Dillon XL 650 Accessories Recommendations

[Sithlord]

I'm acquiring a new Dillon XL 650 as an unbirthday present... Its use will, for now, be primarily 9mm (probably 3/4 subsonic, 1/4 supersonic). The 650 may be overkill for the volume I shoot, but my father is spending my inheritance on things I want now, so...... I'm not new to reloading, but am new to progressives...

I've read and re-read recommendations; my initial plan is to load at least 1k rounds before deciding on any additional accessories, however, any new, relevant recommendations would be helpful. I'm opting out of a case feeder or bullet feeder for now (I don't think my volume demands it).

I've seen reports that the basic tool head doesn't always seat primers to the proper depth and can, if not tightened properly, can cause powder spills, issues with bullet seating depths, etc, as the plate rotates. I've seen folks swear by powder check dies, and others that say it's nice but unnecessary as long as your eyeballs are working.

Of course, everyone has an opinion, I mean a back side hole, so I guess asking on any forum is dangerous. But this crowd has generally been, well, ..... Less back-side hole-ish.

Cheers!

[plant.one]

from a general perspective - a powder cop die is a very nice option on a progressive. not having a spot for one is why i got rid of my lee pro 1000's and upgraded to the LNL. havin an easy way to verify that there is the proper amount of powder in the case was a big peace of mind thing for me. Because of the nature of progressives, and the size of their respective toolheads - being able to visually verify the charge can be difficult at best in my experience.

re: a case feeder - these are ESPECIALLY handy for brass processing prior to loading. since i'm using stainless, being able to quickly punch out the primers with a universal decapper before they go into the tumbler is a HUGE plus. so having a case feeder in conjunction with a separate toolhead just for pre-processing quickly could be a major time saver in that area alone. paired along with the fact that it frees up a hand during loading where you only have to worry about seating a bullet will also speed life up for you.

i cant say how easy it is to adjust the case feeder on the dillon for different calibers, but if its basically the same process as on my hornady, the processing aspect alone could save you HOURS a year between your other calibers - especially if you do brass in good sized lots.

if you're not doing the stainless thing, well yea... nevermind

[Sithlord]

Yup, doing stainless.. But my volume (to date) allows me to use my rockchucker to deprime. But you make a good point; a separate toolhead and case feeder JUST for decapping would be a major advantage...

Maybe an inexpensive Lee 1000 with case feeder just for depriming... $200 - only 3x a new toolhead...

[polizei1]

I'll be honest, there's no point to run a 650 without a casefeeder. If you're not going to get one, you should have gotten the 550 instead.

That said, obviously I would recommend the casefeeder. I would also recommend a bullet feeder if/when your volume increases, or you want to save time loading. If you didn't already, make SURE you buy the spare parts kit, you'll need it. The 650 is a pretty easy machine to get setup. I would also highly recommend some sort of spent-primer catch (you can buy them or make your own very easily), and also get the anti-snap bearing kit. You'll probably also want to cut 1/2 coil off the spring. Also, it's a personal choice, but I have the strong mount and aluminum roller handle as well.

That said, now that I load 300 and 9mm with a case/bullet feeder and spare toolheads, if I could do it all over again, I would have purchased a 1050 from the beginning. The swaging and powder check are worth the added cost vs. the 650 IMO.

[dellet]

The 650 is pretty easy to use for Blackout. A lot of the problems you mentioned go away by having something in every station, it evens the stress on the shell holder. The bearing kit also helps a lot.

A powder check die helps, but the intent is to tell you that you have no charge or a double charge. It's just not that accurate to warn of a low charge.

Never had problem seating primers, unless I did not get a full push on the lever.

I do not de-prime on a progressive, it's just too dirty, and that is the biggest reason for a lot of the problems with sticky shell plates and other wear and tear on components in the machine.

For me separate tool heads with powder measures for different calibers was well worth the investment.
http://ballistictools.com/store/dillon- ... etent-ball

http://ballistictools.com/store/dillon- ... earing-kit

[WalterGA]

I load on two 650s. When loading handgun ammo, I only use one 650. I do use a bullet feeder for loading for handguns.

I wouldn't consider a 650 without a casefeeder. Just my personal opinion, but not depriming on the 650 would be absurd and silly. I use the kit with a plastic tube for catching spent primers. Nothing dirty about depriming on a 650.

For loading handgun brass, i like the rcbs lockout die better than Dillon's system.

I easily loaded 2000 .223s this afternoon.

Meant to alsp recommend the cheesy-looking Vibra Prime for loading primrr tubes. 86 the plastic adapters and hold the tube up into the device. I've loaded over 300k cases and that cheesy plastic tool still works great. If i had to peck at primers, I'd gibe up reloading!!

[plant.one]

Yup, doing stainless.. But my volume (to date) allows me to use my rockchucker to deprime. But you make a good point; a separate toolhead and case feeder JUST for decapping would be a major advantage...

Maybe an inexpensive Lee 1000 with case feeder just for depriming... $200 - only 3x a new toolhead...

the lee case feeder really kinda .... well ... sucks lol. i mean its alright, but caliber changes are a royal bitch, and you'd be dedicating a ~$200 press to decapping pistol only. Take the $200 and put it towards a real case feeder. you wont regret it.

i had a lee pro 1000 - two of them actually - and they did make respectable ammo, but even crankin... 250 rounds an hour was doing exceptionally well. and they're really not setup for easy caliber change - unless its a very similar caliber anyway. Like you could change from 380 to 9 to 40 relatively easy. but to load 38/357 you need a different feed slider. The pistol one just isnt tall enough and they like to knock the cases over. and going to 45 now involves switching the priming system as well.

and trying to process rifle would give you the same drama as trying to run 38/357 on the pistol case feeder slider.

[RDA]

Case feeder for sure with a 650, not much point in having a 650 without one IMO.

I like the roller handle, inline fabrication light kit, upgraded deprimer catch and live primer catch.

A powder check die helps, but the intent is to tell you that you have no charge or a double charge. It's just not that accurate to warn of a low charge.

I find it very easy to adjust the Dillon powder check system to detect fairly small variations in the charge (e.g., +- 0.5 grains in 9mm).

[dellet]

Case feeder for sure with a 650, not much point in having a 650 without one IMO.

I like the roller handle, inline fabrication light kit, upgraded deprimer catch and live primer catch.

A powder check die helps, but the intent is to tell you that you have no charge or a double charge. It's just not that accurate to warn of a low charge.

I find it very easy to adjust the Dillon powder check system to detect fairly small variations in the charge (e.g., +- 0.5 grains in 9mm).

For me a one grain window is just too big. For sure it will keep you safe, and I do use one, but it just won't keep you accurate. Probably should have been more clear on that.

[rjacobs]

case feeder as was mentioned. Bullet feeder really speeds things up as well.

Im not a fan of the powder check die. In my experience with Dillon throwers they are very consistent. A no powder situation sucks, but not the end of the world as long as you dont bang another round off(fairly hard to do in 9mm auto loaders, again, in my experience). Ive had a few squibs(NOT a dillon issue, but a dumb operator issue). A double charge, in 9mm, is pretty hard to accomplish even with a powder like Titegroup which is a very small loft powder. I load 4.3g with 115g RN in 9mm and a double charge will fill the case to the top and you will know it.

I would much rather have the bullet feeder in the spot that the powder check would go.

Ill also second buying all the stuff from Inline: roller handle, strong mount, light, etc...

I dont have a lot of experience on the roller bearings. I dont use them on the 1050's, but my old man recently put one on his 550b and it seems to smooth the operation of that machine out nicely.

Buy a BUNCH of extra primer tubes. I have 10 total for small pistol. That is the most time consuming part IMO and it takes me about 15 minutes to load up 10 primer tubes. I have read to many questionable things on the auto primer fillers to not want to waste the money on them.

Buy spare parts.