jaredr

i've always tumble and separate outside as well. occasionally get shut down by inclimate weather, but i'll put it off a day if it's raining rather then separate brass inside. not so much the mess created by running the separator, but I like to take a blower (take the top off your shop vac) and blow out the inside of the tumbler between loads. More of a necessity (for me) with walnut (for cleaning) then corncob (for polishing). yeah, maybe a bit of retentive to run brass through both, but it's really nice when you're loading .45 ACP 230 gr FMJ to have a big pile of bright shiny bumblebees when you're done. Also, when separating brass that's been run through with walnut, I actually take the shop vac blower, prop it up about 6 feet from the Dillon tub postioned such that it blows from slightly behind me and across the separator while I'm turning it. This blows all the nasty walnut dust out off the back patio onto the lawn, where it probably pollutes the water table and creates mutant super-deer. ah well, no free lunch but at least it keeps the dust off the operator. obvioulsy, this doesn't work well inside.

i've had nothing but outstanding service and support from Roger for my KISS feeder in .45 ACP and .38 conversion, can't wait until they start shipping again so I can buy one in .223! -Jared

problem solved... did what I probably should have done before posting, broke down powder measure and checked out the powder activator. turns out it had a coating of oil that was collecting powder and then dropping it as some was shaken loose when the shellplate stopped at the end of its travel. doused it liberally with acetone, cleaned and dried it, reassembled, and what do you know - no powder spills! I'd left the powder die, seating, and crimp dies pre-installed as Dillon shipped them. don't know how many new presses I'll be getting in the future with dies already set up, but will remember to at least check out the powder activator and make sure it's clean before starting out. thanks again for everyone's advice! best regards, jared

many thanks for everyone's replies! jmorris - really appreciate the video clip. if that's the speed at which you can cycle rifle cartridges through the press dropping ball powder, then I'm certainly coming nowhere close to rushing the machine. regarding how much powder I'm seeing drop onto the shellplate - should have clarified what I meant: somewhere betweeb 3 & 10 individual specs (or "balls") of powder, tho occasionally a bit more. Doesn't sound like much, but it adds up to a mess on the shellplateand (more importantly) i'm pretty sure it shouldn't be happening, so I want to find out what's going on and fix it BerKim - if i understand you correctly, you're describing a condition where a burr or raised defect in the case mouth will cause the powder measure to begin dispensing powder before the cartridge mouth has "sealed" against the powder activator? I'll run another round of test cartridges and pay particular attention to case mouth condition. not sure if that's a factor so far as most of the cartridges I ran through last time had just been trimmed by the 1200B during the brass prep stage and all were square and in generally nick-free shape. think I'll break down the powder measure and inspect the powder activator carefully, then run another round of loading tests (using cartridges with inspected case mouths) and see what kind of results I get. will try and again and see what kind of results I get!

Summary: Have about 100K rounds loaded on my xl650 (all straight wall pistol cartridges) and have just picked up an 1050 from Brian to start loading rifle .223. All is well <except> I'm having some problems with powder (accurate 2230) spilling at the powder drop station. Have adjusted and re-checked powder measure but no matter what, am frequently dropping a few grains onto the shellplate. Have tried breaking down details re: loading setup and powder drop issues below: Cartridge load: mixed headstamp range pickup brass, 23.5 gr accurate 2230 powder, winchester small rifle primers, hornady 55gr fmj projectiles Press setup: running two toolheads – one to perform all brass prep, and a second one to actually load cartridges. Toolhead config is as follows: Toolhead #1: Station 1: cartridge feed Station 2: Lee depriming die (just deprimes, does not resize) Station 3: swaging station, dillon swage die installed Station 4: <no primers loaded for brass prep> Station 5: <no powder measure installed for brass prep> Station 6: dillon 1200 trimmer – resizes and trims Station 7: empty Station 8: dillon resizing die installed to use neck expander ball (adjusted not to resize) Toolhead #2: Station 1: cartridge feed Station 2: Lee depriming die (I tumble prepped cartridges to remove lube, use depriming die to nock out any media in flash hole) Station 3: <no swaging die installed for cartridge loading> Station 4: prime Station 5: powder drop Station 6: empty Station 7: seat with dillon seating die Station 8: crimp with dillon taper crimp die Problem detail: I'm new to reloading bottleneck rifle, so while I have set up to reload in volume, for now I'm starting by prepping 50 or so cases on the brass prep toolhead, then moving over to the cartridge load toolhead. Once I've got everything really dialed in, then I'll move on to prepping out brass in volume and then reloading same. So far, things are working fine (code for: still with the 2 eyes, 10 toes/fingers, etc.), have chrono'd out the first batch of a few dozen and am pleased with results. Only problem is not matter what I try and do with the powder measure adjustment, I seem to be frequently (but not always) dropping a grain or two worth of powder on the shellplate. Have adjusted the powder measure down to where it is <almost> but not actually buckling the case (making sure that the powder measure is fully actuated. Also making sure that I'm pausing a second or two with each pull of the handle to let the powder drop (assuming it takes a bit longer to drop 23 and a half grains then the 5-8 gr I'm used to with pistol catridges). No matter what, on about every 2nd or 3rd cartrideg I can still see a small amount of powder still being dispensed when I raise the handle (i.e. lower the shellplate). 2230 looks like tiny ball bearings – can't imagine I'm having any sort of bridging problems with the powder measure, and in all the posts and articles I read about 2230 I never heard any mention of metering problems so don't believe it's a question of the powder selection. Before I start breaking out the polishing compound for the inside of the powder die or start developing some sort of weird OCD complex with anti-static dryer sheets, I figured I would post to the board and see if anyone had any advise? Grateful for any thoughts or suggestions anyone might have. I've tried the search function but couldn't locate any similar threads, but if this one has already been asked and answered that would certainly appreciate if someone could point me towards the right link. Btw – obligatory thanks to Brian for all his help on the order! I was set to order carbide dies and after speaking with me about what I wanted to do, Brian pointed out that the trim die will do the sizing work, so there's no need to spend another $100 on the carbide dies – Thanks Brian!

for what it's worth, I have loaded about 12,000 cast lead .45 projectiles, about 10K 200 gr LSWC and maybe 2K 230 round nose. have found it works fine, but I do have to break the unit down about every 500-1000 rounds and clean out the bullet collator, feed spring, and bullet dropper with brake cleaner. I load really cheap bullets that I can buy locally, and the lube on the projectile tends to gum up the works. Did have a problem initially with the bullet collator not picking up the 200 gr LSWC profile properly, roger fabricated a small spring wire attachment that kept them from flipping over. i really love the bullet feeder, now just trying to get ahold of one in .223 (understand they're backordered or waiting on materials). -Jared

I'm looking to put together a plinking load for a comped 9mm. Not terribly concerned about making major, interested in just trying to make enough gas to feed the comp. AA9 seemed like a viable candidate - slower then AA7 which might allow a little more powder (and more gas volume). I haven't been able to find any 9mm loads for AA9 tho, which tells me that either this is a very bad idea or just that maybe nobody else was interested. If anyone has any experience with using AA9 to load 9mm, would you share your experience? Thanks for reading, Jared

I called Lee and described the crimp problem I was experiencing - spoke with a fellow named Dave who indicated that the "pressed in band" of brass is the correct crimp from a FCD die in a roll-crimp caliber. While it was not the nice, traditional roll crimp I was used to, I loaded up about 50 rounds and took them to the range. From the 1 & 7/8" barrel of my 642, they were as accurate as the old rounds. I'll probably buy redding profile crimp dies for loading roll crimp cartridges on my 650 - maybe not because they're better, but just because it will be the crimp I'm used to...

Thanks for everyone's replies. When I was setting up my 650, I purchased factory crimp dies for 9mm, .45 ACP and .38 super since I wanted to be able to seat and crimp separately now that I had more then 3 stations. I went ahead and bought a FCD for .38 special as well - i fgured i'd need an extra die just for crimping if I used my old seat & crimp die just for seating, and even though this cartridge required a roll crimp rather then a taper, it couldn't hurt to use a FCD that would resize the cartridge (although I've admittedly never reloaded a .38 or .357 round on my old pro 1000 that wouldn't drop into the cylinder). I assumed that the FCD would produce a proper roll crimp, because, uh, well who the heck would make a .38 special die with a taper crimp? DougC - thanks for the suggestion. Unfortunately, I get the same bizarre crimping problem - lightly rolled over doesn't produce enough grip, and when I tighten down the FCD more, it appears to crush the brass in from the side, looking a tiny bit like a bottleneck cartridge. To make matters a little more confusing - I tried getting rid of the FCD and just seating and crimping (like I used to do in my Lee pro 100) at station four on the 650. I got the same problem. although not to the same degree. My recollection from the pro 1000 is that when you apply too much crimp, you'll start to buckle the case. with that same die on my XL650, it appears that the additional crimp is just taper-crushing the brass into the bullet from the side, but not really rolling it over. I think I'll pull the seat crimp die, disassemble, clean, and start over. I don't really think cleaning it will do much, but if I'm getting the same error with my OLD seat/crimp die, then it's probably a user error and maybe just starting over will be a good idea to figure out where I went wrong. Thanks, Jared

Background: I’ve just moved up to a Dillon XL650 from a lee pro 1000. I really love the new press - insert traditional dillon praise here for the XL650 and for buying from Brian, who was a great guy to deal with and also saved me some $ setting up the powder check system for 4 calibers. I have loaded about 8000 rounds on it over the last four months or so, about 6000 in 45 ACP and 2000 or so in 9mm. In both of these calibers, I re-used my lee re-sizing die and took my lee seat/crimp die and backed it out so I could just use it to seat the bullet in station 4. I then purchased Lee factory crimp dies for station 5 where I actually apply the taper crimp. I’d checked out this arrangement on this forum – folks had generally said it would work fine, and they were right. Except for the occasional piece of .45 A-merc brass that sneaks through, every round I’ve loaded has chambered fine and I’ve been very pleased with the press and the ammo it has produced. Problem: I’ve set up the press to start loading up .38 special, using the same arrangement as before – resizing/decapping with the lee resizing die, backing out the lee crimp die to use just for bullet seating, and then roll crimping with a .38 special Lee factory crimp die. While I’ll load up some light wadcutter rounds for bullseye later on, right now I’m reloading +P ammo for practice with my 642, and I need a strong crimp to produce good ignition and to also avoid bullets in the cylinder creeping forward under recoil. Unfortunately, when I try and apply a nice firm roll crimp with the 38 special Lee FCD, instead of getting the brass nicely rolled over into the cannelure, the crimp die looks like it is almost applying a taper crimp – the finished round looks like a bastardized .357 sig, with this tiny .03-.05” band of brass that appears pressed into the cannelure from the side rather then rolled over a bit from the top. I tried taking some photos, but my crummy digital camera can’t focus closely enough to show the detail I’m describing. Backing the crimp die out enough to avoid this condition produces a very weak crimp – turn the bullet upside down and apply strong pressure to the base and you’ll set the bullet back into the case by .2” or more easily. If anyone has any suggestions or ideas on how to resolve this, I’d appreciate the advice. I’ve had good luck with Lee’s dies in general, and their taper-crimp factory crimp dies have worked very well for me. Maybe I just got a crimp die with a floating crimp that was out of spec? if anyone out there is reloading 38/.357/.44 on their XL650, I’d certainly be interested in hearing what dies and setups work for you. Thanks for reading, Jared

Thanks for everyone’s replies. I don’t have any experience building comp guns, so it’s nice to hear that putting the sight dovetail on the comp is not unreasonable. For those who asked, it’s a pretty long-winded rationale, but the reason I’m leaning towards .45 single stack is: • I’m building this pistol just for general range use – I’m not worried about whether it will be a hindrance against other IPSC competitors because of limited mag capacity or a less efficient comp. I might take it to a local IPSC match, but if I do, it’s just for some practice on the clock. • I have tons of .45 and 9mm brass, and very little .38 super brass. That basically knocks out .38 super for me because I’d like to be able to load up 3K-4K rounds at a time and then shoot for a bit with out having to constantly go back to the press. • Also, .38 super brass is kind of a precious commodity compared to .45 (you don’t often find .38 super lying around the range) and of course 9mm brass is cheaper then water. If I build it in .45 or 9mm, I won’t be too ticked off if I can’t find every last piece of my brass on the line when I’m done. Yes, that attitude is a little stupid when you consider that I’ll put about $1000 in parts into this gun and new super brass is 8 cents a round. Oh well. • If I go with a single-stack in .45, I’ve already got tons magazines. It’s nice to be able to load up 15 mags and then spend some time on the line. Granted, if I went with a double-stack .45, I might have to only load up 7 or 8 mags to spend the same amount of time, but that’s 7 or 8 (pre-ban) mags that I don’t have. If I go with a double-stack caspian in .38, mags will be even more expensive and tough to find (my understanding, anyway). A single stack in 9mm and I’d need to buy mags, even though they would be cheaper then any double-stack calibers. • Only other reason I’m leaning towards .45 (besides the fact that I think comped .45’s are really cool) is that in order to load a 9mm high enough to work the comp, I am assuming that it would take a pretty full charge of whatever powder I was using (in terms of case volume). I load 6.8 grains of Alliant Power Pistol under a Rem 115 gr. JHP as a defense equivalent practice load. This load happens to fill up much of the available case capacity, and I’ve found that loading this on my XL650, no matter what I do (including clipping the spring under the detent ball), I inevitably find spilled powder on the shell plate after a while just because the cases are so full as they get shuffled around. This is a minor concern, but all other things considered, I find .45 ACP is easier to reload in large quantities. Basically, it comes down to .45 or 9mm double stack because I don’t want to have to buy lots of high-cap mags for a plinking gun, and since I’m not planning on using it as an IPSC gun, I’m not concerned about either mag capacity or making a power factor (if I went with 9mm). I don’t have any experience loading 9mm for major power factor (which I am assuming you need to do in order to work the comp better then a .45 200 gr LSWC at 800 fps). I’m not averse to building the pistol as a 9mm single stack (single-stacks mags being much more affordable then doubles), would ask a couple of questions for folks who have been through this before: 1) I plan on shooting lead bullets (because they’re really cheap) – would leading be a concern with a quality hard-cast bullet at the speeds/pressures required to work the comp well from a 9mm 147 gr. Bullet? 2) I have an unlimited supply of brass, but it is mixed range-pickup brass – would this be a cause for concern if I start loading up the 9mm above standard pressure limits in order to work the comp? Ok – this post turned out way longer then I had thought, but it’s a decent (if long-winded) explanation of what I want out of this pistol, and why I’m leaning towards a single-stack .45. Thanks for reading, Jared

I'm thinking my next project gun will be a stainless full size comp .45, either for pins or just because I think comped .45's look cool. Intention was to use a schuemann hybricomp and caspian x-comp, but I'd like to stay with iron sights. My guess is the best place to put the front sight with this combination would be a dovetail machined into the caspian x-comp. I don't have any experience building comp guns, so if anyone has any thoughts/suggestions on whether this will work (work well, or work at all) I'd appreciate your comments. thanks for reading, Jared

Thanks for everyone's replies! If I could find some butcher block type material like Neal describes, I'll use that, but I'll probably end up using 3/4" plywood and take two squares (14" wide by the depth of my club's shooting bench) and then nail/glue them together cross-grain for rigidity as the base. that still won't be as rigid as a the 3" think piece of butcher block Neal describes, so I'll do as Chuck Ransom has instructed and use some plywood (or hardwood if I can get it easily) to free-float the mount over the center of the bench. Jared

question for everyone who uses a ransom rest mounted to some sort of portable platform which you can clamp to a bench at the range: Chuck Ransom's instructions tell you to mount the rest on a platform of 3/4 or 1" plywood, and then on the bottom of this platform, nail & glue a 2" wide strip of wood at the front and back of the platform so that your mounting board, when clamped to the bench, only makes contact with the bench on these front and rear 2" wide strips. I have used one owned by another fellow who shoots at the same range as me - he just mounted his on a piece of plywood without the feet that are described in Chuck ransom's instructions. He seems to get acceptable results with this (his contender in .22 rimfire will deliver 25 yard .3-.5" groups with the ammo it favors from this rest arrangement). I would expect that Chuck's instructions should be followed since he actually built the thing, but wanted ask other folks what there experience has been before I go ahead and varnish up the mounting platform I am building. If anyone reading has to carry their rest out to a shooting range, I would be very interested in learning about what sort of portable mounting platform you use. Thanks for reading, Jared

Thanks for everyone's advice, appreciate the assistance. Jared

This will sound pretty familiar: After a couple of years reloading, I'm giving up on my lee Pro 1000 and finally investing in a Dillon. I figured I might as well buy an XL650 with the casefeeder so I can load up a few thousand rounds at a time. I'm probably not shooting more then 4K-5K rounds per year right now, but I'd like to try and do my loading in volume batches, instead of the 400-600 rounds at a time, which is all I have patience for right now with my Lee press. I've had a chance to look through the forum and a lot of other posts have given me some really good information about what I should buy (and where I should buy it - Brianenos.com). I'm left with a few questions that I haven't been able to answer: For most of the calibers I'm going to reload (.45 ACP, 9mm, .38 Special, .38 Super) I ended up purchasing the Lee carbide 3-die set, and then purchased the Lee factory crimp die separately. I've heard that Lee dies will work with the XL650, although since they are a bit shorter then Dillon's dies, I may need to place the locking ring on the bottom of the toolhead and purchase Dillon's thinner locking rings. FIRST QUESTION: does anyone know whether I can take the original Lee seat & crimp die and adjust it to function just as a seating die, and then use my factory crimp die as the, uh, crimp die? I've read <lots> on this forum about whether the Lee FCD is a good thing, don't mean to bring-up a topic that has been thoroughly worked over, rather - just trying to figure out whether the die I have been using to seat & crimp on my Pro 1000 can be used just as a seating die, so I can crimp with the FCD. SECOND QUESTION: I'd like to be able to use my Lee dies if I can, since it will save me $200. On the other hand, I'd like to get this one right from the beginning this time, rather then save a few dollars and b!tch about stuff not working right for another few years. Should I just tank my Lee sizing and seating dies just on general principle? Thanks for reading, Jared