Useful Dillon Accessories???

[Big joe]

Well, it looks like I talked my beautiful wife into buying me the Dillon 550 for Christmas!!!!!!!!! It will be set up fore 300 Win. I do have 4 other rifle calibers and 3 pistol calibers that I'll be getting conversions for. I noticed the conversions can go anywhere from $45 to about $100. Can someone who use these tell me exactly the usefullness of the full convesion equipment w/ powder measure ect. Also let me know if there are any other useful accessories for the 550 I should consider.

I can't wait to join the ranks of the progressive reloaders!!!

Thanks in advance for your info!!!

[skeet]

Dillon makes pretty good equipment for certain. I have a few of their loaders. Just sold my 550. As far as conversions I happen to have a couple full conversions with the powder measures etc but you really don't need them. One thing that is nice is a couple of the knobs that you can buy on ebay etc so you can adjust the powder measure without a wrench. Dillon does not sell it though. Another nice item is the Strong mount for the 550. I have these on all my dillon reloaders as well as a Redding press mounted on one. I put the whole thing on a piece of plytwood or OSB and attach the whole thing to my bench. I also do the same with my Spolar and PW shotshell reloaders. That way I can take one off the bench and put another loader on in the space of a few minutes. I even have 4 Mec Sizemaster single stage shotshell presses done the same way for load development. There are lots of neat things you can buy...but wait till ya think you REALLY need those items. I also have a Dillon electronic scale that gives me quick weights...but i still use a RCBS 304 scale for most of my weighing. I trust the old style scales much more than these newfangled electric thingies Most of all take your time..keep weighing the charges till you are satisfied it is dropping the amount of powder you want(You'll probably be as paranoid about that as i was.)....and have fun!! and be careful. You probably WILL shoot more!

[Catfish]

You will need a tool head for every different round that you are going to load. I like to have 2 powder measures so that I can leave the large volume drop in 1 and the small in the other, not nessary if you do not load enough to be switching back and forth all the time.
SAVE YOURSELF SOME MONEY. You only need a cartridge conversion kit for each different size case head you load for. ie. If you load for .308, .30-06, .243, .22-250 ect, you only need 1 cartridge conversion kit, then get a powder funnel for each round, funnels are cheap compaired to the whole conversion kit. Then you just leave the powder funnel in the tool head for that round. You can save more money if you load 2 round of the same cal. that are close to the same lenth by useing the same funnel.
If you load cast bullet in your handgun the Dillon dies are well worth the money as you can pull a safty pin and drop the guts out of the die and clean out the bullet lube without takeing the die out of the tool head or the tool head out of the press.
I think that within the first 3 mo. that you have the press you will wander how you ever lived without it.