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Dillon 550B vs. XL650 Reloading

shooterusa
What are the differences between these two machines? How much better or more can you do with the 650?

SD
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Comments

10 comments

Date Votes
  • nmyers
    Request a copy of the "blue book" from Dillon; that will explain everything. Or, go to their website.

    Neal
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  • MIKE WISKEY
    THE 550 WILL LOAD ALMOST ANY CARTIDGE, THE 650 WILL ONLY LOAD PISTOL OR SMALLER (.223 ECT.)RIFLE CARTRIDGES (IT IS FASTER THAN THE 550 AS IT HAS AUTO CASE AND BULLET FEED).
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  • Laredo Lefty
    MW... I load .308 on my 650. It has a case feeder but does not have a bullet feeder.

    Joe
    "Never let school interfere with your education"
    0
  • agman1999
    The 650 will load a pretty wide variety of rifle cartridges. Might not do the big belted mags, but I don't have my book with me to check that out. The 650 is auto-indexing, while the 550 isn't. The case feeder isn't out for the 550 yet. There's no bullet feeder out for the Dillon presses that I know of, but some people have discovered alternative solutions.

    I can't speak for the productivity of the 550, but I have a 650 without the case feeder. I can do a couple hundred rounds of .45 acp in a half hour or so, being really slow and lazy about it. Of course, slow and lazy is the only pace I've run this press at so far. [:D] I really like the auto-indexing. I wouldn't have spent the money on a progressive press without it.
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  • MIKE WISKEY
    SORRY ABOUT THE BULLET FEEDER ...IT WAS EARLY MORNING. I LOAD EVERYTHING FROM .22 HORNET TO .458 WIN. MAG. ON MY 550. THE 650 IS A GOOD MACHINE YOU ARE LOADING THE SMALLER STUFF )I DIDN'T KNOW IT WOULD HANDLE THE .308).
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  • agman1999
    For some reason, they don't list all of the caliber conversions on the website with the 650. The rifle stuff is on a separate page. It does include the .458 win mag. http://dillonprecision.com/template/p.cfm?maj=25&min=1&dyn=1&
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  • shooterusa
    What is auto indexing? Wjat makes a press progressive?


    SD
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  • agman1999
    "Auto indexing" means that the shell plate is turned automatically, advancing each round to the next station.

    A progressive press has more than one station. You can perform more than one operation with each stroke of the press.
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  • tlen
    I see a properly set up XL650 with all the bells and whistles as basically a semi-production machine where all you have to do is insert a bullet with each stroke; the RL550 requires you to index, insert a cartridge case, and a bullet. I find it hard to justify the added cost of the XL650 unless one is mass producing ammo on a regular basis for many people or possibly for sale. The RL550 should be all one would need and, although not cheap, it doesn't cost an arm and leg to change calibers.
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  • GPWEAPON
    the 650 is the cadillac of the two. depending on what you plan to reload and how many rounds per year you shoot it may not be worth the investment. there's alot of reloaded and surplus ammo for the common calibers.
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