mikeinctown

Double charges are usually easy to spot, and if you stand to load, you can usually look right down into the case for a visual check. Perhaps you should just get a 650xl and get the powder check system to be sure.

I just store used dryer sheets in my hopper now. I think there are at least a half dozen in there at the moment. The first time I just wiped down everything inside and now I shove additional used ones in there. I also wipe down my powder pan that I use with my scale with each sheet that gets shoved in the powder measure. Worked wonders for me.

By the way... STOP INSERTING PRIMERS!!! There is abslutely no reason to even touch the primer station until you have all the dies set correctly. The primer station should be the last thing you get involved in. In fact, even when setting up your powder measure for an actual measurement once you get the dies set, use the powder pan with the scale and work the measure by hand, taking 10 drops at a time to get an accurate reading. Only then will you need to worry about the primer station. 1/4" from where the threads end is too far down into the took head. I think on mine it is near 3/8" to 1/2". (I am also doing 45ACP) Also, as mentioned, the two hex bolts that hold the powder measure to the die need to be really loose before the powder measure wil seat correctly onto the die. You'll wiggle it a bunch and then will finally feel it "pop" down into place. When you seat the die up or down, just loosen the measure bolts a little but do not remove it. Hold the measure in place with one hand while you turn the die in or out. This will keep you from needing to completelyloosen the bolts each time you need to move the die a quarter turn. Edit your location so we know where you are. There may be someone loacl willing to give you a hand.

Also, it helps if you put your location in your profile so that people know where you are and can possibly help.

When you are setting the powder die, screw it in just far enough so that the powder measure bar operates fully. (and make sure the powder measure is tightened up on the die after each adjustment as well) You'll probably notice that when you do this that you will get NO bell on the case. This is when you screw the die in a little more incrementally until you get the bell you require. You should be able to take the drop funnel thing and slide it inside a case. it will be very snug but it will slide inside and pull freely. The actual printed instructions are very clear about this and easy to understand. The one thing the instructions are terrible at is describing how the return bar is connected. (the black rod with the spring and wing nut) it goes in from the left and runs parallel to the press frame. The nut should be tightened so that the spring is compressed about halfway. This still allows give in the spring and the powder measure will operate smoothly. IIRC the instructions say to tighten the nut until the spring barely touches. This does not work. With the primers, there is a good chance that you just aren't pushing the handle back enough to seat the primer fully. Until you get the process down, after seating the primer let go of the handle and remove the case from station 2 and inspect it. If the primer isn't seated correctly, insert the case back in and give the handle another push. The primers will seat a LOT easier in some cases than in others. You'll be able to get a feel for the primers as time goes on.

if you have gun shows in your area, these is usually one or two vendors that sell power and primers. In my area the prices are pretty good on the stuff and you really don't pay more than you would for a pound at one of the sporting good stores. Also, don't settle and look for one powder. get a loading manual and look at the on line loading manuals at various powder makers. make yourself a lit of what you can get to work. you will have a much easier go at it if you can be flexible.

I'm sorry to hear that your original casefeeder was lost in a tragic boating accident.

Hopefully those blue ammo boxes are still cheap as heck. Way better deal than buying those boxes at the store for $4-$5 or even the $3 cheapo boxes at the shows.

I think there is a difference between an ordinance building and the bench for a loading press. We are (at least I am thinking) talking about the few granules of powder that get accidentaly dumped from a case or the powder drop. In this instance, even if the powder was to ignite upon entry into the vacuum, it really doesn't have enough energy to do any damage. Now if I accidentally spilled a half pound of bullseye then I would probably get out the dust pan and broom and sweep it up by hand. Depending on the remaining amount, I would either wipe with a paper towel or vacuum it up.

Yup. Congrats on the purchase and for becoming an addict. Now you will start to see Dillon machines all over television shows. I saw two of them on one of the recent NCIS New Orleans episodes a couple weeks back. A 650 and one of the lesser ones, a square deal I presume. they go running through the shop and I see the blue and hit pause to figure out which model it is. lol Anyway, once you get going and have all the materials stockpiled, you can crank out a hundreds of rounds in no time at all.

Agree. Using 9 135 HP for production, Tested 115 heavy plated for open (cheaper than MG and just as accurate), wish they would produce 115 hp in heavy plated. Waiting on 2000 180 FP for limited. X-Treme always run sales, bullets are in stock, ships fast, mil vet discount, and the price is right. If they produce 115 hp heavy plate , I would have no need for the more expensive Montana Gold. From what I understand their HP bullets are thick plated. Yep just read it again here:http://www.xtremebullets.com/Bullet-Load-Info-s/1952.htm They do not make 115 HP heavy plate concave base. Only round nose so far. LCS, you need to read what is on their site and not rely on the simple designations listed for each bullet. Right in the bullet and load info area, in big red letters it says "All Hollow Points are Heavy Plate Concave Base but are not designed to be used as a defense round." This means they are ALL HPCB even if the bullet description does not say so. Really? Do you work for X-treme? Official X-treme spokesperson? Thanks for advise I don't need. I've been using X-treme bullets for quite a long time. "I can get a hell of a good look at a T-Bone steak by sticking my head up a bull's ass, but I'd rather take the butcher's word for it." So yes, I have spoken with the CS at X-Treme and they told me that ALL hollow points are heavy plate, but that it is easier to place the notice on their info page rather than noting the same thing for every HP bullet. So not only does their site have this listed, but it is also what is given to me by their customer service people.

A USED dryer sheet. new ones have lots of stuff on them and will wind up leaving what seems like a film on the parts. It is also helpful to keep stuffing them in your powder measure as well between uses as the powder will stick to the plastic walls until you get a build up on the graphite.

Completely agree. The same .5% variation in the loads of my .45 ACP rounds would be something like .03 grains. Not even a tenth of a grain difference between charges.

Considering the statement of a +/- .3 gn variance, I would think that the .2 falls within that expectation. Also, with the amount of powder in a .308 case, isn't that .2gn less than a 1% variation?

ATF doesn't smell that bad unless you have a volume of it or it is used. In fact the smell from my Slide Glide is far worse than ATF. In fact any tube of grease when you pop it open is worse.

Given that I just started reloading, I've picked a bullet that is inexpensive to me and am testing out different powders and charge weights to see what feels and works best for me. Once I find that combination, I'll most likely use the other powders for practice until I use them up and then just use the single powder as someone else mentioned... Set it and forget it. (What's the point in having a progressive press if you are always changing things up and needing to reset everything? You just wind up spending the time you wanted to save by buying the progressive.)

Agree. Using 9 135 HP for production, Tested 115 heavy plated for open (cheaper than MG and just as accurate), wish they would produce 115 hp in heavy plated. Waiting on 2000 180 FP for limited. X-Treme always run sales, bullets are in stock, ships fast, mil vet discount, and the price is right. If they produce 115 hp heavy plate , I would have no need for the more expensive Montana Gold. From what I understand their HP bullets are thick plated. Yep just read it again here:http://www.xtremebullets.com/Bullet-Load-Info-s/1952.htm They do not make 115 HP heavy plate concave base. Only round nose so far. LCS, you need to read what is on their site and not rely on the simple designations listed for each bullet. Right in the bullet and load info area, in big red letters it says "All Hollow Points are Heavy Plate Concave Base but are not designed to be used as a defense round." This means they are ALL HPCB even if the bullet description does not say so.

This may have been answered, but how much did the back of the slide get rounded? is it like a 45* chamfer, or just enough to break the sharp edge?

IceDevil, it really doesn't matter who does the work. What really matters is who manufactures the gun (ATF has that info) who sells the gun, who markets the gun, and who provides the warrantee for the gun. CZ makes the gun, has it in their catalog, sells through their vendors, and as far as I can tell, you would contact CZ with any factory issues you may have. CZ USA is indeed the manufacturer of the pistol according to the US government. I think the black cloud here is that you can order the accu shadow through CZ Custom direct rather than having to order it through CZ USA only. What is lost on the rule makers though is that CZ USA only has the CZ Custom version in their catalog, not a version made by Cajun or Accurate.

I don't have a 1050 but have the 650. The press itself does operate without issue as delivered. In fact Dillon sets up each machine for the caliber to be loaded before shipping it. because of this, I haven't had to adjust anything but my dies. Now, just because it operates as it should out of the box doesn't mean I didn't have questions as to how, why, or what something works the way it does. Basically, you aren't going to figure out what percentage of presses have issues based on threads because many threads aren't dealing with issues, they are just answering questions about the press or a process on the press.

I bought a 650 as my first press and I am so happy I have. I do not yet have the casefeeder and it does take more time to load because of it. I have to stop every 15-20 rounds when loading my .45 in order to refill the tube. Starts to get annoying when you get a flow going with the bullets. I'm sure I'll be adding the case feeder within the next two months. I also intend to add the Mr Bullet Feeder that does 100 rounds at a time. I can stop every 100 rounds, add cases to the feeder, primers to the press, and bullets to the feeder. Probably take 1 minute or two every 100 rounds. I use a Lee FCD on the crimp station and Dillon dies at the rest of them. I just picked up a set of .40 Lee dies (4 piece) from Amazon for $29 that I'll use once I get that conversion kit. Wouldn't hesitate to get the 9mm die set should they do a sale on those, either. Plan on getting a couple Redding seating dies eventually and maybe some EGW U Dies if I find the need. Whatever works best will be in the press. With the 650 once you set it up, it just works, and works right. the powder drop, primer feed, case feed, etc all work great and every round off the press so far has passed inspection spare one. (proud primer) I pulled the bullet, seated the primer all the way, put the powder back in and reseated the bullet. I do lust after the 1050, but only because I have seen how some people modify it to be automatic. As to your question about the strongmount, yes buy it. It is amazing at the difference the mount makes. I still use the original ball handle, but will probably be buying the roller handle when I buy the casefeeder. After that it will be lighting then a few other press upgrades.

Should have gone in last week. They got a new shipment of Alliant and Hodgdon. They had Bullseye, 700x, and the ones you mentioned in 8lbs and everything alliant makes in 1 pound containers. (randomly walked past the ammo cabinet at Walmart last Tuesday and grabbed a couple 555 Winchester .22 bricks. The Fin has .22 all the time but they mark it up $5-$10 more than Walmart) In fact, I haven't seen them run out of anything Alliant in a couple months now. they are getting powder about every 2-3 weeks it seems. If anyone is close by in the Cleveland area and wants Titegroup, I have an unopened 4lb container I'd like to sell. My cost was $75 with tax. Looking to break even.

My "bench" is just wire shelving, but it probably has 10,000 cases sitting on shelves underneath. It barely moves and the press does not shake at all. if I had to guess, my press is probably about 10-12" from the wall. I wouldn't put it any closer because from time to time you need to be able to peek at something from the right side.

One shot here and no tumbling after finished. I don't notice anything on the cases when I am done. A couple shots in a bag of 150 cases goes a long way.

Because it is my money and I want to screw with something until it is how I like it.