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New to me XL650


Flatwater Monte

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Howdy pards! 

I just inherited a Dillon XL650 from my brother in law who passed last fall. He was deep into the 3 gun sport, (actually invented and marketed shotgun shell holders for their game), and like all shooting sports, reloaded his ammunition. I have been reloading on my Hornady Lock n Load AP for the last year or so, before that it was an RCBS Rockcrusher Single Stage (that was fine when it was just me shooting, but we have four shooters in the house now). My question for you fine folks is, is it worth purchasing the Dillon dies for this new machine, or do the RCBS dies I have work as well in it as they did in the LNL? I am thinking that adding a separate crimp station would be nice on this machine, as the LNL didn't have enough stations for a crimp and a powder check. Also, what crimp die do you use? The Dillon, Lee, etc? 

 

Thanks in Advance!

FM

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I run Dillon dies on my 650, but your RCBS dies should work fine.  The final station on my 650 is the crimp, and it has a Dillon die.  If you're reloading multiple calibers the tool head is worth the money, IMHO.  I have one set up for 38 special and one for 32 H&R mag.  Pull a couple of pins, detach the emergency powder return bar and the whole thing comes out.  Change the plate in my shell feeder, the shell plate and a couple of small things and I'm ready to go.  Takes about 5 minutes.  I like that option because I can get all my dies set the way I like them and then not have to fool with them anymore when I switch calibers.

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I use RCBS dies in my 650 and they work just fine.

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Your dies will work. Great machine and if you don't have the case feeder, a great addition to speed things up.

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16 minutes ago, Smoken D said:

Your dies will work. Great machine and if you don't have the case feeder, a great addition to speed things up.

 

It does have the case feeder as well! Really looking forward to the speed which I can reload on this one. 

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Your dies will work just fine, the advantage IMHO for the Dillon dies is that you can clean them without having to remove the whole die, the innards are held in with a clip.  +1 on the tool heads really speeds changes up.  Couple of things to remember about the 650 don't over tighten the plate screw and remember to tighten up the set screw that holds the plate screw from tightening up when your running the machine.  Grease and oil are your friends.  Have fun!

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My experience is that the Dillon Seating die will be more forgiving to any angle that the bullet falls to prior to the die hitting it. Some of the dies need the bullet to be very straight when the die hits it to avoid a jam. As I said, the Dillon is very forgiving of this "falling over" angle. Good luck!

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I'm going to go a bit off topic here.  Before you do anything I would suggest you consider sending it back to Dillon for a tune up.  No telling what your BIL (Sorry for your loss) has done with it over the years.  I'm of the opinion the pennies spent sending it back to Big Blue are very well spent in that the machine will be like new upon its return to you. In case you didn't know, their No BS Warranty is for the life of the machine, even if you're not the original owner. 

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Hey Monte - sorry for your loss.

 

I love my 650 and got Dillon dies for mine even though I had RCBS cowboy dies for my 38s.  I like the ease of cleaning the Dillon dies, and the separate seat and crimp dies.  I also use an RCBS Lockout die which will 'lock up' the press in the case of a double charge, or no charge.  Not likely it will detect a slight variance in the powder drop, but that's not what I worry about.

 

For 38 special and 45 Colt I just use the Dillon dies for crimping.  For 45 ACP I use a Lee Factory Crimp die.

 

I'd love to have a second press so I could leave one set up for Large primers, and one for small.

 

Have fun, and hope to see you down the trail soon.

Grizz

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Your basic questions have been answered.  Yes.  Your RCBS dies will work.  However:  I do recommend separate seating and crimping dies.  Also well worth the money for a "Powder Check" die and alarm if it doesn't already have one.  PLUS ONE for sending it back to Dillon for a look see.  Also well worth giving Dillon a quick call and asking for the manual on the machine.  I'm basically lazy so I load on TWO Dillon 650s.  One set up for Large Primers and sone for small primers.  I have about 8 or 9 tool heads with dies for different cartridges along with dedicated powder measures.  5 minute to change calibers.  Your gonna like Big Blue.

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2 hours ago, Shooting Bull said:

I'm going to go a bit off topic here.  Before you do anything I would suggest you consider sending it back to Dillon for a tune up.  No telling what your BIL (Sorry for your loss) has done with it over the years.  I'm of the opinion the pennies spent sending it back to Big Blue are very well spent in that the machine will be like new upon its return to you. In case you didn't know, their No BS Warranty is for the life of the machine, even if you're not the original owner. 

 

That is some very appreciated and sound advice! I am going to contact Dillon to find out how to send it to them! 

 

1 hour ago, Grizzly Dave said:

Hey Monte - sorry for your loss.

 

I love my 650 and got Dillon dies for mine even though I had RCBS cowboy dies for my 38s.  I like the ease of cleaning the Dillon dies, and the separate seat and crimp dies.  I also use an RCBS Lockout die which will 'lock up' the press in the case of a double charge, or no charge.  Not likely it will detect a slight variance in the powder drop, but that's not what I worry about.

 

For 38 special and 45 Colt I just use the Dillon dies for crimping.  For 45 ACP I use a Lee Factory Crimp die.

 

I'd love to have a second press so I could leave one set up for Large primers, and one for small.

 

Have fun, and hope to see you down the trail soon.

Grizz

 

I am also looking forward to having two progressive presses as well. Mainly one for pistol rounds (the 650) and one for rifle rounds .223, .308 .240 (LNL). 

 

32 minutes ago, Colorado Coffinmaker said:

 

Your basic questions have been answered.  Yes.  Your RCBS dies will work.  However:  I do recommend separate seating and crimping dies.  Also well worth the money for a "Powder Check" die and alarm if it doesn't already have one.  PLUS ONE for sending it back to Dillon for a look see.  Also well worth giving Dillon a quick call and asking for the manual on the machine.  I'm basically lazy so I load on TWO Dillon 650s.  One set up for Large Primers and sone for small primers.  I have about 8 or 9 tool heads with dies for different cartridges along with dedicated powder measures.  5 minute to change calibers.  Your gonna like Big Blue.

 

I did order a Dillon crimp die this morning, based off of everyone's suggestions. I think I will run with the RCBS dies for the time being, and will upgrade to Dillon dies when the opportunity presents itself. I also found the manual online and have a printed copy setting on my desk right now. 

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Dillon 650 Users Manual

 

I could not have set up my case feeder without the user's manual.  Uniquetek has some useful enhancements for 650s you should check out.  I find the stop switches handy when setting up my press and clearing malfunctions.

 

Keep the Rockcrusher.  It's handy for odd jobs and loading small lots of ammo.

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12 minutes ago, Edward R S Canby, SASS#59971 said:

Dillon 650 Users Manual

 

I could not have set up my case feeder without the user's manual.  Uniquetek has some useful enhancements for 650s you should check out.  I find the stop switches handy when setting up my press and clearing malfunctions.

 

Keep the Rockcrusher.  It's handy for odd jobs and loading small lots of ammo.

 

Thanks for the link, it is the one I found this morning as well. I would never get rid of my Rockcrusher! I use it to deprime all of my cases and when I am loading application specific ammo, the single stage works fantastic. My two sons, father and I went to south Texas earlier this year to hog hunt. My father is very recoil sensitive, so I worked him up 223 rounds using solid copper TSX bullets for his AR. They worked fantastic. They were 72 grain rounds and the OAL on them was just shy of mag capacity, so setting up a progressive press to make 50 rounds was silly. 

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My first "Blue" machine was a used Square Deal and I had a devil of a time with the primer feed.  I called Dillon to send it back, I paid the shipping out there and they repaired and shipped it back for free.  Found out that one of the guys there takes the machine completely apart, cleans everything, changes anything that even looks like it's worn, lubricates it and sets the whole thing up for whatever caliber you want to load.  Well worth the shipping costs.  Also found their spare parts kit to come in mighty handy when something breaks during a loading run, they even replace the parts in the kit for free.

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8 hours ago, Flatwater Monte said:

I am also looking forward to having two progressive presses as well. Mainly one for pistol rounds (the 650) and one for rifle rounds .223, .308 .240 (LNL). 

You can do all of that on one press.  You just need the tool heads pre set up for each load or caliber.  The only real reason to have a second press (unless you have four arms and two brains to run them simultaneously) is to set them up for different size primers.  Primer size change is a bit time consuming-- takes about 20 min. 

 

 Also, get yourself a good set of ball-head Allen wrenches.  You'll understand why when you start making machine adjustments. 

 

Finally, the 650XL is a great machine, but it is necessary to get it into good adjustment and keep it there.  Plan on having a few set up problems to solve and learn from as you get into it.   The Dillon tech staff are very helpful (but usually very busy on Mondays) and this forum is a great place to get trouble shooting questions answered.  You'll find very good advice here from folks who've had the same problems and solved them.  So don't ever be shy to ask.  

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