ok i got a RCBS rock chucker a few years ago with the idea of doing precision reloading for match 223 and 308 rounds. but haven't messed around with it much due to some jobs and military stuff.
I'm in afghan right now so i have some time to do a decent amount of research for a high volume reloading machine because i have a few new rifles as well as a 9mm MAC11 that i am going to need to keep well fed.  once i get back i'll have a few months of off time to do what ever and i would like to keep myself busy stocking up for the next year if not more.  

is there one machine that can reload pretty much everything or am i going to need to get a separate one for the handgun calibers?

i've seen some like the Dillon 1050 with automatic everything except lever pulling and says it can do 1,000-1,200 per hour which sounds nice but i'm not too sure on the price as well as being relatively new to reloading.  my end goal is to hook one up to an electric motor and just have to feed it while i'm working on some other gun stuff.  i do plan to reload a lot of 223, 308 and 9mm seeing as i have a lot of brass just laying around as well as access to more if i need it.  i may seem real ambitious here but i have a few friends who reload and my good friends father has been reloading for 40+ years has offered to help me get into it.  not looking to do any crazy custom loading with the new set up just a lot of bulk plinking rounds at a lower than buying new cost.

My Lock N Load AP will do all that and more.  You would also be well served by a dillon 650.

i plan do to it by hand for a while but i want something that i can make automated, i know people that i can get electric motors from for free and my brother works in a machine shop for the custom parts.  
i looked at the 650 but wasnt sure if i can hook that up to a motor and arm due to the way it's designed, any info?

any progressive will allow you to do high volumes, those with case feeders will increase your volume as well.  I can crank out a primer tube full of pistol rounds in my 650 in about 8 minutes.  Loading rifle brass is still a two step process: the first pass to decap and resize, then you trim on the side, then the second pass to seat a primer, drop powder, seat the bullet and optionally crimp the case.



If you can avoid the trimming step by using a RCBS X die for example, then loading rifle would be a 1 pass procedure.



If you load high volume, truly load high volume.  That is set up your press for one caliber and reload the bejesus out of it, e.g. 9mm.  Crank out every empty piece of brass you have.  The goal here is to avoid caliber changes on your progressive press.

Don't do like 500 rds of 9mm, then spend 20 minutes changing to 45acp, then crank out 500 rds of that and move on to the next caliber.  Do 1 caliber at a time until out of brass then do the caliber change to the next caliber.



A caliber change on a 650 is relatively simple but still involves:

- new tool head

- powder measure if you don't a dedicated one for each caliber, this may also involve switching from the small to large powder bar or vice versa

- case feed plate

- case feed adapter bushings

- priming system



Here's how I would do those 5 calibers:



- start with 9mm



- switch to .223, since .223 uses small rifle primers you won't have to switch out the priming sytem on a caliber conversion, you'll have to switch the powder measure from using a small powder bar to a large one though



- then crank out your 300BLK.  You won't have to change the powder measure bar nor priming system nor case feed system



- switch to 308.  Now you'll have to swap out the priming system from small to large primers but not the powder measure bar as it'll still have the large bar from doing the .223 and 300blk



- then switch to 45ACP.  You'll have to swap out the powder measure bar from large to small but not the priming system.

308 and 45acp uses the same shell plate I believe, so you won't have to swap that out.

i would concentrate on the 223 first because of the 5,000+ cases that i have right now and i have an unlimited supply of them in the future.  that would be the truly high number caliber.  after that would be the 9mm due the the Mac-11 but i have to get some 9mm brass first so i'll probably just go buy 3k or 4k new and once i'm threw that reload it all back up.  the 308 may only be 1,000 at a time once a year as i'm not sure how much i'll be shooting that caliber similar to the 300Blk but i'm still not too sure on the 45acp reloading need.

When you get back and set up your press send me IM and I'll hook you up with some free 9mm brass
(the above isn't a trade or a for sale post, it's still ok to give away brass per COC )


 

hey thanks man, what state are you in?  also like your profile pic.

as far as the bulk 223 reloads is this something that is simple enough for a newer guy to do?  with just the press by hand at first or are my aspersions way to high?

Here is a good article comparing Dillon, Hornady and lee progressive presses

http://www.comrace.ca/cmfiles/dillonLeeHornadyComparison.pdf

I thought it was a good honest write up.  For the record I use a lee, but that is mainly because I am cheap and Got a real good deal on it.

I'm in NC.  Pic is from the Book of Eli movie





Anyway I would get a mentor, get a fellow reloader to show you the ropes the first go around or two





 

that's the plan, i have a few people who are very experienced with reloading who are going to help me get going.  only thing that sucks is it's not going to be till about April that i start.....

if you have that much 223 to load, you may want to consider a dedicated machine. you will pay for it in no time. i am a cheap SOB and change out all parts of my dillon 550 when i switch calibers. i dont have spare tool heads or anything... although i would like to. maybe if i find a deal on some used ones.

what kind of trimmer do you have or do you plan to use for that much brass? i would highly consider a giraud for that many. i hate trimming cases, and plan on getting a giraud.

i want one machine that can do everything but i plan do to runs of each caliber till i have no more brass or components left then switch to another caliber.  say i buy 6k of the 223 bullets from Wideners and enough of the other parts i'll load all of that up or till i run out of brass to put it into before i change to 9mm/308.  i still have about 2,000 of factory 223 and i'll have about the same of 9mm to hold me over till i need to really get this operation up and running.

i also don't know much about case trimming or what i'll get yet but probably the Dillon trimmer seeing as it has the vacuum attachment and can be working into my press.  also what type of powder should i be using because i was looking for prices on stuff.

Some good facts mixed with a little legend going on here. All well intended.

I'd concentrate on what you need just to get up and walking first. From the sounds of things your new to this. It's way so easy to trip over the learning curve. My experience would suggest focus on getting it right from the start because back tracking to undo is 3 times harder than doing it right as you go.

What press to choose will actually be one of the easier purchases you will make. There's literally a hundred other buying decisions that need more attention than press volume.

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In addition to what's already been mentioned here is my .02 - specific to volume reloading.

IMO brass prep is the biggest obstacle to volume, even a 1050 can't load fast if the case feeder is empty.

Every manual step you take out of brass prep will increase your output rate significantly. Being able to do prep on the press with a dedicated toolhead  is hard to beat.

Swaging: if you use brass with crimped primers you will need to swage them. Only the 1050 can do this on the press.
Trimming: you already mentioned the RT1200 which will work on 550 - 1050.
Case feeder and auto indexing: this means a 650 or 1050.

So with the 1050 you can do all prep in a single step.
With the 650 you can do all but swage.

Caliber changes are a factor as you go up in press, but working in large batches helps minimize this.

Now - if they'd just come up with a press mounted tumbler I'd be set

YMMV

what exactly is involved with a caliber change as it sounds like its a 3hr process?  i just want to make the best investment right off the bat instead of buying a middle grade one for 1,000 total to only spend another $800 a few years later, i'll also have a lot more play money to invest when i get off this deployment.

You can read what's involved from the Dillon manuals for the machine you had in mind http://www.dillonprecision.com/#/manuals.html



Never done one on a 1050 but it has to be more involved than on a 550 or 650.  On a 550/650 caliber changes aren't too involved, they're more of a tedious thing.  If  you have a dedicated toolhead with powder measure for the 550, the caliber change can be done in a matter of minutes: just swap out the shell plate, locator buttons, toolhead, and possibly the priming system.



Same for the 650 but the priming system will take a few more minutes ,then the case feed system, most people don't have dedicated powder check system for each toolhead, you can fiddle with that for 10 minutes or more. Worse case scenario for a 650 caliber change is 20-25 minutes.  Add more time if you have swap out the charge bar on the powder measure and recalibrate it to throw the right amount of powder.



Caliber changes aren't to be feared but avoided, spend your time reloading and not doing caliber changes when possible



 

Regarding "223", if you actually have military 5.56 brass, you will have an extra nasty step.
You will have to swage the primer pocket crimp to remove it after decapping the brass.

i see only one reloader that would fit all your needs but it wouldn't be the press i would start reloading on.

the dillon 1050, you can add an auto drive to it

it has the swagging staion and it can crank out the ammo.

down side is caliber conversions take longer and cost more if you have separate tool heads for each

which is a moot point if you are doing them in large batches anyhow. and it has a hefty price tag but i am saving up

for one because i want the swagging feature.

AssaultRifler summed it up nicely regarding caliber changes.

On the 1050 it's a little more time consuimg than the 550, but not much. Figure 15-30 minutes depending on what all you have to do (i.e. maybe adjust swager, change primer system, case feed plate, etc.)

The 1050 is not without it's downside.

As BIGGDAWG said - caliber changes cost more. You can spend over $400 for a change depnding on what is needed and how easy you want to make the changes.
1050 only comes with a single primer system. The 550 and 650 come with both large and small. Add another $100 if you need both sizes on the 1050.
The biggeest thing though is that the 1050 has only a 1 year warranty vs. the no BS lifetime warranty for 550 and 650.

Still - I wouldn't trade mine for anything.

My feedback has been said already, but you can take it more as a +1 than anything.

The RL1050 is the one you want, and is the only press that adds the swaging feature.  If you really have 5K brass laying around, a good chunk of it is probably crimped.  If you won't or can't get the RL1050, it's probably worth facing the music that case prep will be a separate step for you.  The RL1050 setup with all the caliber changes you want will run several thousand dollars (at least), along with the other reloading tools you'll need.  You will need to reload many thousands of rounds to make up that cost, if you don't treat reloading as a fun hobby.  

If we are talking about a press for pistol only, you gererally don't have to worry about crimps and sizing.  Automation can be had far cheaper and caliber changes are cheaper as well.

thanks for the info, i don't plan on buying all of those caliber set ups at one time but as i need them.  i also have an RCBS rock chucker that i can set up for the 308 so there is no need for a large primer system and i do plan on loading the 308 as more than just a plinking round.  i tried looking at those Dillon manuals but they are PDF files and the internet here is way too slow so it just freezes the computer on me.  i'm mostly asking about this now so i can keep my eyes open for a nice used set up on here or other forums, even local Craigs list.  

as for automating the machine, i just want something that gives me that option if i choose to later down the road.  i wouldn't have a problem with a some what timely caliber change as i won't be doing it all that often or for any less than 2,000 rounds at a time and i do like the idea of less brass prep which will be important seeing as most if not all of my brass is military surplus.