flyingrhino

I was using the hornady feeder dies in 45 and 9mm. Starting by using tubes then built my collator. Then I decided to try the Mr. Bulletfeeder dies. They are twice the cost of the Hornady but I have to say they work flawlessly! I am using lead cast that I cast in 45, 9mm and 38/357. I would highly recommend these dies. My hornadys worked "ok" but there were way too many jams and multi-drops.

powder flakes

I love mine. I can usually dial in a load change first time. Also is much finer adjustment. There are a lot of "mods" for the 650 out there but this is one that I really love. I can switch powders, calculate the new mic setting and dial up the load immediately.

Update: It isn't a Dillon die problem or a press problem. I had adjusted the crimp die as per instructions that said just enough to remove the bell so my crimp was right at .471. Well, Wilson and McCormick both recommend a tighter crimp. I crimped to .468 with an OAL of 1.250-1.260 per Wilson Combat and my problems went away. I guess I had a tighter crimp set on my SDB so never had feeding issues. Never used the U die as it is definitely not a cartridge size problem. I also switched to Wilson ETM 500 mags which work extremely well. They sit a bit higher in the frame and have shorter feed lips so the rounds enter the chamber at a slightly smaller angle. With these two changes I've noticed that I no longer have any bullet setback from feeding. Before, I could chamber a round then eject it and the OAL would be less than original. I don't have that issue any longer.

I just ordered the U die to see if that helps with a feed issue I'm having on my 2 Kimber 45's. I never had feed problems when I loaded them on my SDB. I recently started loading 45 on my 650 with Dillon dies and have 3 point feed jams that occur WAY too often. Those pistols only misfed if I screwed up a round some how. They were as reliable as a 1911 could be. The other thing that I changed was that I used to use the 200 gr LSWC from Georgia Arms. I now cast the LEE 200 gr SWC. The nose profile is a little different. If I have to I guess I'll set the SDB up again and load some up to compare.

Welcome to the Blue club. You will not be disappointed with your purchase. As others have said, just take your time and learn the feel. If it doesn't feel right it's because it isn't. You are in the right place for advice. Learn from others mistakes and experience. Have fun. Reloading is a sport unto itself.

For a dedicated progressive pistol machine for a small investment you can't beat the Dillon Square Deal B. If it's in the budget the 650 is a sweet machine. I have them both and would part with neither. I do the high volume stuff on the 650 because it has the bullet feeder and the case feeder. For the stuff I don't shoot as much of I use my SDB.

Mine gives me fits with large primers. They tip sideways. Finally changed press over to load 9mm. VP feeds small CCI's like a champ. It will suck a box down in about 20 seconds. I wish I could get it to feed large primers that way. I have a second VP still in the packaging. I've been toying with opening it to see if it works better....or, just sell it. I ended up buying two by mistake.

I like the counter unit but says can't ship to US when you look on EBay. Not sure where you see that. Here's the list: Shipping to: Worldwide Excludes: Guatemala, Ghana, Reunion, Djibouti, Puerto Rico, Cape Verde Islands, Martinique, Mali, Guadeloupe, Botswana, Sierra Leone, Madagascar, Cayman Islands, Anguilla, Saint Helena, Gambia, Liberia, Rwanda, El Salvador, Seychelles, Dominican Republic, Libya, Hong Kong, Zimbabwe, Gabon Republic, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Lesotho, Mayotte, Nigeria, Saint Lucia, Mauritius, Guinea, Côte d'Ivoire (Ivory Coast), British Virgin Islands, Turks and Caicos Islands, Kenya, Chad, Grenada, Costa Rica, Guinea-Bissau, Togo, Eritrea, Senegal, Haiti, Saint Kitts-Nevis, Morocco, Africa, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Netherlands Antilles, Burundi, Equatorial Guinea, Bahamas, Trinidad and Tobago, Mauritania, Belize, Aruba, Dominica, Congo, Democratic Republic of the, Western Sahara, Congo, Republic of the, Malawi, Comoros, Nicaragua, Israel, Angola, Algeria, Benin, Montserrat, Tunisia, Zambia, Uganda, Russian Federation, Brazil, Somalia, Barbados, Antigua and Barbuda, Jamaica, Italy, Swaziland, Egypt, Mozambique, Ethiopia, Namibia, Tanzania, Niger, Panama, Burkina Faso, Honduras, South Africa I don't see the USA listed in the exclusions, and that's where I bought my counter. There are other auctions for the same counter on Ebay if you don't like the one I linked. Just have to search "LED Counter". It's not there any more. When I first saw your post and clicked on the link it had in big letters "Cannot ship to US". Glad that's fixed.

I like Dillon dies because I load lead. Cleaning the seater and crimper is as easy as pulling a spring clip, dropping the insert and clean it. Also, changing seater inserts for different nose designs is the same. Just pull the pin, flip the seater stem over and drop it in. Replace the pin.

Rick is a genious!

I made my own KISS style collater. Instead of the "hockey puck" rotating disk for the bullet nose I made the type that is on the new MR. BF. Mine works for everything I've run through it so far with just an in or out adjustment, no inserts. It took a while studying how each bullet style rode across it to where I got it cut properly but I've fed .452 in 230 grn RN down to 200 gn. SWC, 9mm 125 gn RN, 38/357 158 gn. SWC, all without any issues. Those are all cast lead. It also feeds all of the factory jacketed I've tried in those calibers. I was using Hornady feeder dies originally but changed to MR. BF dies because they feed flawlessly for me. I had way too many hangups with the Hornady dies and cast bullets. The MR. BF die has to be able to rise up and down a smidgeon so you can't hard pipe the feed tube. I bought a spring tube off McMaster Carr that works like a champ. I think it was all of $4 for 3 feet of it. So, I've got a Hornady 45 feeder die "dressed" to feed lead, and a brand new unused 9mm drop die that I will most likely be selling. I'm sold on the Mr.BF die. The 9mm die feeds 38 also so no extra die needed. And, it is so easy to adjust I just pop it out of my 9mm head and put in the 38/357 head when needed. Litterally less than a minute adjust it. Raise the ram, adjust it down till it drops a bullet, lower the ram and give another 1/8th turn or so. Snug the lock ring. I have to figure out how to upload pics here. I'll post some pics in this thread if anyone is interested.

I shoot a 20". It hangs with the big boys.

STP oil additive on the bolt.

YES! Just to make sure! My friend uses the lancer mags because they dont curve as much as 3rd gen pmags. I guess there have been some issues with the little bit longer OAL on the 300 AAC and the curvature of the new pmags. Just make sure you know the dope on the scope because the 300 AAC falls like a rock after a little bit My comp mags are all straight. I have a couple hi caps that are curved. Using a BURRIS 8x32 scope. Have a great ballistics program I use for long range shooting.

Mic2377 - why do you say you'd only seriously consider it if suppressed?

That's what my 1911 is for. :-)

This will be primarily for deer and hog. Maybe coyote just for grins. My 223 is devastating on coyotes. I definitely want the entire upper for easy switch out. This rifle was built piece by piece for hi power competition and it fits me like a glove. I want to use my present lower to take advantage of everything that's in it. I can't afford to build another. The 300 is just for fun and I have thousands of rounds in 223 brass so converting a 1000 or so would be no big deal. I'm also going to cast and coat my bullets for this.

You'd need the caliber conversion kit and a tool head. The dies are specific to the SDB and included in the conversion kit. I think all together it's about $100. That sounds like a good price for a used press. Even if it's got some miles on it Dillon will rebuild it to like new for a vary reasonable price. You'd have a "new" press for less than buying a new one.

I have a match 223 that I'd like to convert to 300 blackout. Is it as easy as dropping on a new upper? Any other changes necessary? I want to keep the match 223 upper but would like the option of the larger caliber for hunting. Midway has one for under $500. I'm not looking for match accuracy so I don't want to drop another $1K or more into this. I've got enough in it as it is. I'd just like something that will deliver more punch out to 200-300 yards. What kind of useful range could I expect from this cartridge?

You made a wise choice with the powder to start with. I did the same. Using a powder that will fill a case if double charged is a good thing. I did the same when I started reloading. I started with 38 SPL and 357 magnum and Herco 2400 many years ago. With a Lee handloader no less. The biggest piece of advice I can give you is ALWAYS do a full stroke on the press. If I short stroke for any reason I ALWAYS pull the rounds off the press and regroup. I just feel better that way. 48 years reloading and I've never had a squib, never a stuck bullet in the bbl, and never a catastrophic failure due to over charging. (knock on wood!) Be safe and enjoy!

That adjustment did the trick. Thanks Dillon.

The 650 is a fine machine. The 1050 has more room on the head for other options, has the swage built in, setting primer depth as you stated. I don't own the 1050 BECAUSE....money is a factor. If I had deeper pockets and money wasn't a concern I'd have a 1050. But, I can buy dies, caliber conversion and spare head for my 650 for the price of a spare head for the 1050. I can crank out rounds on my 650 just as fast as one can on the 1050 so speed is not an issue. The big difference I guess (in my eyes anyway) is being able to combine some prep steps on the 1050 that have to be done separately on the 650. I would love to have that behemoth sitting on my reloading bench but I can't justify it. If I were to buy myself another press I honestly think I'd get another 650. I may be selling my last SDB and using what I get to put towards another 650.

Have a few friends that want me to reload in 243 and 30-06 for them. I have never done these calibers before. I'm wondering if there is a good powder that will work well for both so I don't have to change out powder every time I switch. Also, it looks like the 06 is going to be at the max capacity of the large powder bar for the Dillon but 243 will fit. Anyone know if the Mag bar will meter for 243 loads? Will be putting the micrometer on the powder bar. I have one on my small powder bar and I can dial in a load change in under 5 powder throws. Also....any pointers that y'all have for these calibers would be appreciated. Best dies, etc. Only done 223 in rifle up till now. Have plenty of experience in precision reloading for competition but am a newbie to these two. They will be hunting and varmint loads. Deer, hog, coyote, bobcat. Thanks

I was pretty sure that was the adjustment but when I loosened the two socket head cap screws it didn't move. I did this after I realligned the platform. I figured they would have been slotted but didn't appear to be. I'll check when I get home tonight. I'd hate for you guys to have to send me a widget. It looks like a simple adjustment. Do I really need one?