The 450 was my first Dillon. Dillon sent it to me for review. I had it for a period of time and loaded thousands of both pistol and rifles and "spread the word".
I bought it and used it for some time. Later, when the 550 came out, I sold the 450 and bought the much advanced 550. I now have two 550B's.
The 450 was an excellent piece of gear but required removing and replacing each individual dies when changing calibers. Further, the powder measure was operated separately (even tho' mounted on the press). At the time, however, it was a pretty impressive press. Frankly, it still is. It's just that the later design is much more convenient when changing calibers and the auto powder drop really speeds up the operation and leads to less of a chance of forgetting to drop powder.
I still load my 45acp on a 450 that I bought in 1984. The only difference is that mine has a wire to kick the round into a tray after it is rotated past the fourth station.
Dillon sells a conversion frame that will convert the RL450 to a RL500. I have an old 450 but never use it because it does not have a removable die pack like the 550. I think I'm going to order the conversion frame soon then sell it. 450s don't bring much money but 550s do so investing $100 in a frame will increase the value by $250.
These are actually very good presses and operate exactly like the RL550, the exception being when you convert from one cartridge to another. All shell holders, conversion kits, dies, powder measure, etc are all compatible between the 450 and 550.
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