer caliber to a small primer caliber in 5-6 minutes. No adjustments,No dialing in. Check your powder weight and go.
 
darrowj said:
I have been reloading now for about 7 years. For the first two I used a single stage press. Then I used a Lee Turrent press. It was nice and kept me going for a long time.

A couple weeks ago I bought an RCBS Pro2000 Auto Index. I have always appreciated the RCBS products. They just scream quality to me. I thought about buying a Dillon 650. I really did. Until I started doing the math about the different calibers that I wanted to reload. I found the caliber conversion kits for the 650 run about $70 a piece. With that in mind I wanted to buy 5 of them. I just want to use one press for everything. It might be misguided etc... but that was , is, my thought process. I found with the RCBS Pro2000 I simply had to buy the shell plates. Those run for $30 each. That sorta pushed me over the edge for the RCBS.

I have had this new press for a couple weeks and there is a BIG learning curve. After the first week I wanted to return it. I was Soo frustrated. There is just way too much to keep track of all at once. I think I have encountered every type of issue you can with that press. One by one I addressed them. Now it is running pretty sweet. I am not at 100% with it but I am starting to see the light. This thing is just solid and cranks out ammo.
Click to expand...

Yes, the caliber conversions, as people have argued over, cost between 100 and 200+ dollars for a 650. (not including dies, which are needed for any press)

Thats why I got the lee classic cast turret. For the cost of a turret ($10) plus dies, I can reload with reasonable speed all of my odd ball calibers. Its not fast, but with the auto index rod in place I can do better than 120 rounds per hour. For precision rifle calibers, I remove the index rod and use it like a single stage with quick change dies and heads. The turret has allowed me to load calibers that I don't shoot a lot of with out a huge investment. (.44 mag, .357 mag, .460 S&W mag)

I recently had the opportunity to swap for a Dillon 550 B. This may be the worlds most perfect press. Its nowhere near as fast as my 650s, but you can run a single shell around to test things or when working on developing loads.

I also have painted one of the shell plate stations yellow. I've experimented with making precision rifle ammo on it and when putting a case in the same shell plate position every time, the cartridge length is as consistent as my long since abandoned single stage or Lee turret. I'm thinking about a bearing upgrade for it.

Its funny. After spending a few weeks on the 550 working up loads for .300 blk and .380 (which, along with .223 all share the same shell plate), I jumped on my 650 last night to load up some 9mm. It is SOOOO much faster. At least for me. But with the auto index and the cases automatically dropping down, its definitely geared towards production, not experimentation.
 
dcmdon said:
Yes, the caliber conversions, as people have argued over, cost between 100 and 200+ dollars for a 650. (not including dies, which are needed for any press)

Thats why I got the lee classic cast turret. For the cost of a turret ($10) plus dies, I can reload with reasonable speed all of my odd ball calibers. Its not fast, but with the auto index rod in place I can do better than 120 rounds per hour. For precision rifle calibers, I remove the index rod and use it like a single stage with quick change dies and heads. The turret has allowed me to load calibers that I don't shoot a lot of with out a huge investment. (.44 mag, .357 mag, .460 S&W mag)

I recently had the opportunity to swap for a Dillon 550 B. This may be the worlds most perfect press. Its nowhere near as fast as my 650s, but you can run a single shell around to test things or when working on developing loads.

I also have painted one of the shell plate stations yellow. I've experimented with making precision rifle ammo on it and when putting a case in the same shell plate position every time, the cartridge length is as consistent as my long since abandoned single stage or Lee turret. I'm thinking about a bearing upgrade for it.

Its funny. After spending a few weeks on the 550 working up loads for .300 blk and .380 (which, along with .223 all share the same shell plate), I jumped on my 650 last night to load up some 9mm. It is SOOOO much faster. At least for me. But with the auto index and the cases automatically dropping down, its definitely geared towards production, not experimentation.
Click to expand...


One thing to note is that there are several aftermarket modifications that can make experimentation easier on the 650 as a result of the auto indexing. It just depends what you want out of your press but the 650 can be made a little easier to work up a load.
 
TMI
st2020ramrod3hh_1153.jpg
 
Just an FYI. The primer "ski jump" upgrade discussed in that thread is simply a screw on bottle that effectively catches the primers rather than letting them dribble onto the floor. I actually have that upgrade. I got one of the prototypes. The guy who makes them is in CT.

But it doesn't change the fact that the 550 does not advance a primer unless there is a shell over the primer station. The 650 "wastes" a primer into the bottle, which you then need to dump onto a flip tray and put back into a primer tube.

Also, I can disable the case feeder by sticking a sharpie into the shuttle that swings back and forth with each case to move it into position.

The biggest problem is disabling auto index. Which I don't think can be done without removing parts. (I'm comfortably on the couch and don't feel like going into the basement for a look)

Don
 
I was not referring to the ski jump when I wrote "primer disconnect". I was literally referring to a hinged part that allows you to disconnect the primer advance.
ba1a8e068e01fdb0b4a697828ddc1561.jpg

Sorry the pic sucks but I think you get the idea.
 
Yeah it makes working up loads on a progressive press easier. A guy on NES made them, I will see if I can find his name. Been awhile.
 
I normally turn off my case feeder and empty the tube entirely. I also don't worry about the auto indexing: Just pull the pins and move the case back to the powder stage by hand since I have to weigh and empty it anyways. $0.02

I don't find it difficult or a pain to work up loads on the 650 and the speed gains that you get are well worth it IMHO.
 
For most of my load dev I load powder by pushing a case up on the powder drop while pushing in the powder slide so don't worry about the indexing. When I'm adjusting seat or crimp I drop the platform just far enough to remove the round and then let it rest back at the top (handle down), so again don't worry about the autoindex.

Worst case you could remove the spring that wraps around and attaches to the autoindexing wedge and then push it clockwise out of the way.


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