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Posted: 3/16/2016 9:25:03 PM EDT
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Do you have one for your 550 ?
If so can you tell me the pros and cons. I'm reading a lot of mixed reviews. Also if you are running one can I get some pics. |
I've been running one for years: 45 acp, 40 S&W, 38sp, 9mm, and .223 (yes it will work with right pieces - See Brian Enos site). Looks just like the photo in Dillon magazine. No problems whatsoever with any of the calibers I mentioned. Never have to take your hand off the handle,
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It may not precisely answer your question, and given the presses you have probably isn't an issue, but for me I found that if I added the casefeeder and parts, then conversions were right at the price of a 650's and the overall cost of the press was about the same as well. As such, I just sold my 550 and bought conversions for the things I didn't already load on my 650.
My personal opinion is just that you give up a lot of the fast changing and versatility of the 550 to add the case feeder, and without some (slight) mods it only runs pistol anyway. By the time you add a case feeder, the only thing that takes longer to change over on a 650 is the primer punch. |
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Quoted:
It may not precisely answer your question, and given the presses you have probably isn't an issue, but for me I found that if I added the casefeeder and parts, then conversions were right at the price of a 650's and the overall cost of the press was about the same as well. As such, I just sold my 550 and bought conversions for the things I didn't already load on my 650. My personal opinion is just that you give up a lot of the fast changing and versatility of the 550 to add the case feeder, and without some (slight) mods it only runs pistol anyway. By the time you add a case feeder, the only thing that takes longer to change over on a 650 is the primer punch. I basically got this press for free and I plan on using it for brass prep only . I have my prochucker to load on. I just want to speed up the process with a case feeder if it works well. |
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While I had my 550B set up just like I wanted it and it had served me well for over 4 years, I switched to a 650 when I wanted to go with a casefeeder because I thought it would be a smarter long run decision. At the time, I only handloaded only .223/5.56 necked rifle in quantity and a small amount of 30-06 and mostly loaded straight walled pistol calibers and Dillon had just announced the casefeeder for the 550B. However, as the 550B's casefeeder wasn't designed to handle rifle calibers nor even the 30 Carbine so I figured that long term, if I was going to get a casefeeder I should sell my 550B and get a XL650 w/casefeeder so that I'd be able to handle all my calibers. It turned out to be a smart decision because currently, I handload 7 straight walled pistol calibers and now 8 necked rifle calibers as well as 30 Carbine, none of which would have been possible with the 550B. Further, a friend and fellow handloader also was considering a casefeeder at the same time I was and opted for one for his 550B as a cheaper option. If you ask him today, he'll tell you it was a mistake to get the casefeeder for a 550B and not sell his press and get a 650 w/casefeeder like I did. He's constantly complaining about the flaky mechanism that cycles the cases on his feeder. He says he's used a neighbor's newer 650 w/casefeeder and it's much smoother operating than his 550B setup is. |
| To load .223 with a case feeder on 550B, you need the 550B case feeder, a small rifle plate listed under 650 stuff (it fits the 550B feeder), and a drop tube (Green, I believe it was a 32 H&R, notched to clear the .223 case - a five minute job), and modify (hack saw) the shuttle ramp on the case feeder to clear the decap pin. About $35.00 and you are in business. Details on Brian Enos site (i've no axe to grind - just supplying info). |
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