What do I need to have?

[Wheeler]

What caliber are you going to load for? What caliber do you PLAN to load for? The Dillon 550 will take more calibers than just about any press I know of. It's a progressive setup but, if you want to single stage it you can. Dillons customer service is second to none.

Wheeler

 

[rbstern]

Why does no one recommend progressives? It's just so much more straight forward to me...Most of them you can do one round at a time at first to get the hang of it.
I'm new to this too but IMHO, unless your doing it for match loads, go with a progressive press!

Progressives are great for quickly creating lots of rounds in a single caliber. But they aren't without drawbacks:

- High initial expense.

- High cost of caliber changes.

- Progressives require more setup care and maintenance, which, if negelected, result in stoppages and dramatically reduced production rates.

- Some progressives invite double charges with even a slight lapse of attention or variance in routine. Much more likely to bite the hand of a new reloader.

- Caliber changes on a progressive are more time consuming, even moreso when switching between primer sizes.

- Some rifle cartridges don't lend themselves to easy reloading on a progressive.

 

[ngcsugrad09]

I started with a Dillon XL650 and never had a problem. The trick is to pay attention to what you are doing. I knew I wanted to load pistol and eventually rifles with my setup. My first caliber was .45, which is super easy to work with. I've since added 9mm, .223 and .308 to my capabilities with it. With that said, I also picked up a single stage for less used calibers or load development. With either, rifle is a pain to load in anything as the case prep is much more in depth.

I'd recommend starting with pistols either way. If you're mechanically inclined and/or detail oriented don't be shy from a progressive. If you're on a budget or need things REALLY slow, go with the single stage. If you start with a single stage loading pistols, beware that a progressive will be in your future.

 

[Ken Ford]

Why does no one recommend progressives? It's just so much more straight forward to me...Most of them you can do one round at a time at first to get the hang of it.
I'm new to this too but IMHO, unless your doing it for match loads, go with a progressive press!

Ken, what caliber are you looking for at first?

Probably .357 then .45

 

[Wheeler]

Ken,

I bought a Dillon 550 several years ago when I really got into IDPA. I've loaded in excess of 15000 rounds with that press with only one double charge. The double charge is my fault, not the fault of the press. On a really good day I can crank out 400 rounds in an hour. If you plan on doing a lot of shooting, then a progressive is the way to go. If you plan on experimenting and testing then a single stage might be a better setup.

My setup, which has remained unchanged for the past 10 years is as follows:
Dillon XL550 press
RCBS 9mm/.38/.357 3 piece set of carbide dies.
Dillon carbide crimp die
.38/.357 shell plate holder
Franklin Arsenal tumbler
Lee 0-500 grain powder scale (manual)
brass, bullets, powder
I use the free brochures put out by various manufacturers (Winchester, Hornady, etc.) for load data. Yes, you could and should buy one of the reloading manuals.
The nice thing about my Dillon, and I'm sure this applies to all the progressives is, once I work up a load, I don't have to chage anything, I can take 30 minutes, load up 100-150 rounds, and walk away. I've changed from my .38 setup to my .37 setup enough that I can do it in about 20 minutes. Dillon offers the option to purchase another tool head, dies etc. in which the change from .38 to .357 would take all of about 3 minutes.

If you don't mind a messy basement, you're more than welcome to come over some time and take a look at my setup and even run a few rounds through it. If you have components, we'll set it up for your load and you can load up a batch.

Wheeler