Cotys

The Hornady manual lists VIHT N-140 for the 68 grainers. I am ASSUMING you are talking 5.56 in caliber. 2500 fps - 22.4 gr 2600 fps - 23.3 gr 2700 fps - 24.2 gr 2800 fps - 25.1 gr MAX COL - 2.250" What country by the way?

There was a post the last week or so about brass weights. I took the weights posted and dropped them in an Excel Spreadsheet. I'm in the process of sorting about 150 lbs of pistol brass. I double checked against 5.56 brass, known quantity of 1000. The numbers were pretty close. Just sharing what I did with the info. Here's a link to the spreadsheet. http://dl.dropbox.com/u/7070049/Brass.xls

Well, I shoot 75 gr Hornady a lot. I've also done some 68 Hornady, 69 SMK and 77 SMK. I keep mine right at 2.25" Hornady lists 2.25" as the max COL for the 68 & 75 gr. I never have trouble with them in the mag that way. I've read the max length for 5.56 is up to 2.60, but when I tried longer I had mag feed problems. So I just stuck with 2.25" and have no feed problems in old military mags or magpull mags. Sounds like the 69s are too long, especially if the 55s are feeding.

The 223 above is pretty close to my actual. I have de-primed, sized, cleaned brass and the actual weight is 71 cases per pound. That's the average out of an actual 1000 brass count. It is a mixture of Lake City and Partizan (PPU).

I think my wife is more likely to go off than the three above.....

I have loaded 45 small primer brass. The problem I had was the small primer rounds were really cheap crappy loads. So after they had been shot, what was left was cheap crappy brass. I don't remember what brand they were, but buddies had a case of the original ammo. I thought I would reload the brass. The original ammo was so bad that unburned powder would put pin-holes in a hanging target. You had a little of a scatter gun look. The primer pockets on the brass were of varying diameter and depth. I gave up and they all went into the brass scrap bucket. What brand brass do you have?

You gotta love the ingenuity on this board!

I am with you on the single stage vs 650. I do reload some rifle and hunting pistol rounds on a single stage. For me, if I am going to reload 100 or less, its just as quick to do it manually. I have the dies setup for my loads and process all the loads one stage at a time. Plus I hand measure every load for my hunting rounds. I do this with 450 Bushmaster, 44 Magnum loaded to max (for Ruger Only) and 270. I loaded a 100 44 Mags specifically for hunting 4 years ago. I still have quite a few left. I tend to load a batch of 100 or less at one time and it lasts for a few years. A few weeks back I reloaded 50 450 Bushmasters, that's all the free brass I had. Its hard to justify the setup time and additional cost for that small of a volume. 5.56, 9, 40 and 45 are another story. I'll load a 500 to 1,000 at a time and always do it on the 650.

I use Hornady manuals mostly, but I don't have them with me at the moment. One web site I use a lot when I dont have a manual handy is M.D. Smith's reloading pages. Lot's of loads and its FREE!!! www.reloadammo.com He lists Bullseye at 4.3 gr max for 1,180 fps. While its not a reloading site, Wikipedia says the Overall length is 29.69 mm (1.169 in). http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/9mm I have a scanned version of a Lee loader chart that confirms 1.169 max OAL. The Alliant Powder web site has a load at 4.7gr of Bullseye and shows a Minimum OAL of 1.125 for 115 gr speer. Most of the powder mfg have web sites with recipes. I use MD Smith to look over various loads and then go to my Hornady manual or the powder mfg for a final. It's worth investing in a good manual. I bought a new Hornady, then picked up some older books at a 1/2 price books, a local used book chain.

There is a software package that shows what you need for each caliber on the XL 650. It is free and pretty handy. http://www.nfatoys.com/dillon/

I use the nickel to load my home defense loads. Its easy to tell them from the rest and they look good. I treat them just like any brass load and have not had any issues. I don't lube my pistol rounds and have no problem with that on a 650.

Agreed, you seat the primer on the up-stroke. Just don't push up after cycling the handle. You could remove the primer tube if you wanted. The brass retaining pin on the shell plate will keep the brass from falling out, it would just be an empty station. I will admit that I do like the 650 and priming. I use it for 5.56, .40, .45, 9mm and 38 Super. It works well. If I ever have any priming trouble its a new brass (once fired) that the primer pocket needs work. I load 44 Mag and 450 Bushmaster on a single stage press and manual primer because I only load a hand full at a time. I have more trouble with the manual primer than the 650 .

I do use mine. It was one of those things I didn't have on the list that Brian recommended. I decided to go with it. It alarms when the powder tube is down to 1/4. There has been more than one time I was cranking out rounds, being nice and methodical, and let the powder get down to the alarm. I use it every time I load.

I have a couple pages of the Hornady manual on my laptop. I have the page for the 68 Grain (not 62) and H335. It starts at 21.3 gr (2500 fps) up to max of 23.8 (2700 fps).

Are the case feed adapters very finicky? I have all the power bars and the 45 conversion kit. Just wondering if the 30.06 / 308 case feed adapter might work.

I picked up a new Bushmaster 450 upper for $533. So now I need to reload. There's not a conversion kit for Bushmaster 450, anyone loading them and have recommendations for "building" the conversion kit? I believe the shell holder is 30-06 / .270 / 308. Not sure about the other parts and what might be similar and work.

I shoot the 75gr for long range. They hold up in the wind a lot better than the 55gr. I'm shooting from a 20" 1:7.7 twist Krieger barrel. I use a load given to me by a Marine gunny Sargent, this is what they used for 1000 yd open sight matches. 24 Gr of Reloader 15, either the Sierra 77gr or Hornady 75 gr. This load is also listed in the Hornady manual. With the 75 gr and a 24gr RL-15 load, velocity is right at 2700. The Hornaday manual gives these other options (manual offers various load, below are MAX loads): IMR 3031 21.2GR MAX AA 2495 21.8 GR MAX VIHT N-135 21.8 MAX AA 2520 22.5 MAX H 4895 23.3 MAX RL-15 24.1 MAX WIN 748 24.0 MAX VARGET 23.5 MAX VIHT N-140 23.6 MAX VIHT N-540 23.6 MAX BL-C2 25.2 MAX

+1 with George and IstanSKS. I use the 2 tool head setup and just run them through lubed. I've not had any issues with it gunking things up. I do use a paper towel when I'm done to wipe out any residual lube from the case feeder. Never cleaned out the the case feeder tube. The process they described works well for me. At one point I had waited until the end to clean the lube off the finished round. I now clean the brass again after finishing the work in tool head #1, before trimming and loading. I think that is a "neater" process. For lube, I've used Hornady in the aerosol can. I've switched to Dillon's case lube in the pump spray bottle. Both have worked fine in the case feeder. Coty

My gosh, that thing looks huge. Let us know if its worth all the work. I've thought about doing something.

Plus 1 on the Hornady 75 gr, 77 gr. Sierras. Those and 24 gr of Reloader 15 are good for prairie dogs 800+ yards. Marine competion shooters shoot that load at 1000.

I will try the acetone tonight. I run a Dillon 650 and process my brass on 1 run and load on another run. I had considered tumbling it before loading, but was afraid the brass might stick if I run it through with the die in station 1 just to punch the primer again for debris. Running it all through the Dillon would be the easy way to go. Sent from my NookColor using Tapatalk

I've got about 1200 5.56 rounds I need to clean the case lube off. I use Hornady spray can case lube and may overdo it a little. My finished product is quite guncky. I read on the forum here where one person dropped them in the tumbler for 3 minutes or so and cleaned them right up. I tried that and it did clean them. My problem is that I'm shooting 75 gr Hornady Hollow Points and the media gets stuck in the hollow point. I'm shooting 500 - 1000 yards and can't help but think the media in the hollow point is a bad thing. Any other "cleaning" techniques for cleaning a high volume? I need to also search again on case lube and see if something else isn't as sticky. Thanks, Coty

Gunnery Sgt Boudreaux gave me that load - 75 gr hornady, 24 gr Rl-15, Rem 7 1/2 primers for 1000 yd matches. I shoot prairie dogs from 300 to 800 with it. Muzzle velocity is 2750 out of a a 20" Kreiger 1:7.7 twist. Its my general load now. Doing another 1500 now.

I've been processing 223 on my 650. I've had a lot that do not de-cap. I lowered the die and that helped a tad. I still get 5 or 6 out of a 100 that do not de-cap. I've checked the de-capping pin and it looks OK. I also find a lot of bits and part of primers in the process. It occasionally stops the press from turning. I am running a tool head with only a full length die / de-capper. Any thoughts on why I'm not de-capping well? Thanks, Coty

My buddy doesn't reload and gave me his brass from some recent shooting. Every one of them has a dent about 1/2 way down the casing. From reading the forums it seems to be OK to reload. What might be the culprit? It is from an AR-15. I'll attach a picture. Any issues reloading this type ding? By the way, it happened on both Lake City and Fiocchi brass. Thanks, Coty