Dillon 550 or Forster co ax

shaunt

shaunt

New member
I am looking at getting into reloading I have narrowed my search down to these two can you guys give me pros and cons of each at this time I am only loading for my Dtech 243 wssm I don't own alot of guns so I may only load a couple calibers thanks for your help
 
These two presses are for two different purposes. The 550 is excellent if you are going to transition to high-volume loading, however it can never match the precision of the Co-Ax. For your WSSM loading I would stick to the Co-Ax. It is slower, however you will load better ammunition and become more accustomed to the loading process before you try setting up a progressive.
John
 
If you are just starting out reloading, then DO NOT get a progressive press, and since you are not doing massive amounts of shooting, there is no need for a Progressive press.

I own 2 Dillons and love them, but for just starting out, they are way too complicated and expensive.

You will simply love the Bonanza Co Ax press.

Good luck and let us know if we can be of further help, lots of very knowledge on this board.
 
Thanks guys for the info I will not be doing much shooting with it even though me and a buddy went out and did some 300 yard and 500 yard shots it was was quite fun I have always been a hunter only never punch paper so if I start reloading I don't think I will shoot more than 2-300 rounds a year but ya neva no
 
My 550 loads all the pistol calibers (380ACP, 9mm, 38SP-357MAG, 44SP-44MAG, 45ACP, and 45LC). In rifle it only has loaded 223's, until a month ago. I have set it up to load 22 Hornet. It's 18 years old and does a great job. Once you get it setup right and know how to run it the 550 is hard to beat. However, the question becomes volume. If you don't shoot a LOT of a particular caliber you may not need it.

I load ALL my other rifle calibers on a single stage Redding. For most of my varmint rifles I load 200 to a batch and if I'm ambitious that will take me an entire evening; however, usually it will take me two. Which is good.

The Forster Co-Ax is on my shopping list to replace the Redding. I love their dies.

Good luck.
 
I was in your same boat 3 years ago and I decided to go Co-Ax. I just didn't shoot enough pistol at the time to justify high-volume reloading. Instead, I was looking to build the most accurate ammo I could and not pay factory ammo. prices.
 
Every single piece of advice the above provided, is EXACTLY correct. My CoAx sits 30" to the right of my Dillon 550B...and the RCBS Rock Chucker is another 30" to the right of the CoAx.
 
Shaunt,
Get the 550 (pricey) and use as a single stage, then add all the fetchers to use it as a progressive press. I started on a single stage press, I now use the single stage only for pulling bullets. Get the dillon and only cry once.(to barrow a phrase)

Have fun and be safe.
 
Well I went out and got the Forster/Bonanza co ax tonight I figure I can learn with this press and maybe add a Dillon in the near future thanks for everyone's help
Is RCBS the way to go for scale and powder measure?
 
The RCBS balances are pretty good, as are most of the split beam mechanicals from the major manufacturers. The big deal is to find some way to check calibration. As for the powder measure, I would spend a bit more and get an Harrell's. They will save much angst when trying to measure stick powders. Harrell's website
 
You got one of the best presses out there - dont mess up now by buying an old fashion balance beam scale. The RCBS Chargemaster setup makes reloading fun again. If you just want to weigh powder, there are many good digital scales out there.
 
Back
Top