Dillion XL 650 - first 250 bullets user report

M

mdragon9

Regular
Rating - 100%
7   0   0
Location
BC
There always seems to be a continous series of questions on various reloading machines so I thought I'd add a short report on my first experiences with the Dillon XL 650.

I'd classify myself as an moderate-volume beginner reloader. I've used a basic C-press as a teen to reload .308 rifle, and this last year started reloading pistol, first with a Lee 1000, then with a Lee turrent, then with a used Dillon 550. Of those three, only the Dillon 550 was successful for me and I've done about 5000 rounds on it alone. I currently only load 2 calibres, 45 ACP and 45 Colt.

I'll try not to get this hijacked into a discussion of merits of one machine vs another the 650 features seem better suited to me and leave it at that. So far this is proving true.

I followed the advice of others, particularly from the site http://www.brianenos.com/pages/dillonfaqs.html and bought the 650 with the strong mount base, case feeder, roller handle, powder check, bullet tray and quick change calibre kit. I purchased it from MBGardner rather than direct from Dillon.

Once everything arrived, I started setting it all up. They come pretty much pre-assembled and configured for the calibre you order so setup really involved just mounting the options. Other than installing dies I had it up and running withing 30 minutes. I had to make one clearance adjustment for the finished bullet ejection slide, but they warn you about that in the manual.

Unfortunately, Murray didn't have a .45 calibre system in stock and rather than wait I took a .40 S&W and ordered the calibre change kits instead thinking there was a strong possibility of needing the .40 capability in the future anyways. So the first thing I had to do was a calibre change.

The calibre change involves changing the shell plate, then if needed changing the primer, and finally if needed changing the case feed size. I had to do it all to go from .40 S&W to .45 Colt but it was all straight forward and only took about 15 minutes to do the first time. Obviously the tool head would have to be changed to swap the dies and powder feed but having purchased the quick change kit that will only take a few seconds to do in the future.

Next step was to install and setup the dies, that's not much different than on any press. Only issue I had was that my RCBS 45 Colt crimp die just barely gets close enough to the shell plate to make a good crimp.

Final step was the usual fiddle-fart of setting powder charge, double checking bullet depth, loading powder, loading primers etc. etc. then I dumped brass into the case feeder and bullets into the bullet tray, took a deep breath and pulled the handle. Then I remembered I had one more adjustment to make which was the new powder check device! It took a few more minutes to sort that out, its pretty simple and "fool" proof.

After that, things went smoothly, I had to stop to reload primers and empty the finsished catridge bin but basically sat for an easy 45 minutes cranking out 250 rounds of ammo. The case feeder is amazing, and I might give up the powder check for a bullet feeder some time in the future.

I took it slow and also .45 Colt is long ammo to reform, but this is the first machine I've used that I can actually see myself cranking out huge volumes of ammo reliably, quickly and without being pissed off at the end of it...note those last few words.

There is a little bit of play in the tool head and flex in the shell plate carrier. About the same as what is in the 550 I have. I've read that reported by others also. It's repeatable and consistent so the rounds coming out are seated and formed consistently, at least within the context of the quality of bullets, brass, calibre and purpose that I have.
It runs smoothly, case feed was flawless, primer feed was flawless, calibre change was simple although there were a number of steps and indexing was perfect. 45 Colt is one of the biggest hand gun cartridges to handle and I had no problem pumping out round after round.

Anyways...hope this helps the next person looking for feedback on a Dillon XL 650
 
Your thread couldn't have come at a better time. I'm looking to start reloading on a kit I'll be sharing with a friend. For reference, I'm target shooting 308 Win; I wanted to do an RCBS setup that has the case prep, priming, poweder loading, seating etc. in separate steps. My goal, of course, is accuracy and apparently I can get match grade ammo from the setup I plan to get. My friend is more interested in cranking out 800 rds/hour...

That being said, can these high-volume systems make match grade rifle ammo? Or does the latter require that a step-by-step process be used? What is the quality of bullets created comparable to in terms of factory ammo types?

Thanks for the info.
 
X2 great thread, I plan to get the Dillon 650 XL perhaps as soon as next week. I'll be loading for six calibers: 9mm, .357Mag, 40S&W, .44Mag, .45ACP & .223REM. 7.62x39 is cheap enough when buying the surplus stuff.

I might give up the powder check for a bullet feeder some time in the future
Click to expand...

Is this true you need to give up a spot for the KISS bullet feeder? I intended to buy the KISS system later. Does Dillon make a single bullet seat & crimp die?
 
M_A_T_T said:
X2 great thread, I plan to get the Dillon 650 XL perhaps as soon as next week. I'll be loading for six calibers: 9mm, .357Mag, 40S&W, .44Mag, .45ACP & .223REM. 7.62x39 is cheap enough when buying the surplus stuff.



Is this true you need to give up a spot for the KISS bullet feeder? I intended to buy the KISS system later. Does Dillon make a single bullet seat & crimp die?
Click to expand...

From what I understand for the KISS system yes, for the GSI system no. Not sure what kind of support there is for the KISS system right now as their web site says they aren't accepting orders so you can only get it through places with existing stock. From what I understand the GSI system replaces the stock tool head so you keep all your stations.
 
M_A_T_T said:
X2 great thread, I plan to get the Dillon 650 XL perhaps as soon as next week. I'll be loading for six calibers: 9mm, .357Mag, 40S&W, .44Mag, .45ACP & .223REM. 7.62x39 is cheap enough when buying the surplus stuff.



Is this true you need to give up a spot for the KISS bullet feeder? I intended to buy the KISS system later. Does Dillon make a single bullet seat & crimp die?
Click to expand...


matt, you only loose the powder checking station. not something that one really needs. the KISS is the only way to go :}
 
redman said:
Your thread couldn't have come at a better time. I'm looking to start reloading on a kit I'll be sharing with a friend. For reference, I'm target shooting 308 Win; I wanted to do an RCBS setup that has the case prep, priming, poweder loading, seating etc. in separate steps. My goal, of course, is accuracy and apparently I can get match grade ammo from the setup I plan to get. My friend is more interested in cranking out 800 rds/hour...

That being said, can these high-volume systems make match grade rifle ammo? Or does the latter require that a step-by-step process be used? What is the quality of bullets created comparable to in terms of factory ammo types?

Thanks for the info.
Click to expand...

I take it you are thinking of the RCBS Pro 2000? I don't have any experience with that machine but I suspect any progressive is going to have similar issues with movement in the shellplate and toolhead system which is going to affect the consistency of reforming the case, seating depth of the bullet, bullet taper or crimp, and how well the primer is seated. The other big one of course is accuracy of powder charge. Obviously all of those are important when making match grade ammo.

I personally think you can use a Dillon 650 for match grade rifle ammo when its set up properly and if you do a google "using a dillon 650 for match grade ammo" you find lots of info on tweeks for the 550 and 650 on this subject, mostly seems to do with clamping the tool head down and polishing the powder bar, but I don't shoot rifle matches anymore so I can't give you any first hand experience on results

By the way, what ever people like to argue, we can't really get "factory quality" ammo out of any home reloading outfit, whether its a progresive or a good old C-Press, we just can't meet the same quality standards, but we can get ammo thats better suited for our purpose. Ammo thats more accurate or cheaper or has less recoil or just isn't even made anymore.
 
yes, i have the KISS and i got it through Frank K in Alberta. unfortunately KISS is going through some sort of reorganization (rumours are is that it has been bought) so they are not taking new orders.

I have a friend who got the GIS and he hates it. it jams regularly. when he saw my set up he was very impressed.
 
My son has run over 700,000 308/7.72 through his 650. The case feeder is great. He only loads new, primed cases, so priming is not an issue. Just keeping the brass and powder hoppers topped up.

he gets 500 to 600 per hour. uses ball powder to get near perfdect powder uniformity. If there is a glitch, dump the next two cases so the powder returns to normal. After a glitch the powder charge is heavy.
 
XL650 just fine for match rifle ammo

I own one of the earliest XL-650s that Dillon made (in 1994 Ganderite's son loaded 35,000 rounds of .308 match ammo on my XL-650, before he got his own!).

That being said, can these high-volume systems make match grade rifle ammo? Or does the latter require that a step-by-step process be used? What is the quality of bullets created comparable to in terms of factory ammo types?
Click to expand...

Yes, they most certainly can. I load about 1000 rounds per year of .308 target ammo, which is fully capable of winning a national or world championship match.

Most of the play and slop that you'll find in an XL-650, or any press, or any machine for that matter, does not matter, and is made a non-issue by setting up your dies, tools, and process.

I'll mention that when loading .308 match ammo I tend to use my XL-650 as an "auto-fed single stage press". Here are the three different operations I'll do on my XL-650:
  1. (if needed) full-length size my brass. I then need to run my lubed cases through my vibratory cleaner in order to degrease them (corncob and a tablespoon or two of varsol).
  2. I de-prime, prime, and neck-size my brass
  3. seat bullets
I mostly use Varget, which is a stick powder, and prefer to throw powder charges with my bench-mounted Redding BR-30 powder measure, rather than using the Dillon press-mounted measure (though I am happy to use Dillon's measure for ball powders). For competition shooting out to 600m I am happy to use these charges as-thrown. For long range ammo, I will often weigh each powder charge and andjust it to within 0.1 grain.
 
redman said:
Your thread couldn't have come at a better time. I'm looking to start reloading on a kit I'll be sharing with a friend. For reference, I'm target shooting 308 Win; I wanted to do an RCBS setup that has the case prep, priming, poweder loading, seating etc. in separate steps. My goal, of course, is accuracy and apparently I can get match grade ammo from the setup I plan to get. My friend is more interested in cranking out 800 rds/hour...

That being said, can these high-volume systems make match grade rifle ammo? Or does the latter require that a step-by-step process be used? What is the quality of bullets created comparable to in terms of factory ammo types?

Thanks for the info.
Click to expand...

I guess alot depends on what you consider target ammo. I have a Dillon 650 and use it to load 308 for shooting out of my M14s and for battel rifle accuracy it is up to the task.
For true match quality ammo it is no where near precise enough.
For any of my match rifles, single stage press and acculab scale with match type dies is what delivers the best accuracy for me.
Progressive reloading presses of any make by necessity have tolerances that just are not there in a single stage press.
There is no possibility of adjusting shell holders in a progressive to achieve closer to actual headspace dimension as can be done with a single stage press.
The Dillon powder throws are very good for powder throws, but will never rival the acuuracy of trickling to an exact weight in each load.
The Acculab scale I use weighs to the 100th of a grain, a powder throw will get you within about plus or minus 1/10th so a total of 2/10s variation is possible. For service rifle or handgun shooting that is plenty accurate, but for benchrest or real long range work, not even close.
Over the years I have tried almost every progressive available, hands down the Dillon 650 is my favorite for spray and pray or plinker ammo. Once set up they run flawlessly.
So basically you have fast reloading of fair to good quality ammo, or slow but uber precise, not both.
 
I agree with ATR. My 650 and 1050 are great for large volumes of any handgun ammo while watching Family guy during a reloading session. I can identifly any problem just by feel on my progressives. For Rifle ammo, I ersonally use 2 RCBS single stage presses, Hornady powder trickler, Lee Collet dies, Dillon electrionic scales to get within 1/10 of a grain, and a lot more of my time to pump out high quality rifle ammo every time. You just simply need to be more involved with the reloading of rifle calibers if you want to get positive results. I made up .308 ammo on my 650 before for my 14, and it was quick, just not as accurate or precise as my "handloads"
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom