Dillon's new XL750

Looks like a 650 with the 550 priming system, and with some parts so that cartridge indexing is a bit smoother.
I may replace my 650 for this as the 650 is growing old now.
 
oneadam12 said:
Why would anyone want the 550 priming system over the 650?
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I do not personally own a Dillon press but I have read many, many complaints about the 650 priming system and tons of people saying the 550 priming system is better (unless you install mods on the 650, maybe). In fact, you're the first I've read that's said otherwise.
 
mactroneng said:
I do not personally own a Dillon press but I have read many, many complaints about the 650 priming system and tons of people saying the 550 priming system is better (unless you install mods on the 650, maybe). In fact, you're the first I've read that's said otherwise.
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The 650's rotary system isn't perfect but the 550's sliding system is pure garbage.

The new 750 looks like a cheaper version of the 650 but at a higher price point. It looks like a cost cutting measure by Dillon to me, too bad.
 
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As long as you clean the 650 priming system periodically you will never have issues. The 750 is interesting because of the "improvements" to the shell carrier but I really wish they would have left the priming system as it was. I want the smoother action on the shell carrier with the 650 priming assembly.
 
My 550's priming has been great. I polished all the contact surfaces which improved it even more. I was looking at the extended track bearing that supports the primer bar when extended back. It looks like it keeps everything aligned for a smoother operation.
 
mactroneng said:
I do not personally own a Dillon press but I have read many, many complaints about the 650 priming system and tons of people saying the 550 priming system is better (unless you install mods on the 650, maybe). In fact, you're the first I've read that's said otherwise.
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Let me be the second. I've owned both 550 & 650 so am familiar with both and cannot find a thing wrong with the 650 mechanism.
 
I've occasionally considered upgrading to a high-volume progressive from my old reliable 550 but the cost of having to get all the tool heads, conversion kits and add-ons again is daunting.
It's really just a case of the "wants" as my 550 has been fantastic and served my very well to date.
 
I have a 550 and the priming system has been flawless and safe. The 650 tries my patience every time I use it. A friend was using it, slow and carefully and the primer system blew up. It was quite dramatic as 20 to 30 primers all blew together, my ears are still ringing. In my research this problem is not the operators fault hence the reason they are going to 550 style. I have had a lot of problems with the press and the arrogant fellow at Dillon doesn't help much.
 
Anyone that has had a KBOOM with the 650's primer system will welcome the change. I have had 2 KBOOMs 1 with a full primer mag and 1 with 20 primers left. Shocking, deafaning, and tends to wake the entire household which is really inconvenient when the wife starts screeching and the dog barks and wakes the kids.

Apart from that, the 650 system is flawless.
 
I don't understand how people can blame the 650 for primer tube explosions. If your equipment is clean, maintained and configured properly it can't happen. I have yet to hear exactly what is causing primers to get set off, small primers in a large primer magazine? Primer magazine not fully seated? If your primers are sitting properly in the magazine only one can drop into the disk at a time, if it goes in sideways it's operator error. The 650 priming system is great. I wouldn't change it for the world. I have far more issues with my Super1050 priming mechanism than I do with the 650.
 
coreyd said:
I don't understand how people can blame the 650 for primer tube explosions. If your equipment is clean, maintained and configured properly it can't happen. I have yet to hear exactly what is causing primers to get set off, small primers in a large primer magazine? Primer magazine not fully seated? If your primers are sitting properly in the magazine only one can drop into the disk at a time, if it goes in sideways it's operator error. The 650 priming system is great. I wouldn't change it for the world. I have far more issues with my Super1050 priming mechanism than I do with the 650.
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I don't have a 650 so I can't speak about it's specific primer set-up but I would tend to agree with your statements: if it were that common an occurrence I think it would be discussed a lot more often. In fact this is the first time I hear anything significantly negative about a Dillon machine (other than certain powders not metering well but that's more related to the powder's properties than the machine design) and certainly the first time I ever here of a Dillon CSR being less than helpful and "arrogant". No doubt all machines have their little quirks but often those too can be negated by proper maintenance and periodic cleaning.
 
The reason for blow ups is bad design. It you can manage to blow up a primer on the 550 only one will blow, not the entire tube mag.
Primers can be totally mangled and if there is no shock involved they will not blow. Put a primer in a vice and slowly crush it (always assume it will blow for safety). As for arrogant I call them like I see them. I am not a Dillonite
But I do have 2 Dillon presses. The one that blew was brand new and spotless. The issue is not a single blowen primer, the issue is that if you do blow one it will take every primer in the press with it.
 
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Ian Robertson said:
The reason for blow ups is bad design. It you can manage to blow up a primer on the 550 only one will blow, not the entire tube mag.
Primers can be totally mangled and if there is no shock involved they will not blow. Put a primer in a vice and slowly crush it (always assume it will blow for safety). As for arrogant I call them like I see them. I am not a Dillonite
But I do have 2 Dillon presses. The one that blew was brand new and spotless. The issue is not a single blowen primer, the issue is that if you do blow one it will take every primer in the press with it.
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Both of those notions are false. I have had two primers detonate in my 650, (4 in the Lee Loadmaster that I used to use) not one of the two had any sort of blow to them nor did they ignite the rest of the primers...It can happen but it is false to say that it "always happens".

What they did have is either some foreign material under the primer while in the wheel or a "high" anvil from manufacture. Either way neither was stuck in any way, they were both drug thru the small clearance that the 650 mechanism provides for the primer to maneuver thru. When the anvil catches the mechanism it is scratched across the priming compound like you would a wooden match and ignites the same way ( I read somewhere long ago that the white striking compound on a match head is very close if not identical to what is used in priming compound).

I suspect the ones that detonate an entire stand of primers has the anvil catch right when it is exiting the mag tube and the fire is directed up the tube however a detonated primer does not necessarily have to detonate everything in the stand, both mine prove that, only the one primer went off but they were both a but later on in the feed wheel than at the mag tube mouth when they did go off.
 
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