I want a XL 650

[fumbles]

I have never reloaded. I only want to load .40 s&w (I shoot a little bit of 45 but less than 300 rounds a month)

So I picked the 650 and associated accessories. I don't have loads worked up, yet. I ordered two books on reloading (Lyman and The ABCs Of Reloading). I like to experiment and design stuff. I'm wondering if I covered all my bases or am buying senseless items for my needs. I would like your input on my selection..

Thanks

[Hi-Power Jack]

How many rounds of .40 do you shoot/year? You sure can't beat it - it's a GREAT reloader.

Don't forget a chrono, scale, calipers, brass sorter/tumbler. I don't see any senseless items

on your list.

[fumbles]

I haven't shot for a year yet, but 2000 rounds a months is my target.

I have calipers from other things. I have a scale, sorter and tumbler (edit and scale) included in my purchase. I haven't gotten a chrono.

Edited March 20, 2013 by fumbles

[Buzi]

I dont' know why anyone would need a low powder sensor. One would have to be pretty distracted and not manage to notice the powder hopper getting low.

If one is that distracted, one should not be operating a progressive press.

So I'd call that 'senseless'.

I'd be tempted to point that money into having a station 4 powder alert instead. Some would argue that too is extravagance unneeded and it is arguably true for those

of us loading short pistol case ammo. It is fairly easy to set up lights to see into the case as it flips by to eyeball powder level.

I finally splurged and got one and it , once set up properly and maintained, can give extra levels of confidence. However it can also give a false sense of confidence if

for some reason it does not go off when it is supposed to. I loaded for years without one.

Spend a lot of time on youtube. Bunches of good helpful vids there. Ultimate Reloader channel is a good one, and that is just one.

I'd get another book besides Lyman. Hornady and Speer would be good. A older Speer is fine too, might find one used at the right price. I'll never let go of my one from the 80's though, not selling it.

Suggestion, rather than just shooting for a target of blowin away 2000 rounds a month try incorporating a lot more dry fire exercises.

Rumor is top level shooters do a lot of it. Some say more than firing real ammo. Go figure. Something sillyi about trigger control or something I guess.

Enjoy your new blue

[Bob DuBois]

A few shooters here have set their 650 up for the small primers and load 40 and small primed 45. Don't need to change over the primer system and there's enough out there to make it worth while.

[tohm]

I find it handy to have a cheap Lee Press set up that I can throw a universal decapping die in or a bullet puller in case there is an issue. They are like twenty bucks and work for those one off items. Is the 40 brass going to be range pick up brass where you may want to resize it with a GRX die if you are not running a Glock?

[ZombieHunter]

I would DEFINITELY use a EGW/Lee Small-Base/U-Die for your sizing .. if you can find one now. You shouldn't need to run them through a GRX or similar process if you use one of those, as they size quite a bit lower than a typical die. IMO, U-Die's should be the standard operating dimensions of any die; it fixes nearly all the problems you'll run into in terms of case issues, setback, etc.

I dont' know why anyone would need a low powder sensor. One would have to be pretty distracted and not manage to notice the powder hopper getting low.

If one is that distracted, one should not be operating a progressive press.

+1 on this; waste of money.

I also originally bought a powder check for station several years ago.. but have since even ripped that out, as it's only detects essentially no powder at all or a double charge. It is physically impossible to double-charge on a progressive, unless a. you start pulling out cases and rearranging them or b. you have some sort of catastrophic failure with your charge bar, which I'm sure you'd end up spilling powder all over the place if that was the case and you'd stop well in advance of that happening (I hope). I've loaded ten's of thousands of rounds now without one, with zero issues.

Edited March 20, 2013 by ZombieHunter

[polizei1]

Ok here's my opinion:

Low Powder Sensor - Get rid of it, you just don't need it.

Dillon Case Lube - Use Hornady One Shot or Silicone Spray instead, but you can use it if you want.

CV-750 - There are cheaper options, I would search around...but that's up to you

CM-500 - Same as above

Competition reloading DVD - Why?

Case Gauge - Not needed, just use your barrel for a plunk test. Throw a random round in every once in a while to test.

Scale - Same as CV-750/CM-500

Powder Check - Don't need one, it's easy to just look into the case to see the powder.

Wrench - Not really necessary, assuming you have a wrench at home

Bullet Puller - Cheaper options (my RCBS was $20)

Primer Flip Tray - Cheaper options

Pickup Tubes - I would recommend getting at least 10 tubes.

And...with the money saved, buy a Mr. Bulletfeeder!

And...go to www.ultimatereloader.com for a ton of information. Gavin's video's are top notch.

Edited March 20, 2013 by polizei1