Never thought I'd be asking this ,but...

[gregintenn]

Let us know how it turns out. I expect it'll be a quite interesting story.

 

[Twoboxer]

After 40 ys on a SS press, what is your interest in going to a progressive?

If you are interested, can you do it yourself? Would you? Joint ownership can work with the right people and the right agreement. But there are many details, including what happens when someone wants to pull out.

One way is for everyone to have their own powder, primers, bullets, dies, and only use their own personal tool head(s) and PMs. Another way is for the group to make gobs of the exact same cartridge and split the work and the output. Every changeover lessens the advantage a progressive has over SS presses.

I only mention the above because I think it's obvious that these methods also have drawbacks.

Finally, can the press et al be located in a place where others can have access to it for relatively long stretches of time? 3 guys reloading 3 calibers 4 times a year equals 36 reloading sessions.

Good luck with your decision.

ETA: An example occurred to me from a couple of years of car pooling. Two people in the pool cut costs in half. Adding a third person saved less than 17% more, and added 50% more complexity

 

[LAA]

I have no idea what you are talking about here. My 650 is rather simple to set up. Maybe that's subjective. Right now my press is far from clean and runs like a top. All of my 45 acp brass is range pick up. My experience with the 650 is polar opposite of yours.

For sure! Same here! I can't think of any reason I'd want a 550 over the 650. Mine is decked out, as they say, with the exception of a bullet feeder. 9mm, 45 ACP, and .223 are the main loads on this machine.

Okay...........I do have a tendency for a good cleanup, when switching calibers, especially when changing the primer size. I do use multiple tool heads & powder bars.

 

[fredj338]

No downside buying better tools but the cost. When you consider the press Will last longer than most guns, i fine investment for something that just flat works with a min fuss.

 

[fredj338]

Does any one of you KNOW how to adjust a Dillon 650 to run properly with 9 mm, 45 ACP, 223 Rem? A Dillon 550 is much more forgiving. Problems include crimped primers, tight primer pockets, small primer 45 brass when loading large primer brass, machine cleanliness (650 must be kept clean), and Berdan primed brass. I own a Dillon 450 and 550. I also load for a gun range using a optioned out 650. I will never buy a Dillon 650, even after loading a 100k rounds of ammunition on it. Too many critical adjustments, too many things to cause a problem, and that mythical "high production rate" requires perfection in brass, primers, bullets, and cleanliness.

A Dillon press set up for use by 3 or 4 different people is a recipe for disaster in my opinion. There is only one way this idea will be successful, and at least 10 ways there will be hard feelings after a short period of time.

Not really, at least with my 650. I load 45acp on it, runs fine with minimal cleaning, some lube at critical points. I also use range brass, no issues other than the occasional sp case. That is easily dealt with at stn 2 by plucking the case out, dropping in a presized/decapped case & continue.
I've timed an hour run several times & fixing little things like sp case or flipped case in the feeder, i still get almot 700rds on that hour. I admit i dont like swapping sp to large often, that is where adjustments seem to be made.
FWIW, my machinist buddy has a lnl & 650. After 10s of 1000s on both, he prefers the 650 by a pretty wide margin & cost, equally equipped, the 650 is less than $100 more. For that you get better priming & better case feeder.

 

[Wise_A]

I agree - 'communal' reloading does not sound like a good idea. Way too many potential issues. A press being accessed by three people means three times as many problems. Constant changes for different calibers, possibly access issues - I wouldn't consider it for a second. Maybe Father/Son or a couple family members but not just other 'fellow shooters'

I share a press with my father. It works well. I load the ammunition, and he helps me shoot it up!

All kidding aside, I like reloading anyway, and we share component costs.

I wouldn't share a press with friends.

 

[stykshooter]

I did that very same thing 15 years or so ago when three of us got into I.P.S.C. shooting and were burning up a lot of .45 rounds. I had a long bench in my basement with two single stage presses set up plus two shot shell loaders. Three of us went together and bought a 550 and a bunch of accessories from Dillon. We all shot the same load with 231 powder and 200 grain SWC so once the press was set up, we never changed anything. They both had a box in my basement where they stored their bullets, primers and powder and would come over once or twice a month and load 500 rounds. They would be loading their cases and while they were doing that I would be down the bench loading shot shells or rifle or magnum handgun rounds on one of the single stages. It was actually enjoyable to have someone down there while loading.

This worked out great for about five years. Then one of the guys had a divorce and other issues and completely got out of shooting matches. He hadn't been over in a year or so and had two 500 round boxes of bullets and about 5,000 primers in my basement. He told me to just load them and shoot them as he doubted he ever would. A year or so later the other guy got transferred and said for me to just keep the press. He had gotten his money's worth out of it over the years.

I miss the days of us getting together to fill some cases and plan our strategy for the next match.

 

[Rule3]

I have. On many occasions. don't see a problem. I have never lost friends due to such unassuming, unimportant things

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I can't sleep right now, I am coming over to your place, leave the door open, I feel like reloading I like loud music when I load also..

 

[Arik]

I can't sleep right now, I am coming over to your place, leave the door open, I feel like reloading I like loud music when I load also..

Well music ...no...but any of my friends can come over any time, day or night. If I'm home or if I'm not. This is why they are friends

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[gregintenn]

I can't sleep right now, I am coming over to your place, leave the door open, I feel like reloading I like loud music when I load also..

A couple of drinking buddies are coming with me. Could you watch the kids while we reload?


oh, by the way.....it was broke when I got here.

 

[Big Cholla]

So you put together a nice little bunch of 'friends' and have an understanding of the 'rules'. Well, several previous posts have mentioned subsequent problems possibly coming up. I can guarantee you that the only "Constant" in the world is "Change". Those changes will be marital, financial, loss of interest, medical, alcohol, drugs, kids, etc., etc. and all those uncontrollable variables will be multiplied by four.

IMHO, I wouldn't do it. ..............

 

[Rule3]

Well music ...no...but any of my friends can come over any time, day or night. If I'm home or if I'm not. This is why they are friends

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What you have rules? How about drinking, smoking?

Well mine can come over also, Just don't mess with my tools!!

 

[Arik]

Drinking and smoking? As in just drinking and smoking? Sure I do it too! Love a good drink. It's 5 o'clock somewhere! Wouldn't mind one now!

You can listen to music too...just put on headphones or make it quiet. My bedroom and basement are 3 floors apart. Raid the fridge if you want.

Tools? Sure! I lent tools out, I also borrowed tools. No issues. It's just stuff.

I have 3 good friends who can come and go if they please. They are good responsible people. On the other hand when I come to their house I don't even ask, I go to the fridge and grab a beer or pour myself a shot. Occasionally bring over some steaks and fire up the grill.

I have friends....these guys are like brothers to me. I also have acquaintances. These people Im on friendly terms with and I see occasionally.

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[otisrush]

There's a lot of talk here about the social and friendship component of this arrangement, but what keeps going through my head are the potential ammo/safety issues of this arrangement.

"Hey, Steve, the powder in the hopper is HP-38. Go for it." What if it turns out to be Titegroup? Ouch.

"I left small pistol primers in the primer tube." "Oh, yeah....oops....I did do a batch of .45. I forgot. I guess I did leave large pistols in the tube."

"I know we're at COL x.yyy because Bob has a short throated pistol - but that doesn't shoot very well in my gun. I'm going to lengthen it a bit."

Heck - having only me in control of my single stage press, components & accoutrements presents enough overhead of keeping things straight and ensuring all is copacetic when I go to the range. Complicate that with a more complex machine and multiple people knowledgeable enough to make changes - the possible safety concerns are the larger issue than the social/friendship ones, IMHO. Although, in the spirit of full disclosure, I don't own a progressive and I don't know how realistic the above theoretical scenarios are.

OR

 

[apollo99]

To answer the OP's question, I don't see a down side to a Dillon XL650, performance wise. While it may be a little costly in the initial purchase, you will still save money on reloading over buying factory ammo. The calibers you mentioned .223..45,9mm are all pretty basic and if you get separate quick changes for them going from caliber to caliber will be a snap. I would suggest you get another primer set-up so you have a large and small saves a little time during conversion. As far as .223 I run mine through the XL650 to size and de-prime, than I check for length, trim as needed, run them through the XL650 and reload them again, Sizing again is a personal choice,I do. As far as three friends on a XL650, that is up to you, I have very few friends I would share a reloaded with, but your situation with these guys may be different. I live a hour from Dillon here in AZ. any questions or if you need any help PM me. Dillon has great customer service and a fantastic no B.S. warranty.

 

[Eddie Southgate]

Big difference in a couple , maybe three other fellow shooters and friends that are like brothers. That said I am way too picky about my equipment to share . My Pap taught me to load , cast and shoot and was the only person I have ever known that I would have no problem sharing equipment with. I would have to say No if it were me in your situation.

Eddie

 

[Rule3]

You need a Lawyer to draw up a set of by laws and membership rules. Kind like a Condo Board.

Monthly meetings and majority rules on any rule changes.

Can a member be voted out?

Will the press location be like Interval ownership and move from one local to another?

 

[SMSgt]

Go in together on a car first and see how that works out.

 

[gwpercle]

The problem isn't what progressive press to buy, it's three other inexperienced reloaders trying to learn on a progressive and four guys trying to use one machine.
What I see is them getting you to do all the work because they don't know how or who gets the machine on what day.

Everybody needs to get their own. Sharing just sucks rocks.

 

[S&WIowegan]

I've got lots of shooting buddies that I like and trust on the range. I also have a lot of "people experience" due to my mid-70s age. Some guys are just hell on tools and can't help but break stuff. If you don't know the type you're lucky. We used to shoot with a guy who we all liked. He bought a used custom built race gun locally. The gun had always run perfectly. The new owner turned it into a jam-o-matic and never got the gun to run. He sold it to another local guy at a big loss. The new owner made some ammo for it and the gun ran perfectly again. You can't fix guys like this....we tried.

Within a group, one guy's normal and preventive maintenance is the next guy's PIA.

Best of luck if you do this. If you're like Arik, you'll be fine.