cohland

Dang. I missed the chart in the manual, my answer is right there on page 44, under ".45ACP Conversion". Sorry for wasting your time, but thanks for the replies. Chris

My XL650, set up for .45ACP, came with a red casefeed arm bushing. According to the manual (p. 50), this is the bushing for Medium Pistol (P/N 13403). I thought it would have been yellow, for Large Pistol (P/N 13629). I can find no reference in the manual that defines medium and large by caliber, so I don't know if I have the right part in the press. Would a forum member using an XL650, loading .45ACP, be kind enough to look at your casefeed arm bushing and tell me what color it is? Thank you, Chris

Do you have an overtravel screw in the trigger mechanism housing? I had one of those creep out of adjustment and turn my Open G35 into a single-shot pistol during a match. I yanked out the housing and replaced it with stock, and the problem disappeared. Something to look at, anyway. Chris

I've got about four USPSA Single-Stack matches under my belt now (my total experience is only 43 matches in other Divisions), and I'm shooting an STI Trojan. I'm left-handed, so I ordered it from Dawson with the Ambi safety and FO front sight, and I have added a magwell and Alumagrips. Out of the box, this was a very good gun. The trigger has had zero work and now pulls about 4 pounds, but it's so smooth and crisp that I don't want to mess with it. I'm about to receive an STI Sentry that I ordered about five months ago. The main reasons for getting the Sentry were the internal magwell and finer checkering on the front strap. A little less bulk, and a little nicer finish. The quality of the STI pistols I have seen is exceptional, I think they are easily worth the money and if necessary, the wait to get one. By the way, the magazines I use are Chip McCormick Power Mags, they work nicely with the STI. Get a bunch, because you will be doing a lot more mag swapping! I carry five on the belt and one in the pocket: at "Load and Make Ready" I put a round in the chamber before putting a full 8-round mag in the gun. Chris

Did you ever find the micrometer-adjustable taper crimp die? I am looking for the same thing. Chris

With a new XL650, after about 1,000 rounds I suddenly had high primers as well. I found two solutions: first, I did as you suggested, and just improved my upstroke to firmly seat the primer. The second solution was to tighten the shellplate, as Dillon instructs in the troubleshooting section of the manual. My shellplate was a little loose, and I think the brass-tipped setscrew was where the problem started, because it was a bit loose. I removed and cleaned the shell plate and put just a small thin film of Slide Glide (regular) grease along the path on the bottom of the shellplate where it contacts the ball bearing. I tightened the shellplate to where it would not move, then loosened it just enough to get it to rotate smoothly. Then I tightened down the brass-tipped set screw. The result: no more high primers, and less powder spillage....... until I loaded about another box of ammo, got sloppy with the upstroke, and then had to concentrate on the upstroke again. My conclusion: a nice firm shellplate is helpful, but a firm upstroke is vital. Chris

They are getting stuck in the tubes, not in the green plastic pickup piece. I can clear them out of there pretty easily. Chris

With my new XL650 I bought a set of four primer pickup tubes, and I have three that have repeated problems with primers jamming in the tube. Right now I am only loading .45ACP with this machine. I use CCI #300 primers exclusively (at this point). I have written to Dillon, but not being possessed with an excess of patience I thought I would post this problem to see if others have encountered it and solved it. If necessary, I am willing to switch to other primers, except that I have read that Remingtons also have jamming problems, and Federals are prone to explode. Not wishing for more jams or a nice fire, I think I will pass on those. How about Winchester? Or could I have a batch of primers that are just wrong? I have loaded about 1,000 rounds through the XL650 to date. Thank you for your attention. Chris

I am new to the 1911 (and USPSA Single Stack), and have begun to accumulate bullets. So far I have Sierra Tournament Kings and some Montana Gold (both 230 grain RN). The Hornady HAP 230 grain is available in my area, most of the others are not, at least not regularly. Has anyone experienced any feeding problems with the HAP 230? I will be using them in an STI Trojan with Chip McCormick power mags, and will be reloading with the Dillon XL650. I expect to have to change the punch/guide on the bullet seater, other than that are there any known issues? Thank you. Chris