ScottyPotty
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Posts posted by ScottyPotty
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My chute would flex slightly when the blue bin was completely full of ammo. Dillon has removed metal in certain areas to allow for easy bending and adjustment. While it was off I applied some thin cushioning material on the outside to remove some of the clang when a loaded round hits it.
You are almost home free.
I kind of like the clang.....it reminds me of the cha-ching of a cash register.
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Just a thought...did you chrono on more than one occasion or more than one chrono? Might be your chrono off or wasn't level. Chrono not level with bullet path will read slow...
thanks for the info, I need to do some more testing.
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When I was getting into class II stuff, my wife told me she didnt want any part of it. I was going to do a trust, but found out my CLEO would sign off so I went that way. I told my wife she isn't allowed to have access to my safe because of the SBR an silencer. It was funny, one day I was talking to the wife and she asked me "dont you have like 3 or 4 AR15's?" I had to bite my tongue because the black rifles in my safe have been breeding and I had just built my 9th AR, I just said yeah something like that....
Last summer I went to CMP to pick up a M1 Garand and she went shopping, it was a win win. Then for Christmas we got her a laptop and I bought a glock 19, that worked good too. She was OK when I told her I wanted to spend $1200 on reloading equipment.
The one thing is funny, if I sell a gun or something - then in her eyes the money is now "our money" but if I trade, then all is well. I do alot of trading.
I keep trying to get her to approve the machine gun, so far no luck......
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I get just over 2700 with 27.2 with a 16" barrel. Your shorter barrel probably bringing down the velocity a little, but not much... What COAL? Crimping? And brass? Loose primer fit could cause primers to appear flattened...
2.255 COAL
Crimp = yes
Mixed Head Stamped
I could have some loose pockets.
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thanks for the info guys, Ill have to get some more loaded up this weekend and see what I get. I should get out my 16" and 20" barreled rifles and see what happens.
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I bought some 55gn FMJ (M193) and some BLC2 since H335 was out of stock. My book say starting load 23gns - max is 26.5 for a 55grain bullet
Something doesnt seem right......
at 25gr I get 2300 FPS out of 14.5" barrel
at 26gr I get 2550 FPS out of 14.5" barrel but the primers look fairly flat. CCI #400
Seems pretty slow for a 55gn FMJ
Does this seem right to you guys that have used BLC2? I am NOT trying to duplicate M193 but would like to have a decent load with approx 2800-3000 FPS.
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When I say it comes out of the powder bar, it is resting on top of the rectangular piece that slides in and out of the measure. Its not coming out any other place from the powder measure.
Is cutting the spring the only way? It is really snapping into place to make a 1/2 full case spill.
what you describe has nothing to do with the detent-ball spring. Need to take a closer look at the powder measure/hopper itself. Something is not right there if powder is ended up on *top* of the powder-bar.
The OP had/has two separate issues.
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Ok, I had the powder measure where it wouldn't move and was told to loosen it on another board.... I thought it looked funny after a couple rounds so I put it tight again.
I ordered the parts from McMaster-Carr to put a bearing in, that looks like it will solve my problem with the powder. Dillon should probably include the bearing with the 650 if it works as good as they say it does...
I have the bearing, and it probably helps enough to justify the purchase but its not a fix all.
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Well I just got back from testing my first reloads. I had one FTE, but everything else went fine. Groups were good, I did notice more muzzle flash than shooting WWB, Blazer Brass or Federal ammo, I was shooting from an XDM 4.5".
I am going to try to load some more up later, trying to incorporate some of your tips. I don't think I am ready to cut the spring yet, but I will tighten the shell plate so it gives some more resistance. Now with the powder measure, should it turn freely or should it be snug enough to not turn at all.
Someone was nice enough to leave me around 500 rounds of .223 brass for me, so the trip was very successful in more than one way.
Cutting the spring will help and its not really a big deal just cut a little at a time.
Sometimes I grab my next bullet and place it on the case on the way down (as the ram is lowered - and before it snaps into position) and use my fingers to control the shell plate as it enters the next position. You then control the speed of the shell plate entering into position and it helps keep the snap out of things.
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hey Caz, i was told on another forum that rcbs makes something that works great on a single stage press for primer pocket swaging. I'm going to their site to check it out.
That will probably not work on your lee press. The Lee ram is a larger diameter than the RCBS and the cap on the swager will not fit on it.
Get a case gauge - this is one of the most important tools for reloading. It is also very very important for auto feed rifles. If you new to reloading then I would strongly suggest starting off with a few thousand pistol rounds. Before jumping into rifles - especially auto feed ones.
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what powder measure are you using?
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When I have large batches to do, I use a 30' vac hose and put my shop vac in the other room. I run it with an extension cord and a power outlet strip and use the on/off switch to run it. Keeping the vac in the other room helps keep the noise down.
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why drill the holes in your trimmer vac housing?
needed more airflow to carry away chips.
did/does it work?
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so home depot didn't have any smaller vacuums for $20, but they did have exactly the step-down attachment I'd been looking for online. I don't know why the heck I didn't just check there in the first place, but this thing was $9 and lets me just use the full size shop vac I already own. the worst part is that I must have walked past these things 10 times in the last year, but never noticed the shelf full of shop-vac accessories...
why drill the holes in your trimmer vac housing?
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I've been using Pro1000 for 9mm and 38/357 and I dont have any problem with them.
Sure, the priming Can be a pain if you dont watch out. Always make sure primers are lined up in the "tube" and keep it clean and indexed.
So if you just pay attention you can have a good press for close to no money and thus be able to spend the rest of your hard earned cash on bullets/powder/primers and isnt that a Whole lot more fun?
The thing that make me think about either get the loadmaster or some other press with four-five stations is that I miss the chance to use a powder check, when loading 9's there's no problem to see if you have powder. But for .38's its a bit tricky.
I've had no problems with missing powder but a friend of mine have had some problems with squibs. If he's just clumsy of if it's the fact he's got the old powder measure I'll leave unsaid (but guessing on the latter
).I have no problem whatsoever to recommend Lee to my friends
They run great as long as you set it up properly and watch the primers!
This line of thinking (I hear a lot) I often wonder if these same people buy the cheapest guns possible (High point, Ravens) or do they buy nicer higher end guns? I wonder what kind of cars they drive, do they have a rust bucket? or did they buy a nice car? Because that line of thinking takes only the price in the equation. Its all about the price........ pride of ownership or how well it works has nothing to do with anything.
I reload because I like it - I enjoy the process, I can reload to relax and be involved in shooting sports when I cant shoot. Being able to load on machines that have less overall problems make reloading more enjoyable. Just like buying a nice M1 Garand, over an SKS - yes both shoot buy I enjoy the M1 much more.
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I assume you are referring to the progressives. I started with a Lee 1000 and probably would have kept on using it for 9mm if it had a 4 position tool head. I still have it and I still use it for pre-processing .40 and I still think that the case feeder is one of the simplest and slickest things I've seen. I also had a bullet feeder for the Lee Pro and with a small modification it worked pretty well also. As far as the primer system, I rarely had a problem with it and when I did, it was usually easy to fix.
I was less impressed with the Load Master. I thought it was a bit too fussy which I attribute to the design being less simple. I also think that the primer system was a bit more prone to problems - the kind where you need a spare part or two. But I rigged my modified bullet feeder on it and plowed through a huge pile of 9mm on it one weekend - I still have some of that ammo left.
When I decided to start shooting .40 rather than 9mm, I also decided that the one thing I really didn't like about the Lee presses was that they were auto indexing. I know that sounds like a strange reason to switch presses but I have found that I really am much happier with a manually indexing press like the 550 - I just plain like simple.
So my answer is no, I do not think that the Lee progressives are inherently bad. I do think that if Lee could take the simplicity of the Lee Pro and scale it up and put a 4 position tool head on it, and beef up a couple of the parts in the primer system, they would have a much better press but...
One caveat: Both presses take a fair amount of fiddling to get set up right. And they both have a tendency to run perfectly well for a several hundred rounds then suddenly and for no apparent reason, go weird so that you have to fiddle with them, find nothing wrong, have more trouble, fiddle with them, find nothing wrong, and then have them work just find for several hundred more rounds. That's the biggest down side.
This has been my experience with Lee too - Priming off the press, have trouble, make adjustment, runs good then has trouble, make another adjustment. When I picked up my 650 and got it tuned in it was the first time I could prime on the press and run and run and run with out stoppages (except for powder, primers)
I like Lees turret press, case feeder, universal decaper,
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I too have just set up my new to me SDB in 45acp. and have the older style measure... What would I need to purchase to convert to the failsafe?
Connor
I needed/wanted to up grade too, I also need a few extra missing parts. I was quoted me $53.00 + shipping or a new one complete one for $73.00
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The "E"and "D" funnels on the right in the photos are from the RL450, which had a manually operated powder measure. When the RL550 was introduced, along with the automatic powder measure, the funnels for some calibers were lengthened to ensure the powder bar reached the full stroke.
The "F" funnel on the right is from the early RL550. The longer "F" funnel on the left was introduced with the introduction of the Square Deal loader. The Square deal required an even longer stroke on some calibers. At first we made 1/4" long bushings that were placed on top of the original 550 funnels. Eventually, the funnels were appropriately lengthened, so they would function on both the RL550 and the Square Deal.
Thanks for the info - So do I need 1/4" bushings for these to work correctly in a 550?
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The funnels are the same. If you check each part number for the 550 vs 650, they are identical. When I converted from my old 550 to my 650, I R&R's the same powder measure/die/funnel from the 550 tool head to the 650 tool head. I never used the powder funnels that came with the 650 conversion kit.
Mine are different - Ill take a pic tonight. But the 550 are shorter
I'd be interested to see that - because they shouldn't be different. For the same caliber, there's one SKU number for a Powder Funnel that is used in all the presses Caliber Conversion Kits.
be
The only thing I can figure is that they used to make different lengths. The short ones are in 550 caliber conversion sets.
The "E" Funnel = .45 I have 3 differnt ones - notice the radius on the bottom of the 2 longer funnels. The one on the Left came out of my .45LC
Here are the "D" funnels - .38/.357
Here is the 9mm "F" funnels
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The funnels are the same. If you check each part number for the 550 vs 650, they are identical. When I converted from my old 550 to my 650, I R&R's the same powder measure/die/funnel from the 550 tool head to the 650 tool head. I never used the powder funnels that came with the 650 conversion kit.
Mine are different - Ill take a pic tonight. But the 550 are shorter
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Anyone know if a 550 powder funnel die will work on a 650? I think they are shorter.........
According to the product description on the Dillon Website:
"Extra powder dies allow you to move your powder measure from toolhead to toolhead without changing the "belling" adjustment.Toolhead not included. These are for the RL550, XL650,and RL450 equipped with the automatic powder system"
Hope this helps.
That is the powder die - Not the powder funnel, the funnel goes inside the powder die. The funnels that come in the 550 conversion are shorter than what come in the 650 conversion.
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Anyone know if a 550 powder funnel die will work on a 650? I think they are shorter.........
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As I was reloading some 9mm for the USPSA match tomorrow my Loadmaster broke. Please see attached photos which show the bolts sheared off-these are the bolts at the bottom of the press-nomenclature unknown. So what caused damage like this-metal fatigue? I was resizing 9mm-shouldn't have been that much pressure on the bolts? Anyway I have taken it completely apart and plan on shipping it back to Lee Monday for a rebuild. I have been thinking of switching to Dillon 550 or 650 for some time but have always stuck with the Loadmaster as long as it was working and producing ammo. Is this a message from beyond that it is time to make the switch? Or should I stick with the Loadmaster once it is rebuilt? Any idea on how much the rebuild is going to cost me? Thanks
Take a picture of the press were these broke from - that will give us/me a better understand of what happened.
I sold my LM and picked up a 650 - little learning/setup curve but has been great.
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ps, good luck, the 650 is an awesome machine but it does take a little time to get used to.
This...
I bought a used 650 and had some trouble setting it up properly. With everything you hear about these Dillons you would think that they would just go. Like you I had issues and became a little flustered, but once I figured out the issues and how to set things up it was amazing!
Round after round of ammo, started pouring off the press. It was so different then the loadmaster (what I came from) which requires constant adjusting. I have loaded about 2500 rounds of 223 without messing with anything - the best part? Priming on the press with mixed head stamps. Something I could only dream about before.
Forster Co-Ax
in non-Dillon Reloading Equipment
Posted · Edited by ScottyPotty
I wonder what the OP and Forster did? Its been quite some time now.......