Creeker, SASS #43022 Posted February 25 Posted February 25 Ok, after 25 years in this game - I'm building a new reloading room and if the room is new; I need a new press. I've looked and considered a myriad of preses from the Hornady AP "Ammo Factory" to the new Frankford Arms press, but at the end of the search; the quality on the Frankford seems suspect and the Hornady is nearly the same cost as the Dillon. So I'm caving and drinking the blue kool aid. Dillon XL750 for 38 special. I know I want the case feeder but after that there are so many "options" that jack up the price and I don't know what I don't know (excepting I know I have no desire to drop 3k for their "Preconfigured Deluxe Press"). What do I NEED? What do I WANT? And why? Or should I just call Dillon and have them walk me thru it? Lastly - order direct from Dillon or is there a better deal out there? Quote
Toranado, SASS # 58447 Posted February 25 Posted February 25 Great deal going on right now from an email I get from them. Buy the 750 and the essentials kit ( roller handle, bullet tray, strong stand) and get the case feeder for free Get the 38 conversion and carbide dies and your all set 4 Quote
Hoss Posted February 25 Posted February 25 Yea, I got the email on the Dillon’s deal. Basically a free case feeder. But a Dillon 750 without a case feeder is like a car without tires! get a spare parts kit. Yes Dillon will replace broken parts, but this way you don’t have to wait. get the tool kit. Very handy. pass on the primer filler. Try one of these https://www.doublealpha.biz/us/primafill well worth the money. Pecking primers is my least favorite thing about reloading! 1 Quote
Badlands Bob #61228 Posted February 25 Posted February 25 The Dillon XL750 is a very capable press. Setting it up is not cheap but you only have to cry once. Get an extra 4 pack of small primer tubes. The roller handle is nice. The case feeder with the large pistol disk is also needed. There are any number of other additions and improvements that you can get from ebay. Spent primer capture tube, powder measure quick release, primer stop switch, bearing kit to smooth up the cartridge disk. A powder check is also nice. I use the RCBS lockout die but Dillon makes one too with an audible alarm. The bullet tray is also useful but not entirely necessary along with various lighting systems. Welcome to the Blue addiction. 1 Quote
Gateway Kid SASS# 70038 Life Posted February 25 Posted February 25 I have a 38 special dedicated 750 with case feeder. I have been told that I am somewhat “frugal”. There must be hundreds of “cool” things that some consider necessities that I see little value to until you have used the machine a while to see what YOU call necessities. 1. machine, obvious I know 2. Case feeder, kind of defeats the purpose of automation to hand feed cases rather than letting the machine do it for you. 3. light system to see into the case for adequate powder. I use kmssquared lighting systems Lights and really like them. Easy to install and last a long time. 4. I load sitting down at the 750 so don’t need strong mount. My 650 is used standing up so it does use the strong mount. Your call. 5. Powder check, I use Dillon and it is a little finicky to set up, but stays in calibration well and if you get to cranking them out something to provide some reassurance that there is powder in there is a good thing. 6. I don’t remember if it came with a low primer warning but you need it. Feel will tell you that you ran out, but how long before you noticed? Simple and works. 7. I put bullets on cases by hand. Bullet feeder increases output by a lot but can be a pain to setup and don’t work with all bullets. Further at an easy pace 5-6 hundred per hour is plenty without it. That includes checking every case for any kind of crack as they go around. Any crack, regardless of size hits the recycle box. I usually get tired of reloading after a thousand or so anyway and that normally only takes a couple hours or so including filling primer tubes. 8. low powder sensor? The powder measure is right there, what would someone miss? Take a look now and again. 9. my one extravagance is a roller handle. The “ball” works fine, used one for 25 plus years on my 550, but, depending on hand shape and length of reloading session can wear blisters on your hands that I haven’t noticed with the roller handle. Anyway the 750 is a remarkable piece of equipment, beyond the basic machine (with case feeder) you can get a lot of gadgets that cost money that I would use to buy more components instead. I would also question if any of the other gadgets actually produce that much better quality ammunition, especially if you are simply shooting low velocity CAS stuff or large volume IDPA ammunition. We are not talking sub minute accuracy required with targets less than 60 feet away. YMMV Regards Gateway Kid 1 Quote
Nostrum Damus SASS #110702 Posted February 25 Posted February 25 My set-up is much like Gateway Kid's. I load standing at the bench (on a really thick shock absorbing floor mat), so my press is on an Inline Fab Ultramount. The bullet tray is mandatory in my opinion -- not only to hold bullets very close to the shell plate but also to hold any small parts while assembling and disassembling stuff. I don't have or see any need for an automatic primer tube filler or a low powder alarm, either, even for 1000+ round sessions. I have a Hornady Powder Cop in position 3 of each of my three toolheads, and a separate dedicated decapping toolhead that has only a Lee Universal Decapping Die in position 1 and nothing else. (I decap my dirty brass before wet tumbling.) Some lighting accessory is very helpful; the Inline Fab Skylight kit is great. I don't have a bullet feeder but might consider the brand new Dillon Precision Bullet Feeder after its been out and reviewed some, if actual users give it good reviews. The roller handle is also a must-have item in my opinion and even with it, I wear a half-fingerless padded cycling glove on my right hand for any lengthy loading session. Minimum of five small and five large primer pickup tubes. Spare parts kit. If your case feeder comes with the small pistol plate, get the large too, and vice versa; you'll eventually want the other. 3D printed toolhead holders and the wall bracket they attach to are very helpful if you are loading multiple calibers and need a place to stow the complete toolhead assemblies not currently on the machine. Have fun -- the Dillon XL750 is a lot of fun to run and it works great once you get the hang of it. Quote
Creeker, SASS #43022 Posted February 25 Author Posted February 25 (edited) Thank you to everyone. Order going in tomorrow morning. I agree with Gateway and Nostrum; my order reflects pretty much their direction (except for needing large caseplates - I only shoot small caliber girly rounds). I'm sure this will not be my last post re the 750 as I will likely need advice on setup and idiosyncrasies as I go along. Edited February 25 by Creeker, SASS #43022 2 Quote
Cypress Sun Posted February 26 Posted February 26 Get the LED light for the middle hole and a ****load of primer pickup tubes. 1 Quote
Windy City Kid Posted February 26 Posted February 26 Am I the only one who has had the cotter pin get knocked out the primer tube and have primers spill everywhere? 2 1 Quote
Griff Posted February 26 Posted February 26 I don't have a 750, but do have two 550s (large & small primer dedicated machines)... It's the one thing that makes me smile. When my oldest 550 became unstable, (@ around 300K rounds), Dillon rebuilt it (read replaced it with a 550C). I considered a 750. Sometimes I wished I'd gone ahead with it... but I'm comfortable with the 550. Since they enjoy a very similar priming system, two Items that have make it work better are an extended primer slide support (designed for the 750) and lots of primer tubes. 1 minute ago, Windy City Kid said: Am I the only one who has had the cotter pin get knocked out the primer tube and have primers spill everywhere? Maybe... yes. 😉 I don't use a cotter pin in mine, either a "hairpin" or "hitchpin" type... 2 Quote
The Original Lumpy Gritz Posted February 26 Posted February 26 2 hours ago, Windy City Kid said: Am I the only one who has had the cotter pin get knocked out the primer tube and have primers spill everywhere? OH HECK NO! 1 Quote
Toranado, SASS # 58447 Posted February 27 Posted February 27 On 2/24/2025 at 10:50 PM, Creeker, SASS #43022 said: Thank you to everyone. Order going in tomorrow morning. I agree with Gateway and Nostrum; my order reflects pretty much their direction (except for needing large caseplates - I only shoot small caliber girly rounds). I'm sure this will not be my last post re the 750 as I will likely need advice on setup and idiosyncrasies as I go along. 38 special uses the large case plate. FYI small is for the 9mm smaller 1 Quote
Dacotua Posted February 27 Posted February 27 (edited) 17 minutes ago, Toranado, SASS # 58447 said: 38 special uses the large case plate. FYI small is for the 9mm smaller Are you sure about that? I've run 38's and 357s with my small plate and they run fine. (I've loaded thousands of 357's and thousands of 38 specials with the small plate. Small Pistol Plate fits 38 Special Great: Large Pistol Plate is too big, way too much gap on the sides Edited February 27 by Dacotua 1 Quote
Irish Pat Posted February 27 Posted February 27 put safety pins instead of cotter pins in your primer tubes and they won’t accidentally dump anymore. Ask me how i Know!! ☘️ Irish Pat Quote
Toranado, SASS # 58447 Posted February 27 Posted February 27 15 minutes ago, Dacotua said: Are you sure about that? I've run 38's and 357s with my small plate and they run fine. (I've loaded thousands of 357's and thousands of 38 specials with the small plate. Small Pistol Plate fits 38 Special Great: Large Pistol Plate is too big, way too much gap on the sides Dillons site Quote
Shawnee Hills Posted February 27 Posted February 27 A good friend runs the large plate in his 750 for 38s and I’m running the small in mine. We’re both using the spacer. Either one will work fine. 1 1 Quote
Dacotua Posted February 27 Posted February 27 (edited) 51 minutes ago, Toranado, SASS # 58447 said: Dillons site You can run the Large Pistol Plate, but when *I* did, I got a lot of jams. Occasionally two 38 special or 357 brass would wedge themselves into one slot. I don't have that problem with the Small plate. I can run the small plate with the case feeder on max and it works 100%. FYI : Original Poster - You don't have to buy the Dillon Case Feeder Plates, you can also use the Hornady LnL Case Feeder Plates. Dillons = Grey Color, I believe Hornady's is Black in Color. Edited February 27 by Dacotua Quote
Gateway Kid SASS# 70038 Life Posted February 27 Posted February 27 When I got my 650 it came with the small plate in the case feeder. When I got my 750 and bought the case feeder after the fact from Dillon they sent the large pistol plate. I cannot tell any difference in the operation of either when I have swapped the plates out of curiosity. Note that I don’t run flat out, more typically around 500-600 rounds per hour. Regards Gateway Kid Quote
Totes Magoats Posted February 27 Posted February 27 (edited) I like the halo LED light to see into the cases when needed. I have a RCBS Lock Out Die in all my tool heads for each caliber. I like the Inline Fab press stand and roller handle. Double Alpha Primer tube filler is a must for me. Then, another full 750Xl setup for large primer reloading. Totes Edited February 27 by Totes Magoats Quote
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