Upgrading from a single stage

[Eagle Eye]

So, I am starting to find myself wanting to load 300-400 round of .40, or 200 rounds of 6.5x55 or 30-06. My single stage works like a champ but I've been finding myself looking at a dillon 550. One immediate questions comes to mind.

When does case trimming happen? I saw a video on the dillon web site and the steps went as follows. 1.depriming/resizing 2. powder charge 3. bullet seating 4. crimp

Now, that may work fine for pistol cases that don't need trimming after resizing but WTH happens with rifle brass???

 

[Eagle Eye]

Never mind i found the answer

 

[Mad Professor]

550 is an awesome next step from a single stage.

 

[Eagle Eye]

Yeah it looks sweet!

 

[Shadowrider]

Whatever you do go Dillon. Trust me on this. 550 or 650, your preference and/or budget, but get the blue!

I can trim .223 brass much much faster than I can lube it with their trimmer setup on an extra tool head. With the case feeder I can just set there and pull the handle. 5000 in a day is not at all out of the question if you can lube them and keep the case feeder fed.

Edit: .300BO brass is a snap too.

 

[Eagle Eye]

Will the dies I already have work in the dillon?

 

[dennishoddy]

Look at the Hornady LNL too.
I don't have a case or bullet feeder on it, so I'm around 300 an hour with manual feeding once I get the rhythm going.
Takes longer to load the primer tube than it does to empty into rounds.
I have the primer loader accessory that looks like a pistol with a primer tray on it. One of the best things I've ever bought.

 

[YukonGlocker]

I really like the Dillon 550/650. They also hold their value incredibly well.

 

[Mkokc]

Guess I'm old fashioned, had a Dillon 550b, still favor all my single stages just for the quality control, just a simple minded opinion though

 

[Eagle Eye]

The advantage of a progressive for mass production is pretty clear. BUT
I wonder if precision rifle loads might be better if loaded in a single stage.