progressive press advice for 308

[tmckay2]

With ammo costs I've just decided to get serious about reloading my 308. My question is whether a Dillon 650 with the bells and whistles or a 1050 would be better, or somrthing else? I just want to buy once cry once but it seems some think the 1050 is better suited for handgun reloading. I may do 223 at some point in the future but no guarantee. Anyone have any experience and if they think I should go the 650 what add one should I get with it? Thanks!

[Jamnanc]

Will you be using military/crimped brass?

[tmckay2]

Yes. However once I buy the brass it will all be processed and I won't be buying any more for a while so it should be more or less one go on processing and then when reused the crimp won't matter.

[bobbyfairbanks]

Man what are shooting in .308 that would require a 1050? I do all my precision .308 loading on a 550. Does a great job. I suppose I would get another 1050 before a 650. I do process all my .308 and .223 brass on a 1050. Only way to go

[tmckay2]

its not volume of shooting, its volume of stocking. i want to sit down crank out a ton of 308 and have gobs of it sitting around so i don't have to reload often. I've done the whole cranking out 100 rounds every time i want to go shooting. instead of purchasing crap 308 for 50 cents a round and stocking up on a few thousand, why not get components for 30 cents a round and crank out those thousands yourself? the other thing is i may do 9 mm and 223 in the future, it just isn't as cost effective for me to worry about it right now. single stage presses just wear on me, especially since case prep is even more of a hassle on those.

for the 1050, are there a lot of add ons needed? i know with the 650 you have to add quite a few things to really make it easy, and the cost ends up being around 1100-1300. didn't know if the 1050 was the same way.

[stodg73]

Since you are going to be buying you brass already processes, go with the 650. You can load everything on the 650 that you want. With the 1050, the toolhead is the expensive part, 2 times the cost of the 650s'. The change overs times are about the same, the conversion kits are about the same.

However, the choice is yours.

[Jamnanc]

Since you are going to be buying you brass already processes, go with the 650. You can load everything on the 650 that you want. With the 1050, the toolhead is the expensive part, 2 times the cost of the 650s'. The change overs times are about the same, the conversion kits are about the same.

However, the choice is yours.

agreed, 1050 biggest advantage is the swage. If your not worried about the swage, the 650 will crank out a ton of ammo. Regardless what you use, it's a two pass process. One for case prep, one to load. On 308 the case feeder will be the limiting factor for speed, not the press.

[tmckay2]

I think some outside company makes a swager for the 650 but could be wrong. Also swaging using a drill bit isn't the end of the world if it's a one time go.

[stodg73]

There are a few companies that make a swager for the 650, however, if you use one on the 650, it voids the lifetime warranty. Also, those swagers do not support the inside of case as it is being swaged. Like jamnanc said, they are both 2 pass processes.

[Jamnanc]

The swager for the 650 installs in place of the priming station. I have used the one from eBay. It works, but doesn't chamfer the pocket the way a 600 or 1050 do. While the cases are able to be primed, it is not as consistent or smooth. the one I had would work loose and it was in a bad position for tightening. I would reccomemd it, but not with enthusiasm.

[Great-Kazoo]

550 OR 650 If you want real volume, the 650 since you're getting processed brass. If you want speed and something other then a single stage the 550 is the go to press.

NO you can't use a case feeder on the 550. WITHOUT a lot of modification. That would negate the cost of the 5 over 650.
My 1050 is a brass processing set up. The cost of tool heads becomes cost prohibitive ..
Yes you can use hornady lock rings on your dies to get them close enough for plinking rounds. IMO any time a dies (with lock rings) is removed then reinstalled. You need to check final adjustments.

[tmckay2]

Is it at least agreed Dillon is the way to go? I should clarify too. The brass won't be processed I just meant I am getting a lot of it and processing it all at once so I will have a few thousand pieces of brass processed. Thus, since I will get several uses out of it, I won't have to process primer pockets over and over again.

[cstone]

How many rounds do you plan on shooting each month?

Dillon 550, Super Swager set up for large primer, and a Giraud trimmer set up for .308. Having a solid single stage press just set up for sizing also helps. You could substitute the Dillon 1500 trimmer on a separate toolhead for the Giraud and it would move the sizing and depriming onto the 550.

Just resign yourself to always having brass in some stage of being prepped. If you have 1000 pieces of brass and you size and deprime 100 pieces every evening, you will have it done and the lube tumbled off in two weeks without too much effort. Then you can swage it all in a week and trim it in another week. In one month you will have 1000 pieces of brass ready to go on your 550. Unless you plan on shooting 1000 rounds every month, you will stay ahead of your use, after you put the first month of prep in.

Enjoy.

[Slapps74]

I can process and load a 1000 rounds of 5.56 in about 5 hours start to finish minus the wet tumble and dry, with my Dillon 650. I have the swager that goes in the press and a RT 1500 trimmer.

[Caithford]

I can process and load a 1000 rounds of 5.56 in about 5 hours start to finish minus the wet tumble and dry, with my Dillon 650. I have the swager that goes in the press and a RT 1500 trimmer.

I have the Super Swage 600, a 550 and the RT 1500 trimmer, and I can process and load 1000 rounds of 223/556 in about 5.5 hours.

[Slapps74]

I have the Super Swage 600, a 550 and the RT 1500 trimmer, and I can process and load 1000 rounds of 223/556 in about 5.5 hours.

Your just much faster than me! :)


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[Caithford]

Your just much faster than me! :)


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Hah! That wasn't quite my point, I just wanted to post what I've timed myself at with my equipment, so the OP has a comparison. Though I did necro the thread a little :(