EricBu

Solved! Didn't get much interest here, but I'm updating the post just so if somebody else struggles later on, maybe it will help them. After having conversations with the Mark Vii guys, and also getting put in touch with MBF tech support, I was basically told, "this combination ain't gonna work". The MBF support guy flat out said that 44 caliber bullets were not 100% in the MBF dropper. So, I bought a Hdy LnL bullet feeder in 44 caliber. Turned down the tube out of the MBF switch so it would fit into the top of the Hornady dropper, and off we went. Just did 4K without any issue. Worked flawless.

I've run out of ideas here. I "think" what's happening is the bullet dropper bearings are snapping into the lube groove on the bullet. Basically, it will drop 2 or 3 bullets....then it won't "lift" up...the case moves up inside the dropper die without any resistance. I've played with the adjustment endlessly, no change. I've done the beveling on the dropper die itself. I've run it with the clip in the top and bottom, and with the bearings in both the top and bottom position. I put the DAA spring assembly on it. No change in operations. Working with Mark 7 support as well, but I think they are out of ideas. Am I dead in the water with this bullet style? Or is there something I haven't tried yet? Pic on the left is with toolhead bottomed out. You can see the top hasn't been pushed up at all. I could run another cycle, and it will work fine for 2 or 3 cycles...then do this again. The bullet is a 200 grain Hi-Tek coated RNFP. The dropper assembly is the MBF Pro 45/44.

I know it's been a while, but with Covid and ordering delays and waiting for backordered stuff...and set up time, and putting time on them...it just took a while to follow up. So I ended up purchasing two Mark 7 Revolutions, with all the sensors. I ordered them with the big Case Feeders, and 38/357, 9mm/38super, 45 acp, 300 BLK, and 44/45Colt conversion kits along with the Mr. Bullet feeder pro conversion kits for each, plus an extra MBF conversion for 45 and 38. Total Cost with shipping for both was ~ 28K. They were shipped via freight, and Fed Ex sent a semi truck right up to my shop. They were well packed on a single pallet, with the main base of each machine in a crate. First, there is no comparison, the build quality, fit and finish, and function are light years beyond Dillon. I mean, it's not even in the same category. But that's as it should be, as I could have bought 10 base dillon 1050s or RL1100's for the same cost. Setup was easy and straight forward. Between their manual, and their set up videos, I had the first one up and rolling ammo in a matter of hours. It took a bit of tuning and tweaking, not unexpected, before I was ready to crank out a production batch of ammo. I had some very trivial issues. One bad sensor, a damaged primer feed component, and some fine tuning questions about the MBF. Mark 7 support was fantastic, got to me in 24 hours with answers. In the case of the sensor, they had the replacement shipped within 24 hours of my original support email. They definitely live up their version of the "No BS" warranty. Things I would have done differently: About the only change I would make in hind site is I probably would have left the case feeders off the order entirely, which would have saved a couple grand. Don't get me wrong, their case feeders are EXCELLENT. Best I've ever worked with hands down. They just work, and they are FAST. They easily keep up with high speed runs. The only reason I would have left them off the order is that I am already heavily invested in Dillon Case Feeders, and have several. They easily work with the Mark 7. The Mark 7 large case feeder conversion kits are expensive!! So at least for now, I will likely use a Dillon case feed to do 300 BLK. The Dillon case feeds do not keep up with the mark 7, so if you want to load at more than 2K rounds an hour, I think you want to go with the big mark 7 feeders. The other con for me is that Mark 7 does not have a huge selection of caliber conversion kits. Once upon a time, prior to being bought by Lyman, they made conversion kits to order, however they no longer do that. All in all, I'm super happy with my choice. There is still room on my benches for Dillon for sure, and I will likely buy a Super 1050 to dedicate to .30-06, .30-30, and .45-70, and an RL1100 for the various 32 families.

Odd question I've been wondering about. Will Dillon pickup tubes and the Dillon RF100 work to fill the primer tube on a Apex 10?

Thanks for the comments. I too am a long time blue press user....30 years reloading. Started when I was stationed in CA in the Army and couldn't buy handgun ammo. Same path, RCBS single stage, then in the late 80s bought a Dillon 450 with reenlistment cash, upgraded to a 550, then 650s/750s. My default was to buy big blues, and run autodrives. I also looked at Camdex, but am leaning towards the Mark 7 Revolution for a variety of reasons. Any of your presses use autodrives and bullet feeders? Which Mark 7? The primer system, was it the standard primer system or the automated hopper based system that sorts/aligns? Primer detonations are....concerning, so I am very interested in which primer system the one you owned used. What kind of sensors, if any, do you use? The powder system that caused problems for you, was it the digital powder measure? Was it a sensor/electronics problem, or mechanical? As you noted, for 30 years I've been in the habit of instant support from Dillon. Unlike others who have had complaints during Covid, I have never experienced an issue with their support. I've bought 2 new presses from them in the last 18 months, tons of accessories and parts, and have had to call them maybe a half dozen times for broken parts across 5 presses, and each time it was quick, courteous, and the replacement parts were shipped within 24 hours. Now, I understand Mark 7 may not be that good.....but what was your overall comfort level with their support? Did you feel like they just didn't particularly care? Or was it a matter primarily of being stretched thin because of Covid, and just simply overwhelmed? Were they really making a legitimate effort to solve your problem? Or were they just trying to get you to go away?

FNG here. An individual on High Road suggested I post this here. I read through some of the threads on it, and they were helpful, but I really am looking for some opinions based on actual operation of the two presses. So here goes: I'm getting ready within the next 6 months to buy two new presses. These will either be Dillon 1100s/1050s with autodrives, bullet feeder, etc, basically fully loaded. Or Mark 7 Revolutions (The blinged commercial variant from Mark 7/Lyman). I've done the standard googling, read all of the history et al. However, most of what's out there is fan boy comments, and there is not much recent regarding direct experience.Specifically, looking for anybody who has gone from an automated Dillon (1050, 1100) to a Revolution, runs both side by side, or a Revolution owner who had previous Dillon experience, but chose the Revolution anyway. If you're a Mark 7 guy, sell me on why I should go with the Revolution, if you're a Dillon guy, sell me on why I should stay blue.The specific points I'm looking for:1. I already know I can make safe, solid, high quality, <15 SD pistol and revolver ammunition on the Dillon. How about the Revolution?2. The major contributing factor for considering the Revolution is the auto priming system....dump a thousand primers in the hopper and go...but is it reliable? I can live with 1 out of a thousand rounds having a flipped primer, I'll find those in QA and that's within my tolerance...but not 1 out of a hundred.3. Wear and tear, parts availability, and uptime. I have enough Dillon parts on hand to damn near build a complete press...things that I've learned the hard way need to be readily available. I will be starting over from an institutional knowledge perspective with the Revolutions. What is my over all reliability going to be with them? Can I keep commonly needed parts on hand? Or are they difficult to find parts for in general? How is the support? I know they struggled early on, but by all accounts, since Mark 7 was purchased by Lyman, things have improved, what is your real world experience with this support? Here, I'm looking for post Lyman purchase support experience. Not overly concerned about warranty, but more interested in long term support even if it's pay to play. Am I going to be able to call a technician up and tell them about a problem, and get real help, and availability to a needed part?4. Caliber changeover. From the videos I've watched, and user manuals I've read it seems slower and more complex than on a Dillon, is my perception wrong? It may be a matter of training and gaining experience, or it may just be a huge pain. This isn't a deal breaker, but I need to understand how my process may be changed...will I need to plan on doing say.....20K rounds at a time to make a caliber change worthwhile? Or is it just a matter of maybe taking an extra hour to do a complete changeover, which would not really impact me.5. Overall impression of fit, finish, quality of construction, etc. Dillon has a well established history of function over form. It may be ugly, but it works well, and works with very little fiddling once configured and established. I worry about the Revolution being the opposite....looks fantastic in a brochure...did they choose appearance over function?6. Maintenance. Maintenance on the Dillon is super easy...hit it with the air compressor every day, grease it every month, and every couple of months do a more thorough PM, looking for wear and tear and such. Maybe once a year, pull all the linkages apart and regrease, reassemble, realign, and fire it up. Is the Revolution going to be similar? Is it a platform that will require constant tinkering and adjustment? Is there more involved maintenance? I did consider a Camdex, but I can only budget one, and I'm not comfortable with their advertised powder throw accuracy.Anyway, if you've lasted through this entire long winded read, any comments will be appreciated.