hyena
Member
I started reloading 9mm when I was in college in the 1970's. Used an RCBS Rock Chucker single stage, and a Redding balance beam scale. Then I quit, and packed it away for about 40 years. A few years back, now retired and spending more time at the shooting range, I got all the old stuff out to start reloading 38 Special and 45 ACP. I bought Lee dies. Still using the Redding scale. But it wasn't long before I got tired of handling each cartridge multiple times.
My shooting buddy had a Dillon 550. (Still does, but now he's added a 750.) He demonstrated it, and I used it to load a couple hundred rounds to get the feel for it. Nice piece of work, but I decided to get a Lee Classic Turret. I have not regretted my choice. I don't keep track of how many rounds I've loaded thus far. Many thousands. The only problem thus far was the decapper pin breaking on the 45. I called Lee, they were very nice, one replacement was free and promptly received. My press was made in the USA. The carbide dies don't say where they're from, which is usually an indicator it's not USA.
Likes: price, simplicity, the fact you have a good "feel" for each operation, because you're only doing one operations with each crank of the handle.
Dislikes: Same number of handle cranks as a single stage, but it's quite a bit quicker because you're handling the cartridges a lot less.
I agree with dla above who said 100 rounds per hour is a good expectation. Earlier this week, I did 200 rounds of 45 ACP. Everything was going smooth, so on the second hundred rounds I timed myself, without rushing, just working smoothly. I did 100 rounds in 35 minutes.
I think it's human nature the more somebody spends for something, the more passionate they will be defending their choice, and the more likely they'll be to be critical of other brands. But still, I don't think there's any doubt Dillon makes good stuff. I just chose a different path.
My advice - start with the Lee Classic Turret. You may not even enjoy reloading, in which case you won't be out a ton of money. And it also may be all the press you will ever want.
Good luck with your decision.
My shooting buddy had a Dillon 550. (Still does, but now he's added a 750.) He demonstrated it, and I used it to load a couple hundred rounds to get the feel for it. Nice piece of work, but I decided to get a Lee Classic Turret. I have not regretted my choice. I don't keep track of how many rounds I've loaded thus far. Many thousands. The only problem thus far was the decapper pin breaking on the 45. I called Lee, they were very nice, one replacement was free and promptly received. My press was made in the USA. The carbide dies don't say where they're from, which is usually an indicator it's not USA.
Likes: price, simplicity, the fact you have a good "feel" for each operation, because you're only doing one operations with each crank of the handle.
Dislikes: Same number of handle cranks as a single stage, but it's quite a bit quicker because you're handling the cartridges a lot less.
I agree with dla above who said 100 rounds per hour is a good expectation. Earlier this week, I did 200 rounds of 45 ACP. Everything was going smooth, so on the second hundred rounds I timed myself, without rushing, just working smoothly. I did 100 rounds in 35 minutes.
I think it's human nature the more somebody spends for something, the more passionate they will be defending their choice, and the more likely they'll be to be critical of other brands. But still, I don't think there's any doubt Dillon makes good stuff. I just chose a different path.
My advice - start with the Lee Classic Turret. You may not even enjoy reloading, in which case you won't be out a ton of money. And it also may be all the press you will ever want.
Good luck with your decision.
