I bought my Dillon 550 in 1991 and now it is 24 years old. It has probably loaded about 7,000 rounds per year counting other people who come over and use it. I bought the press and extras that cost $500.00 so for $20.84 per year or $1.73 per month I had the use of the press. The cost of feeding the machine will not be figured out for practical reasons and I really do not want to know.
My Dillon 550 life cost
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Got two of the 550's.....can't beat Dillon's NO [censored] warranty.
Won't let me say no [censored] warranty!
How about no shucks?
Won't let me say no [censored] warranty!
How about no shucks?
Last edited:
Originally Posted By: tc1446
Got two of the 550's.....can't beat Dillon's NO [censored] warranty.
Won't let me say no [censored] warranty!
How about no shucks?
I had the 550 rebuild under warranty last year and it is better than new. Yes the no Bee Ess warranty is truly No Bee Ess
Several people have learned to reload on the 550 and they all became Dillon purchasers.
Got two of the 550's.....can't beat Dillon's NO [censored] warranty.
Won't let me say no [censored] warranty!
How about no shucks?
I had the 550 rebuild under warranty last year and it is better than new. Yes the no Bee Ess warranty is truly No Bee Ess
I've been reloading on this RL-450, (Dillon's first progressive machine), since 1985. The Square Deal is in .44 Magnum, and is one of the first ones they ever shipped. Still going strong. The newest press I've added is the Redding T-7 Turret Press. Very strong press.
The RCBS Rock Crusher in the top photo on my bench was purchased new in 1976 as well.
Wow. That's a serious set up.
I just bought the Lee turret press. It's not the 1000 progressive press. It only does one round at a time however I can start with clean brass and finish the round then move on to the next,rather then do each step then changing the die.
If I was going to buy again I'd buy the hornady lock and load version. Die swaps while they are set which means no resetting bullet seating depths.
I can't find a 4 hole turret that fits my press. The 3 hole at cabellas is for the 1000 and the head doesn't install.
The hornady is nice. The rcbs is awesome too. I bought an extra ram just to crimp bullets.
Working on a load for my 7mm. I have a perfect load for my 30-30 already. Got lucky however the rem mag has so many different variables it might take a while.
Tomorrow I'm going to the farm shooting. I've got 5 bullet sets that start at the powder minimum working upwards .3 grains and monitor groups. This rifle was already a tack driver but improvements can always be found.
Once the powder load is confirmed then it's headspace and how far to jump the bullet. I'm 0.005 from the rifling right now on all my loads. Once powder is confirmed I'm going to open it up til groups get worse.
I didn't realize how much fun load development was. I would just buy rounds and shoot. Now I find my hobby has a hobby.
Luvin it.
I just bought the Lee turret press. It's not the 1000 progressive press. It only does one round at a time however I can start with clean brass and finish the round then move on to the next,rather then do each step then changing the die.
If I was going to buy again I'd buy the hornady lock and load version. Die swaps while they are set which means no resetting bullet seating depths.
I can't find a 4 hole turret that fits my press. The 3 hole at cabellas is for the 1000 and the head doesn't install.
The hornady is nice. The rcbs is awesome too. I bought an extra ram just to crimp bullets.
Working on a load for my 7mm. I have a perfect load for my 30-30 already. Got lucky however the rem mag has so many different variables it might take a while.
Tomorrow I'm going to the farm shooting. I've got 5 bullet sets that start at the powder minimum working upwards .3 grains and monitor groups. This rifle was already a tack driver but improvements can always be found.
Once the powder load is confirmed then it's headspace and how far to jump the bullet. I'm 0.005 from the rifling right now on all my loads. Once powder is confirmed I'm going to open it up til groups get worse.
I didn't realize how much fun load development was. I would just buy rounds and shoot. Now I find my hobby has a hobby.
Luvin it.
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