Dillon XL650, which accesories?

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Nipigon Jack

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Signed up for my black badge so I'm planning on going to Epps on Saturday morning to purchase a Dillon 650 so I can reload some serious numbers. My questions are
-Can I use another powder measure other than a Dillon
-If I can use another manufacturer's measure what if anything is a better unit that the Dillon?
-Dillon dies or other?

I'm new to reloading but from what I have read here nd elsewhere, buy the best you can afford up front and that's what I am trying to do.


Thanks,
Nipigon Jack
 
I've used the Dillion powder dump that came with my press since day one.

I've put through 30K+ and never had a problem.

You can use standard dies.

I added a third party seating die for tinkering with my loads.

If your looking for accessories, buy some more primer tubes.
 
If you try to jury rig a different powder measure , I can just about guarantee you will have nothing but headaches.Stick with the dillon , it is very good and designed for the press.The only accessory it needs is a micrometer style adjustment for the powder bar, and those are easy to find on ebay.If you are only loading one caliber though it is hardly necessary, as once you get it set, it is hardly ever going to need any adjustment unless you change powders often.
 
The Dillon powder measure works just fine once you replace the wrench-adjusted bolt on the powder bar. Even the MRDial graduated brass knob is a huge improvement, but the Uniquetek micrometer is the best solution.

Uniquetek provides an Excel spreadsheet that builds a calibration curve for each powder when you input measurements for a few settings over the range of the micrometer. Once you have the curve, you can input the charge you want and the spreadsheet will tell you where to set the micrometer. This will quickly get you close to the charge weight you want (usually +/- 0.1 grain in my experience), so all you need to do is a little fine tuning to get it right on.
 
If you're not going to buy the case feeder at the same time don't even bother with the xl650.

We had to return ours for warranty and it's a big waste of time running the 650 without the case feeder.
 
I ran my 650 without the case feeder and other accessories for the first season. This was not a good move, it is much, much better with the case feeder, bullet tray, strong mount & yes even the wrench holder.

The aluminum roller handle is very nice to have.

Dillon pistol dies are fine.

The Dillon powder measure is OK for W231 and similar powders. With Trail Boss it is marginal, the powder doesn't meter consistently because it is so light it sticks to the drop tube due to buildup of static.

I don't have the powder check but I do have a strong light that shines into the case at the bullet seating station, and I check that each case is charged before I add the bullet.

Snapshot
 
Good call Snapshot,

I forgot about lighting! I have a HID spot light on the press and a overdriven fluorescent fixture above the work bench. A well lit work space greatly reduces the chances of error.
 
NavyCuda said:
If you're not going to buy the case feeder at the same time don't even bother with the xl650.

We had to return ours for warranty and it's a big waste of time running the 650 without the case feeder.
Click to expand...

The 650 is a reasonable choice if you plan on buying the case feeder in the near future, while running it without the case feeder as a temporary stopgap. Buying the 650 and conversion parts off the bat will cost you less than buying a 550 plus conversion parts and then later buying 650 with case feeder. Dillon presses hold their value well, but you will still incur the costs of depreciation plus the hassle of selling the 550 setup.

That said, the 550 is a better choice if you don't plan on running a case feeder.
 
This is all great information. Thanks to all.
-I never thought about lighting as I had intended to get the powder check alarm.
Is a visual check of each case still recommended with that alarm set-up? I'll have to set-up something until I get some confidence with it. (or not if I'm havng issues)

After reading all of the responses, I might as well bite the bullet so to speak and buy the case feeder as well while Im there. I would have ended up getting it at some pont, I'm just a little conservative when it comes to racking up the Visa card.

I'm not sure I follow the couple of post regarding modifiing the powder measure but I'm sure that once I get it here and run some loads through it, I'll fgure out how to improve it. I'll be loadng for 3 calibers and plan on getting 3 full set-ups eventually so that caliber change are quick and easy.

I bought the Nosler reloading guide in preperation of getting the Dilllon ( that was all that was available locally )and find that they do not have any loads listed for 180 grain,40 S&W:(
Now I'm going to have to spend another $40 on another reloading manual and hope that it has someting in there that I can use
Any manual recommendations for pistols?
 
Powder check is unneeded with good lighting. In fact it gets annoying fast, especially when the rod gets hung up.

When you start loading, go slow and get used to what things look like. For example if you see a bunch of powder under the case plate, don't assume it's from spillage, check your primers.

Find a rythem and stick to it, even use a metronome to set your stroke times, the more consitant your strokes, the more consistent your loads. We run about 1000 of each caliber at a time and with the Dillion powder drop we see no relivant deviation in our QC checks.
 
Nipigon Jack said:
Signed up for my black badge so I'm planning on going to Epps on Saturday morning to purchase a Dillon 650 so I can reload some serious numbers. My questions are
-Can I use another powder measure other than a Dillon
-If I can use another manufacturer's measure what if anything is a better unit that the Dillon?
-Dillon dies or other?

I'm new to reloading but from what I have read here nd elsewhere, buy the best you can afford up front and that's what I am trying to do.


Thanks,
Nipigon Jack
Click to expand...

Call first to make sure they have one in caliber you want,,,I just picked 1 up there today :D and I think they only had 1 or 2 in stock
 
I've got a 650, and started off using it without the casefeeder, like many others. It gets very old, very quickly, having to manually refill the feeder tube. Other than the accessories folks here have mentioned, I would consider either the strong mount, or different design of my bench - so that ammo can feed directly into an ammo can :)

Once you have the proper dies, conversion kit and case feeder, the next best thing to buy is components...Lots and lots of components.
 
The most common load in my 650 is the "classic" 2.7 grains of Bullseye under a 148grn HBWC for 38 SPL. With the optional x-small powder bar, the Dillon measure is significantly more accurate than my Redding BR measure running the pistol powder metering insert.

And I concur with all the others - get the case feeder, and extra primer tubes.

And be sure to get the spare parts kit! When a spring goes sproing, you'll be glad you have the spare parts!

The tool-holder with the wrenches is a nice touch - but I had to mod the mount a bit to get it to fit with the ammo bin. Keeps the stuff organized and handy however.

If you are ordering from Dillon, check out their plastics - ammo cases, bins, etc..

The following are my opinions:

I wouldn't bother with the roller handle, it forces your wrist to be horizontal through the stroke. I like the ergonomics of the standard knob handle better, allowing the wrist to be at a 45 or so.
If you have sweaty hands and find the knob un-comfortable to use, put a sock over it.. SERIOUSLY!

I prefer the Dillon powder check for my application - it let's me complete the stroke, then deal with the powder issue.
I don't like the idea of binding up the press when the powder charge isn't correct, like the RCBS Lock-out does, and then having to back off on a stroke before it is complete.
I find I get all sorts of SNAFU's if that happens. But I'm putting tiny little powder charges in a big case, seating the bullet flush, and then putting a crimp on it. And I don't trust myself to visually inspect every case.

I also have a bullet feeder on it, and the sweet spot is 20/min. Stuff could get bent or broken if/when the press binds up at that rate.
 
We bought the roller aluminum handle and I agree it became uncomfortable within a few hundred rounds and I swapped back out to the ball handle. The other issue with the roller handle is the torque required to run rifle cartridges causes the handle to want to twist off axis becoming very uncomfortable.
 
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