Dillon RL550

[Lonewolf74]

Just wondering what a good condition lightly used one would be worth? What would be a reasonable asking price?

Not trying to sell it just yet but want an idea of what to ask for it if I do decide to sell it

 

[DUSTY NOGGIN]

Just wondering what a good condition lightly used one would be worth? What would be a reasonable asking price?

Not trying to sell it just yet but want an idea of what to ask for it if I do decide to sell it

if i bought a used rl550 for under 400.00 , i would think i got a deal , if someone was asking more than 400.00 i would just buy a new one ....

 

[Lonewolf74]

Thankyou I was thinking somewhere in that neighborhood for my setup including the strong mount, 2 tool heads, 2 powder measures and the upgraded handle.

Just can't decide what to do. I don't really use it how it's meant to be cus I'm too anal about my reloads and only load 223 on it anyway. So what I think I should do is sell it and get a Forster co-ax. But at the same time I like the idea of having the progressive press to more mass produce, if I ever actually do that.

 

[DUSTY NOGGIN]

Thankyou I was thinking somewhere in that neighborhood for my setup including the strong mount, 2 tool heads, 2 powder measures and the upgraded handle.

Just can't decide what to do. I don't really use it how it's meant to be cus I'm too anal about my reloads and only load 223 on it anyway. So what I think I should do is sell it and get a Forster co-ax. But at the same time I like the idea of having the progressive press to more mass produce, if I ever actually do that.

ya, same boat ... but i keep it for the pistol stuff , i listed mine once with all the conversion kits at about half retail. Had people offering me about a tenth of retail with all kits included ( no way , ill keep it !! ) .

dillon stuff isnt cheap , but they have excellent products ... like my Dillon carbide 223 die set , it costs an arm and a leg .. but very worth it ... it has lasted longer than 3 standard FL sizers ( scratched from walnut media ) and still in excellent shape

the have a carbide 50bmg sizer for a very low price of 949.00 !!! im glad i dont need that

the problem is that people that know what they are buying, already have one !!!

 

[jpfrog]

I have a Dillon 550, with a quick change tool head for every caliber I reload for and another for my decapping dies. I bought it back when I was doing pistol cartridges only. When I got into rifles, I didn't want to take up more space on the bench with another press so I just bought the extra tool heads. Those take up extra space at the back of my bench while sitting on stands when not in use, but they look cool.

I am turning out very consistent ammo with the 550 and most of my loads are producing .5moa or better, with only one cartridge sitting about .7moa (a 300wm I haven't really finished development for yet). I don't use the 550 as a progressive for rifle ammo- I run all my brass through the sizing die, then prime by hand and add powder using an auto dispenser double checked on a beam scale. Once it's read for the bullet, I come back and use the press again. So my dies are staggered in the tool head- sizing on the right by the pull arm, seating on the left, just take out the pins in the shell holder to allow the brass to slide in and out without obstruction and don't ever turn the shell holder as intended in "progressive" fashion.

I'm sure I could get slightly better results on a single stage (or multiple single stages) but I don't shoot competition (my rifles are used for hunting mainly, with one or two being "practice" range rifles) so the extra few thousandths of an inch I'd gain aren't worth as much to me as the flexibility of being able to have everything set and ready to go by switching out toolheads on the 550. Plus, selling it would yield very little compared to the investment I have in the setup, and I'd spend more by going to a single stage.

That's just me though- YMMV. Whatever you do, have fun with it!

 

[Laelkhunter]

I do the similar as jpfrog when loading rifle (.223 and .308) on my 550. But, I process the brass first (resize, trim), then just re-prime, charge, and seat the bullet using the 550. I use ww748 (ball powder) in both, and find the powder measure is really accurate when I check the powder charge weight in random cases.

 

[Lonewolf74]

Yes that's how I do use my Dillon and I adjusted my die's down to make medium contact with the shell plate, it produces decent results but I still get more consistently sized cases by using my single stage with shell holder making firm contact.

I have never used the powder throw on the press because I use an electronic dispenser then double check and trickle each charge on a beam scale.

I agree the Dillons are great quality and I don't wanna get rid of it but I do want a Co-ax press. Just can't justify keeping the Dillon if I got a Forster.

 

[reeldawg]

I recently took a wind reading class from John Whidden. We got to talking about reloading. He loads his ammo on a Dillon. He won a national championship with ammo loaded on one.

Jay