Steve W

Kind of. I worked on the machine with some of the guys at Dillon, and yes, we did get it to work decently well, but clearly it's a little "buggy". Thx for the follow up and help, I appreciate it! Steve W

Thx.

I agree, overkill is not a problem for me. thx.

JT, No sweat. at first I did not realize the font was being posted so large. When I'm composing the messages, the font is real small, so I tried to go larger. When i previewed the post, I reduced it some. I was trying to emphasize the problem, hence the bold caps on certain words. Thx for helping. I did get the machine to run better as of last night. I spent a few hours at Dillon, we loaded 250 rounds with very few if any issues. Then at home last night, I personally loaded 200 rounds with only 1-2 hiccups, but clearly not the catastrophic scenario i had before.

Nub, Tried that, no issues there, thx anyway.

Sorry, I don't have one handy to post a picture, i'll get that by tomorrow. Basically, it's all chewed up, mangled, broken into 2 pieces at times. I have to use a pair of tweezers at times to remove the broken primer from the primer wheel.

Buddy, I meant to add, the press is rock solid on this bench, zero movement of the press when i reload, no issues there.

Buddy, Thx for the help, you sounds like a good guy, like 99% of the shooters I have met. I too spoke with them about that primer plate, and yes, they noticed a bur, so they gave me a new plate. This past Friday, I went down to Dilon, and worked on the press with Randy Shelley (senior level of mgmt for 20 years), and another tech. They tried a brand new plate, as they acknowledged they had some bad ones before. It kept doijng the same damn thing - chewed the primers. They went on to tell me that's "somewhat normal". I don't buy that. Too many Master and Grandmaster shooters I know say this is all B.S. from Dillon. They say the primer system is just not working properly, and I need to get one that does work right. Tomorrow, I am going down there, we're going to load 250 pieces of 1-2 times fired Federal brass (from Dillon), and try to load a few hundred rounds with other brass I picked up from the range and cleaned thoroughly. This will be somewhat of an acid test, I guess?? Thx again for your kindness. Stefve W

I have no problem buying new or once fired brass as frequently as necessary. However, virtually every M or GM shooter / reloader I shoot with says this is a B.S. excuse from Dillon. They all say I should be able to get 5+ reloads out of a piece of brass - minimum.

Good ideas, I've been speaking with fellow 650 users and will try that. Yes, I was considering a different machine, but too many people tell me they feel the 650 is one of the best machines out there, really versatile (though for now, I'm just reloading one caliber - .40 S&W), they swear by it. Many shooters I shoot with say they've reloaded 300,000+ plus rounds, no issues. No reason why I can find a functional 650 press. Thx for your help, I appreciate it!

Steve, I apologize if this basic or redundant. This is a common issue to 650s, they are sensitive in the primer system..... but not at the rate you are having...... which leads me to: First, is your bench anchored to the wall? Even if its sturdy, IT CANNOT MOVE AT ALL when you cycle the handle. Even a little bobble is enough to get the primers flipping in the pocket, when you are reloading at speed. Use angle irons and screws or whatnot, secure it to the studs in the wall. Secondly, I know you said its been checked by Dillon, but the adjustment of the primer system is CRITICAL. Make sure the primers are lining up correctly, 100%, with the hole when the shell plate turns. Adjust as needed. It has to be perfect. Last, the 650 requires a certain touch.... a feel..... you must cycle the handle smoothly and firmly, without bouncing the handle top or bottom. You can do this quiclkly, but it take practice. A slight hesitation at top and bottom of the stroke, to avoid any impact. ps - I doubt there is anyone in the world that can advise you better than the Dillon techs how to best use their machines. If they say your brass is mangy, get new brass. At major PF, I typically reload 3 to 4 times max. Sure you can go more..... but .40 brass is cheap, and available. If you are trying for 10 times, you are going to have issues. Welcome to the forums. SFinney, Thx for the help. Maybe I was not clear, I'm not trying to squeeze nickels here, I have no problem throwing brass away after 3-4 shots, if that's what's needed. However many of the veteran shooters say they clearly get at least 5-6 shots from a piece of brass, so I'm following that lead. If it looks like crap, trust me, i AM trhowing it away. The bench is rock solid, no issues there. The guys at Dillon did say what you said, about a slight pause at the top of the up stroke. Frankly, the better shooters, who have reloaded with these machines for many years, know these machines FAR more than the techs at Dillon. Some of those guys are not very sharp - just being honest. I trust the guiys who shoot and reload 50k rounds per year, more than just some of the factory workers who NEVER shoot. I'll keep working on it tomorrow. Thx agaon! Steve W.

When I complete the up stroke with the handle, it gets' stuck and binds the primers. If I continue the stroke, I am literally chewing up the primers.

Thx, I did check that, it's fine, and does not appear to be ther source of the problem. Thx anayway.

How about posting something productive instead of Bold and Big YUCK????

Hey Gang, I new to this site and forum, if this was covered previously, I apologize. I'm using a 650, loading .40 cal, using Winchester small rifle & pistol primers, various brass; Federal, Star line, Speer, Winchester, etc. I'm on my 2nd press from Dillon, and still having the same issues - CONSTANTLY CHEWING PRIMERS!! I have had the presses into Dillon no less than 5-6 times, they have checked it out, recalibrated it, made various adjustments, changed out the entire primer system, shell plate, you name it - they did it, and it still chews the primers. While they have been great about trying to make it right, and working with me to get this fixed, they are telling me it's the brass, NOT the machine. They had the machine for a few days, and they just loaded 500+ pieces of brand new and once fired Federal brass, and they claim 99% of the time, no problem. Then they used some of my brass which was admittedly used a few more times, and they claim that's when they had problems. I'm not trying to use brass 20x, just doing the same as all the shooters out there, 6-7 times (some times more?), then I'll discard it. Some of the veteran shooters say they can reload a piece of brass as many as 8-10 times. Dillon told me it's more like 3-4 times per case - that sounds way low to me. The press is on the strong mounts, and on a very sturdy bench, no issues there. Plenty of lube where needed, the dies are tight, everything is double checked before loading. Bottom line - I would say 1 out of every 3-4 rounds, the primers get chewed up, and it's impossible to use this press. I've spoken to a few of the shooters at Rio, SGC, etc. Some of them have said they've experienced some issues like this with a 650, but not with this type of frequency. Others tell me they have loaded 500,000+ rounds, and their 650 works just fine. Maybe once in a while, they chew a few, but nothing like this. Has anyone else out there experienced similar or the same problems? If so, please elaborate on the details, and on the solutions. Any help is welcomed. Thx!!! Steve W steve@nextwaveconsulting.net