DubfromGA

That's good to hear. Thanks for the report. I was going to hold off on adding the case feeder and spend the money on adding another cartridge.....but I think I'll go ahead and grab one at that price first. As it is I'll be set up for 9mm, 45acp & 44mag for now. That should keep me occupied nicely as I get up to speed with the press.

My AK TRP has been doing extremely well with ETM magazines for the past three years. I've never tried the Tripp magazines.

I'm trying to get the gear I need to get up and running with my reloading game. Getting closer. I do need a chrono.....sold my old one along with my older reloading gear 12+ years ago. I need something that will work for me on the indoor ranges when I'm working up handgun loads......as well as be of use for my hunting rifle loads. The indoor range has narrow lanes with dividers....pretty much like most. I'd be unable to set up a chrono downrange any distance at all as per range rules. The LabRadar appears to able to sit on the shelf right next to where I'll be shooting. How sensitive is it if there is someone shooting a couple lanes down from me ? Ideally, I'll have my arse there when the range opens so I can have it to myself for a few minutes and not have to worry about other shooters.

Outstanding thread. Some very helpful suggestions in here. I'll be referring to this as soon as I get my act together and setup my press nextweek.

They have the case feeder for sale at the best price I've seen it. Thanks for the link. I've never shopped at Sheel's but it looks like I should have.

Outstanding. Thanks for the info on WTF SoCal. I'm stuck at work tonight....but just found them on my cellphone and will que them up later on. Appreciate that info !!!! I'm hoping to have my bench in place Monday and my press on it by Monday afternoon. Depends on how much time I spend at the range Monday morning.

You are all set. Sorry about the griping I did. Just didn't want someone else to find themselves in the same boat. Their manager, Sam, worked it out quickly and has the gear en route. I subbed out the digital scale and went with an 'old school' model balance beam type. I had to have something as I'm starting over from scratch with this setup. I went ahed and added another full toolhead set-up for .45acp, too. Hoping to get dialed in on loads for both 9mm & .45acp soon. Since I'm new to progressive presses, I went ahead and added the Dillon 650 DVD to the orders. I've already watched most of it and think it was $20 well spent. Really thorough and strait forward. Good luck, man. Looks like a really nice press setup. .

That's a great practice.Thanks for posting that 'un. I do believe I will adopt this once I get dialed in on loads. I'm hoping to find a single load that works well in both .45acp & 9mm that will shoot accurately in my guns. It's going to be a cookie-cutter type situation as there are multiple guns in each. If money wasn't a concern it would sure be nice to dedicate a toolhead & dies for each specific gun that gets the most range use.

Howdy, man. Checking in again. I called Dillon today to check on the press kit I ordered in late May. I was told today that the earliest I'll see it will be in July. The scale that's in the kit is held up in customs. They could do no substitutions because their inventory system won't allow it. Beware if you order any type of kit that also includes the D-Terminator scale. Don't do like I did and place the order online......call them as you are doing so and make sure you know what is going to ship and what isn't. I called them later in the morning after I made the order and was told it was all going out that day. Maybe the scale shortage just hit....I don't know. I'd hate for you to be as frustrated as I am about this deal. Spent $1,000 on a press kit in May....and then later on have to call repeatedly to find out where it is and be told that it won't get to you until July ???? Never shown or told it was on backorder......never even the hint of an apology from the people I spoke to....just clipped replies that had to be dug out of them. Im as easy going as it gets and part of my job is being huge on customer satisfaction. Their reputation was one of the deciding factors to go with Dillon vs other companies. This initial experience has been lacking tremendously. I wonder what other industry would leave you in the dark on $1,000 item. Rant over, lol. EDIT: Wanted to come back and update. In a followup that I initiated I spoke with Dillon again and was forwarded to someone with a much better demeanor and who was extremely helpful and informative. He offered to cancel out the order for the "essentials press kit" and then do another order by line item and delete the backordered scale. It's what I was hoping to have done once I discovered things were not shipping as planned.....just had to find someone who was empowered to do so. Hopefully I'll be up and running soon. A lot of hassle for something that could have been avoided with a modern inventory system and facts known to all their sales staff. According the guy who ultimately helped me out, the scales have been on backorder for a month. Surely I"m not the first person in a month to have to go through this. I hate when folks whine and gripe and I'm certainly not wanting to be one of those people now.......but dangitman....this was one of those things that keep getting dumber by the minute and then running into a rude & lazy sales guy was not a welcome event. Once I got into the "tech service" part of it there was a super assistance to get me to the right folks. @Trevor300wsm all I can suggest is to call in your order and made certain that no single piece is on backorder.

Awesome. I have the same Ultramount and IF roller handle......still wait on my press to get here. I was wondering the same. Thanks for posting the pic. Very useful. I'm glad to see that I'll be able to set it back from the edge that far. Should really help with stability on my smallish bench.

That is awesome that you were able to do a side-by-side comparison at the range. Perfect way to make a decision. I wonder how much buyer's remorse I could have sidestepped over the years had I done the same. I recently added a new commander length .45acp to my tiny "arsenal". It is a bull barrel model and surprised me with it's stout weight. My father and I broke it in on an initial range session last week. It ran really smooth and we couldn't feel much difference from the 5" models I brought. It is a steel framed gun, though. I would imagine a comparable model in 9mm would be a very comfortable gun to run. Running it often, too is how I prefer. I always shoot my carry guns on range trips. I'll usually run at least three magazines of carry ammo through them, too...to wind down the range session and reaffirm poi with the carry rounds. I only have one 9mm 1911, a 5" Springfield RO. I can tell you that it is one pleasant to shoot gun. It took me years to finally add it....but it will certainly make the case for more. Such a soft-shooting gun. Such a wide range of great carry ammo available for the 9mm that I'd not give it a second thought for a carry gun providing it fed reliably. It took my 9mm RO a little trial & error on the magazines to reach that point. Happy hunting for a new gun. Have you zeroed in on a particular model ? It's taking every ounce of restraint I have to not scratch together the coins to buy a 9mm Dan Wesson Valor before they are gone.......

Thanks. Just didn't want anyone else to get caught off guard like I did with unexpected delays. I'm sure things will get sorted out and I'll become one of those hardcore Dillon advocates after a while.

I've just received my first order (9mm & 45acp ) from Blue Bullets. The clear bags are clean.....zero loose powder or blue dust as I was expected based on older reviews I've read. I'm looking forward to getting these loaded and some range time with them.

My Dillion gear all arrived today..........almost......missing was the "essentials XL650 press kit".....which was the major part of the order. [url=https://imgur.com/gBTLkuu][img]http://i.imgur.com/gBTLkuu.jpg[/img][/url] I placed the order last week...online. I then called in to make sure everything looked good. The person I spoke with reviewed everything and said it ll looked good and would ship that day. Tracking info was emailed to me later in the day. All appeared to be good. I checked in with them to find out what was going on and was told the D-Terminator digital scale is part of the press kit.....and it's on backorder, thusly, the entire kit is on backorder. At no time did anyone mention this....during the phone call or the initial "chat" feature online. The press kit didn't show as "on backorder" when I ordered it. Sorta aggravating when I have travel plans and don't won't my press kit sitting by the front door. They couldn't tell me when it would ship....only that the D-Terminator scale was "past due" and maybe it'll ship this week......or maybe next week. I've been very polite and courteous throughout this, yet the person I spoke to on the phone was short, clipped and rude. At no time was there any attempt to provide additional detail or even so much as an apology. I've heard of the legendary customer service that Dillon offers......but I've got to say that my experience thus far hasn't been so hot. Hopefully this will be my only snag with the experience. I mention this to save you and other buyers the headache of not being made aware of unknown potential delays. I wish I'd known and could have had my stuff shipped to another address.

Thanks everyone. I was about to order the Mil-Comm MC25 products (cleaner, grease syringe and oil) but I'm glad the responses came through before I did so. Thank you ! I know it sounds like a lot of guns....heck it is a lot. Before anyone gets the wrong idea and thinks I'm toting around a fat wallet.....understand this....I went through the small gun safe I have and looked at some guns that I'd picked up along the way never shot....hunting guns and other. I lucked out and was able to make some great trades for some new guns that I plan on using in the future. I'm going to start with GSSF events and then go from there. I've got a few buddies that have been after me to shoot sporting clays with them, too. This past year has seen me going through a bunch of aggravating health-related setbacks, nothing too serious....but stuff that has kept me from doing much of anything other than working and resting. I've got one more thing to get repaired....an aggravating hernia...and then I can get my fat arse back in the gym on a daily basis and get into shape. I've got a couple years before my 50th birthday arrives and I'd like to be running in the occasional 5K race by then. Getting in shape will make the shooting sports tons more enjoyable. Sorry for the long health history.....just figured I'd throw it out there. What I'm doing now is done in effort to set myself up for some fun times ahead. Future gun & gear purchases will be done so very....very carefully and with a lot of researching in here. Same thing with the future reloading gear, too. Thanks a ton. That's some great insight. I'll check around tomorrow and see if any of the local shops sell the Lucas Gun oils.

Your bench looks great !!!!! Looking forward to seeing your progress develop. I'm wanting to eventually follow the same path with a 650XL and get the setup for .45acp, 9mm and 5.56.

Howdy folks. I've got a really basic question for you all. As of late, I've been making up for lost time on gun purchases/trades over the last couple weeks.n I went almost three years without buying a single gun......I've made up for that now. I'm moving more from hunting stuff to guns that will see carry, home defense and lots of target use. I'm wanting to get started in some local competition and go from there. Everything should be in at my lgs by next weekend. I've got few days off week after next to spend a few days at the range. I want to start these out running well with the best lube and cleaners. There is a bunch of new stuff on the market since I last looked around several years ago. I'm not sure what's what anymore. It seems as if each of the local stores are promoting certain brands/types. I know many of you are serious shooters and put lots of rounds through your guns. Your insight is highly valued. I hope to listen to you and use Midway or the local spots to get the recommended lubes & cleaners on hand before next weekend. Maybe there is another online place you'd recommend, too. The new guns that are here or on the way are: Glock G34 Gen4 MOS Glock G17 Gen4 Glock G19 Gen4 Kahr CM9 Colt Wiley Clapp Government Colt LE 6920 Magpul Remington 870 Magpul Colt Defender (insanely low price....just put a deposit on it....gonna be month or so) What are your recommendations to run in each.....is there a lube that works great across the board on them all ? Sorry for the basic questions. I'm just wanting to get the best performance and life from each of these guns. The verdict is out on the little Kahr.....the rest are guns I've really wanted for some time and finally pulled the trigger on buying. Summer is here and I have a teenage son who will be making range trips with me and he loves shooting, too. We are going to have a blast....pun intended. Thank you for your help.

Outstanding thread. I'm getting some good ideas here. This forum is proving to be a wealth of real world experience from guys in the know. So grateful to have found this place. I hear ya. I say the same thing to guys I've hunted with over the years. They'll spend what I consider big bucks on a super nice bolt gun, gas money, time away from home, hunting land expenses, vacation days....etc...etc. but then they'll shortchange themselves on buying the cheapest scope they can find. There are a ton of highly accurate bolt guns available at the local Walmarts & Academy sports for $400. They could then afford to spend more on nice glass that will actually do something for them vs some semi-custom-custom rifle shooting an oddball SuperUltraBadda$$ propriatary cartridge with an ear drum splitting muzzle break. People do funny things. One of my favorite recent commercials on TV is the guy who goes around his house and checks in with his family members to ensure all their lights, fans, computers, toaster oven and etc are working. He give them a serious look and they all comfirm with a verbal, "Works". I like that. I'm not a wealthy man....far from it.....but I like my gear to "Work" and don't mind paying a bit more for higher quality and reliablity. Time off doing our hobbies is hard to come by.

Cram 'em on in there !!!!

Thank you Sarge & Evilbeef54. This is certainly a great spot. Tons of helpful ideas, suggestions and insight and some serious competition experience. Looking forward to lots of good reading here.

Grilling out and work...

New guy here from the soon to be humid SouthEast. Time to swap over to kydex for carry, lol. I've been a firearms fan since I was a young kid watching James West & Artemus Gordon on Wild Wild West and a ton of other TV shows and movies. The hook was really set when my Uncle Bill started taking me along on range trips and hunting. A 10 year old with a cap & ball revolver one minute and a Ruger Redhawk the next made for some fun times. Since those young days I've had the pleasure of introducing my soon to be retiring Dad to shooting fun and he's become quite the collector and is loving the nice new indoor range & gun shop 5 minutes from his house. I can't wait to visit with him and go by there. I have a few guns, not very many, but I've been able to cover many of my needs and some of my wants. I'm one of those weirdos that enjoy both my 1911's and my Glocks. I've got an old deer hunting buddy who I've been talking to about us possibly getting into some GSSF events and I'm interested in learning more about 3-Gun as well. My main goal is to get into the best physical shape I can while in my miid-late 40's so I can be active and enjoy myself in any of the fun stuff I choose to get involved with. This is a big turn of events for me but is yielding some great benefits. Long way to go, but it's one day at a time. I've joined a really nice gym 2 miles away and am becoming a regular there on my days off. Slowly going on the cardio gear and steady in the kitchen where it really counts. Over the next two years I plan on being leaner, more fit and ready to tackle some fun new endeavors. Sure would make the shooting sports a lot more fun as well as every other aspect of life. I dabbled with reloading years ago with a single stage and was able to get some impressive sub-MOA results from my hunting rifles. I plan to get back into it again, but with gear that is more directed towards faster turnout of 9mm, 45acp and 556/223. I'm thinking a Dillion set-up that I'll enclose in a cabinet that I already have. Looking forward to getting settled in around here and learning a lot from you all.