I don't consider myself a penny pincher, but that's the number I get when, after a lot of research, I place the items I think I am going to need to get set up to reload a single caliber, .45 ACP, in the shopping cart of a popular reloading manufacturer.
At a rough savings of $0.10 / round reloaded over factory (under normal circumstances), that means 13,089 rounds of .45 ACP before I break even, and an initial cash outlay of a couple grand in equipment and components to get there.
By all accounts, it's a great machine, capable of loading many other calibers, but adding equipment to make the press capable of loading another caliber can be, again, a couple hundred bucks per caliber.
I'd like to load .223, .257 Wby, .6.5 Creedmoor, .270, 7-08, .308, .30-06, .300 Win, .380, 9mm, 10mm, .38 Spl, .357 Mag, .41 Mag, and .45 ACP, at LEAST.
Somebody pull me off the ledge, or push me over, please.
Continue to load the 257Wby and 300Win single-stage. Prep all your bottle-neck cases on your single stage, tumble, then prime, powder, and seat with the Dillon. For straight-wall pistol cases, just do it all on the 550. Ball/spherical powders are your friend. Ramshot Hunter in the 270 and '06. Big Game or '15 in the CreedMoor, 7-08, and 308. '15 is the only extruded powder I've had good luck running through my Dillons. +/- .02gn w/'15. +/- .01gn w/ball/spherical.
With prepped brass I can run 100 bottle-neck cases in just under 15min.
