NEW Dillon 650xl and .223 any Tips for me

[stavman11]

Looking ta order a 650xl pretty soon......

Started loading .223 1st... bout 2yrs ago... now load 9mm, 38s and 357... all on Lee Pro 1000 systems....I have 3 all set up for each caliber type.. with just a separate Head for 38s and 357... makes it fast to load any caliber at any time..
Never had any issues with my Lee systems.. they work like a charm... but time ta beef up production.... time for a 650xl

For sure getting the case feeder, and have a Hornady Rifle Bullet feeder also. that's about all the added items i plan on getting now

All my die's are lee... just FYI

So any tips on the 650xl I should know about? setup.. quirks... How hard and time involved to switch from .223 to 9mm... may look at this down the road...

Steps i currently do Now (includes new Girad tri-way trimmer

1 Separate Military vs Non-Military Brass.. if not my all ready Loaded & fired Brass, which most is.. but do have about 1000 purchased mixed brass.
2 Clean, polish, Tumble Brass... dry media vibrator
3 De-prime and Size with separate tool head (will utilize my current .223 lee Pro 1000 specifically for this
4 Quick tumble/vibrate to remove lube
5 Trim/Chamfer/Debur with Girad tri-Way trimmer.... Swag Primer Pocket if needed...
6 Currently i prime by hand... plan to Prime on the Dillon 650xl
7 Load em up..


So really only change will be priming on the Dillon 650xl instead of by Hand..


so love ta hear all the Xpert Dillon loaders and any Input ya Got... Have a Spot all ready in my loading room for the Blue Beast...


Appreciate the help guys


Stav

P.S.
this is my Current Bench setup

opposite wall with the New Blue Beast location

 

[Magnum Shooter]

When loading .223 on a XL 650 a short one second pause at the top of the stroke is required to allow time for the powder to funnel through the small neck in the case. Changing from small rifle primers to small pistol primers takes no time at all, you just run the primers empty and replace with small pistol primers. No other change is required. The 650 is a great press, it will make the Lee presses look like you were loading in the stone age.

 

[UKWildcatFan]

Great machine, but I'd apply for a 2nd job to keep it fed.

 

[Henry45]

2nd the comments above. I've found that if i'm slow and steady, i have no issues and actually have a good rhythm that is not taxing. And, probably, one thing.. Buy some of the bigger akro bins. You'll thank me later.. Because it doesn't take long to fill up the ones that come with the 650. And that's a good thing!!!

 

[double bogey]

Yeah, I went from Lee single stage to Lee classic turret to Dillon 650. Each step up was a quantum leap. Love the 650, got brass prepped but have not done 5.56 yet. but it cranks with .45 acp, and 9 mm. Its cool to stop every 15 mins (or less) to put 100 more primers in. Don't even consider it without case feeder, it shouldn't even be an option. Good luck, and second that second job to feed it.

 

[stavman11]

Ya case feeder is a Must...

waiting on an email back about P/U at teir location, I live in AZ also.... Then the Trigger will be pulled

Fun Fun Fun

 

[jmorris]

Sounds like you have it covered.

Only thing I would add is to stay away from extruded powders.

Powders like 748, TAC and Xtermanator work well and good choices for 223, IMR powders can have bridging problems.

 

[stavman11]

Ya tried Varget... still have about 7/8 of a lb.... Stuff sucks ta load... shoots good... measuring.... not so much...

Man I want this thing NOW.....:banghead:

Ill be patient..... well kinda

 

[VINTAGE-SLOTCARS]

Check on Ebay for "650 upgrades". There are a few that will make loading smoother and more effcient. I moved up from a RCBS rock chucker I,ve been using for 30+ years. I still use the RCBS For my magnum rifle loads as I hand measure each load.

 

[Sky King]

I use 2 tool heads on my XL650 with .223's. The first resizes in the 1st station and trims with the Dillon 1200 trimmer in the 4th station. 2nd tool head is for priming on the press, powder drop, seating and crimping. I tumble the cases after the sizing and trimming to remove the case lube. Easier and faster than wiping it off.

 

[joem1945]

Be sure to order a low powder sensor and a safety powder check. You can go through powder real quick, ei rounds with no powder don't go boom very well.

 

[jmorris]

Check on Ebay for "650 upgrades". There are a few that will make loading smoother and more effcient.

While I don't own many things that are stock and have several mods on my 650's, I would recommend that you run it stock for awhile until you have a good understanding of the machine.

Then make changes one at a time when/if you start changing it.

 

[RealGun]

You could eliminate your step #4 (OP) and save some gunked up tumbler media by using One Shot Spray case lube and certainly carbide dies, if not already. It does not get removed and can retard brass oxidation.

 

[jmorris]

Edit: Didn't read correctly.

 

[Wyatt]

Personally, I wouldn't spend the money on a low powder sensor. You will always have to stop every 100 rounds to replenish primers! I make it a habit to check cases and powder levels at the same time. Often I verify charge weights every 100 rounds too! Plus I think you should run some sort of powder cop/lock out die as a precaution.

I have added a number of upgrades to my press, but the 2 I like the most are the LED lights and live primer catch bottle. You can dump a lot of coin into a 650 adding accessories to make the process faster, but well worth it!

Enjoy and make sure to post pics of it all set up.

 

[RealGun]

Personally, I wouldn't spend the money on a low powder sensor.

A low powder sensor is not the best example, but I see all these new gadgets to complicate a setup while not finding new castings that provide extra stations in which to place them. I am already down to eliminating a separate crimp just to make up for powder through expanders that don't support lead bullet diameters. I need a special expander for everything. Press makers for the most part seem to think no one loads lead bullets. When you load for at least powerful revolvers, that's a problem for any roll crimp requirement.

I don't have any openings for a bullet feeder. If they were going to offer such a thing, they should offer a new press to enable using it rather than expect setups and results to be compromised to make room for the sake of productivity. A progressive is a compromise at it is. As a Hornady LnL AP user, I think they are overdue to introduce a new press with 7-8 stations, new shell plates, etc. Perhaps we will have their attention when they realize how many have migrated to or opted for the new 7 station RCBS machine.

 

[stavman11]

Great Input Guys

Ya figured on needing ta load primers.. i can check Powder... Kinda like with my Lee pro 1000 now, after 50 cases, gotta load more, so always check the powder..

Saw the Lights and Primer Jar Mods... do Look nice... have em marked for later reviews..If needed

still waiting on a reply email from them on P/U at their store....

soon I hope...

 

[jmorris]

A low powder sensor is not the best example, but I see all these new gadgets to complicate a setup while not finding new castings that provide extra stations in which to place them. I am already down to eliminating a separate crimp just to make up for powder through expanders that don't support lead bullet diameters. I need a special expander for everything. Press makers for the most part seem to think no one loads lead bullets.

I don't have any openings for a bullet feeder. If they were going to offer such a thing, they should offer a new press to enable using it rather than expect setups and results to be compromised to make room for the sake of productivity.

I have loaded cast bullets for 30 years on Dillon machines and have never needed a special expander. I understand that some folks must need them because there are outfits out there that make custom expanders that work in Dillon powder funnels.

With a GSI bullet feeder you don't have to compromise your powder check for a bullet feeder or become forced to seat and crimp at the same station. Swapping calibers is still the same way that it was on the stock machine, pull two pins and remove tool head.



An added benefit of the bullet feeder is that it holds the bullets in alignment with the case. Allowing one to use almost no bell and still not damage bullets.

Like my cast and coated 45 acp bullets.

 

[RealGun]

I have loaded cast bullets for 30 years on Dillon machines and have never needed a special expander.

Yes, you are right on cue. Appreciate though that reloading may involve more than neck tension alone. I also prefer that my cartridges not look like stuffed sausages. I have no experience with Dillon but am not seeing where their dies give different yield diameters than anyone else's.

What revolver calibers do you reload?

 

[jmorris]

I have no experience with Dillon but am not seeing where their dies give different yield diameters than anyone else's.

What revolver calibers do you reload?

Oh, I thought your comments were directed at the Dillon machines and more specifically the 650, didn't realize you had never used them.

What dies do you have that don't work with your setup?

The revolver calibers I load for right now are.
9mm, 45 acp, 45 gap (in conversion revos or factory moon clipped like my 625's), 38, 357, 41, 44 SPL/mag and 45 LC are the only revolver rounds that I load but use cast bullets in just about everything at some point.

 

[RealGun]

What dies do you have that don't work with your setup?

I have used Lee, Redding, Lyman, Hornady Cowboy, and straight Hornady. The sizer and its compatibility with the expander diameter seem to be the deal makers. RCBS Cowboy is always a winner. Redding Dual Ring Sizer and Lyman M-die can give good results for me on calibers I can't get in RCBS Cowboy.

My presses are Hornady LnL AP and Lee cast turret. I commented only in a generic sense to this thread on the Dillon 650XL, which I respect.

For the same reason I like my brass to look like new, I like my finished cartridges not to have bullet shapes that print through the case, i.e. made with dies that are too small for lead.

 

[jmorris]

I have never liked the "bulge" myself but I guess I have just been lucky.

My 45 LC dies are Hornady, 44 mag are regular RCBS others I use for revolvers are RCBS, Lee or Dillon, they all load cast without the "coke bottle" look.

 

[RealGun]

I have never liked the "bulge" myself but I guess I have just been lucky.

My 45 LC dies are Hornady, 44 mag are regular RCBS others I use for revolvers are RCBS, Lee or Dillon, they all load cast without the "coke bottle" look.

Something is amiss here. Do you by any chance size and deprime off the press? If so, what die are you using. I am not getting how we can account for your results that require me to use a special die to duplicate them.

Perhaps the better question is to ask what diameter your sizing dies yield compared to mine for a particular caliber. I am not prepared to concede that I am incompetent and should stop reloading lead.

One factor may be that you produce your own bullets sized correctly, while many of my bullets are purchased and sometimes come in oversized. I am recalling that I got bullets printing through cases regardless. It was just a matter of degree.

 

[SABjork]

You got the best!

There is no better for volume reloading. Just use a powder that meters well in a auto charge. Ball powders are easier and more consistent. Here are some and they differ greatly in consistency.

https://drive.google.com/folderview?id=0B5ywctEDbaXEZjhIT2JwQ21Rbm8&usp=sharing

 

[jmorris]

Something is amiss here. Do you by any chance size and deprime off the press? If so, what die are you using. I am not getting how we can account for your results that require me to use a special die to duplicate them.

Perhaps the better question is to ask what diameter your sizing dies yield compared to mine for a particular caliber.

Not exactly sure what you mean by size/deprime off the press but most of them were loaded using Dillon powder funnels on either an SD, 550, 650 or a 1050 (uses a different powder funnel than the others as it a separate die for expanding. The 45 LC being an exception, I load them on a turret press using Hornady size/deprime die.

What diameters are you interested in and I can measure some cases.