StraightSh00ter

These are the micrometers for the Dillon powder measures:

Sounds like it was a great Blue holiday for a lot of us! 650s,1050s, and even the little add-ons are such a treat. And Dillon gifts from loved ones must be particularly nice. My case feeder came yesterday, and once again I was pleasantly surprised by the quality. The plastic must be close to 1/4" thick?! It's definitely a lot more than a plastic 5 gallon bucket. And of course it runs great right out of the box. The thumb screws came from Hit Factor, with a powder knob for $5 shipped. I got some aluminum spacers from Home Depot to replace the plastic ones for a better fit. I'm thinking a Blue cover and micrometer are next - maybe we'll keep this Christmas season going a little longer, lol.

Thanks IDescribe, I've been loading the 124s with 3.8gr of Titegroup at 1.158" OAL. I have access to a chrono when needed, and my current load clocked in at ~1045 fps (a touch light at 129 PF), For the 135s I was hoping to eventually use either WSF or CFE Pistol as I have both. Titegroup could be an option but I feel like it doesn't burn as well with charges less than 3.8gr - I tried some shorter loads with lighter charge and found it to be dirty and less consistent.

Yeah, just to clarify I'm asking about RNFP vs RN. They are the ones that appear to have similar profile. Hard to say about HP but I believe the HP have a different trailing edge shape/radius.

Thanks! That's the piece I was missing. I should be able to get it figured out from here.

Yeah, Xtremes. I screwed up though - the RNFP are 135. I was just trying to figure out how to accommodate the different profile in OAL. Originally I was looking at getting 124 RNFP, but then realized they are FP which is a different profile so I deleted them from my order, and tried to change my post. The 135 RNFP are longer than the 124RN, but I don't know how much longer they would be than a 135RN. I can find load data for 135RN - I can load to the published OAL (after confirming it will feed in my gun), and just use a chrono to adjust the charge? I don't think the difference in length is gonna cause a squib or anything, maybe it will just shoot a little soft... Maybe I should just go to bed and try again tomorrow, LOL

These are RNFP, the profile looks identical but with the tip cutoff. I will verify that they feed but my gun's got a pretty deep chamber.

I've been loading 9mm 124gr RN plated bullets, and have some RNFP to try. For the same weight bullet, would I load it with the same charge and same OAL? My guess is the bullet ends up being a little shorter, so the same OAL and charge would result in slightly lower velocity and pressure. This is based on the assumption that whatever volume of material was moved from the tip is added to the tail to keep the same weight, and ends up trading length for diameter (that's a poor explanation but I tried to keep it short and simple). So maybe keep the same OAL and add 0.1gr?

JW, how are the new micrometers? Did you get a chance to check them out yet?

They sent me the alignment tool for free as well.

I started reloading a month or two ago on the 650. I'm thankful I went with the 650. You don't necessarily have to buy the case feeder up front, but, running the machine without case feeder is like driving a Ferrari in downtown Manhattan. Still, if you wanted to run it like a 550 you could: leave off the case feed tube and manually drop a case with every handle stroke. I got the Lee case collator and it helped to speed things up a bit (it quickly loads and holds ~90 cases, and lets you refill the Dillon case feed tube in a fraction of a second). It was pretty annoying but it held me over for ~2000rds while I saved for the case feeder.

I'm sure I'm not the only one that had a Blue Christmas - what did you all get?? I got myself (using some Christmas money) the Case Feeder for my 650, and the thumb screws for the powder measure. I'm psyched! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L9-PN1sftaI

Yes - more fun than I could have ever imagined.

I just picked up 2 boxes of S&B primers from cabelas. Unfortunately the pile was intermixed and I grabbed a box of rifle primers. Do I need to change anything? I shoot minor loads. Is there much risk to running SRPs? I'll try to exchange them tomorrow but I doubt they will let me. So much for trying to save a few bucks

Any links? I haven't seen much for 135gr bullets. Also any thoughts which is good for light loads (WSF or CFE)?

Nice article!

So you can pretty much do a pseudo alignment without the tool. I got the tool but didn't feel like digging down that far due to a crazy long day at work. You can take off the shell plate and primer assembly, and align the platform by lining up the powder funnel with the primer ram. It likely won't come out as perfect as with the tool and primer ram removed, but I personally was able to get it pretty darn close.

If the machine gets hung up with the tool head pins in place but runs fine when they are out, there is a misalignment between the platform and the tool head. This is what the 'Alignment Tool' is for. Keeping the pins out and running the machine will likely be less consistent and wear parts faster, as you are relying on interference between the cases and dies to align the tool head every time you pull the handle. We are expecting some pretty tight tolerances on the cartridges we make with these machines, so the machine needs to be tight. The only way to get all the parts of the machine to line up with tight tolerances is to design in adjustments. If the machine was designed to hold tight tolerances without adjustment, it would either have to have crazy tight tolerances itself (meaning crazy expense), or the reliability would be poor and we'd complain that alignment is bad. The fact that Dillon has made the entire platform adjustable is awesome! It might take a little work to align the whole machine, but it allows us to perfectly align the shell plate with the case feed and primer ram, and then the whole lower half with the tool head.

With that budget I'd personally go with 1) STI Sentinel (likely with some upgrades) or 2) Dan Wesson from the custom shop, or 3) a complete custom if those guns have features you don't like that aren't worth changing. For example, I like a tactical adjustable sight, and you can't get there if you start with a Bomar Or maybe I'd just get my Sig again and find a girl to spend money on. Or another trip to Hawaii. But definitely get 5 mags, and a press if you haven't started that already. Making ammo is enjoyable and rewarding. I have the Double Alpha racer pouches and they are great.

+1 - this is covered throughout the whole book. I think he nailed it.

be, Are you sure? Titegroup was specifically designed to have consistent burn characteristics at reduced charge weights in large pistol casings. I know that's how its billed Duane, but I never had any luck with it for light (135 gr @ 1000 fps) loads.be I've been running Titegroup at a little over minor PF, loaded at 1.155" OAL. I tried a lower charge with a shorter OAL and found my muzzle was filthy in under 50rds. Normally I don't see much of anything after a full day of shooting (250rds).

you can use an air filter if you're concerned - I run a small filter next to my tubler/sorter when I'm prepping brass. I have a 650 on a bench, and the whole thing could easily fit in a closet with bifold doors. A walk-in would be sweet! I think Sarge has his reloading room in something like a walk-in?

I called Dillon today after work. The automated message said I was 17th in line; I didn't have a lot of time but figured I'd give them whatever time I had. 16min later, I was off the phone with a part and a tool on their way - free of charge. The service was so good I kind of wanted to pay for something, but then I figured I will just buy more blue gear. I'm trying like heck to wait 'til after Christmas to buy the case feeder.

I love my Sig, more and more each time I shoot it (and each time I shoot other guns). It's super accurate and runs perfectly. You can get any gun hard chromed for ~$250.

I don't mean to take away from the OP's issue as this is his thread. It seems there could be a few different issues with similar symptoms. If the shell plate appears to be lined up with the case feeder and the primer punch, but misaligned with the tool head, it may be an alignment issue with the platform of the machine (the part that the shell plate, primer system, etc. are all mounted on). If you Google "Dillon Alignment Tool" there are some related threads, and apparently a tool and a procedure for lining up the whole platform of the machine. If the alignment of the shell plate looks off relative to the case feeder and primer punch, it's a different problem.