benos Posted January 7, 2004 Share Posted January 7, 2004 Some time ago, the ace, behind-the-scene design engineer, "X", left Dillon Precision to start his own company. Recently his sales manager, John K, also a former Dillon employee, contacted me about the new bullet feeder they were ready to release for the 650. I told him to send me some pics and I'd let him know if I was interested. Well, holy crap, this thing looks awesome; so yes, of course I'm interested. It's completely CNC machined... I'll let you look at the pics... The first thought, I'm sure, is "I want one," which is quickly followed by thought number two - "how much." And then the reality thought - "When can I actually get one?" As you can tell it is a quality unit - Retail is $779.00. "That's what a fully loaded machine costs," I said, and John said that was a common first reaction. But then he said if you checked the price for a "real" bullet feeder for a machine like the CamDex, they were in the $1200 - $1500 range. Okay, I guess you have to put in perspective. It is not a 650 machine, which is assembled from a mass array of tooled parts. It is a custom, in-house CNC machined unit. As soon as I saw the pics I decided I wanted to be involved as a dealer, but since they're not quite ready to ship yet, we haven't worked out the details on shipping, etc. (They plan to begin shipping right after the Shot Show, in late February.) But one way or the other we'll figure it out. If you'd like to put one on hold, meaning get yourself in line, in a specific caliber, a 50% deposit will do that. As of today they couldn't give me a price on caliber conversions, but I told them they better get on that pretty quick, because after I posted this, folks'd wanna know. If you're seriously interested, send me an email or PM and we'll get you on the list. be Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Merlin Orr Posted January 7, 2004 Share Posted January 7, 2004 So like - uh - how much faster will it make a 650? Faster than a 1050? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
benos Posted January 7, 2004 Author Share Posted January 7, 2004 Probably, the real benefit of the bullet feeder will be in consistency. Most all the variations in the machine's cycle occur due to manual bullet seating/positioning. Think of how happy the machine will be, cycling stroke after stroke, exactly the same every time. Every operation on the machine will improve - powder dispensing, case feeding, priming. And of course, it will have to go faster... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
davecutts Posted January 7, 2004 Share Posted January 7, 2004 brian: Don't make me buy a 650 damit, I'm already happy with the 550. S&!t where is my wallet. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pmd Posted January 7, 2004 Share Posted January 7, 2004 Brian, Thanks for the notice on this new machine. Any additional info on how this works? Do you know how flexible this unit is - will it works with differing bullet dia? .355, .356, .357 etc. Is this battery operated or plug in? Do you know what the selling price be to the end user - retail or ??? Do they need a test user - I'd be happy to try one out and post my findings . Thanks. Paul Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ErikW Posted January 7, 2004 Share Posted January 7, 2004 It looks like it uses a proprietary toolhead? And it doesn't use a traditional seating die? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Detlef Posted January 7, 2004 Share Posted January 7, 2004 of course, that would be an extremely interesting addition! What I've heard about 3rd party bullet feeders is always "unreliable in practice". Is this one different? How would we know? I guess I'd be willing to shell out a few 100 bucks for such a device if it was reliable... $800 is too much, but $300 or so would be tempting... --Detlef Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PistolPete Posted January 8, 2004 Share Posted January 8, 2004 That looks aweseome!!! Talk about saving time in reloading. $800 is a bit steep for my blood to go a little faster. If it was 1/2 that price I would def. get one. Who knows though as much as I reload it could actually be cost effective. Def. looks awesome!!! Let us know how it works whoever gets to use it. Pete Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EricW Posted January 8, 2004 Share Posted January 8, 2004 $300 ain't gonna happen until they can get some injection molds built - which will probably cost them $250K+. Frankly, for what it will do it's worth it. Unless you're running military brass why would you buy a 1050 now when you could get a press that does it all for the same price with a lifetime warranty? I'll make one bet: that Dillon reconsiders the lifetime warranty on the 650. Just looking at the mechanism, I'll bet it's rock-solid. Where you get into issues feeding parts is with flexible feeding tubes. With the rotary magazine, once you tune it in and lock the settings, I'll bet it's a slam dunk. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kimel Posted January 8, 2004 Share Posted January 8, 2004 I wonder how sensitive it will be to various bullet profiles. I have spoken to folks that built bullet feeders for the Camdex and other assorted machines and they told me, when pressed, that their feeders were optimized for one type of bullet profile. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheOtherErik Posted January 8, 2004 Share Posted January 8, 2004 I wonder if they have rounds per hour data? I bet you could easily do 1300+ very expensive. wonder if you can change the caliber specific parts or would you have to buy a whole other assy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TRG65 Posted January 8, 2004 Share Posted January 8, 2004 Are there any plans for a model that can work with the 1050? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wide45 Posted January 8, 2004 Share Posted January 8, 2004 2nd the interest in one to fit a 1050 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Badkarma Posted January 8, 2004 Share Posted January 8, 2004 Hey... I'll third the question. Reloading gets tired real fast when your bullet feeding hand develops a cramp. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rob Boudrie Posted January 8, 2004 Share Posted January 8, 2004 Definitely interested in getting one of these babies for a 1050 if such a beast becomes available, and shipment starts. Brian - who holds the 50% deposit - you or the manufacturer? This obviously effects the "risk factor", since giving a deposit on for a product not yet manufactured places the buyer in the position of "unsecured creditor for a start-up firm". Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Detlef Posted January 8, 2004 Share Posted January 8, 2004 assuming this thing works, who makes an explosion-safe electric motor mechanism to replace the manual lever action? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shred Posted January 8, 2004 Share Posted January 8, 2004 Cool! I want one. For my 1050.. I'll even put down $ on one if it's in the making. The only other bullet feeder I know of for the 650/1050 series that works half decently is the MA-Systems and it's over $1K.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
benos Posted January 8, 2004 Author Share Posted January 8, 2004 I asked about one for the 1050 - there is not one in the works at the moment, but if the 650 model goes over well, then they'll consider it. That was one of my first questions, but then after thinking about I realized that there are a boatload of 650s out there compared to 1050s. After looking at the pics and knowing X is behind the thing, I don't doubt that it will work. I plan to go look at it soon, so I'll update you after that. The price is retail/"end user." As a dealer, I would hold the deposit. be Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shred Posted January 8, 2004 Share Posted January 8, 2004 Ahh.. I see the market appeal of the 650 platform, but was hoping it was more or less machine independant. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dpeters8445 Posted January 8, 2004 Share Posted January 8, 2004 Wow, This looks like a really nice unit. My question is, exactly where in the stroke is the bullet set into the case. This worries me because when the cartridge cases are pretty full to the brim with powder, I currently set the bullet onto the case by hand between the powder station and the seating station to prevent any powder from spilling. How is the bullet feeder going to set the bullet onto the case with that easy touch so there is no powder spilage? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ErikW Posted January 8, 2004 Share Posted January 8, 2004 If I were to make a bullet feeder, I wouldn't drop the bullet down on the case. I would hold the bullet up near the die and let the case come to it. I'll betcha that's what they did. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dirtypool40 Posted January 8, 2004 Share Posted January 8, 2004 Let me be the hundredth voice saying 1050, 1050!!! Remember they are a more expensive machine to begin with and folks willing to shell out the bigger bucks for the 1050 will want something like this. Sign me up for one to feed .40 JHPs into an old 1050 and just let me know when and where you want the deposit. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hey QuicksDraw! Posted January 8, 2004 Share Posted January 8, 2004 Are you telling me that if I train a circus monkey to pull the handle I can sit back at a safe distance and smoke a stogie whilst I supervise!? Oh Yea. I’m definitely interested. I think I’ll get a Lemur, or maybe a Grey-Cheeked Mangabey, they don’t look like they eat too much and both have nice long arms for their body size. Eight hundred dollars is lot of money, see if you can talk them down. Let us know when you take a look and make sure it works O.K. Chim-Chim and I would be interested for my 650. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ironman Posted January 9, 2004 Share Posted January 9, 2004 One more vote for this trick setup for the 1050. Jim Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Dunn Posted January 9, 2004 Share Posted January 9, 2004 1050! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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