mikeinctown

Depends on what powder you have available. I was speaking with a guy I got some LPP from yesterday and he mentioned he really liked Bullseye with his 185 loads. Claimed very clean.

Well I went to order the Hornady. amazon price is $31 plus the collet cost which they don't sell but someone else does, but with a $10 shipping cost. Not paying $50 for the puller die. Checked Brownells as I want to order a Wilson Combat mag from there (on sale now) and figured I could combine shipping. The puller is $10 cheaper than amazon, but out of stock. They have the collet I need. Go figure.

And where is the casefeeder mounted?

Now that I've looked at video of both the Hornady and RCBS, they appear to both work very similar. The RCBS actually performs much like the one I saw in the video I am looking for. Instead of the handle already on the die like the rcbs, you just turn a box wrench a quarter or half turn to tighten the collet and back again to loosen. Now that I've seen video of the hornady in action i may give that one a shot. A bit more expensive, but the lever action appears very simple once you get the collet tightened correctly.

I'm looking for a specific bullet puller and am hoping someone knows the name of it. The puller is a die that goes into a standard press, most likely a single stage and you take a wrench to tighten up on the top, then pull the bullet out by dropping the case down with the handle. I've been able to find bullet puller dies but they appear to have some sort of cam mechanism on top of the die instead of the part that you would tighten with a wrench as I saw. I saw the die in a YouTube video when I first started looking at the Dillon 650 but am not able to locate the video any more so I can take note of who manufactured the die. Thanks

Just a "little" extra? Sorry, it was a Hornady not a Lee. the Hornady was close to $400, so $160 more for the Dillon didn't seem all that bad considering the reviews I've seena nd read.

Is the Lee factory crimp die any better than the Dillon crimp die I got with the set I purchased? I notice on my cases that the bullets expand the case slightly around them. So they go from a given diameter around the bullet to a slightly smaller diameter and then back to a slightly larger diameter back toward the base. I'm assuming this is because the sizing die at stage 1 is sizing to a slightly smaller dimension.

I've been reasearching wet tumblers and from what I have read, the discoloration is from the Lemishine. Also rinse well with cold water or it will discolor very quickly after. Still trying to pick which one I want.

Sorry to hear that. I bought my machine without the strong mount and once I saw how the 650 mounted, I called and got the strong mount. It really does increase the surface area of the mounting location and seem to make it more stable. i was a doubter but once I got it I am a convert.

If you buy/use the strong mount you do not need an overhang. it allows you to set the machine further back.

Congrats on the new machine! I almost got a Lee before I bought the Dillon and I am glad I paid the little extra.

As a noob myself, I can say the answer for me would be no. There are so many things to be aware of that you kind of want to be slowed down by the need to place a bullet by hand. I only did some test rounds yesterday, but realy appreciated the slowness of needing to place the bullet by hand. It allowed visual inspections and forced me to not go too quickly on the handle. Also, I want to get used to the machine and how each handle pull and push should feel so that if a problem arises I know what is happening. If I added one more cog in the works, then there is just that much more to think about and watch over. I will say that everyone claims that new reloaders should start with a single stage, but I am so very happy that I got the 650 as my first press. I do not need to worry about case insertion as it is automatic.I just glance to make sure it is seated in the shellplate. I worry about the primer feel going in, then a visual powder check insprection and then after the bullet is seated I look to see if I can see anything wrong with the case before crimping. Once I have a couple thousand rounds under my belt then I'll probably go for the powder check for accuracy and to speed up my visuals, then possibly a bullet feeder. In the grand scheme, placing a bullet takes almost no time. Putting primers in the tubes for me is the tedius part. (I think I'd rather get the Dillon primer machine over a bullet feeder now that I think about it)

Just starting out with my 650 and I ran some test bullets today in 3 different charges. When I set and tightened the bullet seat die and measured the case I got 1.251 on a .45. Tested it in my barrel and all is good. (made one without primer and powder, then ran it through the magazine a dozen times to see how it would chamber at the 1.251 length) Ran a couple test bullets then and measured OAL and got between 1.251-1.253. Then I finished my run and after measuring every single one I made, I had a variation of between 1.251 and 1.256. I was very deliberate on the handle as I wanted to make sure I had appropriate powder and primer set correctly before I seated the bullet. Is it normal to see a .005 variation like this with the press and Dillon dies? If it matters I was doing the test with Blue Bullets. I have a batch of FMJ that I am also going to test once I get some feedback from the batch today. <edit> Now that I'm thinking about it, .005 is next to nothing, but I didn't want to risk finding out that it should be almost exact each time.

LMAO. Wondering how loud the pop was when it all get set off? I've gone through the .45 that I bought and sorted by headstamp and primer size. Curious as to know how the chain reaction starts. Do they pop off one at a time as the chain reaction goes from primer feed hole to primer feed hole and then into the tube?

My primer question is slightly different. Wondering if the Federal Gold primers are worth a $5 premium over the regular Federal primers. Local place has regular LPP Federal Primers at $30/k, and LPP Gold for $35/k. If Tula or Wolf LPP primers were $23, would the Federals be worth the $12 premium? Local place does not have SPP in Gold, but I think I saw Small Rifle Primers. Would the small rifle primers at $35/k be worth a premium over standard Federal SPP @$23/k Sorry if there is any confusion, but the local place has plenty of stuff in stock and is running sales on the Federal SPP.

Thanks on the tip for Powder Valley on the Zero Bullets. The Zeros I bought at the show are priced at $16/100. I inquired with the local supplier about discounts for 1k and 2k but have not heard back. From Powder Valley with shipping to me I am at $.12 each vs $.11 each if I stay with the Blue Bullets. Going to load up some of the Zeros and BB this weekend and see how they work for me with various loads. I have to say though that I am impressed with the coating on the Blue Bullets. It's pretty thick and tough and I could not scratch it off easily like I could with a sample bullet I got with another coating. It also feels slick as well, which I did not expect.

As Alvarez mentioned, with a casefeeder i would expect to see around $500. Without a casefeeder I would expect maybe the $400 range at most. The extras add value, but there is a good chance everything won't be wanted or needed so the buyer will need to spend time splitting up and offloading. If buying everything in a package I'd give 50% of new cost at most, but if buying or selling individually I'd expect to see 60-75% of new cost. Best the OP can do is make a fair offer and explain why. Given that most things depreciate to pennies on the dollar, I would think that 50% of new cost for the works is more than a fair deal on a 30 year old unit.

Wow gigs, thanks for all the information and it looked to be very objective. At first I didn't think I would need to purchase the roller lever but after running a few hundred cases just through the deprime and resize die, I have to say that I can understand why people would recommend one of these. I did see the foam handle thing but thought it would look like that cheap foam that dry rots and falls apart after a short time. Good to know what it actually feels like. I'll probably be ordering at least a few of your store items in the near future. Regarding the shellplate bearings though, it is my understanding that when you use the actual bearing kit that you need to bend or somehow resize the ejection clip that used to fit on the bolt. From what I have read, when using the bushing it is the same size as the bolt was so that you don't have to rebend the ejection clip. I have experience with this type of material and while it is impregnated with oil, applying some approved oil to the surface almost gives them a slickness similar to a bearing. not quite, but close. Might it pay to buff the shellplate up on a buffing wheel? Thank you to everyone else who has also put in their comments so far!

You don't have a 45 ACP case on the end of your primer follower?!? You just aren't cool if you don't have that mod! It does help a lot though. As much as I like Dillon gear I find it amazing that they won't weight the follower a little bit because they know it is too light in some cases. Yet they will tell you to put some weight on it. The plastic rod is so light that on my machine it won't even set off the low primer sensor. Just sits on the plastic tab and doesn't move it. That's when I remembered reading about the .45 case. Slid on there and worked perfect for setting the alarm.

Thanks for the input. I also got a reply from Nathan at Blue Bullets who said that they do not change the OAL on the FP bullets they load. I guess if anything, the FP would not seat as far into the case. I went with a small sample pack of the Blue Bullets to see how they function. I may also order some Xtreme bullets as they have their free shipping promotion that ends today. Though I have noticed that the prices fluctuate with the Xtreme bullets. Might have ordered from one of the other places as well, but the lak of a sample pack combined with higher shipping charges made me think twice.

if your shoulder is at handle height then you are just asking for pain and you are doing way more work than you need to. if you place the handle all the way down, either set your chair at a height in which you do not have to move/bend to hold the handle or set the machine high enough when standing so that you don't have to bend or lean over with the handle all the way down. If you do this, you will find that the handle is about the height of just below your nipples when all the way up. At these heights you are using arm weight to help lower the handle and you are using body weight more than shoulder strength to push the handle back into position. ie, you aren't using 100% arm strength to work the lever in line fabrication also makes a roller handle that they claim helps with ergonomics though I haven't seen it in action.

Ready to start loading .45 and am trying to decide which bullets to go with. I purchased a pack of 100 Zero 230gn FMJ bullets at a show on saturday but am looking for cheaper that I will buy in quantity and use long term. I am currently only going to use it in a Sig 1911, but am also looking to get an FNX45 or a P227 down the road. (or possibly something else depending on deal) Xtreme bullets has the plated .45 round nose for ~$60/500 Bayou Bullets 230gn round nose for ~$52/500 Blue Bullets 230gn RN flat point ~$52/500 depending on qty ordered. ($60 for a flat rate 500ct box) Black Bullets also has the plain 230gn round nose for about the same price as the other coated bullets. Blue Bullets sells the .40 and 9mm sizes that I am planning on using on other calibers, but I am wondering how the flat point will feed on the 1911. Everything I have fed through it so far has been plain round nose. Also wondering if the flat point will affect OAL and the charge. Most loading recipes I have seen are all for RN. If anyone has experience with the Blue Bullets 230gn I'd like to know how they work for you and what you use them in.

Local place always has rifle powder. Pistol powder is in stock if you are flexible. In the last couple months I've gotten; 4lbs unique @23/lb 2lbs Bullseye @23/lb 4lb jug of TiteGroup at $73 2lbs TiteGroup @$21/lb As of Saturday (9/27) they still had ~20lbs TiteGroup on the shelf as well as quite a bit of Power Pistol. They may even have Red Dot and Blue Dot as well but can't remember what I saw Saturday. Primers are $30/k though the last two months they have has CCI and Federal SPP on sale for $23/k. The last show here had primers at $22/k which I'm hoping happens again as I need LPP.

I'm glad I found this thread. I've been in the reloading threads and quite a few people had mentioned running the SP-01 pistols in competitions. I had never seen one locally or even at a show and had no idea what it even felt like. Well this weekend I saw an SP-01 at a show and at the LGH. After picking it up and holding it, I can now see why this would be a favorite for people. It feels like it was molded for my hand. My Sigs come close, but this CZ is nice. $629 plus tax locally and I can't wait to save up a little coin and get one in my hands. Good to know that I can modify it then should I want to get into competitive shooting for not a lot of $$ as I've seen many guns waaaayyyyy out of my price range.

Nitrohuck, just so you know, when you get the 650 in your hands it will be already set up for the caliber you have ordered it for. the only parts separate will be 3 pins and the powder funnel and case feed adapter. Everything else will already be installed on the unit and adjusted properly. (minus your dies) You'll also get an empty box that you can store the parts which get removed when doing a caliber conversion. For the .40, the small primer system will be installed and the large primer parts will be sitting in the box. You may also want to order the correct case adapter for 10mm when you order the machine as all parts needed for 10mm are the same as the .40 minus the case adapter. I think it's only a couple dollars and will let you load for an additional caliber should you want to.