First Dillon on the way! Have Questions.

[atomicbrh]

I ordered my first Dillon from Brian this past Tuesday. A 650 with casefeeder. I have been using Lee stuff for years. There are 4 Handgun Matchs of different types in our area each month. We have shot rifle matchs for years but decided to jump into the Handgun matchs for many different reasons.

The Lee Classic Turret Classic is a good reloader for what it costs but the volume of Ammo required was killing me pulling that handle 4 times for each round. I am anxiously awaiting the arrival of this 650.

I was not pleased with the way the Lee Perfect Powder measure was throwing Powder. I use a .27 cc. microdisk to attempt to throw 3.1 grains of Titegroup. My throw measures between 2.9 and 3.3 grains which I feel is too wide a spread. I tried Accurate Arms Ball powders and the resulting spread was about the same.

Can I expect more accurate powder throws out of the Dillon euqipment?

If not what can I do to achieve the most accurate low volume powder throws from the new Dillon 650?

Bobby H.

[hankfan79]

Expect nothing but greatness! Lee vs Dillon is like Yugo vs Bentley.

[warpspeed]

My powder drops are never more than + or - 0.1gr and usually not that much.

I'd suspect that Titegroup will meter very close every time.

What kind of scale do you use ?

[Sarge]

What kind of scale do you use ?

Good point Warp. Remember that the measure can be off .1 or so either way per drop, the scale can be off .1 per drop. There are quite a few variables at work here. Put any Dillon press on a rock solid bench and use a good scale and you should easily be able to maintain .1.

[The_Vigilante]

I used to reload with a Lee Classic Turret and the Lee Pro Auto-Disk Powder Measure . I never had good luck with the Micro disc-always used the Lee Auto-Disk Adjustable Powder Charge Bar for small loads. Anyway have since moved on to the Dillon 550 and 650 and haven't had any problems with the Dillon Powder measure.

[Bob DuBois]

You'll be pleased with your purchase. Agree on solid bench and also feel it's worth the time to try and level the machine. A fender washer under one corner of the strong mount was all mine needed.

My 650 had a nasty habit of throwing spent primers and there's several ways to solve that issue. Mine is set up inside in an extra bedroom so the issue needed to be solved. Taping a water hose gasket to the top of the primer catch cup solved it for me only took a few minutes. There's other ways just do the search once you get the machine running if you have the same problem.

[Sarge]

Works great.

[kalaur]

One thing you may want to try with the powder drop is measuring more than one drop at a time. When I adjust my Dillon powder measures, I drop 5 charges and measure all 5. Doing this can make your measurements a bit more accurate since the .1 gr the scale could be off is over 5 charges, not just a single one. I generally use WST powder, which is a small flake, and across 5 charges it generally only varies about .02gr or so.

[bigbear]

my 550 has been really consistant with titegroup

[atomicbrh]

warpspeed, I am using a cheap MTM scale and a cheap plastic Lee beam scale now but the MTM seems very consistent on the tare and check weight. As soon as I "recover" from the 650 purchase I will buy a better scale.

The_Vigilante, I used the wrong term for my Lee Powder measure. It is a Lee Pro-Auto Disc Powder measure. The Lee Auto-Disc Adjustable Powder Charge Bar at its lowest setting would not throw this small volume of Tite-group for me. No choice but to go to the Micro-disk.

All the positive replies are good to hear.

Thanks,

Bobby H.

[XD Niner]

Check out the thread with the 650 Tips and Tricks. It will answer many questions you don't yet even have and will save you a lot of time.

Good choice by the way!

[sroe3]

My Dillon meters well. I dump the first 10 throws (loosens any compaction), then weigh the next 10 to get an average. I use 4 grains so I set 10 charges to weigh 40, +/- 0.5. I feel my loads are very consistent that way.

[Cotys]

I have a Dillon 650 and a Lee Classic Turret press. I love the 650 and only use the Lee for small batches of Rifle loads. I only need a few 270 or 450 Bushmaster hunting loads, those are done on the Lee. I also use the Lee when working up a new load and only do 10 or 20 to run through the Chrony. Everything else is done on the 650 and it is tons faster.

I find the Dillon powder throw fairly accurate. I do see variances when I jostle the machine, have a case hang up or add more brass to the case feeder. I usually measure the next 2 or 3 and then things go back to normal. For rifle loads, I do two runs on the 650 (with a die head set for each run). One run to resize and deprime (all the case prep work), then the second run to prime, throw powder and seat. That reduces the extra jostling that occurs during the resizing, that helps keep the powder throw accurate.

[Hi-Power Jack]

warpspeed, I am using a cheap MTM scale and a cheap plastic Lee beam scale now but the MTM seems very consistent . As soon as I "recover" from the 650 purchase I will buy a better scale.

Bobby, spend $70 & buy a Chrony - measure the velocity of those reloads:)

Jack

[benos]

Thank you Bobby.

Over many years, I loaded 100's of thousands of rounds on Dillon presses (550s and 1050s) with Clays, Titegroup, and Vit 320, and all of those powders would throw very consistently.

be

[atomicbrh]

I do chrono my loads on an ancient Master Chrony. Just switched from 147 grain PD(local company for me in Mississippi) to MG CMJ 147 grain. Had to go up to 3.2 grains of Titegroup with the MG CMJ to get up to my normal 130 PF for Production.

BE, my new 650 is throwing that 3.2 grains of Titegroup on the money every time. No detectable variation in weight with my cheap scales. I see no reason to go to any of the aftermarket parts for the powder measure.

Thanks for the great web store and customer service on this purchase of my 650. You made my whole family happy.

Bobby

[benos]

Thank you Bobby.

[Simon]

Bobby,

Going blue can be habit forming.You are going to love your 650