gpp Posted February 28, 2016 Share Posted February 28, 2016 So I've never gotten into reloading because of the time investment required when I talked to my friends about how much time it takes for them to make x amount of ammo. The other day I was looking at the dillon 1050 and came across the mark 7 auto drive and that got me interested. The 1050 seems to be capable of producing as much ammo in an hour or two as I'd typically shoot in a weekend. Especially if I went with the autodrive which seems to be safe enough to walk away from once it is operating. But I keep reading recommendations that say they do not recommend a 1050 to someone new to reloading (even the recommendations from this site). Why is this? Would it be unwise for me to purchase one never having reloaded before? I'd probably use the machine to reload 9mm only. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dansedgli Posted February 28, 2016 Share Posted February 28, 2016 You shoot 2000 rounds a weekend? Yikes. Its fine if you aren't a dunce. I wouldnt walk away from the machine though. Sit there and check every case for a powder charge. Youd probably want to use it manually first if there is bugs to iron out. Then you might realise you dont need an autodrive. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hi-Power Jack Posted February 28, 2016 Share Posted February 28, 2016 The 1050 seems capable of producing as much ammo in an hour or two as I'd typically shoot in a weekend. WOW!!! You're shooting 2-3,000 rounds per weekend? :bow: How many rounds do you shoot/month, and how many hours/month can you spend reloading? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pjb45 Posted February 28, 2016 Share Posted February 28, 2016 My first and only machine is a 1050! I would not trade it for five 650s. They are good but the 1050 is a dream. I can read the manual so that solves a multitude of issues, plus I have a really smart friend-Pat Miles. If you have the money you won't regret it and if you decide to sell it, you will recoup a bucket of your investment. Personally, I like priming on the downstroke rather then on the upstroke. Generally, I can load a match's worth of ammo in about 12 minutes. The first few times you do conversions can be tricky but I just purchased extra tool heads which smiplified everything ( i can read not spell) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
al503 Posted February 28, 2016 Share Posted February 28, 2016 My first and only machine is a 1050! I would not trade it for five 650s. They are good but the 1050 is a dream. I can read the manual so that solves a multitude of issues, plus I have a really smart friend-Pat Miles. If you have the money you won't regret it and if you decide to sell it, you will recoup a bucket of your investment. Personally, I like priming on the downstroke rather then on the upstroke. Generally, I can load a match's worth of ammo in about 12 minutes. The first few times you do conversions can be tricky but I just purchased extra tool heads which smiplified everything ( i can read not spell) Paul is absolutely correct. I started on a borrowed 650 (because the owner moved up to 1050's and never used it again) and I quickly moved up to the 1050 also. Just make sure you familiarize yourself with all of the stations and what they do/perform. If you have a bud that uses a 1050, buy him a beer and have him show you what all the stations do. It won't take more than 15-30 minutes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zhunter Posted February 28, 2016 Share Posted February 28, 2016 I'd never leave a press while in an auto-drive mode. 1050 is a complex machine, just get to know it and all is good, there is no equal. Jumping in with a 1050 and Mark 7 is a big move. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gpp Posted February 28, 2016 Author Share Posted February 28, 2016 Wow thanks everyone for the replies... that was fast. I was a little nervous after seeing articles explicitly stating they wouldn't recommend a 1050 for someone who isn't al ready a seasoned reloader. I think I'll try one out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Smeeg Posted February 28, 2016 Share Posted February 28, 2016 Buy the 1050 Then add a mr.bullet feeder Then if you think you need it look into automation (I would look at the autobot) As others have stated there not meant to walk away from Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Smeeg Posted February 28, 2016 Share Posted February 28, 2016 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bradsteimel Posted February 29, 2016 Share Posted February 29, 2016 I've been loading on a 650 for years. Jus picked up a 1050 and am getting familiar with it. I've only loaded about 7k in the two weeks I've had it, but there IS a learning curve coming from the 650! I really hope to add the Mark 7 in the next couple of weeks, but will in no way consider leaving it unattended. There are just too many things that can happen that will cause problems. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beastly Posted February 29, 2016 Share Posted February 29, 2016 You aren't leaving it unattended long in any event because you have to kep refilling primers every 100 rounds! I have a 1050/MBF/Mark 7 and I assure you, even on a pretty well tuned machine, and decapped/preprocessed brass, there are still lots of things that can and will go wrong. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Slotbike Posted February 29, 2016 Share Posted February 29, 2016 (edited) You aren't leaving it unattended long in any event because you have to kep refilling primers every 100 rounds! I have a 1050/MBF/Mark 7 and I assure you, even on a pretty well tuned machine, and decapped/preprocessed brass, there are still lots of things that can and will go wrong. I agree! I have 2 1050's, a 650 and a 550! When the 1050 is working, it's working great. If anything goes wrong, and it can......it fails catastrophically. The primer system can be a chore to get working properly. If you add an auto drive, there is no way that you are walking away from the press. You will have to fill primers every 100 rounds and in auto drive mode, that could be less that 3 or 4 minutes depending upon the speed of the auto drive. I don't use an auto drive and can load a ton of rounds, even going very slow! Loaded 10,000 rounds of .45 last week alone! Edited February 29, 2016 by Slotbike Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beastly Posted February 29, 2016 Share Posted February 29, 2016 Priners every 100, bullets every 300+/-, cases every 500+/-, powder every 1000+/-. I installed a Mark 7 decapping sensor/spent primer catch tube to no emptying the primer cup any more. I still see failure modes like: - Upside down case - Case not inserted properly into shell plate - Bullet not dropped/seated properly (many causes) - Primer system jam - could end up with many unprimed cases - Primer sucked back in to to primer pocket and swaged into primer pocket - Improper case caliber (380, 9x18, etc.) I spent a lot of time tuning the machine, plus run a hard QC on my brass and preprocess all 9mm brass (size/decap, swage, U-die re-size) and that helps a lot bt there are STILL things that can go wrong. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jmorris Posted March 1, 2016 Share Posted March 1, 2016 So I've never gotten into reloading because of the time investment required... The other day I was looking at the dillon 1050 and came across the mark 7 auto drive and that got me interested. Best thread starter ever. There is a lot of stuff going on and it is important that you know what is going on and what/why things work or do not. The 1050 is also a little more complicated than just about every other preofresive press and a lot more than any single stage. Dillon hadn't invented the 1050 when I started reloading but if they did and I could have afforded it..,well I would have liked to have had it back then. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BeerBaron Posted March 2, 2016 Share Posted March 2, 2016 If the $ and learning curve is no issue then go for it. Be aware a setup 650 with case and bullet feeder easily runs 100 round in about 5min. That's pulling the handle manually. If you really shoot 1000+ rounds a week a 1050 is really the only choice though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
warpspeed Posted March 2, 2016 Share Posted March 2, 2016 I started on a 1050 and now load on a Square Deal. Go figure. I think the main reason they recommend against starting on a 1050 is just how complex the machine is and reloading, by it's very nature, is complex as well. Trying to learn both at the same time, though it can be done, is quite a task. If you have a mentor, like I did, then it is easy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trgt Posted March 2, 2016 Share Posted March 2, 2016 Do the 1050 with Mr Bullet Feeder and some LED lighting, and add the Mark 7 later. The problem with doing learning curve for both at the same time is that you won't easily know if you are having Dillon issue or Mark 7 issue. But do go visit a friend with a 1050 so you can get calibrated on the whole process, will make running yours a lot easier. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lefty o Posted March 2, 2016 Share Posted March 2, 2016 the reason everyone normally suggests to start on a single stage press and not a progressive is how incredibly fast you can do something wrong/dangerous on a progressive. spend a few hours loading on someone elses single stage, get comfortable with it, and above all read a few reloading manuals front to back before trying to make rnd 1. i suppose one could learn how to drive in a topfuel dragster, but its sure easier in your moms mini van ! lol Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beastly Posted March 3, 2016 Share Posted March 3, 2016 Do the 1050 with Mr Bullet Feeder and some LED lighting, and add the Mark 7 later. The problem with doing learning curve for both at the same time is that you won't easily know if you are having Dillon issue or Mark 7 issue. But do go visit a friend with a 1050 so you can get calibrated on the whole process, will make running yours a lot easier. What LED lighting did you use? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TJART Posted March 3, 2016 Share Posted March 3, 2016 I don't think anyone should ever start or use a single stage. But, I do think a turret is a great place to start. Primary because reloading is such a fine tuning game. Aside from powder drop issues, or lack there of, I think the most critical station is crimp. So many problems can happen w wrong crimp; feeding, accuracy, bullet damage, etc. If you don't know how to diagnose that on a machine, it'll be a painful experience. I know a lot of guys at my club that started on a progressive, then started having "gun" problems, when it was really improper seat/crimp. Especially.. ESPECIALLY if you're using mixed head stamps, and not sorting. So while you may not want a turret style to start, understand that it's not just machine problems you deal with in reloading. It's chasing data and tuning. Big machines are unbeatable once you have your recipe down. But you'll be in a world of hurt if you think it's plug and play... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gpp Posted March 4, 2016 Author Share Posted March 4, 2016 First off, I appreciate all of the tips and advice everyone. I have a couple of other questions I hope you will help me with... So I watched some videos on how the 1050 operates and two things that look very handy are the powder check alarm and the primer system early warning. Do you know if these come with the Dillon S 1050? Or are they optional accessories? The website doesn't say either way but does show them in the photos. I also realized that I don't have a decent scale for verifying powder load. I know that I want to go with an electronic scale for ease of use. And from looking at them online I am guessing that the trick is just to get close with the weight and then use standard deviation of velocity instead of being meticulous with a scale. But just to be sure I did not come to the wrong conclusion... here are a couple of questions about reloading scales: Since I've never reloaded before I am not familiar with how precise the powder charge needs to be as far as accuracy is concerned. Obviously the longer the range the more important it becomes but I am curious about general ballpark. How precise is the powder drop on a progressive press like the 1050? I've noticed that all of the reloading scales I am finding on the internet are advertised as +/- 0.1 grain and the scales are typically only large enough for one powder tray. A lot of the reloading recipes I've read give their powder load as XX.X grains (i.e. 04.6 or 26.4). So am I looking at the wrong scales? For the 1/10 grain recipe measurement to be meaningful the scale used would need to be +/- 0.01 or either be able to measure many powder trays at once to minimize the error such that the weight can be averaged so that the significant digits can be taken as reliable. Can anyone provide some guidance here? Second question about scales... some come with or offer optional calibration weights. But one thing I've noticed is that none of the scales seem to advertise a calibration interface. Are you guys using a calibration formula manually after taking the reading or is the digital calibration interface a given that doesn't need to be advertised? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TJART Posted March 4, 2016 Share Posted March 4, 2016 All I'm saying is, what seems complicated to you at this point (powder measure) is the least of your problems when running a 1050. Learn. How. To. Reload. First. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roons Posted March 4, 2016 Share Posted March 4, 2016 Get an electronic AND a beam scale if you can. I find the electronic can drift if you leave it on, but the beam scale is always consistent. I calibrate setup on both, but then just use the electronic for spot checks. You are not going to need a scale that is accurate to +/- 0.01, at least not in USPSA. I don't worry about the occasional drift of +/- 0.1 when loading .40 180g with 4.5WST at 1.180. However, it all depends on your load and how much pressure its generating (overpressure signs, running different powders, OAL, etc). This is where reloading knowledge comes into play. Just go slow and learn the details of reloading from beginning to end with examples of things to look for and be concerned about. 1050 is the way to go. I have a 650 and wish I would've just gone full bore into a 1050. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gpp Posted March 4, 2016 Author Share Posted March 4, 2016 All I'm saying is, what seems complicated to you at this point (powder measure) is the least of your problems when running a 1050. Learn. How. To. Reload. First. I am not exactly sure what you are saying with this. Do you mean don't worry about it and get going? Or do you mean don't use a 1050? I am trying to learn how to reload first. I just couldn't find the answer to that question anywhere. Perhaps I searched poorly Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gpp Posted March 4, 2016 Author Share Posted March 4, 2016 Perhaps I searched poorly I did... http://www.brianenos.com/store/be.scale_pd.html Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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